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Letters to Cyclingnews - October 26, 2007
Here's your chance to get more involved with Cyclingnews. Comments and criticism on current stories, races, coverage and anything cycling related are welcomed, even pictures if you wish. Letters should be brief (less than 300 words), with the sender clearly identified. They may be edited for space and clarity; please stick to one topic per letter. We will normally include your name and place of residence, but not your email address unless you specify in the message.
Please email your correspondence to letters@cyclingnews.com.
Rider passports & Cadel Evans
Drug testing procedures ... and false positives
Iban Mayo's false positive
Iban Mayo and Landis
Armstrong on Landis
Mayo's B sample
UCI turns Mayo's case into a debaucle
Great...now they hand pick the results
No justice for Mayo
UCI says Mayo case not closed
Bike design originality
2006 Tour de France
A bad week for cycling
A fitting end to the season
Rider passports & Cadel Evans
I think the idea of a "passport" to establish a baseline for the riders is a great idea. Slipstream is doing something similar with their team which is quite impressive. Not satisfied with just a single test, as is being proposed, they test weekly.
However, there are a few concerns with the proposal. When does the testing take place?
There could be fluctuations in results based on the time of year, for instance a rider's recovery phase V's their race phase.
The biggest question for me would be; who will take the tests, and who is responsible for confidentiality? The labs in France have illustrated time and time and time again they are incapable of these requirements (which bring up a complete other topic....why isn't anybody actively trying to clean up that mess?).
I also wanted to congratulate Cadel Evans on a stellar year!! A nice guy, who tries hard and was so close to being on the podium in two Grand Tours this year. He also showed that completing the Vuelta, and getting a good result at the worlds are possible. More riders could stand to be like him.
Michel van M
Buford, GA
Monday, October 22, 2007
Drug testing procedures ... and false positives
Finally, testing is performed according to the standards used by most rational systems. Iban Mayo's B sample is not re-tested by the same lab which found his A sample to be positive (a lab which has a vested interest in a second positive result) but by two (count 'em!) labs in different countries, labs that are not beholden to or invested in the results of the French lab. What happens? Both labs find the B sample to be negative. So, in one of the few cases where the B test was done independently, a positive result from a lab which has repeatedly been found to use sloppy procedures and to leak its results to the press has shown to be false not once, but twice. How many other positives from the French lab would fall into this category? For the cases where the B sample was re-tested by that same French lab, we'll never know. Have any of the other cyclists found to be positive by this lab been egregiously harmed? Has the tarnishing of the sport's image been in part due to incorrect results? We'll never know, as many of the tests destroy the B sample.
So now a further question; it's a small step from leaking a positive result that was due to a sloppy lab procedures to spiking samples in order to get or confirm a positive result. In an atmosphere where finding specific cyclist's positive has been rewarded with clamorous press coverage and interest from the public, it could be a very slippery slope and a very easy step to take. If you're morally certain that they're all dopers, what difference does it make how you bring them down?
What is difficult to understand is why the riders' union (and the UCI and, for the sake of principle, WADA) have not all insisted on immediate separation of the A and B samples at the time they are acquired - and, in the case of a positive result in the A sample, testing the B samples in a different lab, in a different country. We owe this kind of protection to the cyclists, especially at this time, when all are presumed guilty.
Heather Williams
Monday, October 22, 2007
Iban Mayo's false positive
So, now the very lab that Armstrong and others have been critical of concerning lousy handling procedures among other things, the very lab that said Mayo was positive for EPO, has been proven wrong by two different labs in finding that Mayo's B-sample was negative. Kind of makes you wonder out loud if everything that some have been saying concerning this lab's work and procedures might have been correct after all. How does one test say positive, yet the exact same sample later say negative? If I were an individual being tested by said lab, I would really be worried about my future. If this lab is turning out incorrect results, what else are they doing?
Danny Autrey
Jacksonville, AL, USA
Monday, October 22, 2007
Iban Mayo and Landis
Does anyone find it interesting that in Iban Mayo's case, the Spanish Cycling Federation had the common sense to test the B sample somewhere else other than the Châtenay-Malabry lab which is the same lab that had inconsistencies with the Landis' tests? Hmmm one can only wonder what would have happened if USADA had actually listened and agreed to the request to test the B samples from the other stages at a lab other than Châtenay-Malabry. Hopefully, WADA will shut down that lab or at a minimum, make it a regular practice of testing the B samples at 2 different labs.
