First Edition Cycling News, March 7, 2008Edited by Laura Weislo & Greg Johnson, with assistance from Susan Westemeyer UCI launches anti-doping foundation
Cycling's international governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has formally launched its Anti-Doping Foundation. The foundation, which was approved in principal at the UCI Management Committee's meeting in Treviso, Italy during January, is aimed at increasing the resources available to the anti-doping campaign. Governed by Swiss legislation, the foundation's board is chaired by UCI president Pat McQuaid. Also on the board is Denmark's Messrs Peder Pedersen, France's Daniel Baal, Protugal's Artur Lopes and South African George Ruijsch Van Dugteren. The foundation has been allocated a budget of 5 million Euro per year, which will be used to optimise the practical and scientific aspects of the UCI's anti-doping activities by developing new synergies. To ensure transparency of the organization a contributors' committee has been established, which will be spearheaded by former Tour de France second in charge Daniel Baal. The former ASO employee will be joined by yet to be named representative from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), organisers, teams, riders and other parties. The organization has already held its first meeting where an assessment of the UCI's "100% against doping" programme, now three quarters complete, showed it had completed 4,367 in-competition and 1,077 out-of-competition tests. Since the introduction of the biological passport system this season 464 unannounced out-of-competition tests have been conducted. The UCI Anti-Doping Foundation will have its headquarters at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. UCI Anti-Doping Department manager Anne Gripper will coordinate the foundation's activities, assisted by seven full-time members of staff. A release from the UCI reported that riders from 14 teams are providing information on their whereabouts under the ADAMS programme (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System). It said the procedure has been streamlined by the introduction of a SMS update function. Newton's worlds hopes get 'doored'By Gerry McManus British track rider Chris Newton's chance to ride in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester this month dissappeared today after the 34 year-old crashed while he was out training near his home in Oldham, Manchester. Newton was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Newton was expected to ride in the men's point's race and the men's team pursuit in the World Championships in Manchester 26th to 30th March. Newton's team manager John Herety confirmed the crash. "Appparently a driver opened his car door on Chris when he was out training this morning," said Herety. "Fortunately Chris has already qualified for points race at the Olympics through his World Cup results but it he will very dissappointed about not riding in the World Championships." Danish Tour's route released
Tour of Denmark organizers have launched the 18th edition of the Danish event, releasing the event's route and a list of some teams invited to contest the event. Some 128 riders and 16 teams will contest this year's race from July 30 to August 3. The race consists of six stages, with the third start from Padborg to Vejle considered the event's queen stage. This year's race will also feature a 15 km Time Trial in Kerteminde, which will play a signification roll in the battle for overall victory. Three Danish Continental Teams will be included in the race, with organizers yet to announce the selection from squads Team GLS Pakke Shop, Team Designa Køkken, Glud & Marstrand Horsens, Team Odense Energi and Team Løgstør - Cycling for Health. There will be one more team announced for the event, which is expected to be either a ProTour or Professional Continental outfit. Stages: Teams: Team CSC, Liquigas, Team High Road, Silence-Lotto, Team BarloWorld, Team Slipstream, CFS Group - Navigare, Topsport Vlaanderen, Team Elk Haus, Skil Shimano, Landbouwkrediet Tönissteiner and Team Post Danmark. PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by www.cyclingworld.dk
Driedaagse van De Panne presents course, teamsThe Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde presented its route and line-up of teams on Thursday morning. The three-day race features two half-stages on the last day, as well as a 228 kilometre long second stage after the traditional 192 kilometre opener on Tuesday, April 1 from the casino in Middelkerke to Zottegem. The marathon second stage from Zottegem to Koksijde was once again included at the request of riders wishing to log more training miles in advance of the spring classics. "We have not modified our concept," said race director Bernard Van De Kerckhove, according to belga. "At the request of various riders and team directors we have a long stage on the seocnd day. Many teams even train further after this stage in order to approach the 260 km of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, which is held the following Sunday." Thursday features a 192 km half stage in the morning and a 13.7 km time trial in the afternoon, both of which start and finish in De Panne. 23 teams will take part, including 11 ProTour teams; Lampre, Rabobank, Astana, Liquigas, Saunier Duval, Quick Step, Milram, Silence-Lotto, Bouygues Telecom, Francaise des Jeux, and High Road. The remaining teams are Slipstream-Chipotle, Mitsubishi-Jartazi, Barloworld, Landbouwkrediet, Topsport Vlaanderen, Cycle-Collstrop, Elk Haus, Skil-Shimano, Tinkoff, PSK Whirlpool, Volksband, and Acqua & Sapone. Georgia parcours comes into focus
