Letters to Cyclingnews - November 10, 2006

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.

Forgetting Tom Simpson
Tour Route
Basso to Discovery #1
Basso to Discovery #2
Cycling and DNA testing #1
Cycling and DNA testing #2
Cycling and DNA testing #3
Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?
Jan Ullrich #1
Jan Ullrich #2
Operación Puerto and national federations
Reverse blood doping
What's going on behind the scenes? #1
What's going on behind the scenes? #2
Comments on McQuaid #1
Comments on McQuaid #2

Forgetting Tom Simpson

Being a veteran of four L’Etape du Tours and old enough to know better, I was chomping at the bit in anticipation of the 2007 Tour de France route being launched and itching to plan my Letape du Tour trip with one of the travel groups. I was totally gutted to find the much hyped memorial stage to Tommy Simpson, Marseille to Carpentras via Mont Ventoux was only a figment of several journalists' imagination. On the 40th anniversary of Tom’s death, how can the Tour organizers not pay homage? Tom was one of the true greats and Britain’s greatest ever rider. Could the reason be he wasn’t French? I guess his name should have been Tommy Virenque!

Perhaps it is the whiter than white brigade showing there is no room for sentiment and Tom died a supposed drug related death, at a time when people like Anquetil refused a drug test after breaking the hour record in Milan. I believe the Tour organizers have got it all wrong and have missed a wonderful chance to make the 2007 Tour one to be remembered for years.

How great it would have been with the Tour starting in the country where Tom was born and passing the place he sadly died. They have missed the chance to include the Ventoux and give the race some humility. I see on the L’Etape web site that they are now going to run a L’Etape du Legund in September, celebrating a stage from the 1967 tour, not Tom’s stage. I won't be riding next years L’Etape or any others, I will be riding my own stage of the Tour in memory of Tom on July 13th up Mont Ventoux and consider myself lucky to be one true fan who was privileged to have met his idol. God bless Tom Simpson.

Roy Guttridge
Cardiff, UK
Friday, November 3, 2006

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Tour Route

What an excellent letter from Allan Peiper who speaks from real experience. Now what are we to make of Basso's signing to the Discovery team while still refusing to take that DNA test? Is Cycling really prepared to tackle its tarnished image? I get the impression that it all just continues in the same old way accompanied by the usual hand wring vacillations of the UCI. As Allan says they are the patrons and they need to sort it before sponsors disappear and the sport implodes.

Keith Warmington
Bristol, UK
Thursday, November 9, 2006

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Basso to Discovery #1

I don't think I've felt this excited, especially about cycling, since Cipo bridged a huge gap, into a strong headwind, in the twilight of his career, and won Gent Wevelgem.

Finally we are getting somewhere. I was very disappointed to hear that Basso was considering a non-Pro Tour team, not because I support the UCI, or the Pro Tour, but because he wouldn't necessarily be able to prove his great talent! If anyone can repeat, or come close to repeating what Armstrong has done, it would be Basso. And if anyone can understand unfounded accusations, Lance Armstrong, and Discovery can empathize.

I know people will disagree with this move by Discovery as unethical, but I must ask why? Is there any conclusive evidence, has the case been reviewed, by both the Spanish and Italian courts and been dismissed? So how are people establishing their beliefs, and opinions? I base mine on facts, and empirical data, not gossip, or rumors. I can only hope that Ullrich will be as lucky as Basso.

Jason Kilmer
Wednesday, November 8, 2006

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Basso to Discovery #2

Its nightmare time. Talk about the Peloton imploding.

Basso may be temporarily cleared legally but the questions remain. So now how can we give any credence to Discovery's commitment to fight drugs? This makes Frankie Andreu's testimony all the more poignant and Armstrong's and Discovery’s denials all the more hollow.

Operation Puerto is proving a disaster because the cases are not being pursued effectively. Those innocent are not being cleared and those guilty not caught. We may have two pelotons next year. The Ullrichs, Bassos and Hamiltons who are seriously questionable and the rest who are tainted by the whole situation.

I certainly won't be bothering with the Tour if they are in it. I was very much a Basso fan - I travelled 2,500 miles to watch Basso in the Giro believing he could do the double - clean. I have a super photo taken on the Gavia which I have not even printed. Gullible or what?