Landis' legal team has to just love this story. While Iban Mayo was caught for something different, Landis' legal team will infer that Mayo would have been wrongfully convicted if it were not for the testing at labs other than Châtenay-Malabry.
The Iban Mayo story may just be enough to swing the pendulum in Floyd's favor. Get ready for round 2 everyone.
Scott Van Maldegiam
Bartlett, IL, USA
Monday, October 22, 2007
Armstrong on Landis
As of this week Iban Mayo was cleared of EPO use after his B sample was tested by two others labs and found that Châtenay-Malabry had erred in its positive result. When will everybody realize that the incompetence of this lab goes beyond mere human error? Châtenay-Malabry is corrupt from the top to the bottom. No result from that lab, positive or negative can be trusted. It is my opinion that anyone testing positive there should immediately be tested at a real lab to confirm the result.
Jay Peitzer
Los Angeles CA, USA
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Mayo's B sample
So the UCI is sending Mayo's B sample back to the original lab that tested the A sample because the alternative labs result was different. Am I missing something here? Surely part of the reason for having a B sample in the first place is to check the first testing labs work? One would have thought Landis's case might have taught the UCI something.
Simon Bishop
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mayo's B sample #2
The UCI takes issue with Mayo's B sample as it is not the result the UCI wanted. Mayo is a dirty rider in their eyes and until they get the result they need from the laboratory - the Paris Laboratory-they won't be satisfied. Ms. Anne Gripper is not happy with the Gent lab because "they use a slightly different technique." Give me a break! What type of objective science are they using in Paris? In Ghent? In my view, whether Mayo is doping or not, the Paris Laboratory should take a perpetual holiday and independent labs should be certified to do all testing within specific guidelines.
Until then the Witch Hunt, led by chief warlock Pat (retest of the retest will be done in Paris no matter what the rules are) McQuaid, will continue; and, the UCI will never be satisfied with any inconclusive or negative test (that happen to only take place outside of Paris). Au revior.
Sean Morris
Bardsdale, CA, USA
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Mayo B Sample...Changing the rules? #3
So I read that the B sample from Iban Mayo is negative and thus case closed....finally some good news for cycling right? One would think
Then today I read that it wasn't a negative but inconclusive? What does that mean? It's inconclusive because it did not confirm the A sample?
Then to top it off now the UCI is going to go to the CAS if they have to, to "get" Mayo! This is insane! According to their rules, if the B sample does not have the same result as the A sample then the case is thrown out...case closed.
But it seems since they did not like the results of the Belgian lab used for the B sample (a different lab, something I applaud) now they want the sample tested at Châtenay-Malabry laboratory (you know, the one that was found to operate outside of WADA laboratory standards). They are changing the rules and if the riders don't do something, then this will lead to them running test after test until they finally get a result they like.
As I have written the riders need a strong union. Now is the time. With the UCI, WADA and ASO coming up with the insane biological passports and forcing Pro-Tour teams to help pay for it, the riders need to stand up and say enough is enough. The testing they are doing is working.
The UCI, WADA and ASO have done more to hurt cycling, than help it. They chase away sponsors, use the media to leak info and destroy careers all the while sucking every last penny they can out of an incredible sport.
Riders please stand up and create a Union that has your best interests in mind. Threaten to strike. Let's see what the UCI and ASO do if 200 of the best riders in the world won't ride their races. You guys don't know it but you do have all the power. People come to see you...Not the UCI and not ASO. If you all decide not to show up for a certain race in July, who gets hurt most? Where you go, the fans and the sponsors will follow. Anyone who claims a "race" is the reason people show up, doesn't really know the sport. They come to see the best in the world compete, whether it be in Paris, France or Paris, Texas.
Keep in mind, the Super bowl is in a different location every year. And every year it gets bigger and bigger. Remember the saying "if you build it they will come".
Riders stand up and take control...only you can save cycling from the idiots who claim to be in charge now.
Rick Delgado
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
UCI turns Mayo's case into a debaucle
What a great 'sound byte' from Anne Gripper in your daily news:
"To ensure that the rider could have the B sample done more quickly, we transferred the sample, but the Gent laboratory just couldn't get the sample to confirm the Paris result," said Gripper.
"Just couldn't get the sample to confirm"? What, no matter how much they tried?
And so now "It needs to be analysed in the Paris laboratory". I'm not sure why this needs to be done. These labs should be running benchmarks to be able to independently come up with conclusive results, no? Seriously, why send it to the Paris lab?
