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Letters to Cyclingnews - December 22, 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.
Scott Peoples
Hypocrite?
Landis and the Landaluze case
Landis' defense fund
Zabriskie's hour
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
Scott Peoples
Oh man! Not another one. I have been riding on our nations roads since the late eighties and have pretty much raced the whole time. Since then I have seen far too many of our promising up and comers and many others taken out by a motor vehicles. I have had a few close calls and one in particular, with a truck a few years ago, leaves me a little shaken at the thought. This is a sad reminder of the vigilance and awareness we as cyclists need to have while out on the roads.
I never knew Scott, but had seen him starting to get more mention recently in the cycling press. The news of his passing has left me very sad and sick feeling in the stomach. Having a young family of my own I can imagine some of the pain Scott’s family and friends must be feeling. I can only hope that all his travels now have the sun on his face and the wind at his back. Farewell Scott.
Sean Doyle
Queensland, Australia
Monday, December 18, 2006
Hypocrite?
Doesn't Patrick Lefévère continue to employ one Johan Museeuw, who has been as deeply implicated in doping as anyone else? When does Lefévère plan to fire Museeuw, so as to not be involved with anyone involved in doping?
Can any one of the IPCT teams honestly say that there is no one single person under their current employ that is or was involved (or suspected of involvement) in something related to doping? Nevermind that no one here has been convicted or proven of anything or that reputable scientists have point out major methodological flaws in much of the tools and data used to convict people like Tyler Hamilton.
Finally, to echo another writer, which teams also attempted to sign Basso and why are they not forthcoming about this fact? Could it be that all of this is just sour grapes in the end? Sadly, if the organizers of the Giro and the Tour have the option to exclude Discovery from their respective events, they probably don 't stand a chance in hell in winning an appeal in either an Italian of French court. So much for democracy and fair play.
Matt Mizenko
California, USA
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Landis and the Landaluze case
I’m surprised that Floyd Landis has jumped on the fact that the CAS acquitted Inigo Landaluze. It did state that the only technicality was the same person was involved in the A sample and the B sample analysis. Your article stated, "The arbitrators have emphasized that the staff of the laboratory of Châtenay-Malabry had acted in good faith and that the overlap of the different analysis operations performed by the staff was due to a heavy workload in the laboratory."
I don’t see how Landis can use the Landaluze case, as though the CAS acquitted Landaluze, that "does not constitute a declaration of innocence". So, to me, that means that yes, he did dope, but the lawyers got him off.
Landis continues this mantra that his samples were handled incompetently and used flawed science, and now is asking everyone to put their hands in their pockets to help pay for his lawyers and Floyd has set up his own entity, "to help wrongly accused athletes fight doping charges and lobby for improved protection for accused competitors." And there seems to be quite a few of them in these days.
I don’t think he understands he is and will always be damaged goods now, why throw all this time and effort into this when he admitted the other day that he didn’t consider himself a cycle racer anymore.
Steve Stewart-Sturges
Gold Coast, QLD
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Landis' defence fund
The audacity of these people is quite unbelievable - do they really expect the public to bankroll their defence so they can get off on a technicality? Are there not better causes to give one's money to?
David Crutcher
England
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Zabriskie's hour
It seems that Dave learned a lesson. The hour requires a lot of preparation and dedication. While I applaud his charitable efforts for fallen fire fighters, I think he is starting to realize how very different an hour on the track is from a 50 kilometer time trial. Trying to hold a world record pace with jet lag in the off season (for a roadie) for even five minutes would make anyone think twice about going for 60 in front of an audience. It is not a disgrace. Even the best athletes have days when our legs just say,'Sorry, not today.' But please don't give up the goal.
Personally, I think an attempt in Colorado this summer would be more successful. Maybe this will even get Millar and Gonchar interested in planning an attempt. It motivated me to a personal record 25 km effort which took about 3 months of dedication to achieve.
Timothy Shame
USA
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Rumours and innuendo
The sport of professional cycling continues to look like a Three Stooges episode. The Operation Puerto situation causes the teams to ban Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso et al on the eve of the 2006 Tour. Now, Basso is riding for Discovery, Ullrich is seems to be poised for a comeback and the Tour still doesn't have a confirmed winner as of December. The champions are now decided in the courtroom, not the road.
