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Tuesday's EuroFile: Prudhomme: 'Hurry it up, already'; world's track almost ready
Tour de France officials are frustrated over the slow progress of the Floyd Landis disciplinary case and are looking at the very likely prospect that the case won’t be resolved before the start of the 2007 Tour.
Speaking to the Spanish daily AS during a break at the Tour of Qatar, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme deplored the slow pace of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Asked if he expects the case to be resolved before the July 7 start in London, Prudhomme replied, “Unfortunately, I am afraid not. "
“It’s the same thing that happened to the Vuelta a España with Denis Menchov,” he continued. “[USADA] won’t meet until the first days of March to study the Landis case. That’s too much time. The situation is unbearable. March?! … So much delay is not good for the Tour, for Oscar Pereiro, for Caisse d’Epargne or for cycling. It’s not good for anyone.”
Landis won last year’s Tour, but could see his title stripped as well as a two-year racing ban after revealing an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in urine tests taken after his dramatic comeback in stage 17. Results from Landis’ test showed a ratio of 11-to-1, whereas a normal adult male produces epitestosterone at the same level as testosterone. The World Anti-Doping Code sets the level to trigger a positive result at 4-to-1. Follow-up tests, relying on sophisticated technique relying on carbon isotopes showed signs that some of the testosterone in Landis’ body came from external sources. Landis, however, has argued that the samples were mishandled and that results from the tests are not valid.
Prudhomme insisted the Tour is following appropriate protocol concerning the Landis case, but expressed exasperation at how slowly the wheels of sporting justice have turned in this case. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency director Travis Tygart told VeloNews that he understands Prudhomme's frustration, but noted that setting a hearing date is note entirely within the agency's control.
"Not speaking directly about the Landis case, but in general, we like to move these along as quickly as possible," he said. "In the past we've seen cases - particularly before the Salt Lake Olympics - move from A-sample to appeal within two weeks, but there are often other factors at play, whether it's the complexity of the issues, a change in (an athlete's) counsel or whatever, that keeps a case from moving into the hearing phase as quickly as we'd like. Our rule is to ensure that we have a hearing within three months of the formation of the panel."
Meanwhile, Prudhomme shot down suggestions made last year in the French media that Oscar Pereiro wouldn’t be named the outright winner if Landis fails in his bid to clear his name.
“The Tour doesn’t make exceptions. There are the rules. The disappointment is that we are going to know the winner of the 2007 Tour before we knew who won in 2006. Horrible!” he said. “We don’t know why the wait is so long. In the road book, when we have to print the names of the winner, maybe this year we are obliged to leave the name of the winner blank. What else can we do?”
Prudhomme also said Pereiro should have his “ears tweaked” after failing to provide French authorities with proper documentation proving he had UCI permission to take asthma medication.
A media firestorm erupted earlier this month after medical records leaked to the French daily Le Monde revealed Pereiro showed traces of salbutamol – a banned product prescribed to asthma sufferers – taken in post-race controls after stages 14 and 16 in last year’s Tour.
Pereiro was eventually cleared of any suspicion after he belatedly provided the required documentation.
Concerning the future presence of Ivan Basso and other riders implicated in the Operatión Puerto investigation, Prudhomme expressed prudence.
“The Tour can refuse a rider, but we don’t know what will happen with Ivan, it depends on how the Puerto case evolves as it’s not completed yet,” he said. “We’ve told this to Johan Bruyneel and he understands it.”
Prudhomme also defended the decision to remove Basso and eight other riders for alleged links to the alleged blood doping ring operated out of Spain.
“To end with the cheaters is a question of life and death for cycling and that needs to be understood. Last year we cleaned the race, even though later we had the hard blow of Floyd Landis,” Prudhomme said. “We have to keep going and that’s what we’re going to do, that the winner of the Tour is the outright winner. That cannot happen again.”
Mallorca on track to finish velodrome
Despite worries that a brand-new velodrome wouldn’t be ready in time to host the world track cycling championships in March, officials on Spain’s Mallorca island say the facility will be completed on time. Workers installed a roof in late January on the 5000-seat capacity structure and organizers are expecting to host the Spanish national track championships in early March as a warm-up event for the world’s, set for March 29-April 1.
A dozen riders finally got a look at the track this week and rode on the new boards for the first time. Spanish track star Joan Llaneras was among the riders who got a chance to test the velodrome.