This again displays the level of miss-management of the sample testing process by these people, from the testing to the public statements to the questionable security and integrity of the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory in Paris. Why bother sending the sample to the Gent lab if you aren't going to trust their results in the first place? How do we know which lab to trust? And why can't results be trusted from two separate labs?
Each of these doping cases brings up so many more questions. Someone needs to get a handle on this whole thing and to start getting it done properly, with integrity.
Between the poor wording of Ms. Gripper's statement and how Mayo's case is unfolding, we're just seeing more of the lack of integrity that still exists in this system. If I'm a clean rider, I'm still scared.
Mike Papageorge
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Great...now they hand pick the results
"... But the Gent laboratory just couldn't get the sample to confirm the Paris result," said Gripper.
I read that above quote with slack-jawed disbelief.... Ms. Gripper is not happy that the laboratory in Gent did that test, an accredited lab mind you, so she wants the sample retested in the Paris lab, you know... the one few people trust... to corroborate their own findings.
Sort of kills the double-blind method, no? And how logically awkward to say that since the lab in Gent tests "slightly differently ..." the result is not conclusive. Should that not be the point? Get the two different labs to agree on the conclusion and prove innocence or guilt beyond a doubt?
According to her logic, only the same people can tell us whether they made a mistake or not. As we've seen in the past, Châtenay-Malabry is not likely to contradict themselves.
M Gallo
USA
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
No justice for Mayo
The insanity (or maybe inanity) from the UCI continues. Quoting Cyclingnews:
"It wasn't a negative B sample it was an inconclusive B sample," Anne Gripper, UCI anti-doping manager told AP. "The case for us is still very open, we have not gotten a final resolution on the B sample. It needs to be analysed in the Paris laboratory."
"To ensure that the rider could have the B sample done more quickly, we transferred the sample, but the Gent laboratory just couldn't get the sample to confirm the Paris result," said Gripper.
"We are waiting for the Spanish federation's report but anyway, the B sample will be tested again in Paris," UCI president Pat McQuaid told Reuters.
In other words, "we need to send the sample to the laboratory that we know will produce the result we want to see". How can this possibly be interpreted as fair? As reported by CNC the other day, this B sample has already been tested in Belgium and Australia, with no positive either time. Can the UCI just keep testing the sample until someone turns up a positive result? If Mayo does not sue the UCI now, he is doing a disservice to the entire professional peloton, and to the sport as a whole. Doping controls are a good thing in principle, but the kangaroo courts and vigilante laboratories of the UCI continue to make it impossible for me to believe that all (or even most) of those convicted are truly guilty.
Alex Parker
Cambridge MA
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
UCI says Mayo case not closed
Ok cycling has some serious problems with doping but I thought maybe it was getting sorted out. Anne gripper has been proudly presented to all as the new head of doping who will sort it all out. The following are Cyclingnews reported quotes:
A: "It wasn't a negative B sample it was an inconclusive B sample," Surely when the test is not positive is has to be negative not half way between.
B: "It needs to be analysed in the Paris laboratory." Are testing procedures at different labs not the same?
C: "The Gent laboratory just couldn't get the sample to confirm the Paris result," See to quote A.
D: "In Gent, they use a slightly different technique [than the Paris laboratory]," See quote B.
Yet again the cycling community has made itself a laughing stock by not having correct procedures or by not correctly following procedures.
I do not know if Mayo has doped or not. The first time I watched the tour live was when Mayo went up the L'Alpe d'Huez ahead of all the favourites and have followed him since. In this time he has always been very up and down in terms of results.
Maybe he is doping, maybe he isn't. But if the authorities do not have the correct proof then they should not be able to condemn the athlete because they think he is doping.
G Rooney
Switzerland
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Bike design originality
As one who has been personally damaged by the UCI's retrograde regulations I wholeheartedly agree. There are bicycle designs in existence that are an order of magnitude more aerodynamically efficient, stronger and potentially less expensive to produce than the traditional tubular frame. When my brother Brent and myself developed one of the first composite frames in the early 80's we started with a clean slate and based our designs on aerodynamic principles, not tradition. The US cycling team recognized the potential benefits of a full monocoque frame (our frame was an airfoil shaped body with no tubes) and commissioned us to build track frames for the 1986 Olympics.
When testing revealed a substantial advantage in aerodynamics, the UCI immediately instituted the 3 tube rule and killed the design for competitive cycling. While the frame was successful in triathlon and endurance racing where the rules were less restrictive, being banned from professional and Olympic cycling has limited the commercial viability of the design.