T-Mobile and Riis with CSC appear to be some of those coming out of this with credit. Riis with some of the biggest questions over his riding time now appears to be showing real leadership in the fight over drugs. This latest suggests his decisions and actions in the last six weeks have been of the very bravest, letting the best rider in the world go because he believes it was right.

Its good that we do have some heros in cycling just now. But its not Basso, Ullrich, Hamilton and certainly not Team Discovery. Its Frankie and Bjarne Riis with a big thanks to CSC.

John Picken
Aberdeenshire, UK
Wednesday, November 08, 2006

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Cycling and DNA testing #1

I am hardly surprised at the amount of emails you receive regarding doping in the sport of cycling. Since the end of the Armstrong era, doping has easily been the most reported topic in Australian media relating to cycling. It is incredibly sad to see a sport with so much to offer going the way of the dinosaurs.

As the world debates the crises of oil depletion, global warming and obesity in first world countries, professional cycling is on course to self destruct. If the powers of cycling were as intelligent as they are self interested they would recognise cycling’s huge potential is still to come. Professional cycling’s popularity is poised to escalate to the heights it deserves but without definitive action by cycling’s governing bodies to stamp out doping this will simply not be achieved.

I am uncertain as to whether DNA testing can actually identify the cheats but if it can, it must be utilised. Professional athletes need to recognise that this has become the reality; they need to submit to these measures to protect the future of their profession. How can people support a sport (as a fan or sponsor) embroiled in a seemingly endless sea of lies, doping, corruption and cheating? Someone somewhere needs to make a stand. It’s time the governing bodies and cycling teams got together and laid down the rules once and for all. Cyclists like Bettini and Basso need to be told: No submission to screening techniques = no contract to race in any form of pro event. If a system like this cannot be enforced maybe professional cycling’s Ark has indeed sailed.

S. Hickey
NSW, Australia
Wednesday, November 8, 2006

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Cycling and DNA testing #2

In regards to pro cyclists and DNA testing, the issue is a fairly straightforward one. We live in the world post-9/11, post neo-con, post-everything world, in which our governing organisations have become increasingly invasive with respect to individual rights in the pursuit of terrorists and criminals that have been historically a cornerstone of modern democratic principles and human rights.

Forcing cyclists to provide their biological profile is a gross violation of workers rights in any democratic system of the West. Which other occupation, of any union backing, would stand for such an intrusion?

Cleaning up cycling can be achieved by other measures than the ones proposed by the UCI. Personally I'd rather have a few more doped athletes, than live under a regime of hitlarian controls, that are anything but democratic and demonstrate how a medieval world is right around the corner.

Rob Huber
Italy
Monday, November 06, 2006

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Cycling and DNA testing #3

How interesting are the responses and reactions from riders concerning the proposal for DNA testing. It is very easy to draw conclusions from their reactions.

I would add, that as well as all the comments regarding doped riders and their fraudulent treatment of those riding clean, we the supporters are also being defrauded. In most cases we are well aware of what is going on just by watching.

Enough is enough. The pros can continue with duplicity and their insulting treatment of the fans, whom they seem to regard as morons. Many of us will just get on with riding our bikes and ignore the degrading actions of those who earn their living by bike riding.

Bryan Clarke
France
Friday, November 3, 2006

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Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?

David Collins, I couldn’t agree with you more. If I were a professional rider and a DNA test was all I needed to put me above suspicion of doping I would be jumping at the chance to have one. If I recall correctly Alan Davis was calling out for this in an attempt to clear his name after Operacion Puerto.

If the riders aren’t prepared to undertake more stringent tests in order to show they are clean they will be out of a job. It’s as simple as that. The public, and therefore the sponsors who pay their wages, will (continue to) leave the sport.

Lucas Francis
London, UK
Saturday, November 4, 2006

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Jan Ullrich #1

It seems that all the riders connected to Operation Puerto, with the exception of Jan Ullrich, have been cleared to continue their careers. I read today the Basso has signed with Discovery and will be racing on the Pro-Tour. All the Spanish riders have been cleared to ride, Botero has been cleared by his federation, and Saiz keeps his Pro-Tour license. Meanwhile, Ullrich is left twisting in the wind with the Swiss saying they have jurisdiction and will, hopefully, get a file to the disciplinary committee by the end of the year!