The biggest hypocrisy of all this to me is the fact that Lance Armstrong was the subject of exactly the same things Ullrich and Basso were/are. Innuendo, books, association with questionable doctors, accusations, etc., but not one failed doping test. Yet, US Postal/Discovery never suspended or disciplined him. Listen to Lance, no failed tests equals a clean rider. By that test, Basso and Ullrich should have ridden the Tour. Where else is guilt by association assumed?
Could the testing agencies be years behind the pharmaceutical companies? Could Lance's multimillion dollar team of professionals for his bikes, skinsuits, aerodynamics, training, etc. also include the most knowledgeable doctors and chemists? I think the answer is yes. Cycling has a rich history of doping going back before 1900. There's an old adage that "you don't ride the Tour de France on mineral water alone."
Peter Leyser
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Bjarne Riis interview
Regarding Riis' comments to Shane Stokes December 19: "We won't bring in that testing. The reason is that in doing a programme like this, DNA is totally out of the question. In fact, I think that the whole discussion about that type of test actually moves the focus from what we really have to work on, and that is out of competition testing. So let's not divert the focus from what is important for cycling and sport in general."
Why is it that every time riders, team managers or fellow travelers bring up the issue of DNA testing their brain seems to trip a non-sequitur switch?
In a story about his team's anti-doping program, Riis says "we can ask people to give DNA samples but legally we are not in a position where we can force them to do so."
If I understand him correctly, Riis means he can compel his riders to submit to what he characterizes as an extraordinary battery of out-of-competition tests, in which DNA-containing fluid will be taken from their bodies and time-sequence tested for myriad characteristics, substances, etc.
Somehow, however, Riis' authority over the athletes' contract language stops when the time comes to require allowing those substances to be additionally tested for a DNA fingerprint.
The next time a Cyclingnews interviewee makes that sort of nonsense statement - some version thereof seems to be coming up in the cycling press every few days now - why not follow the logic with follow up questions. I'd really like to see some of these enablers' mental gymnastics as they detail how this is supposedly part of some legitimate legal or ethical scheme.
Matt Smith,
San Francisco, USA
Monday, December 18, 2006
Bjarne Riis interview #2
Regarding the interview with Bjarne Riis. Riis is indeed an intelligent manager. By hiring Danish anti-doping expert Rasmus Damsgaard to work with the team in 2007, Riis has the opportunity to be proactive in an effort to ensure a 'clean' team of riders.
That's the party line, it is certainly a good goal, and one shared by T-Mobile with a similar program that was recently announced. Perhaps more importantly, the testing program to be employed by Damsgaard on behalf of Riis and CSC, will be instrumental in managing and/or controlling the current "witch hunt" tactics being employed by the UCI and WADA, aided by the ProTour Teams that have signed on to a hugely flawed ethics code, and much of the popular press that produces incomplete stories filled with innuendo.
Should a CSC rider be unjustly accused, data from the team's anti-doping program can be employed in the rider's defense. This is important because the riders need a better means of defense than they currently have. If the UCI and WADA can't manage doping affairs like the professionals they are supposed to be (leaks to the press, pronouncing riders guilty before a hearing, numbering errors on important samples), Riis and Damsgaard will have the ammunition they need to keep the authorities honest. Where might Floyd Landis be now if Phonak had employed a program like CSC is initiating?
Jeff Butcher
Newark, DE, USA
Monday, December 18, 2006
Enough already
The righteous indignation and moral hypocrisy of many observers of this sport is laughable. How many readers exceed the speed limit, breaking the laws of society, with impunity? Is not the potential harm resulting from this infraction, killing another person on the highway, greater than the potential harm of a doping infraction by a professional cyclist? Yes, I contend that it is.
Yet so many have written letters and expressed opinions about how morally decadent the top dogs of the peloton are for attempting to gain a competitive advantage through high tech medication. Wake up and smell the coffee people. I know that everyone out there either speeds, drives drunk, pads their bills, cheats on their significant other, cheats on their taxes [god forbid] or breaks some other rule laid down by the moral majority.
The point is, that you would not accept a black box inside of your personal automobile to monitor your speed and location, transmitting your transgressions to the police bureau in real time. Since this is undeniably true of 90% of Americans, very few of the readers out there should ever expect riders to preemptively give DNA, or swear not to blood dope, or take EPO, or HGH, etc. The UCI and the riders need to get their s**t together.