It is time for a compete overhaul of the governing structure of cycling in all aspects so the sport can move forward. You will see tremendous innovation in cycling design once the arbitrary and archaic design restrictions are removed. Likewise in doping control and organization of the sport's marquee events, once the self destructive traditional governing bodies are reformed we can see a beautiful sport develop to its full potential.
James Trimble
Thursday, October 18, 2007
2006 Tour de France
John it really isn't that trivial.
Oscar has to be tested like anyone else; they know he has clearance for Salbutamol, so as long as he has the right concentration aligned to dosage regulations when tested he is OK.
If a rider has asthma or a similar respiratory ailment, and there is a highly effective medication which has a banned substance yet not in performance enhancing or masking amounts such as ventolin, surely they should be allowed to use it on medical advice and strict supervision, especially if their health were to be in danger if they didn't.
I think you'll find the UCI, ASO, and professional teams will happily brush off any claims of hypocrisy if it allows them to fulfill their duty of care and maintain the pelotons health.
Ryan Sorensen
Sydney, Australia
Friday, October 19, 2007
A bad week for cycling
Another week goes by and the fight against doping in our great sport continues to be lost....
In the space of a week we have been reminded of the huge task that faces this sport in stamping out the drug culture. First, at last week's Paris-Tours we have no anti doping controls at the finish; something that is all the more painful due to the race being won by a previously under investigation, Alessandro Petacchi. Second, we have Manolo Saiz threatening to return to the cycling community. This man is remembered for his management of 'great' teams in the past, the same man who had Roberto Heras test positive under his directorship, a man who had Isidro Nozal show suspicious blood values under his directorship, a man whose Liberty Seguros cycling team was heavily implicated in Operation Puerto, yes a great director indeed.
For me a different story was most depressing of all. This concerns the signing of one Simon Spilak to Lampre-Fondital for next season. This is the same Simon Spilak who was prohibited from starting the U-23 world championship road race in Madrid for suspicious blood values, having seen the man perform in the junior worlds in Verona in 2004 I have followed his career with a keen interest, after this suspicious blood value his fine results have always been tainted in my eyes. Equally disappointing is the fact that Cyclingnews omitted this 'small' fact when reporting the new signing. The zero tolerance stances we crave in this sport are still a long way away. We are too caught up with the idea of a 'second chance' in this sport. Operation Puerto has opened our eyes to what goes on, there can be no more second chances.
Niall Bleeks
Friday, October 19, 2007
A fitting end to the season
Judging by Mr. Emerson's comments one would think the cycling authorities are holding down the riders and forcing drug use on them. I suggest the ones trashing their own backyards or as we say in Australia "pissing in their own pockets" are the riders. They as the ones doing the pedaling, have the power to stop the drugs & the deception. The drug use continues as riders are quite happy to portray themselves as victims of a system rather then the key to changing the system. Whilst riders accept no responsibility for their actions we will not see changes. Myopic fans such as Mr. Emerson are relied upon to accept their victimhood. Thus the common enemy is the authorities rather then the ones doing the drugs in the first place.
Stephen Finch
Brisbane, Australia
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Recent letters pages
Letters 2007
- October 19: 2006 Grand Tour trifecta!, 2006 Tour de France, A fitting end to the season, Armstrong on Landis, Bike design originality, doping in cycling, Doping numbers, Paris-Tours testing mishap, UCI and the lack of testing!, Vino's other Tour stage win, The absolute best?
- October 12: Armstrong on Landis, Bike design originality, Cycling drama, Doping is unfair; but so is discrimination, It’s not doping that's..., Landis case - everyone's a loser, Length and cost of the Landis case, R & R, The Landis decision, Tour of America
- October 5: Cycle drama, It's not doping that's "killing" the sport, Why is VAM a benchmark, Tour of America, The Landis decision, DYNEPO, Worlds, Rock & Republic's CEO Michael Ball, Please explain, Giuseppe Guerini, FICP
- September 28: Tour of America, World champion zany-ness, The Landis decision, ASO v UCI, McQuaid vs ASO vs the riders, Please explain, Why is VAM a benchmark, Giuseppe Guerini, Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen, ProTour and Le Tour, Where is the due process
- September 21: Astana's future and Bruyneel, Bruyneel's afterlife, Floyd Landis decision, Why is VAM a benchmark, Lifetime bans, Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen, Ungrateful Levi, Spanish cycling, Where is the due process
- September 14: Astana & Bruyneel, Cycling vs. soccer, Cycling will survive, Floyd Landis decision, LeMond's comments, Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen, Ungrateful Levi, Why is VAM a benchmark?
