Category: cycling

cycling

Livestrong’s legacy and Lance Armstrong

Posted on by Beau Dure

A thoughtful espnW roundtable on Lance Armstrong raised a good question: How valuable is Livestrong, anyway?

(One question needs to be addressed: One participant says people might see Livestrong Park and wonder where the funds are going. But unless the reporting is wrong, the funds are going to other way.)

The roundtable links to this Outside magazine story from earlier in the year that questioned a lot of Livestrong’s practices, from its strong-arm approach to the media to the nebulous emphasis on “awareness.” The latter is turning into a hot topic in cancer charities these days — is it time to put away the ribbons and pick up some lab microscopes?

But the Outside piece, while occasionally blunt, is fair. It doesn’t shy away from the good that Livestrong has done.

The more official watchdogs — Charity Navigator, Charity Watch and the Better Business Bureau — give Livestrong good grades.

Then you get to the intangibles. How many people were inspired by Armstrong’s recovery? How many people found hope through Livestrong?

Time will tell if any of those intangibles translate to numbers.

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cycling

Lance Armstrong case: Random things you should know

Posted on by Beau Dure

Questions and answers about the massive Lance Armstrong case file the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released yesterday:

1. Is the case over?

Technically, no. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says the International Cycling Federation has 21 days to consider case, and then WADA has 21 more. See Article 13.2.3 of the World Anti-Doping Code.

WADA can sometimes take a different approach than USADA. See the sad case of skeleton slider Zach Lund, in which USADA gave a warning but WADA took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and got Lund kicked out of the 2006 Olympics.

But the point here is clearly reputation, not whether Armstrong is somehow able to overturn a ban when it’s clear he’s not going to contest it himself.

2. What’s the typical process for a doping case?

Positive test, “B” sample test, then a hearing. If an athlete is punished, he or she can take it to arbitrators — first within the country in question, then the international Court of Arbitration for Sport. USADA’s FAQ (“Adjudication Process”) explains it more clearly than the World Anti-Doping Code.

3. How can someone be banned without a documented test failure?

Ah, back to my old USA TODAY timeline of the BALCO case. How many hours did I devote to this page over the years?

Anyway — in May 2004, sprinter Kelli White became the first athlete with a “non-analytical positive” suspension. That’s a fancy way of saying “punished without a positive test.” White accepted her suspension. Later in 2004, Michelle Collins went through the arbitration process to challenge her “non-analytical positive.” She lost.

(For eerie foreshadowing, note June 16,2004. Marion Jones says she won’t participate in USADA’s “kangaroo court.” Seems we’ve heard similar things recently.)

4. Why now?

This wasn’t a typical USADA case triggered by a positive test, nor was there an anonymous whistle-blower as in many of the BALCO cases. USADA dates its interest in the case back to November 2008, when it had a hearing with accused cyclist Kayle Leogrande (no, I hadn’t heard of him, either). That led to some broader questions about cycling, which led to a common thread with Floyd Landis, the former 2006 Tour de France champion. Landis had fought a doping case from the Tour de France (USADA was not involved with that case, which was in the hands of French authorities) but was now in a mood to be forthcoming. (p. 10)

But USADA heard of a grand jury investigation into the U.S. Postal Service team, which included Landis … and Lance Armstrong. USADA backed off to let federal authorities do their thing. (p. 11)

That investigation ended in February, and USADA stepped up. Interviews took place through the spring. On June 12, USADA told Armstrong et al it was opening a formal action.

That notification was confidential, as are most doping cases until a result is announced — at least from USADA’s perspective. But athletes sometimes go public, and Armstrong did. Then Armstrong sued, essentially claiming USADA didn’t have jurisdiction. Honestly, USADA isn’t going to lose a case like that, and though the judge shook his head at some of USADA’s filings, he concluded that the arbitration process was reasonable.

(Note that three others, including longtime team director Johan Bruyneel, have gone to arbitration as per any other standard case.)

5. Back up to the federal investigation — how much of the USADA evidence is from that investigation?

USADA says it asked but didn’t get any. (p. 3)

6. How many riders were clean during Armstrong’s tenure as Tour de France champion?

Not many. USADA counted 36 doping cases among the 45 podium places from 1996 to 2010. (p. 7 and Appendix K)

And those are just the ones we know. Some people may have gotten away with it.

(Update: But it seems there were at least a few clean riders back in the day, according to this IM exchange. They must have been ticked off.)

7. Was the whole U.S. Postal/Discovery team involved?

One guy, Patrick Jonker, says no. But he admits he was on the “B team,” not in Armstrong’s inner circle.