To me the apparent scapegoating of Ullrich is an outrage. I find it hard to believe that the evidence against Ullrich is any stronger than that against Basso, Botero, Saiz, or any of the other riders connected with Puerto, and yet he is left without a license, a team or a clear path back to the sport.

I think that it is time for the UCI to throw in the towel on Puerto and to declare that for 2007 no sanctions will be issued by them based on Puerto regardless of the recommendations of the various national federations. They can always take action at the end of 2007 once the trial in Spain is over. For the good of the sport, and for general fairness, I don't think that some riders (and currently it seems only to be Ullrich) should be excluded from racing, or from the Pro-Tour, while others go on with their careers.

In Ullrich's case the delay by the Swiss is working as a ban by keeping a cloud over his head and the concept of equal treatment demands that the UCI either clear the path for Ullrich's return, or equally exclude all those associated with Puerto.

B Steere
New York, USA
Wednesday, November 08, 2006

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Jan Ullrich #2

I was really sad, when I read this article about Jan Ullrich and team Tinkoff's manager. Don't you think it's just an embarrassing way to lower his ‘price’? Yes I'm Jan's fan, but it seems like it.

Jan Brychta
Brno, Czech Republic
Thursday, November 9, 2006

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Operación Puerto and national federations

An avalanche of letter writers fail to see that the orders from the Madrid court that is in charge of the Operación Puerto case barring the use of court documents to open up cases against riders named in the investigation do not mean rider exoneration. It is a procedural order only, rather than a final statement on guilt or innocence.

Yes, national federations have jumped the gun, but may yet get the chance to act once the trial is completed. It would be wise to hold back the castigation and haranguing of every cycling official under the sun until this trial is over.

Think about it, your persecuted hero gets a new contract & rides to his hearts content. From now until June 2007 approx the prosecution presents day after day of evidence against the defendants implicating your hero, which may or may not result in convictions for those on trial, and lead to more action against those involved. Tell me which team is going to risk employing such a rider? Which sponsor will tolerate being associated with a team that has such a rider?

Stephen Finch
Brisbane, Australia
Monday, November 6, 2006

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Reverse blood doping

Regarding the discussion on doping by donation, I had thought the initial letter was more of a tongue-in-cheek way to promote blood donation, which I agreed with. But with Mr. Winn's letter, the cat is out of the bag. If it's that effective to just donate imagine if you "donated" it to yourself like all these pseudo-human blood dopers out there. Not only do they get the benefit of the renewed cell growth brought on by the extraction, but they get the instantaneous (okay, the time it takes for an IV) boost from re-injecting the red cells from their "donated" blood. It's actually a small step logically speaking, and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the idea of blood packing in the 80's got started by someone who was in your very position and made the leap.

The real trick is to get people to quit monkeying around with the body's natural processes for the purposes of performance enhancement - and please don't draw analogies to training; the line is there, thin though it may be. If someone wants to donate blood, fantastic - I applaud them and it's a noble thing to do. But if they do it for the sole purpose of performance enhancement, it's doping - banned or not (and I think that could loosely fall under the category of blood manipulation). It's one thing to time donation to have minimal negative effect, e.g., only donating in the off-season. It's another thing entirely to plan the donation so that it occurs X weeks before a major event, thereby giving you maximum advantage in your reticulocyte count, or whatever. That's a twisted perversion of the idea of blood donation.

Nathan Race
SC, USA
Friday, November 03, 2006

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What's going on behind the scenes? #1

I am worried that many of your readers just don't understand what Operacion Puerto is about or why the lack of ‘evidence’ from there is causing problems for the various cycling federations. Operacion Puerto is a criminal investigation by the Spanish police but it only covers matters which are a crime under Spanish law. Doping by cyclists was not a crime when the Puerto arrests were made and it still isn't even now (hence the popularity of Spain as a training base for many professional cyclists). What was a crime was endangering public health by administering medical products but that was a crime which logically could only be committed by doctors. For this reason the whole Puerto investigation was centred on Dr Fuentes and his associates and not on his cyclist clients, since they hadn't committed any crime.