- September 7: Cycling vs. soccer, Floyd Landis decision, UCI, ASO, LeMond, et al who cares? Riders, Lawyers in the Landis case, LeMond's comments, Riders taking the fall?, US Postal/Discovery R.I.P.
- August 31: LeMond’s comments, Farewell De Peet, Cycling needs a Norma Rae, Vino & human rights?, Cadel was robbed, Floyd Landis decision, Market beliefs, Sinkewitz Positive.
- August 23: Biting the hand that feeds you, Cadel was robbed, Congratulations to grand tour organizers, Cycling needs a Norma Rae, Discovery folding, Drugs and cycling, Fewer ProTour teams, Floyd Landis decision, Petacchi’s asthma, Science of doping, Sinkewitz positive, Tailwind withdrawal, The good news...., Unibet, what a shame, World’s exclusion, Vino: "a clear violation of human rights"?,
- August 17: Dying from within..., Cadel was robbed, Biting the hand that feeds you, Discovery folding, Astana-Tour cover-up?, Christian Moreni, UCI may lose it all, Drugs & cycling, Aussie proTour team, Valverde and the worlds, Klöden: are things getting out of control?, Congratulations to grand tours organizers
- August 10: Smarter Drug Testing, Cassani and Rasmussen, Bruyneel: take doping seriously, The dubious Disco boys, Spanish ethics, Who's to blame for doping?, Untrustworthy authorities, Insurance for pro riders, Science of doping, It's working?, State of cycling, Less mountain stages, Positively false, Sinkewitz positive, Team suspensions, Tour ethics, Vino response, Editorials call for ending Tour, Revoking le Tours jerseys, LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, WADA vigilantes
- August 3, Part 1: What about team suspensions?, WADA vigilantes, Vino response, Vino excluded, but why the whole team?, Unanswered questions, Tour de France doping "scandals", State of cycling, Spanish ethics and the A.C. joke, Sinkewitz positive, Secondary testing?, Editorials calling for ending Tour, Rasmussen's location, Quality control and anti doping, Positively False, McQuaid: not the Godfather of cycling, Less mountain stages
- August 3, Part 2: LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, Le Tour, L'affaire Vino, It’s the culture, IOC questioning cycling in Olympics, Greg LeMond is not surprised, Greg LeMond, German TV, Due process, Evans v Contador - the real margin of victory, Doping, the media and the MPCC, Doping, Evans, Dope tests and the tour, Different perspective on doping, David Millar, Cycling revolution, Cadel was robbed, Bruyneel a 'man in black'?, Another drug test result leaked, Andy Hampsten
- July 27 Part 1: 80's style back in fashion?, A great few days for cycling, Vino excluded, but why the whole team?, Another drug test result leaked, ASO discretion in administering Tour justice, Astana in stage 5, Astana’s tactics, Bad day for Australia, Bloody dopes, Cadel Evans, Catching Vino is good news, Conspiracy?, David "what a joke" Millar, Doping, Doping controls, Tour ethics, German TV, LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, How many big bastards in the peloton?
- July 27 Part 2: How will cycling survive, Kazahkstan Pie, Kessler's lie, Landis and lie detector, Landis testing, Le maillot jaune is gone, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, The'Vino' scene, Losing time and bouncing back, Losing my religion, Moreau, No, not Vino, Out of season testing and baseline tests, PED's, Revoking le Tours jerseys, Petacchi out
- July 20: What about team suspensions?, Tyler Hamilton, Stuttgart Worlds, Sinkewitz positive, Petacchi out!, Bad day for Australia, Kessler's lie, Landis and lie detector, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Intestinal problems, Greg LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, Fair doping tests, Drug testing and sequence of recorded results, Revoking le Tours jerseys, Advice for Stapleton and Sinkewitz, Astana in stage 5, Crashes, bike changes & team cars
- July 13: Fair doping tests, Tyler Hamilton, Tour downright exciting!, Stuttgart(?) Worlds, Rocketing Robbie v tormented Tommy, Armstrong's comment to ASO, Petacchi out, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Intestinal Problems, Incentive for doping, Imagine, UCI agreement, Does the UCI test for blood transfusions?, The real heroes, Bicycle options,
- July 5: Tour de France boring!, The real heroes, The flying Scotsman, Signing the contract, No Zabriskie?, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Incentive for Doping, Bicycle Options, Anti-doping charter, Sale of the century
- June 29: "The Flying Scotsman",Cancellara,The real heroes, Categorised Climbs, Tour for Devolder and Zabriskie?, Tour de France, boring!,Nationalistic pride, Anti Doping Charter, Bicycle Options, Doping, Doping Coverage - Enough already..., Who dopes? Who doesn't? Who cares!