8. How did Armstrong and his whole team get away with it for so long?

The George Hincapie affidavit says doping tests have improved over the years, so it would be more difficult today but wasn’t so hard a few years ago. Out-of-competition testing, when you’re really more likely to catch people, was rare a few years ago but has been stepped up. (In some years, Armstrong simply didn’t compete much in the events leading up to the Tour.) The USADA case spells out some creative evasive maneuvers.

Oh, and then there’s the witness intimidation.

9. What happens to Sporting Kansas City’s LiveStrong Park?

Nothing, KC exec Robb Heineman tells The Guardian (he happened to be in London). “We don’t stick our head in the sand… but it doesn’t change how we feel about the Foundation and the work they do.”

10. Isn’t this all a witch hunt?

What would be the motive?

Um ….

Exactly.

11. Well, what’s the harm? It’s not like people were dying.

Are you sure?

12. So the other guys say they quit?

Yes, and one cyclist, Steve Tilford, calls b.s. But he has made similar claims before, and the rebuttal was strong.

13. Will Armstrong lose his Olympic medal?

Maybe.

14. How did Jimi Hendrix figure into this?

USA TODAY dug that tidbit out. Substitute “EPO” for “Purple Haze.”

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cycling

Lance Armstrong case: Because you have no plans this evening

Posted on by Beau Dure

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has a long release about the Lance Armstrong investigation at its site.

But wait, there’s more.

The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding. …

All of the material will be made available later this afternoon on the USADA website at http://www.usada.org.

So … shall we each take 100 pages and meet back here?

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cycling

Cycling vs. Floyd Landis: Can Swiss court really tell him what to say?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Guess which of the following Floyd Landis is explicitly forbidden to say about the UCI (cycling’s international federation), Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen, according to a Swiss court ruling (pardon the profanity):

  1. They’ve taken bribes.
  2. They delayed publication of a positive test by Alberto Contador.
  3. They burned LiveStrong bracelets at a cocktail party.
  4. They concealed doping cases.
  5. They’re terrorists.
  6. They’re just like Gaddafi.
  7. They’re responsible for the international economy crashing.
  8. They’re bigger than Jesus.
  9. They load the dice.
  10. They stack the deck.
  11. They’re full of shit.
  12. They have no regard for the rules.

Correct answer: All but 3, 7, 8 and 10. See the ruling for yourself.

Now guess where Landis has to publish a retraction of claims against the UCI and others at his own expense — it doesn’t specify standard ad rate or advertorial deal.

  1. The Wall Street Journal
  2. USA TODAY
  3. The Onion
  4. L’Equipe
  5. Le Temps (Switzerland)
  6. NYVelocity.com
  7. Velo News
  8. Cycling News
  9. De Volksrant (Netherlands)
  10. Velonation

Correct answer: All but USA TODAY and The Onion.

We’d need a lawyer to tell us if, say, NYVelocity.com is compelled to take a Landis retraction. That’s not an idle question. NYVelocity is taking up a defense fund for journalist Paul Kimmage, who faces a similar suit in Swiss court.

“But the only cyclist I know is Lance Armstrong,” you say. “What does this mean to him?”

It means that you might want to be careful about accusing the UCI of covering up a positive test for Armstrong. So in a tangential sense, it’s a “win” for Armstrong, but a slight one.

Landis did not contest the case. Kimmage’s case is due in court in December.

Can any lawyers tell us what Switzerland plans to do if Landis decides paying back the “Floyd Fairness Fund” donations are a higher priority than paying for ads in all these publications?

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cycling

Challenging places to ride a bicycle

Posted on by Beau Dure

From the “things I would do if I were in better shape” department, world-class mountain biker Jeremiah Bishop has produced an entertaining look at a beautiful ride in the Appalachians. Love the scenery, but I could feel my legs aching just by looking at it.

From the “things I might considering doing if I were immortal or at least had a support crew for medical and security needs,” British adventurer/filmmaker Dominic Gill toured Egypt with a tandem bike during the country’s upheaval of 2011. Universal Sports will show us the results.

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cycling

Why Lance Armstrong isn’t done with international authorities yet

Posted on by Beau Dure

The short answer: Because his associates’ cases are still active.

And that leads to this:

Translation of Travis Tygart’s interview with L’Équipe « Tour De José.

A few highlights:

– Travis Tygart talks about USADA’s reaction to death threats.

– Again, Tygart says Armstrong could’ve made things a lot easier by cooperating.

– Statute of limitations? Not so simple.