In the NFL, a steroid infraction gets your a three or four week suspension my friends. The world keeps turnin’, and the game keeps on thriving. Currently, the cycling teams are divided by paranoia, and fail to recognize the need to work together to keep the sport strong. Instead, they try to take advantage of the farcical misadventures which befall their foes to gain advantage in the big events - i.e. this year's TdF.
Pro cycling is a business, it is a professional sport with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and every team and rider should have the right to compete unless caught fairly red handed using banned substances.
Edward P. O'Herlihy
Boston, MA
Back room politics and the IPCT
No team has a totally clear past, but name me one rider of Euskaltel named in the Puerto-affair up to now?
It is always the same story, as well in America as in Belgium too, if doping issues are mentioned, always one team is referred to with a certain happiness: Euskaltel.
Maybe simply because they have had some incidents in the past, which are not at all outnumbering positive cases in other pro teams, or maybe because they are the easiest to blame, again a Spanish (Basque) team, isn't it?
Dieter Cortvriendt
Belgium
Monday, December 18, 2006
Armstrong's credibility
Hang on a second, by Jerry Aaron's letter we are accepting the fact that Basso is guilty of doping practices when this is clearly not the case. Ivan Basso has been cleared by his federation and is clear to race.
Discovery would not have put pen to paper with Basso had this not happened and I suspect the reason there has been such a rush to throw Discovery out of the IPCT is more of jealousy by CSC, Gerolstiener etc that they lost out on the man.
In July everyone felt that Operation Puerto would be the most damaging thing in the sport since Festina, well we were all right it has been, but only because six months down the line we are no further forward. It has damaged careers, it has blown the sport apart but for all the wrong reasons. Operation Puerto is now a sham and a line should be drawn under it now to let our pros get back on with their jobs. You cannot prosecute people on hearsay, just cold hard realistic fact.
2007 needs to be the year where cycling rebuilds itself, it can't do that with the situation as it stands now
Donald Young
Stonehaven, Scotland
Friday, December 15, 2006
Armstrong's credibility #2
I think it’s quite premature to place suspicion on Basso, Armstrong and the Disco team. If you’re questioning Armstrong’s decision to go for Basso because of his association with Operation Puerto, you’re questioning the morals of the most tested athlete in the history of sport who never once tested positive for anything, anywhere at anytime.
It’s unfortunate that Basso was placed in a position where he could not participate in the ’06 Tour, but he is an amazing cyclist and truly the only contender, even ahead of Jan in my opinion, who could have beaten Lance.
Can’t the cycling world simply accept that Armstrong and Basso are two cyclists who at the same time were on a completely different level than the rest of the field because of their sheer determination and will?
I think the jealousy and greed of many other ProTour cyclists has fueled animosity and the best way to get the media on board is to push doping claims. How unfortunate.
Brian Sharp
Armstrong's credibility #3
On one hand you are critical of Armstrong and Basso, basically stating that Basso (and in the same sense Armstrong) is closer to guilty than innocent, and on the other hand you proclaim Riis as some sort of hero.
First of all, I have always found it hard to believe (ok, actually impossible to believe) that a team director has no idea that one of his 'superstars' is doping! That's like saying that an NFL coach has no idea his offensive line uses steroids...doubtful at best. So, if Basso is guilty, you must be naive to think that Riis was totally in the dark!
As far as the signing of Basso, in my opinion Discovery just beat everyone to the punch. I'm sure there were more than a few teams willing to 'take the risk' and were merely out-bid. Is having a substantial budget enough to exclude a team from competition? I hope not...for Tinkoff's sake!
Pete Tofinetti
Thunder Bay, On, Canada
Friday, December 15, 2006
Armstrong's credibility #4
Jerry, whilst I believe you have the right to form your own opinion, I ask the question. As you so rightly point out, the evidence against Basso is (at best) circumstantial and that the bags of blood are only Basso's by supposition, I also look at the fact that the Italian courts have found not enough evidence to proceed.
This, in my humble opinion, should therefore allow the belief of innocent till proven guilty. If, as you and the other teams believe, it is correct to sanction someone on purely hearsay and speculation without proof then the sport is really in a desperate way.
We do not see FIFA running to sanction clubs or players because somebody said they saw them in a doctors office. Yet all these cyclists (who are amongst the most tested athletes in the world) have had their careers trashed.