This means that any apparent evidence that cyclists have doped is only useful to the Spanish police as evidence against Dr Fuentes, since the cyclists themselves haven't committed any crime. The cyclists will not even be charged with any offence in Spain, let alone convicted. This means that the only sanction against them is going to be by the national cycling federations or by the UCI. They have a problem though in that although there is plenty of leaked information from the Spanish police they have no actual evidence of doping and the Spanish judiciary won't release any evidence until after the case against Dr Fuentes goes through next June in case that case is prejudiced. This is just about logical if you are prepared to accept the enormous delay in the case going to court but it means that in the meantime the various disciplinary proceedings by the national federations have come to a halt as they have no actual proof that anyone has doped.

This seems to have led the legion of backroom lawyers who contribute to your forum to conclude that there is no proof of doping and that the Spanish ‘case’ against the cyclists is being dropped when in fact there never was a case. Basso and Ullrich are free for now to protest their innocence (and refuse to provide DNA which might eventually prove them right) in the knowledge that they are in the clear for the time being on a technicality. The crunch will come next year when the Fuentes case is over in Spain and such evidence as there is is released for use by national federations. Will the bags of blood have been preserved? Will the riders be forced to give DNA samples then and if they refuse will anyone still believe they are innocent?

The credibility of cycling has taken a terrible hit this year and I fear we still haven't scraped our way to the bottom of a very dirty barrel. Cycling fans misunderstanding why no one has been sanctioned yet and assuming that means that the doping allegations are false isn't going to help.

Yes, I am a lawyer.

Gregor Barclay,
Inverness, Scotland
Friday, November 3, 2006

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What's going on behind the scenes? #2

I find it sadly fascinating to read comments such as David Beesley’s. The simple fact that so many people think that Floyd Landis was accused of having high levels of testosterone says a lot about the reporting (and mis-reporting) of the event. Or perhaps it says a lot about the depth of understanding (or lack thereof) exhibited by the average reader.

The data from the lab actually show Floyd Landis’ epitestosterone (E) level to be abnormally low and his testosterone (T) level to be about normal. It is the low value of E that makes the T/E ratio abnormal, not the T value. No one ever has gotten ‘roid rage from a low E level.

Danny Thomas
Raleigh NC, USA
Friday, November 3, 2006

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Comments on McQuaid #1

I suppose I will join the other 5,000 who have pointed out that Mr. Clawford is mistaken in his claim that Hamilton was found guilty of using a blood transfusion in the Olympics. As we all know, due to a lab screwup, they were unable to prove any such thing. Thus, Hamilton kept his medal. His positive test was for the Spanish Vuelta.

David Hufford
Tokyo, Japan
Friday, November 3, 2006

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Comments on McQuaid #2

A second chance is a second chance, if the rule says so, Tyler should get one before any life time ban is considered. Millar got his second chance, Tyler should get his and not be punished additionally simply for defending himself.

If people are punished ‘extra hard’ for simply defending their cases we might as well start beating their confessions out of them now. That is the issue which makes my blood boil, not generally accepted methods of enforcing the rules.

How many times did Virenque race after he was caught the first time? You think Richard Virenque only doped once? A second chance is a second chance.