– The L’Equipe interviewer thinks the federal investigation into Armstrong must have stopped because it’s an election year. What?

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cycling, olympic sports, soccer

Monday Myriad: Death threats and pregnancy

Posted on by Beau Dure

The weekly look at stories you may have missed from the world of Olympic sports, MMA, soccer and whatever else pops up this week starts with …

Beach volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings was pregnant during the Olympics. For some people, this is startling news. For soccer fans, it’s a Christie Rampone impression.

Cycling: Philippe Gilbert is your new road race world champion, making a well-timed late breakaway. Germany’s Tony Martin held off the USA’s Taylor Phinney to win the men’s time trial.

Olympic champion Marianne Vos added the women’s road race world title (USA’s Amber Neben was fourth), and Germany’s Judith Arndt won the women’s time trial ahead of the USA’s Evelyn Stevens.

Meanwhile, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart says he has received death threats. Can you guess why? Bet you can.

Soccer (European): They’re in Germany, but they’re American. They play for Hoffenheim, but the stadium’s in Sinsheim. But they can both find the goal — Fabian Johnson and Daniel Williams scored in Bundesliga play this weekend.

Track and field: From today’s Track Super Fan roundup – Matt Centrowitz pulled off an unusual indoor (Millrose) and street (Fifth Avenue) mile double this year. And the sport may be hit with some labor strife.

Curling: Three events, two titles and an 18-2 record for a team of Olympic vets: Erika Brown, Debbie McCormick, Jessica Schultz and Ann Swissheim.

Cricket: Unseeded Ireland was knocked out of the World Twenty20 tournament when their match against West Indies was rained out after West Indies posted a higher net run rate in their previous match, which was decided on the Duckworth-Lewis table after rain interrupted Australia’s innings with Australia posting a higher run rate than West Indies but not so much higher that the net run rate between West Indies and Ireland … no, this doesn’t make any sense.

England got absolutely thrashed in their second match, getting bowled out for 80 to lose to India by 90 runs. They had already advanced to the next round, but that hurts.

Archery: The USA’s Brady Ellison finished second in the World Cup Final but won the season prize for scoring the most 10s.

MMA: UFC 152 was a terrific card. So why is Dana White in such a feisty mood? And what’s up with yet another injury in a main event (this time in UFC corporate sibling Strikeforce)?

And this week’s recap of The Ultimate Fighter:

– Looks like a new house or possibly a heavily renovated house, though they still cram several beds into one room. A laughing Igor Araujo provided the best summary of TUF existence in the show’s history: “This is the best place that I’ve lived in my life. I wish I could bring my wife and my two kids here and then could stay here forever. But with those guys, I just want to stay the six weeks and leave.”

– To illustrate the point, Matt Secor and Julian Lane start showing their peacock fighters. Lane’s Mohawk is turning pink. Secor says that’s like (bleep). Lane says it’s the color of (bleep). Secor says it’s really the color of (bleep). I have no idea whether to be offended. Later, they turn to more traditional fare like who fared worse in his prelim. Secor got beat up a bit but finished his fight. Lane is proud he wasn’t marked up. Lane thinks Secor has run his mouth. The rest is bleeped. (Oh, and they happen to sleep next to each other.)

– Lane and Colton Smith pulled a pretty good flour-over-the-door prank. All well and good, but Colton Smith somehow tied it into team-building exercises in the military. After that segment came an ad with Marines “running toward the sound of despair.”

– Michael Hill and Mike Ricci are buddies. Ricci says he can’t have conversations with others because they’re not at the same level mentally. That’ll go over well.

– Shane Carwin reads his academic resume (two advanced scientific degrees), and that somehow leads to his accomplished coaching staff of Trevor Wittman, Pat Barry and others. Barry is one of the funniest guys in the UFC — can he get some screen time? In general, Carwin is taking the Georges St. Pierre approach of assembling an all-star team of coaches and letting them be the experts. Carwin went a step farther and let his assistants do the cornering during the fight.

– Roy Nelson, who has been through TUF as a fighter, doesn’t want to do two-a-days. They’re going to train in the afternoon because that’s when they’ll fight. Some of the fighters are a little surprised to have such an easy schedule. Shocked, even.

– Nelson made a puzzling fight announcement. Neil Magny looked great in his prelim. Cameron Diffley is a jiu-jitsu expert. Nelson thinks Magny was in tough spots that Diffley can exploit. Carwin and his fighters think Nelson blundered. Bristol Marunde doesn’t like Nelson’s pick, Nelson’s diet, Nelson’s hair, Nelson’s beard … we get it, dude.