- June 22: Anti Doping Charter, The real heroes, Basso's "suspension", Categorized climbs, Bicycle options, Greg LeMond and record ITT's, It is about us!, Finding the clean winner of the TdF?, Tour de France, BORING!, Prudhomme and the 1996 Tour farce, Riis, the '96 Tour and Prudhomme, Amnesty for doping..., Cycling, doping....???, Who dopes? Who doesn't? Who cares!
- June 15: Bicycle options, New Trek Madone, A week of confessions, Cycling - not yet a real professional sport, Di Luca's finest win..., Three Tour wins for Ullrich?, Ullrich getting screwed, Giro fever, Amnesty for doping offenses, Greg LeMond and record ITTs, Is drafting a known doper cheating?, Let's sort this mess out, Doping hypocrisy, Cycling, doping....?, Prudhomme and the1996 Tour farce, Simoni goes 1850 meters / hour
- June 8: Di Luca's finest win, Simoni goes 1850 metres / hour, What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Andy the Dandy, Three Tour wins for Ullrich?, Ullrich getting screwed, Percentage of pros with asthma, Amnesty for doping offenses, ling - not yet a real professional sport, Doping and cycling, Greg LeMond and record ITTs, Meaningless defense, We are out of denial - Let's look forward
- June 1, part 1: A thought for cycling's true heroes..., A cunning plan, A great opportunity for the UCI, Admissions of guilt, Let's have some real confessions, Amnesty is the way forward, Suggestions for an amnesty, Amnesty, Amnesty or punishment?, ASO's double standard, Tour Clowns, Bjarne Riis, Bjarne Riis confession, Riis must go, Riis, Basso, Zabel, et al..., Repairing the Magenta Express, Tip of the iceberg, Riis and winning the tour on EPO
- June 1, part 2: Confessions?, Honour - Seemingly rare in cycling, How deep do you go?, Who do we give it to?, A week of confessions, Peer pressure, Mind boggling hypocrisy, Pro cycling - Sometimes you make it hard to love you, Meaningless defence, Riding with Lance, Lucky Lance, Cheating by proxy, LeMond trying to tear down US riders , So, if Floyd is right..., Thank you Floyd, Floyd Landis hearing, Mr. Young's closing arguments, Something more important..., What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Percentage of pros with asthma:
- May 23: Landis case live coverage, LeMond a true champion, Questioning LeMond's motives, LeMond trying to tear down US riders, Saint LeMond, Landis and his character, Landis has made cycling a joke, Landis had his drink spiked?, Landis in a corner, Landis polygraph?, Landis' disclosure of information, The quality of Landis' character, Landis' behaviour, Joe Papp
- May 18: Armstrong can defend himself, Di Brat, Chris Hoy's world kilo record attempt , Hoy in sixty seconds, What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Hypocrisy of the cycling world, Italian Reactions to Basso, Who's telling the truth?, Basso + Ullrich = Armstrong?, Basso still a legend, Simoni vs Basso, Basso, Landis etc The new mafia?, Landis to ask UCI to boot Pound, Vinokourov to claim second in '05 TdF?, Percentage of pros with asthma, Unibet at Dunkerque
- May 11: An attempt at doping?, Almost as bad as Ullrich, Basso admission, Hats off Basso, Basso still a legend, Basso's attempted plea bargain, Basso and Discovery, Discovery's PR, Basso vs Simoni , Truth and Reconciliation Commission, A means to an end, Hypocrisy of the cycling world, Vinokourov to claim second in '05 TdF? , New Puerto plan, Where is the Puerto money?, Time to start re-stating race results, The morals and math of cycling, Chris Hoy's world kilo record attempt , Unibet at Dunkerque, Davide Rebellin
- May 4: Call that a race?, Reflecting on Schumacher's win, Pose with Landis, at a price, Danielson should leave Discovery, Davide Rebellin, The year of the clean Classics?, Basso and Discovery, Basso this, Landis that, Ullrich the other..., Basso, DNA and whatever else, Basso's DNA, Say it ain't so, Johan, Let's cut them some slack!, Armstrong, head and shoulders above?, Landis, Armstrong vs the Lab, It's not all about the Tour!, Puerto Affair
- April 27: The year of the clean Classics?, David Rebellin, Call that a race?, Reflecting on Schumacher's win, Danielson should leave Discovery, Inspirational O'Grady and those cobbles, L'Equipe does it again!, Tour de France speaks out, The morals and math of cycling, Basso and Puerto, Puerto, part deux, Gilberto, you were right!, Landis, Armstrong vs the Lab, Pose with Landis, at a price?, Taking blood, Gent-Wevelgem and the Kemmelberg, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles
- April 20: Stuey wins Roubaix, O'Grady Rocks!, An Aussie in Arenberg, Deep-dish carbon versus the cobbles, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles, Unibet/FdJ/Lotto - Help!, U.S. Open Cycling Championships, Racing in America, Retesting Floyd's B-samples, Taking blood