Jim Wright
Florida, USA
Friday, November 3, 2006

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Recent letters pages

Letters 2006

• 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
• October 27: Tour Route, Fiorenzo Magni, Landis' presentation, Dr, Ayotte is Biased, Operation Puerto, Sample quality assurance protocols, Marc Madiot, Man on a mission, Comments on McQuaid, McQuaid Lunacy, Continental over ProTour, Just a Simple Thank you, Cycling deaths, Ullrich to Discovery, Ivan Basso and CSC, Reverse blood doping, Future Australian ProTour team, Saiz ProTour license,
• October 13: Guilty or not?, Forget about whom?, Innocence and DNA testing, Sporting fraud, Ullrich to Discovery, Landis in the court of public opinion, Women's track events, Cheating redefined, Cycling deaths
• October 6: Guilty or not?, Innocence and DNA testing, Women's track events, Cancellara, Cycling deaths, Is Dick Pound credible?, A load of Grappe?, Cheating defined, Floyd's turbo bottle, T-Mobile
• September 29: Bravo Paolo, T-Mobile, Shortened grand tours, Floyd's turbo bottle, Basso's DNA test refusal, Is Dick Pound credible?, Basso cleared, Natural process possible?, Cycling deaths, Frankie Andreu, Double standards, Cancellara
• September 22: Is Dick Pound credible?, Frankie Andreu, Millar's hollow victory, Cycling deaths, Go Chris, go, Tom's OK, Basso's DNA test refusal, Easier racing?, Floyd's turbo bottle
• September 15: Andreu's admission, Millar's hollow victory, Basso's DNA test refusal, The big ugly open secret, Dick Pound, Discovery's Vuelta double-standard, Doping tests and subjective evaluation, Fitting punishment, Hermida is clean, Floyd Landis' motion to dismiss, Easier racing, Operation Puerto, Thank you Chris Horner, The testosterone test, Mano a mano, Turbo bottle
• September 8: Turbo bottle, Discovery's Vuelta double-standard, Hunger Knock, Basso's DNA test refusal, Eneco, DNA testing, Fitting punishment, Natural process possible?, Operacion Puerto etc , Response to 'No Doping Control is Insane', Stage 17 water consumption, The Testosterone test, The Tour, What's up with Sevilla?, Mano a Mano
• September 1, part 1: The Eneco Tour controversy: Details, Reporting, Eneco vs doping, Time bonuses?, Who was at fault?, One of those things, Discovery behaviour, More barricades, No way for Schumacher to stop, Hard to stop, Officials to blame, The rules, Schumacher amazing, Hincapie's 2nd Place Trophy
• September 1, part 2: Dick Pound, Devil is in the detail, Diane Modahl and Floyd Landis, Dick McQuaid?, Fitting punishment, Floyd Landis and polygraph, Jake to play Lance?, La Vuelta coverage, Natural process still possible, likelihood uncertain, Protour rankings, Hour Record & Tour, Response to 'No Doping Control is Insane', Ullrich's trial by media
• August 25: Eneco Tour, Bring on an Hour Record, Cycling needs a dictator, Diane Modahl and Floyd Landis, Natural process still possible, likelihood uncertain, Response to 'No Doping Control is Insane', Testing procedures must be understood and public, A German Pound?, All winners dope?, Change the things we can, Track the testing, Cycling is not flawed, Defamation lawsuit, Dick Pound, How did the testosterone get there?, Julich: "No one is able to cheat anymore", Floyd Landis, Patrick Lefevere follow-up, Systematic doping? Where is the evidence?, Ullrich's trial by media, Unfair dismissals
• August 18, part 1: Natural process still possible - likelihood uncertain, Denial, Dick Pound, Oscar Pereiro, UCI - ProTour drug solution?, The problem with legalising doping, Changing the rules won't stop cheating, Scandal reduces respect, Blood tests, Corruption, A couple of questions, A couple of questions, A German Pound?, According to WADA: Who isn't doping?, Collect samples every day from everyone, Corruption in the system
• August 18, part 2: Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping and the death of pro cycling, Change the things we can, Doping, Landis, tests, Dufaux?, Floyd, dope, and cycling, Floyd's only way out, It's the jersey, Julich: "No one is able to cheat anymore", Landis affair, Landis and faulty test equipment, Landis and what he leaves behind, Lefevere, Phonak, and cycling's future, Stand by Our Man Landis, Only one positive, How did the testosterone get there?, Patrick Lefevere, Please help with these questions, Case thrown out, Stage 17 bad tactics or dope?, What were the actual results?, Wouldn't it be great, Zero tolerance