Whilst I applaud CSC & T-Mobile for their very public stance, I also applaud Discovery & Tinkoff for their belief in the most basic of human rights.
Peter
Brisbane, Australia
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Armstrong's credibility #5
Following his retirement, I questioned Armstrong's ability to face a world in which he could no longer dominate the world of cycling. I also wondered how, with his continued involvement in the Discovery team, he would cope with the strong possibility that in 2006 Discovery would most likely not make the podium of the Tour.
How convenient then were the revelations on the eve of the Tour that prevented the best two cyclists in the world from starting the event - leaving the door a little more open for the 'clean' Discovery team?
And if Discovery could not take advantage of this (as we all witnessed) there was always the trump card available - the inevitable fact that Basso's relations with Riis and CSC would deteriorate leading to a parting of company. Basso with a number of years ahead of him and with no 'legal' reasons standing in the way of being contracted by Discovery will now go on to keep Armstrong's team 'in power' at the worlds biggest bike race.
If this is hard to swallow consider the Floyd Landis situation. From media stories it was widely accepted that Armstrong could not tolerate any of his support team wanting to further their careers by 'defecting', indeed it was reported that Lance considered Landis a traitor and we all know what happens to traitors.
I have never been a fan of conspiracy theories but it seems that there is only one winner stemming from the Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis situations?
Darren Earp
Leicester, UK
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Armstrong's credibility #6
I don’t know why anyone would be surprised about Armstrong supporting a rider who is under the suspicion of doping and/or under investigation for doping but has not had a shred of evidenced actually produced that he is doping.
Armstrong has been in that situation his entire career. If the same double standards were applied during Armstrong’s reign as Tour champion he would have had to be suspended every single year.
Let’s see, Michele Ferrari, L’Equipe, etc. What’s different with this Operation Puerto? I think that Discovery Channel and Armstrong have made a very clear (and I believe correct) statement about the media hyped rubbish.
This is all madness. Basso is either guilty or he is not, but until his racing licence is suspended he should be competing at the level he is capable of, and with a team that can support him at that level. Same goes for Ullrich, Bettini, Boonen, Hincapie or anybody else. Let the boys race!
Rusty Mark
Monday, December 18, 2006
Armstrong's credibility #7
Does Lance Armstrong's advocacy for the signing of Ivan Basso smell a little off? Do those seven consecutive Tour victories? My answers are ‘maybe’ and ‘probably’. But is anyone out there as astounded as I am about the cycling fraternity's willingness to look the other way regarding the hypocrisy of Holczer, Riis, and a German team (Telekom/T-Mobile) that for a decade employed a convicted drug-user as team leader?
Without question, cycling needs to clean up its act, and NOW, but hair-splitting about who smells worse when everybody shares variations of the same stink is unproductive. Scapegoats don't absolve anyone else of guilt; they serve to highlight the hypocrisy and self-serving nature of those who remain. Moreover, scapegoating at the expense of a rider's legal rights, including due process, is shameful.
Regarding lawyers and their place in all this mess, believe me, the kinds of due process violations we began to see starting with the Operation Puerto incident and its continuing fallout, including the stiffing of unconvicted riders like Carlos Garcia Quesada, will provide plenty of work for all of them.
Kurt Bauer
Austin TX
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
American culture
America is a culture that does promote a win at any cost, no holds barred attitude. Sadly in the last 20 years we have gone from being a country that had some standing in the world as a country that believed in doing things in an ethical way, to a nation that has deteriorated into doing anything for a buck, or for a profit, or for gain because you can.
I don’t know if the hiring of Basso by Discovery Channel has any real significance one way or another here, except that it is a reflection of the America culture, and not a leading edge indicator of where we are at. If you want a leading edge indicator of our decline as a moral nation you might look at the way we have trashed the Geneva Convention lately, or mislead the world on the real intentions for invading Iraq. Discovery Channel hiring Ivan Basso is nothing more than a minor reflection of a society that has gone terribly wrong
Christopher Rehm
Expatrate, living in Europe
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Bjarne's ignorance factor
Dear Ryan,
No offense, but maybe it is you who should get to know Europe a little better. It is that elusive place where a good 2,000 years ago some smart folks came up with the principle called presumption of innocence. Athens, Sparta and Rome all had it written in their laws, something that cannot be said of the U.S.A.