- April 13: Thoughts on Flanders, Crashes at Gent-Wevelgem, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles, What about that loose water bottle?, T-Mobile one-two, Popo for the Classics, Racing in America, U.S. Open Cycling Championships, Unibet/FdJ/Lotto - Help!, French hypocrites?, Bjarne Riis, Floyd Landis 'B' sample fiasco, Taking blood, Ullrich DNA match
- April 6: April Fools, Ullrich DNA match, Taking blood, T-Mobile and Puerto, The song remains the same, Ullrich and Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton and flu, Unibet and access into France, Bjarne Riis, Popovych, The death of irony, Armstrong boring?, Ullrich/Armstrong comparisons
- March 30: Basso wind tunnel testing, Bjarne Riis, Riis' response, Drugs in other sports, Dominquez at Redlands, Armstrong boring?, Ullrich/Armstrong comparisons, Popovych - the new Armstrong?, ASO wildcard selections, ASO-UCI split, Boys atop the sport, Cycling at two speeds, Puerto shelved, Tyler Hamilton.
- March 23: Popovych - the new Armstrong?, A few years ago, Tyler Hamilton, Operación Puerto not complete, Puerto shelved, ASO-UCI split, Drugs in other sports, Basso wind tunnel testing, Water bottle and cage sponsorship, Bates' article on Jan Ullrich, Ullrich's retirement, The current state of cycling
- March 16: Don Lefévère, Lefévère tries to reinforce omerta, Spring fever, Ullrich's retirement, UCI has no power, Puerto shelved, Who's been taking what?, ProTour a flawed competition?, UCI-Grand Tour organizer dual!, ASO-UCI split, ASO needs to see benefits in ProTour, Sponsorship, drug use and dinosaurs, The current state of cycling, New Pro Cyclist Union, Congratulations to Unibet, Unibet situation, Unibet.com marketing, Tour of California mistake
- March 9: ASO - UCI split, UCI has no power, UCI vs. ASO, UCI vs. the world, ProTour and contracts, The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?, Unibet and French law, Unibet situation, Pete Bassinger's Iditarod Trail record ride, Bates' article on Jan Ullrich, Ullrich's retirement, Tour of California expenses, Discovery's profile in Europe, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Floyd's big ride
- March 2: Ullrich's retirement, Altitude tents and EPO, Home-made altitude tents, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, The agony of Unibet?, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Upside down Disco solved, Tour of California mistake, Graeme Brown, Hats off to Dick Pound?, Grand Tours, who really cares?, ProTour and contracts, ProTour vs wildcards, RCS' decision, UCI vs. the world, Floyd's big ride, Asthma everywhere
- February 23: Altitude tents and EPO, Tour of California mistake, Chavanel's training regime, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, Grand Tours, who really cares?, The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?, A solution to the Unibet situation, UCI and the ASO, UCI vs. the world, Will the fight never end?, Paris Nice and others, Pro Tour and contracts, RCS decision, Hats off to Dick Pound, Armstrong owes Dick Pound nothing, Graeme Brown, Asthma everywhere, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 16: T-Mobile, Adam Hanson and doping, Unibet's new jersey, Double standards for Unibet?, RCS decision, A letter to ASO, Hamilton and Tinkov, Discovery Channel, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the cross worlds, Best moment?, Crowd control at the cross worlds, Doping reconciliation, Get into 'cross racing, Pound still wants answers from Armstrong, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 9: Unibet show they won't be put down, Double standards for Unibet?, Unibet's new jersey, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the Cross Worlds, Crowd control at the Cross Worlds, Jonathan Page's mechanic beaten, Cheers to Bradley Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins' comments, Jaksche lashes out, Get into 'cross racing, Le Tour was created to sell newspapers, The stakes are too high, Doping reconciliation, Best moment of 2006?, Ivan Basso interview, Ullrich's DNA sample, Ullrich to Relax-GAM?, Ullrich partners with sports-clothing company, Still love to ride, My perfect state of mountain biking, A terrible model for cycling