• August 11, part 1: Patrick Lefevere, "The media knew before I did", A couple of questions , Distribute the testing, A possible scenario for Landis, A real Tour, Anti-doping transparency, Anyone hear Jack Nicholson?, Are we fighting doping or not?, Bad for cycling - are you kidding?, Best way to deal with doping, Can some one please tell me... , Case thrown out, CIR and T/E tests, Collect samples every day from everyone, Complaining about drugs in cycling, Corruption in the system
• August 11, part 2: Cycling's reputation, Distortions in the Landis case, Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping, Doping in general, Doping, Landis, tests, Doping - the whole sorry mess, Drug testing for cyclists, Drugs & the Tour Down Under, Enough already!, Flawed process?, Only one positive, Unrealistic expectations
• August 11, part 3: Floyd Landis Affair, Floyd, dope, and cycling, Robbie Ventura, Hoping Floyd soon shows HIS evidence, I will prove it, Is this true (and if so, what's its import)?, Landis, Landis and Merckx, Legal black hole, Media circus, Operacion Puerto Victims, Pat McQuaid and doping... , Penalize teams, organizations
• August 11, part 4: Players, Post race reunion, Robbie Ventura, Solutions are there, Stage 17 Bad Tactics or dope?, T-E testing and Oscar Pereiro, Testosterone cheating, Testosterone Gremlins, The "System", doping, and so on, Who do you believe?, Time to level the playing field, UCI - ProTour Drug Solution?, Ullrich, Why process matters, Worse than VDB, Wouldn't it be Great!
• August 4, part 1: I will prove it, Doping, Landis, tests, Why process matters, Robbie Ventura, Rubbish!, Leadership & cleansing, 21st Stage, A few minor thoughts, Stage 17 water consumption, Was it a recovery prep?, Anti-doping transparency, Bad for cycling - are you kidding?, Best way to deal with doping
• August 4, part 2: Case thrown out, Center podium, Collect samples every day from everyone, Complaining about drugs in cycling, Confidence in the testing system, Courage off the bike, Who is Cowboy (2003)?, Crime and punishment, Nothing without the cyclists!, Davis and four others, Does the dope fit the crime?, Doping & money, Doping in cycling, An examination, Drug testing for cyclists, From a fellow pro, In Floyd ..., Do the right thing, Floyd's steroids, Grow Up and Get Real!, Future of testing, Idea for a clean Tour, Landis vs Periero TT, I'm done with cycling, I'm retired as a fan of the pros, Feel like a fool, I'm so disappointed
• August 4, part 3: Team management & doctors, It appears the dope does fit the Crime..., It was the whiskey, It's all a sham, It's everywhere., Nothing is conclusive, Worse than VDB, Cycling needs our support, Of all the tests…, Doesn't add up, Test timing, Players, Legal black hole, B-sample & Marco Pinotti, Landis is guilty of something, Former Phan, Landis Ordeal, Landis Situation, Landis, drugs and cycling, Landis: lab accreditation, The question, Laughingstock, Lawyers in tow, Leaks, Learn from NASCAR, Letter to Editor
• August 4, part 4: Losing hope against the dope..., Mitigating factor, No doping control is insane, One toke over the line, Keystone Cops, Operacion Puerto Victims, Raise the stakes, Something not right, Exhuming McCarthy, Testerone testing, Testing procedure, Landis has been caught, The Jack Daniels defense, The Landis Situation, French testing: a leaky boat, What a positive A sample means, The sieve called doping control, Time to level the playing field, US Perspective, WADA, UCI ruining sport, What about Pereiro?, What's the hold up?, Who's watching the henhouse?
• July 31, part 1: I will prove it, Stop the complaining, Public perception, The process - flawed?, Courage off the bike, Dallas on wheels, Surely not, Sick & insulted, Mitigating factor for Landis, Landis... it is a shame, Landis' abnormal (supernormal) results, Travesty, Who's watching the henhouse?, Could it have been the result of the bonk?, I'm sick of this!, One toke over the line
• July 31, part 2: Why does McQuaid make a bad situation worse, Why does the UCI make a bad situation worse, How one-off testosterone helps, Why risk it? Here's why., Must be natural, Sick of hearing about doping!, Previous reading?, If Landis turns out to be doped, Cycling on trial, All that is gold does not glitter, The science on testosterone, Maybe I am a fool, Loons, Results not yet known, Surely not, Cheated