The constitution makes no explicit mention of it. And please, please, please, let's not get started on the U.S. justice system. The truth is that in the U.S. people have been executed with less evidence than there is against Basso - and I don't consider him guilty by any stretch of the imagination.
Thomas Richter
Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour
I think everyone is missing the point here with regards to this drug story, nobody has been proven guilty, and how can we suspend somebody when there is no proof? How can we stop somebody riding on speculation? What is going to stop teammates from blabbing about another teammate supposedly doing drugs? Has anyone ever thought about teammates sabotaging their mates drink bottles?
Jealousy is one big green devil… What happened to innocent until proven guilty? This code of ethics rule gives every Tom, Dick and Harry a weapon to go out and spread rumors about any rider they feel is way too good. Cyclist careers are being ruined over speculation, it’s been 6 months since the Tour de France and the public has seen nothing in the way of evidence but riders are being sacked on speculation, has everyone lost their marbles?
Jan Ulrich one of the best cyclists of all time can’t ride, this is absolutely ridiculous, let him ride, let him ride until proof can be shown, the media has totally stripped this man of everything, it’s absolute madness, what has happened to the sane man what has happened to democracy?
Craig Ogilvy
Cape Town, South Africa
Friday, December 15, 2006
Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour #2
I have been following cycling for four years and believe it is a great sport. I also have followed soccer since I was a kid, and played the sport until I was injured - now I ride.
Like all great sports, spectators expect nothing but the best show that the athletes can provide. This means that the pressure is very high on these guys. The way I see it, the problem starts from the top of the ladder, e.g. the organizers of the races, the UCI and the IPCT representatives, and it is all about the money - and where money is involved, honesty does not exist.
How is money made? Through ratings – but, if ratings are low advertisers will not invest in the sport. If they do not invest in the sport, teams begin to loose sponsorships and they cannot afford to pay the riders. And if you ask me, sponsors, advertisers, television networks, and other media should invest in the sport for the glory and greatness of the sport - not to make money on these great athletes.
So, people need to open their eyes and realize that if they (riders) do not perform to spectators’ expectations, the sport will start losing popularity. Therefore, these guys are forced to perform to the extreme.
I can barely begin to imagine what these athletes go through for one day races, never mind 21 stage tours. While the words “if you do not perform, you’re fired” may not be stated overtly, it’s implied. This problem exists in all sports worldwide. Under these circumstances, it’s not surprising that some of the riders succumb to the pressures and use poor judgment.
R Valladares
San Carlos, CA
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Operation Puerto and the UCI
Now I see this differently. All we’ve seen from Operation Puerto so far is a lot of unsubstantiated rumour involving the names of dogs and other curiosities. The UCI and WADA for their own political reasons jumped up and down and lashed out in all directions at cycling.
FIFA have presumably said, ‘hang on, let’s wait for the real data before we do anything’. In my opinion a much more sensible attitude.
Chris Whiley
Friday, December 15, 2006
Operation Puerto and the UCI #2
As a lifelong cyclist, racer, and industry employee, I feel that the efforts to “clean up” our sport have been so disorganized and haphazard that there is no chance for them to succeed. All we have gained is a black eye in the public opinion forum. No other sport seems to be making the same public efforts to rid itself of ‘cheaters’. Our attempts have not made the sport any more appealing to future stars or their parents, and by that measure, they have failed completely.
There has to be a coherent high level management of this effort from the operational steps through to the public communications about the state of affairs. Other sports take measures to cure some of their internal problems, and some measure of that effort is done out of the public forum. The successful ones announce the results, not the scandals. If we focused on the results we are all hoping the UCI and other bodies can achieve as opposed to the crucification of this week’s fallen star, we may actually get something done and preserve our future.
As adults we need to admit that the money involved in professional athletics makes the allure of doping, enhancement, and any other method for getting an edge appealing to athletes. Balancing the desires of coaches, owners and personal egos can be too much for many mere mortal athletes. I am sure they did not all start off on the doping path, and I wonder if the team directors are equally guilty for not correctly managing their athletes. If we fined managers and or owners for every athlete infraction the urgency to take corrective action would most likely be more apparent.
Mike Gann
Tempe, AZ, USA
Friday, December 15, 2006
Recent letters pages
Letters 2006
- 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
- 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