– Meet Neil Magny! Used to get in trouble a lot, then joined the Army and did the combatives program.

– Meet Cameron Diffley! He became a teacher before he became a fighter, and he grew up in the fight capital of the world. Now he’s the student, as Colton Smith tries to work on his wrestling.

– The fight always looked like it would go Magny’s way. In the prefight hype, Diffley sounded like a guy who had studied a bunch of stuff that could work in theory. Magny sounded like a confident fighter who had been well-drilled on how to avoid Diffley’s jiu-jitsu.

– Round 1: Three minutes of Magny looking much sharper on the feet, despite Diffley’s half-decent leg kicks. Then two minutes of Diffley nearly submitting Magny on the ground, transitioning quickly between a couple of submission attempts and threatening a kneebar for a while.

– Round 2: Magny came out strong, then foolishly dropped to the mat with Diffley, who threatened a heel hook. Magny finally got the message that he didn’t want to give Diffley any openings, and he simply jabbed at Diffley the rest of the way, standing up as quickly as possible when Diffley got him to the mat again.

Not the smartest fight. Easy to pick on Nelson for the fight pick, but Magny spent far too much time in the danger zone. It easily could’ve gone to the sudden-victory round, but judges rarely give submission attempts the respect they deserve. Unanimous decision for Magny.

WEEK AHEAD

Golf: It’s Ryder Cup time.

Australian rules football: It’s Grand Final time.

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cycling, general sports

Weekend picks: Cycling, cricket and golf championships … of sorts

Posted on by Beau Dure

Three events this weekend are “championships” that are overshadowed by other events in their sports. One common thread: All three are condensed versions of sports that have longer, fairer tests of skill.

Cycling: We’ve already had three three-week tours (in men’s cycling, at least) as well as the Olympics. Pending future doping developments, we have a Tour de France champion and several Olympic medalists. So now we crown world champions?

A one-day race doesn’t tell you that much, anyway. Perhaps a breakaway gets lucky. Perhaps a sprinter sees a rival caught up in traffic and pounces to take the win. Maybe an uphill finish favors climbers. Over the course of a Grand Tour, many of these things even out, and the yellow and green jerseys are well-deserved.

But the good news: Cyclists still care about the world titles at stake, and that means we’ll see the best fields since the Olympics. Universal Sports

Cricket: Twenty20 cricket has caught on in the 10 years or so since its introduction, mostly because people can see all the action without investing an entire day or more. If you see big crowds at England’s county cricket four-day matches, the economy is either in amazing shape or in the toilet. Purists don’t like it because it takes away a lot of the game’s tactics. No room for defensive, game-prolonging shots here. Swing, swing away.

Maybe the top Test-playing country is the best team in the world, and maybe the World Cup (one-day, but 2.5 times longer than Twenty20) has more history. But this is fan-friendly. ESPN3

Golf: Here’s the event that needs a change. The Tour Championship takes place well after all the majors — this year, it’s also right before the Ryder Cup. And it’s all based on a yearlong points competition, anyway, so the tournament includes a lot of extraneous math.

Why not make it like combined sports at the Olympics (Nordic combined, modern pentathlon)? Convert the points to strokes. If you’re 500 points behind, you’re five strokes behind. Best score at the end of tournament is the season winner. Golf Channel/NBC

Also this weekend: Plenty of good soccer matchups, UFC 152 and a college water polo game you should watch just because Michael Hiestand was snarky about it.

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cycling, olympic sports, soccer, tennis

Monday Myriad: Here comes the soccer deluge

Posted on by Beau Dure

The Monday Myriad is a little delayed this week for a few reasons. Today was a big day for parenting and youth soccer stuff. Also — there’s not a whole heck of a lot going on.

If you have any interest whatsoever in soccer, though, that’s about to change.

Here’s a quick look at what has happened and what’s about to happen:

Tennis: The USA was simply overwhelmed against Spain in the Davis Cup finals. Spain is so good in soccer and tennis … how about soccer tennis?

Meanwhile, Venus Williams led the Washington Kastles to the World Team Tennis title.

Women’s soccer: You surely know the U.S. women came back to beat Australia 2-1 over the weekend. The U.S. players take a few minutes to get the competitive fire burning in these friendlies, so nothing about the game was surprising except for Lisa de Vanna’s marvelous goal.

To give something unique here, check out the Australian perspective.

And something from August that may not have gotten much attention: Shannon Boxx, who scored the game-winner Sunday, wrote an opinion piece for Politico about living with lupus — and what Congress can do about the disease.