• July 31, part 3: Who to believe, A slightly inappropriate Landis defence and proposal , Gut feeling, Jaded, Landis, Latest doping allegations, Tired of the system!, Cheating or not, Hard landing for the sport if Landis issue turns sour, Another Landis comment, Why?, Elevated T levels in Landis, Crucified, Floyd Landis, What is happening to cycling?
• July 31, part 4: Testing testosterone, It was the whiskey, Does the dope fit the crime?, Results not yet known, Landis - Say it ain't so!, Doping, Landis, tests, Landis - guilty until proven innocent, T/E ratio and treatment of Floyd Landis, Bad science and a possible solution, Testosterone is a natural substance, Confidence in the testing system
• July 28: Landis - Say it ain't so!, Surely not, The science on testosterone, Results not yet known, Jaded, Leave Landis ALONE!, "Everybody cheats." , Fairness of testing, Crucified, Who to believe?, Landis doping, The A and B test., Why does McQuaid make a bad situation worse?
• July 21, part 2: Legalising doping, Full transparency, Basso and DNA, Doping, lawyers, and Basso, Ullrich's Innocence, Tyler Hamilton, Did Millar come clean, Ullrich's doping plan, Doping and still suffering
• July 21, part 1: Stage 17, 2006 Tour, And the winner is?, Chicken!, Rasmussen not a "team player"?, Enough Lance, Floyd's bad day, Is Discovery really a true U.S. ProTour team?, First-time winners' past records, Kudos to Leblanc, Landis' aero bars, NORBA Nationals, Floyd's not "photogenically challenged", Respect the yellow jersey?, US Nationals, Very unsatisfying
• July 14, part 2: Landis' aero bars, Wide Open Before the Cols- An Average Fan's Predictions, US Nationals, Cipo @ the Tour, And the Winner is?, Boring spots, Disco Boys?, Enough Lance, Is Discovery really a true U.S. ProTour Team?, Kloden by default, Millar's new TT position, Photogenically Challenged Champions, Segregation is not the solution
• July 14, part 1: Legalising doping , Small world, Hamilton's fax, Cheats, Come clean, Simoni, Doping and the double standard, Dopers don't affect love of riding, Greg LeMond, Vino, Lance & LeMond
• July 7, part 2: Legalise it!, Doping, Greg LeMond, Plenty of riders don't dope, What I will do, Phonak, Come clean, Hide & Seek, The Early Signs coming True, Doping and sponsors, Santiago Botero not on the list, An alternative
• July 7, part 1: Are we paying these guys enough? Cardiac hypertrophy and sudden death, A cycling scandal? A sad day for cycling fans, Discovery's team leader, Easier racing won't help, Simoni, Cheats, Vinokourov, An open letter to Ivan Basso, Are we alone?, Sharing the road, Searching for an old book
• June 30, part 1: Easier racing won't help, Communidad Valencia and the ASO, Doping & fans, What a Shame, Sunny side of pro dopers, Tyler Hamilton: how long can he deny, The new "performance" enhancer, Greg LeMond, Armstrong's letter to IOC, Armstrong, L'Équipe, WADA & Pound, A call for one more test
• June 30, part 2: Ullrich and the Tour, Mancebo: The Unsung Hero, Hincapie to lead Disco, Jane Higdon, USA junior development, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Operation Puerto, Where there is smoke, there is fire, Watching the wheels come off, Why only cycling?, UCI request for riders to submit signed statements, UCI leadership questioned by reporters
• June 23: "Next!", Hincapie to lead Disco, USA junior development, Jane Higdon, A call for one more test, Armstrong's letter to IOC, Defending Landis, Doping, The Armstrong/L'Équipe/WADA/Pound affair, Spanish doping allegations, Team consequences, Voigt vs. Hincapie
• June 16: Pound should resign, Now I’m really confused, Vinokourov, Saiz, doping and the TdF, The Spanish operation, Misplaced sympathy, Name the suspects, Spanish doping, Opinions from France, ASO, Simoni vs. Basso, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Jens Voigt vs. George Hincapie, Voigt and Hincapie, Jane Higdon, Jeremy Vennell diary
• June 11: Simoni vs. Basso, Basso and Simoni, Simoni versus Basso, Simoni's smile, Sour grapes Simoni, Sarcastic, disgruntled fan?, Congrats to Jan, Non-round rings, Sport, Voigt and Hincapie, Jens Voigt, Three cheers for Jens Voigt, Jens Voigt vs. George Hincapie, Voigt vs. Hincapie, Thanks to Voigt and Manzano, Champion in countless ways, Chapeau Jens!
• June 9 - Special edition: Vino’s position, Astana-Wurth and the TdF, Vinokourov, Saiz, doping and the TdF, Spanish doping allegations, WADA, Vrijman's findings, That Report, WADA and Armstrong, WADA vs. UCI vs. the riders, WADA's double standard, WADA and Pound missing the point, Pound should resign, A Pound of what?, The role of the AIGCP, The Spanish operation, Botero interview, Say it isn't so, Manolo
