Floyd data online.

[alpinerabbit]

I don't care anymore whether hedidit or not.

after looking at the blatant procedural errors from the lab documents (after Floyd's website is back online), I want him to get off the hook.

[mimitabby]

thanks for posting that. I only read the final report document (powerpoint)
if what she says is what it is, he's been framed!


wow. thanks

[alpinerabbit]

Oh, I would not say "framed".

I would just say a sloppy lab had too much confidence.

But procedural errors are what they are, and they are destroying people's careers, so they should be impeccable in their documentation. Says someone who works in a GMP environment, by the way (good manufacturing practice. we have the thing about not using whiteout as well.)

[chickwhorips]

interesting......

so what does this mean for the flyod landis world?

[wannaduacentury]

[QUOTE=mimitabby;132870]thanks for posting that. I only read the final report document (powerpoint)
if what she says is what it is, he's been framed!

I've had my bets that he was framed all along. I don't trust those labs any further than I can throw them. (Which is a long way across the Atlantic). They still bug the crap out of Lance for the same doping stuff.

[Thorn]

I've watched this one with great interest. As someone who sees conspiracies where conspiracies may not exist , I've been skeptical all along. Add to it the fact that in the last year, anyone who won a grand tour was implicated. Heras from last year's Vuelta, Basso (this year's Giro), and Landis from the Tour. I keep waiting for the shoe to drop on Vino's victory in this year's Vuelta.

I give Landis credit for pushing for public hearings and keeping this in the public light. I hope he is cleared. Yes, doping is wrong, but guilty until proven innocent and, perhaps, in this case witch hunts are just as wrong.

[Bike Goddess]

Thanks for the post. If you look on Landis' site you will also see a thread about the Nickel Mines tragedy.(His community is close by and he knows these people) This gives you the bank where you can send money to help the families. I'll get all that info and post it in a new thread.

[maillotpois]

Wow. Go Arnie. Go Floyd.

I hope it works.

I want to believe.

[tygab]

The witch hunt aspect bothers me to no end. When everything happened before the Tour, I just found myself wondering why would the top riders in the world think they won't be the ones caught, let alone accused, of cheating, having seen what it can do to one's career. In other words, knowing they currently live in a witch hunt environment why would they risk it all? I can even grant that some may risk it, but not *All* the best riders, *all* the time.

But that's really not stating my concern about the process, and it's the lack of trasparency which is what worries me - the riders should at least have the chance to defend themselves, armed with the same information the cycling bodies think they have.

You can add Tyler Hamilton too to your list above, suspended after his gold medal & time trial win at the Vuelta. He has maintained he is innocent all the while serving his suspension, and after getting re-implicated in Puerto. He posts comments on his web site and I would urge anyone to go and read them, as he's continued to train with the intent to return. Here's an excerpt from his latest entry post Puerto:

It's remarkable to everyone involved with this situation, that the media has been given access to the investigation, while the accused have not been afforded the same. It doesn't make any sense to keep the conversation so one-sided.
I also have to wonder how a system that is so well coded that reportedly half of the other cyclists potentially involved can't be named and no other sports can be implicated is being portrayed as so lax and obvious when it comes to allegedly identifying some of the biggest names in cycling.

Given all that has been reported, many of you have been asking for answers and updates, but the truth is that I don't have much to share because little has been shared with me.

What I do know is that these allegations are hurtful and false. It is not clear to me who is translating and alleging these things. I have never even heard of some of the substances listed within these supposed "schedules".

It is also not clear why some riders have been cleared while others are being forced to wait things out. All that does seem clear is that this is not an ordinary investigation.

All of this makes me wonder what it will take to make someone stand up for the riders who represent the heart and soul of cycling. Is there not a lesson in what happened to the Liberty Seguros team? Most of the riders initially implicated from this team have been cleared and Manolo Saiz has not been charged with any crime. Yet, sponsors are lost, names have been tarnished, careers have ended and victories have been taken away. Who will be brave enough to say the riders, the organizers, the sponsors and the fans deserve better? Count me among the first.

I know how it feels to work so hard but feel like you are getting nowhere. I have experienced the incredible happiness of achieving lifetime goals and the sadness of having my accomplishments questioned and opportunities taken away. But at the end of the day that sadness is a motivator, because it can't help but become anger. People used to always tell me I was too "nice" to really succeed at racing and some would even ask me: "are you angry enough to win?" Well, if I wasn't before, I certainly am now.

full comments at http://www.tylerhamilton.com

[NJBikeGal]

I have never been able to believe that Floyd is a doper! (Call it naivete or faith?!) I agree that it's particularly interesting that the only people that are "investigated" are those who have a winning record. Note that David Millar is currently under suspicion because he started contending for races. Also, it's quite funny that for the most part, the cases against these guys are falling apart. The Basso case for example. The only guy who really seems to still be in the hot seat is Ullrich!

[alpinerabbit]

I agree that it's particularly interesting that the only people that are "investigated" are those who have a winning record.

The Basso case for example. The only guy who really seems to still be in the hot seat is Ullrich!

That is not entirely true, it just looks that way, because the people who are tested at the Tour, for example, are the stage winner, and the maillot jaune, and one random rider every stage. So yes the winners are always scrutinized.

By the way no one takes anything? Think again.

The results point up how many riders have exemptions (Landis also had one during this year's Tour, for cortisone, used to treat his decaying hip), and the possibility that at least some of them are not strictly necessary. Out of 105 riders tested at some point during the Tour, 60 percent had a medical exemption for at least one banned substance.

13 riders tested positive during Tour, 12 had exemption

PARIS (Reuters) - Thirteen riders tested positive for banned substances during this year's Tour de France but 12 have been cleared because they had Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), the French anti-doping agency said on Friday.

"A total of 105 riders have been tested and 16 samples from 13 athletes have tested positive," Pierre Bordry, the head of the French anti-doping agency (CPLD), said in an interview to be released in daily Le Monde later on Friday.

"Floyd Landis's case put aside, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has closed the cases arguing all the riders had a TUE."

"This is not a surprise because it is UCI that decided to give these TUE. What is worrying is that 60 per cent of the tested riders have said they had a TUE."

The Therapeutic Use Exemption allows an athlete to take a banned substance to treat a medical condition such as asthma.

Let's see about Ivan (alas, he's cute) and Ullrich (not so cute, hence everyone's favorite sandbag?)

[NJBikeGal]

I have absolutely no doubt that some (and possibly many) of the riders dope and take something to make them as fast as they are. In particular, I was referring to the witch hunt of the Spanish doping ring, where they particularly chose to eliminate Basso and Ullrich from the Tour on allegations of doping. They hadn't done anything, they hadn't been tested, they were simply pulled out of the race. Whether that was a team decision or not, it was certainly a huge blow to the race, without proof of any misdeed. In fact, Basso was officially cleared of the allegations yesterday. Does this mean Basso hasn't doped? Nope! Just that these allegations are just that...allegations.

With Floyd, the story is a bit different...a sample tested positive. The question here is how accurate is the testing? Not guilty until proven so, except in the court of popular opinion, I guess! Again, I still have a desire to believe that he did nothing...dumb maybe, but hey, what can I say?!