“My first impression is very good,” he told Spanish reporters. “I cannot say it’s fast or slow because I haven’t had the chance to test it thoroughly. We limited ourselves just to a roll without doing anything at full speed. The boards look good, but the first time you have to be cautious about falling. This velodrome is unique. There’s not another one that reminds me of this one.”
Delays in construction forced officials to postpone the Spanish nationals from February to March, but the world championships are expected to go off without a hitch. UCI president Pat McQuaid toured the construction site earlier this month and assured that the velodrome “will be ready for the world’s, there’s no doubt about that.” “The velodrome is a magnificent structure, not only on a local level, but at the international level as well,” McQuaid said. “It’s going to be one of the most modern and advanced in the world with the best installations possible.”
Big names heading to Mallorca
While work continues on the velodrome, some of the biggest names in the road peloton are signed on for the five-day Mallorca Challenge next month Feb. 11-15. Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears will hold a team training camp ahead of the annual kickoff to the Spanish racing calendar, with ProTour champion Alejandro Valverde and Tour de France runner-up Oscar Pereiro expected to hold court. A total of 20 teams with 11 ProTour teams are signed on for the series of one-day races held back to back but without accumulative times, meaning riders can jump and out of “stages” without being penalized. Others expected to line up include Tour of Qatar leader Tom Boon (Quick Step-Innergetic), three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank), Erik Zabel (Milram), Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner), Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas).
Rabobank hops on DNA bandwagon
Riders of the Rabobank professional cycling team have been told by manager Theo de Rooij they will have to provide DNA samples to be used in the fight against doping, Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Tuesday.
De Rooij’s letter to the riders, and reproduced by De Telegraaf, said they must provide “a sample of their body tissue, allowing the identification of their DNA, which can be given to any legal body or doping commission, for either current or future cases, so that authorities can use it in judicial inquiries and legal proceedings.”
The riders will have three days to provide their DNA sample after a request to the team from judicial or disciplinary bodies.
The Rabobank manager said: “For team members, as well as the international association for professional cyclists (AIGCP), it is very important to show that all is being done to eradicate this gangrene (doping) which attacks the credibility of professional cycling.”
Cofidis counts on Nuyens; Farrar back
France’s Cofidis team unveiled its roster for the 2007 ProTour season with new Belgian recruit Nick Nuyens at its helm. The Former Quick Step rider is one of eight new faces at Cofidis who are out to better their one stage win in last year's Tour de France.
“We should have won four or five,” said Eric Boyer, in his second year as the team's general manager. “Last year was one of rebuilding. This year we're moving a stage further with important objectives.”
Aside from the 26-year-old Nuyens Cofidis will be counting on the likes of David Moncoutie, for whom last season was pretty much a write-off after a fall, Sylvain Chavanel, Rik Verbrugghe and Swiss cyclist Steve Zampieri. Second-year pro Tyler Farrar will be seeing more racing action this year after a successful debut last season that saw him tackle some challenging ProTour races after battling through a broken collarbone in the spring. Cofidis for 2007
Stephane Auge (F)
Frederic Bessy (F)
Mickael Bufffaz (F)
Sylvain Chavanel (F)
Herve Duclos-Lassalle (F)
Nicolas Hartmann (F)
Maryan Hary (F)
Yann Huguet (F)
Geoffroy Lequatre (F)
Sebastien Minard (F)
Amael Moinard (F)
David Moncoutie (F)
Damien Monier and Tristan Valentin (F)
Kevin De Weert (B)
Maxime Monfort (B)
Nick Nuyens (B)
Staf Scheirlinckx and Rik Verbrugghe (B)
Leonardo Duque (Col)
Ivan Parra (Col)
Michiel Elijzen (Nl)
Mathieu Heijboer (Nl)
Tyler Farrar (USA),
Bingen Fernandez (Sp)
Frank Hoj (Dk)
Cristian Moreni (I)
Chris Sutton (Aus)
Bradley Wiggins (GB)
Steve Zampieri (Swi)
Team registration on rise
The number of women’s and continental teams registered for the 2007 season increased significantly from last year, the UCI reported Monday.
The largest gains were seen with the 50 percent jump of women’s teams, rising from 28 in 2006 to 42 in 2007, with four new U.S. teams, two in Poland and one in Russia, Canada and El Salvador, respectively. The number of men’s continental teams also rose by 10 to 135 in 2007.
Women's TeamsContinental Teams