• June 2: Simoni versus Basso, Simoni and Basso, Simoni, Simoni's smile, Simoni is a crybaby, Basso and Simoni, Sour grapes Simoni, Gibo Si-MOAN-i, Blood, drugs, cash and corruption, Sickening double standard, Spanish federations' reaction to Saiz, Don't be surprised by drug use, Giro d'Italia, Thanks to Voigt and Manzano, Chapeau Jens!, Jens Voigt, Three cheers for Jens Voigt, Jens Voigt is the man, Voigt 2006 vs Boogerd 1999, Voigt and Hincapie, Discovery’s Giro team, Altitude tents and EPO, Not just name-calling, Say it isn't so, Manolo, Spanish doping allegations, Armstrong and L'Equipe, CSC is a class act, Basso and CSC, Jimenez memories, Markers in drugs, Discovery Channel's Giro performance, Pound should resign, Giro live reporting, Banning of altitude tents, Bettini is consistent
• May 26: Their A-game's at home, The Tour and the TT, Jan's good form, Jan bashing, Congrats to Jan, The diesel, Double or nothing, Ivance Bassostrong, Bravo, Basso!, Discovery Channel's Giro performance, Bettini is consistent, Banning of altitude tents, When disqualification isn't enough, WADA should ban intervals
• May 26 - Special edition: Say it ain't so, Manolo, Say it isn't so, Spanish Federations' reaction to Saiz, The doping scandal to end them all
• May 19: Bettini is consistent, Banning of altitude tents, Hypoxic tents, WADA and altitude tents, Latest WADA crusade, WADA bans another, Congrats to Jan, Criticism of Jan Ullrich, Jan bashing, Jan ready for the Tour, Jan's good form, Armstrong - the New American Idol, The same old Lance, Defeatism in Discovery, Giro reactions, One of Savoldelli's secrets, Rasmussen's time trial position, Riders under helmets, Difference between following and leading, The Tour and the TT, Bruyneel's Giro comments, When disqualification isn't enough
• May 12: Marion Clignet, Bruyneel's Giro comments, Criticism of Jan Ullrich, Jan bashing, Jan's weight, Defeatism in Discovery, Lance talking up Basso, The same old Lance, Rasmussen's time trial position, Giro team time trial, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix, Riders under helmets
• May 5: Criticism of Jan, Criticism of Ullrich, The Ullrich-bashing bandwagon, Ullrich in 2006, Jan dramas, More Jan dramas, Bruyneel's Giro comments, Team helmets, Volunteering at bike races, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix
• April 28: Working for the team in Georgia, Ullrich's thick skin, Ullrich and the 2006 Tour, Jan Ullrich racing, Ullrich and THAT wheel, Jan Ullrich, Jan dramas, Paris-Roubaix technology, Hincapie in Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix controversy, Paris-Roubaix comments, Paris-Roubaix tech, Team helmets
• April 21: Paris-Roubaix final say, Paris-Roubaix controversy, Paris-Roubaix and technology, George and the fork issue, Quotable quotes, Cycling technology, Behaving like a champion, Paris-Roubaix: UCI Code of Ethics
• April 14: Continuing to behave like a champion, No curse of the rainbow jersey, Tom Boonen, Hang in there, Saul, The gods of cycling, Trek and Paris-Roubaix, Looking out for George, Paris-Roubaix and technology, Broken forks and broken dreams, Jan Ullrich, Jan dramas, Disqualifications, So you know, Paris - Roubaix, THAT railway crossing incident, Need for consistency, Paris-Roubaix - poor Cancellara, Paris Roubaix disqualification, Paris-Roubaix: setting a good example, Roubaix disqualification decision, UCI Roubaix disgrace, Paris Roubaix disqualification, Paris Roubaix affair, Paris-Roubaix fiasco, Paris-Roubaix sham, Racing's railroad crossings, George's bike failure, Let them race, Roubaix controversy
• April 12 (Special Paris Roubaix edition): Paris-Roubaix disqualification, Disqualification on the pave, Level crossing in Paris-Roubaix, Rules are rules, Paris-Roubaix, McQuaid's reasoning, Pat McQuaid and train barriers, Railway crossing at Paris-Roubaix, Disqualifications in Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix crossing, Roubaix controversy, Grade crossings, Railroad crossings, Safety at Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Roubaix sham, Paris-Roubaix safety, Paris-Roubaix rail crossing, Boonen and friends cross the tracks, McQuaid's explanation, Roubaix disqualification decision
• April 7: Hang in there Saul, De Ronde parcours, Edwig van Hooydonk, Discovery’s American riders, Tom Boonen, April fools, Hair care product line, Brave new world, Commonwealth Games time trial, Photo of the year

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