Organizers for the Tour de Georgia released a few more details to the 2008 edition of the race. As previously reported, the race this year will include the first-ever team time trial in the race's five year history. In the latest route announcement, organizers revealed an increase in the amount of climbing that the riders will face. “The route this year will continue to challenge the best cyclists in the world over varied terrain," said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports and Event Director for the Tour de Georgia. "It will provide thousands of race fans a chance to see many new beautiful parts of Georgia." Beyond starting for the first time off the coast of Georgia, on Tybee Island near Savannah, the second stage from Statesboro to Augusta will bring the race across state lines into South Carolina for the first time. This will also present riders with a KOM far earlier in the tour than in previous editions, which usually stayed in the flatter central and western parts of the state. Following the stage four team time trial on the auto racing course Road Atlanta, the fifth stage will see a marked increase in the amount of climbing. Usually a day full of KOMs, the race will have a new start in Suwanee and travel north to the frequent finish town of Dahlonega. The change of direction from the previous eastward direction of the stage will add a new parcours and include new KOMs up Burnt and Crown mountains. Stage five is also the longest stage at 214.7km. The queen stage finishing atop Brasstown Bald mountain is back again and will follow similar routes to previous years. The tour finishes again with a circuit race in downtown Atlanta, but will utilize a new course compared to the previous two Atlanta courses. Neben, others sue Hammer Nutrition over contaminationMark Zalewski, North American Editor
American cyclist Amber Neben, along with professional triathletes Rebekah Keat and Mike Vine, filed a lawsuit in a California district court last December against Hammer Nutrition, maker of Endurolytes. The lawsuit alleges that the product contained unlisted substances that caused all three plaintiffs to produce positive doping tests, and that further resulted in subsequent doping violations and sanctions. Court documents obtained by Cyclingnews state that each plaintiff took multiple capsules of the product Endurolytes before competing in events in which each subsequently tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of the banned steroid norandrostenedione found in urine. Arguing for the plaintiffs is Howard Jacobs, well known for his work with Floyd Landis' case as well as other professional athletes involved with doping violations. The lawsuit, which was initiated by Keat and her twin-sister Simone, states that Simone had the capsules in question independently tested by the WADA-accredited Doping Control Centre lab in Malaysia in June of 2006, all before retaining Jacobs. That lab reported to Keats that the capsules contained dehydroepiandrosterone and 4-androstenedione. Upon further examination, after repeated requests by Keat, the lab also found the samples were contaminated with norandrostenedione. Keats retained Jacobs and the capsules were sent for testing at a different lab, Anti-Doping Research, Inc., a non-profit research organization started by Don Catlin, the founder of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory. Vine and Neben then joined the suit, but their actual capsules were not available for testing. Neben's positive violation came from the 2003 Montreal world cup race while she was racing for T-Mobile, which at the time was also run as the USA Cycling Women's Development Team, headed by Mike Engleman. Hammer Nutrition supplied Engleman and the team with product. Neben took a voluntary suspension before being handed a six-month, reduced sanction. The reduced sanction from a possible two years to six months came from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, along with a strong criticism of USAC by the majority, citing supplement contamination as the likely cause of the positive and chastising USAC for "encouraging the use of supplements, including Hammer Nutrition products..." which "underscored the total disregard for the warnings USADA and IOC have issued for years." To read the full feature, click here. Sinkewitz, German federation drop appealsThe ruling against Patrik Sinkewitz has been accepted by both parties and they have both dismissed their appeals of his one-year suspension, the German cycling federation (Bund Deutsche Radfahrer, BDR) announced Thursday. Sinkeiwtz tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition control before the Tour de France last summer, and was given an reduced suspension of one year because he cooperated with investigators. Both the BDR and the 27 year-old appealed the sentence in January. "Patrik Sinkewitz, who has accepeted his responsibility and cooperated by telling what he knew, can now use this is a basis to look for a new employer," said BDR General Secretary Martin Wolf. Astana, Quick Step for West-VlaanderenProTour teams Astana and Quick Step have announced their respective rosters for the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, or Three Days of West Flanders, this week. Luxembourg squad Astana will be missing two important riders, with Tomas Vaitkus unable to compete due to a viral infection while Australian rider Aaron Kemps is suffering from tendinitis in his right knee. The Belgian race commences today with a stage from Kortrijk to Bellegem and runs through to Sunday, where the event will conclude in Ichtegem. Astana roster: Assan Bazayev, Koen de Kort, Sergei Ivanov, Berik
Kupeshov, Dmitriy Muravjev, Gregory Rast and Michael Schär. Tour of Wessex cancelledBy Matthew Cole, BikeRadar.com The UK's Tour of Wessex Premier Calendar road race which was due to take place in May has been cancelled. The Tour of Wessex Cyclosportive, however, will still go ahead. British Cycling and cycling event organiser Pendragon Sports Ltd have been working together to overcome objections from Somerset Highways and Avon and Somerset Police in the hope that the race could still go ahead, possibly on a simplified route, but these negotiations have been unsuccessful. British Cycling will submit a report to the Department for Culture Media and Sport later this month in order to allow sport on the roads to flourish. BC is also working with the Home Office so that trained volunteers can be granted accredited powers to stop and direct traffic during a sanctioned event. (All rights reserved/Copyright Future Publishing Limited 2008) |
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