- February 2: The sanctimonious need to be taken out back, Confidentiality of test results, Oscar Pereiro cleared, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Riders' nicknames, Doping reconciliation, Help for Floyd Landis, Museeuw's insults, Sven Nys, The Floyd Fairness Fund, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- January 26: Drug testing methodologies, Museeuw the PR man, Museeuw's insults, Johan Museeuw and Tyler Hamilton, Sven Nys, Conduct in the pro peloton, McQuaid unhappy with Pereiro, Put doping in the correct context, Moreau wins 2006 TDF, Who wins the 2006 Tour now?, Drapac Porsche's exclusion from the TDU, Bike sponsorship, Compact geometry, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 19: Drapac-Porsche and the TDU, Bettini to win the Ronde?, Frame geometry, Phil Liggett's recently stated views, Prudhomme's zealotry, 3 cheers for Christian Prudhomme, Deutschland Tour, 3 cheers for Saunier Duval, Dick Pound, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Do the maths, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 12: Dick Pound, Just 'Pound' him, Pound casts doubt on Landis, Pound comments, The Dick and Pat Show, McQuaid starts cultural polemic, Why the Pro Tour model will never work, The Floyd Fairness Fund, Riders' union, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Danny Clark - an inspiration, Allan Peiper, Do the maths, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Justice and America, Lance in Leadville, Tubeless road tires
- January 5: Danny Clark - an inspiration, Legal standards and cycling, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Lance a no show for Leadville, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Do the math, A fair trial, Tubeless road tires, Manzano's polygraph test, Blind trust in implicated riders, A terrible state of affairs, Armstrong's credibility - the conspiracy theories, Best ride ever
Letters 2006
- December 29: Lance in Leadville, Leadville Trail 100, Manzano's polygraph test, British Cycling and the Tour de France, Tell me, what's the problem?, "Disco" team?, Presumption of innocence, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, American culture, Armstrong's credibility, Back room politics and the IPCT
- December 22: Scott Peoples, Hypocrite?, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, Rumours and innuendo, Bjarne Riis interview, Enough already, Back room politics and the IPCT, Armstrong's credibility, American culture, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 15: A totally predictable situation?, Armstrong's credibility, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Back room politics and the IPCT, Holczer and others, Holczer and the Discovery exclusion, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Can't we all just get along?, DNA safety, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Genevieve Jeanson, Mark McGwire, Operación Puerto bungled...deliberately?, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 8: Genevieve Jeanson, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Deutschland Tour, Bjarne's ignorance factor, USADA does it again, Labs and testing, Astana denied ProTour license, Isaac Gálvez, McQuaid, Question about DNA testing, Le Tour de Langkawi 2007
- December 1: Hamilton, Isaac Gálvez, USADA does it again, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Shorten the Vuelta?, Vuelta short, shorter, shortest, Labs and testing, Ullrich to CSC, Clean up cycling's own house first, Fed up with doping, Strange sponsorships, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, What's going on behind the scenes?, Graeme Obree
- November 24: Graeme Obree, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, Richard Virenque, UCI are the problem, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 17: Saiz and Tinkoff, Countdown to the 2007 Tour, Improving the reliability of testing, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, Forgetting Tom Simpson, Operación Puerto and national federations, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?. Reverse blood doping, Richard Virenque, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 10: Forgetting Tom Simpson, Tour Route, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, What is DNA testing?, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Jan Ullrich, Operación Puerto and national federations, Reverse blood doping, What's going on behind the scenes?, Comments on McQuaid
- November 3: Tour Route, Return of a real good guy, Cameron Jennings, Future Australian ProTour team, Neil Stephens, 2007 Tour Intro Video Snub, Richard Virenque, Reverse blood doping, Comments on McQuaid, Marc Madiot, Who's more damaging?, What's going on behind the scenes?, Wada & Cycling's Governing Body, UCI and Doping, The Pope of Cycling and the Spanish Inquisition, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Put up or shut up!, DNA, its so ‘easy', DNA Testing In Cycling
