Around the Web on Wheels: 08.04.07

By Jessica | Permalink | 2 comments | August 4th, 2007 | Trackback

While we wait for the Tour of Germany to begin, here’s a roundup of some recent cycling news.

• Patrik Sinkewitz admitted using the testosterone gel that got him fired from T-Mobile; Samuel Abt has some appropriate words for Sinkewitz after making such a bone-headed mistake (it’s a good article, read the whole thing), and the Gerolsteiner team is considering suing Sinkewitz for helping to create scandals in the Tour which caused financial damage. Oh, and T-Mobile might pull out of sponsoring Sinkewitz’s team entirely. No biggie.
• Rabobank’s team director has stepped down, “in consultation” with the team’s main sponsor, after firing Michael Rasmussen.
• A Danish computer hacker found his way onto Rasmussen’s computer and was trying to sell his emails to a newspaper. Wow, Rasmussen’s troubles just don’t end, do they?
• I’m with C.F.A. on this one - the New Republic should be ashamed for saying that cycling fans actually want the riders to dope.
• After much speculation and articles to the contrary, IOC president Jacques Rogge says cycling is not being excluded from the Olympics.
• Despite this year’s doping scandals at the Tour, the Vuelta organizers have still extended invitations to Team Astana (minus Vino, I imagine) and Relax-Gam (which has riders which were named in the Operacion Puerto investigation). It remains to be seen whether that just bites them in the ass, or further compounds the larger problem.
• In the aftermath of a Tour riddled with doping scandals, Johan Museeuw - himself having served a two-year ban for doping - asks whether “the Tour’s too hard.”
• Organizers of the cycling world championships in Stuttgart this year were waiting to hear from the UCI to know whether or not the event will go ahead as scheduled, but it appears the only difference from previous years to this one will be additional doping controls.
• Rasmussen’s missed doping tests slipped through a loophole in the rules, but the UCI is now working to close that hole. The UCI is also, however, scrapping a rule that would keep any rider who misses a test within 45 days of the start of a Grand Tour from racing in that Tour. Ahem, what?
• Eternal wet blanket Greg LeMond said there shouldn’t be a Tour champion this year at all.
• According to Christian Vande Velde, if Fabian Cancellara’s cycling career ever peters out, he could make a good living in the NBA. Check out the story about Cancellara’s exceptional water bottle throwing arm.
• George Vecsey of the New York Times says that even though cycling might be ahead of other sports in terms of doing something about illegality on the part of its athletes, that’s not much to be proud of. I heartily disagree.
• Apparently Rasmussen actually phoned the Italian reporter who busted him on lying about his June whereabouts to try to get him to retract his statement. There’s a good article excerpt about that phone call here.
• Bringing the Tour back to basics is the only thing that will solve the problem; but will a Tour of national teams be the answer?
• Cycling’s new generation will be the one to usher in changes, I hope. Just looking at the ages of the riders who did well in this year’s Tour is reason enough to think it’s already happening.
• David Millar hopes Bradley Wiggins doesn’t give up on cycling.
• Will this Tour usher in a new era of clean cycling? Or just a clean moment until the next doping scandal?
• The UCI apparently uses “intelligence” to determine which riders are worth watching more closely and testing more often during a race. Recently fired Iban Mayo was apparently one of the riders they were watching.

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