Olympic sports: Mostly lower-level stuff this week, with some U.S. prospects looking sharp in figure skating and field hockey. The toughest competition was probably the women’s wrestling team selection for the upcoming World Championships.

COMING UP

Champions League: As the league kicks off, FoxSoccer’s Leander Schaerlaeckens examines the upheaval among Europe’s power clubs, mostly a function of clubs that are shaky economic ground and those that have owners with bottomless wallets.

And if you’re used to buying Four Four Two or World Soccer for your Champions League capsules, you might want to check ESPNFC first. It’s a lot cheaper.

Cycling: The road World Championships will surely favor whichever cyclists can find anything left in their legs after the Grand Tours and the Olympics.

Archery: Olympians Brady Ellison and Jennifer Nichols have qualified for the eight-archer fields at the Archery World Cup final.

MMA: UFC 152 in Toronto, with Jon Jones defending his title against Vitor Belfort. Or Chael Sonnen. Or whoever. The co-main event might be better — the first UFC flyweight title bout, with Joseph Benavidez against Demetrious Johnson.

Cricket: Twenty20 World Championship! Afghanistan qualified for the tournament. England is the defending world champion. Yes, England.

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cycling

Lance Armstrong: What has been accomplished?

Posted on by Beau Dure

The columns on Lance Armstrong just get nastier and nastier. The LA Times’ Michael Hiltzik actually delves into neo-libertarian bullying, saying if the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s lawyers were any good, they’d have better jobs. (If you feel compelled to retort in personal terms, use any combination of the words “writer,” “J.K. Rowling” and “best-sellers list.” Or, as Chris Farley once put it, “Is that Bill Shakespeare I see over there?”)

Let’s clear up one myth. USADA chief Travis Tygart is being painted as some cross between Inspector Javert and Kenneth Starr. He’s neither. He has evidence that he believes is enough to persuade neutral parties (if any exist) that Lance Armstrong was not totally clean in his Tour wins.

And yet, USA TODAY finds, Armstrong might not have lost all his Tour titles had he cooperated. Not that this is the important part to Armstrong. It’s not about the titles now. It’s his rep.

In any case, USADA’s authority to strip the titles is highly debated. That’s evident even from WADA’s John Fahey in his widely circulated quote: “Olympic medals and titles are for other agencies to decide, not WADA.” (All of which leads to a brilliant parody: “I Am Stripping the USA Women’s National Soccer Team of Their Gold Medals!”)

And so we raise the question: What has been accomplished here?

I’m late getting to a couple more good reads on the topic:

– Bonnie D. Ford, ESPN: “As many critics have correctly suggested, the majority of other men who populated the podiums in that era are suspect, as well, so what good would it do to reshuffle the standings and refit the yellow jerseys? Cycling in those years is rapidly approaching the point of no-there-there, unless we co-sign the cynical premise that doping was so endemic that the playing field was level anyway.”

– Jim Caple, ESPN: “We must test. But we also must draw a line somewhere. And going after athletes for something they might have done seven to 13 years ago clearly crosses that line. Stripping Armstrong of his titles does far more harm than good. USADA should have let this one go. The agency exists to police sports, not destroy them.”

– And a powerful, personal read from the WSJ’s Jason Gay, usually seen unleashing his wit on Twitter: “There will always be the moral relativists, outraged by outrage. There will always be those who point to the epidemic of doping, and wonder if the playing field was merely leveled. Don’t be naive, they say—sports is about the furious pursuit of an edge. In full arc of Armstrong’s story, doesn’t the good outweigh any allegation? That latter argument is not an abstraction to me. More than 10 years ago, I got a cancer diagnosis. From the start, doctors assured me it was quickly treatable, and it proved to be. But it was still frightening.”

I’m not comfortable calling myself an Armstrong apologist or even saying that it doesn’t matter. (Another clunker in that LAT column: “These pitchers are taking testosterone. Is that worse than hitters getting Lasik?” Yes. The technical counterargument for comparing routine eye surgery with screwing up your body to make it more susceptible to cancers and other ugliness would be “Duh.”) But I’m not going to discount the good Armstrong has done, even if it’s ironic that he’s so much better loved outside his sport than within it.

Armstrong isn’t Joe Paterno. It’s not a question of whether a lifetime of good work can be undone by a shocking secret of horrifying negligence. We’re talking about someone who, at the very least, played within the bounds of what he knew cycling could reasonably test.

So don’t make Armstrong the spokesman of the new wave of clean cyclists. Aside from that, what else can we say about him at this point?

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