Bjorn Leukemans tests testosterone +

He claims to have a naturally high testosterone level that has passed previous examination, however this time he's been outed. A-sample positive, testosterone ratios out of whack. He's tarred now, like all the rest, but will await his B-sample. But will it be a lab result we trust? Or that the UCI trusts?

Björn Leukemans tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition doping control shortly before the World Championships in September. Team Predictor-Lotto immediately suspended him pending the results of the B-sample.

He said later: "According to the last test, I would have used a prohibited gel. However, I deny that most definitely," he stated, noting that, "I knew that there would be a control before the Worlds. Why would I be so dumb as to use testosterone, knowing that? Besides, the scientists say this product does not make you go any faster. You don't run a red light when the policeman is standing right there. I'm not that dumb!"

Meanwhile Floyd Landis is appealing against his positive for testosterone. After American cyclist Floyd Landis filed his appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to overturn his two-year suspension on doping charges, his defense team selected Swedish arbitrator Jan Paulsson for the panel which will evaluate his appeal. Landis's team and his opposition were permitted to each pick one arbitrator from CAS's list. CAS selected the final member of the panel.

Hold the Mayo - again

Poor Iban Mayo - he's a doper one moment (A-sample positive) and cleared the next (B-sample negative). Not satisfied, the UCI are retesting his B-sample. Do we continue testing until we get the result we want? Or should we indeed trust some labs over others? What ever happened to trusted lab standard accreditation?

The counter analysis of Iban Mayo's B sample will be carried out today in the French Châtenay-Malabry laboratory, regardless of whether the Saunier-Duval Prodir rider or a representative is present, according to todociclismo.com. The French laboratory received world wide attention after its practices were scrutinised during an American arbitration hearing over the positive test returned by Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour de France before being striped (sic) of the title following the hearing.

Sinkewitz - sunk for now, back soon

Well he knew he'd get hit with a suspension but got a fine as well. Given that the guy is also forced out of his paid job it may be a bit tough to expect him to cough up the dough as well, but then again he's an adult and understands consequences... I guess.

Via CN: Patrik Sinkewitz is glad to know the verdict in his doping case, even if he is surprised at the extent of his punishment: a one-year ban and a 40,000 Euro fine. "The uncertainty is finally over. I think I have been punished enough. I can live with the one-year ban. But the fine is a shock. I would have wished for a lesser punishment there," he said, according to the dpa press agency.

Groundless accusations

There's nothing better than magazine articles where interviewees say 'maybe' and 'perhaps' and we are encouraged to translate that into 'definitely did'. Thus we twist a fairly weak story to beat Jan and Lance over the head all over again. Bear in mind that neither Ullrich nor Armstong have ever been tested positive - well, not without a letter from a doctor to explain it, anyway. What we do have ample evidence of is superlative athletic performance on a consistent basis. We also have many proven cases of doping amongst teammates and competitors; but to draw conclusions by simple comparison is to draw a long bow indeed.

On the other hand where there's smoke there's usually fire... via CyclingNews:
According to the magazine, a meeting at d'Hont's house on March 16 of this year, Pevenage admitted to having advised Ullrich and others on blood doping. He said, about "30 to 40 percent" of the riders were informed of the practice, but later they all knew about it. "You gave up a half-litre of blood three weeks before. And it is well-stored. Good, you feel a little weak for the first two or three days, but then you start to recover... You feel a lot better and then at that point you get back that extra half-litre," Pevenage described the process. Even Lance Armstrong's name came up in the conversation. "I don't understand why Jan could never beat the other one [Armstrong - ed.]," Pevenage said, and wondered about his blood values. "One day someone told me the American is unbelievable. He starts the Tour with a hematocrit value of 46 and at the end his still has 46. How can he do that?" questioned Pevenage. "With blood doping," suggested d'Hont.

Ullrich, Pevanage, D'Hont... Rasmussen... et al

What can one add? Via CyclingNews...

On Jan and T-Mobile: Circumstantial? Unverified? Fiction?
In the recordings, Pevenage allegedly said that he visited Ullrich during a training session on Mallorca in February of this year. Ullrich then said that he was there with former teammates Andeas Klöden and Matthias Kessler, both of whom rode for Team Astana. Ullrich is said to have told Pevenage that he wanted to end his career because he didn't want "to take any more risks." Ullrich added that he was at the same hotel as his former teammates, "and I tell you, they were all there, the most important of them are still using the same stuff, EPO and all of that . Nothing has changed."

On Rasmussen: minor offence or major coverup?
Michael Rasmussen purposely lied about his whereabouts in the period before the Tour de France, making himself unavailable for doping controls, an independent committee announced on Monday in Utrecht, Holland. Rabobank Team Manager Theo de Rooij was right to remove the cyclist from the race, it said, but he should never have started in the first place. The 33 year-old Dane was sent home following stage 16 to the Col d'Aubisque.

Nathan suppresses his appetite for HealthNet

Nathan O'Neill is a fantastic rider, a brilliant TTer who has come back from horrendous injuries and later publicly thanked God for divine help in those moments of utmost crisis. He is also well known for his legitimate tips and tricks for managing his weight. And for an elite rider maximising your power to weight is a vital component in the overall mix. So it's not so surprising that a rider of O'Neill's class will turn to artificial means to suppress appetite, is it? Or is it?

When it breaches clear cut doping rules, it's not so pretty? In fact it looks like Nathan has succumbed to temptation, if this report is true... American Professional Continental squad Health Net-Maxxis has announced the termination of Australian Nathan O'Neill's contract as of October 29, following the star rider's non-negative test for prescription appetite suppressant Phentermine. The World Anti-Doping Agency's code allows riders to use prescribed Phentermine out of competition, but no trace amounts are allowed in a rider's system during competition.

Now did he actually think he was out of competition at the time? Was he contemplating his new team for 2008 and not looking back at what he thought was the past when he choose to pop his pills? I guess only Nathan knows what he was thinking, but I suspect a mix up happening here. It will be interesting to see his statement on the matter.

And his statement is: "I admit that I used the medicine for the prescribed purpose, in an out-of-competition situation," O'Neill said in a statement. "Unfortunately for me, there was a tiny amount that was still present in my body at the time the sample was collected in competition."

Kashechkin's logic

Some interesting logic happening here... A court in Liège, Belgium began hearing the case between Kazakh rider Andrey Kashechkin and the UCI yesterday. Kashechkin was suspended after returning a non-negative anti-doping sample in an out of competition test taken in Turkey while the rider was on holidays on August 1. Kashechkin, whose sample allegedly showed evidence of blood doping, has taken the UCI to court as he believes that a private sports body is in breach of human rights by subjecting athletes to out of competition testing. A decision on the case is expected with in two weeks.

Human rights are a wonderful thing. They only apply to humans, of course, as animals in general (setting aside that humans are indeed flesh and blood animals) are devoid of rights, or at least of rights granted by humans. Indeed humans grant themselves these rights, which is interesting in an arrogant but understandable sort of way. For example, understandably and regrettably we have human rights abuses where one human (or more often a system of humans in concert) take as granted their right to deprive another human of one or more of these basic features of a civilised world: food; shelter; freedom to travel; freedom to speak up; to congregate; to practise their faith or beliefs; or even to live. I think such abuses are clear enough.

But the human right not to be tested out of competition? The mind boggles.

Sinkewitz - denial is a fine thing

Sinkewitz has at times appeared naive and unaware, and at other times rash. Now he's in deep denial. On the evening of June 8, while attending a training camp in preparation for the Tour de France, Patrik Sinkewitz smeared a testosterone gel on his upper arm. "I thought, it can't hurt." But it did hurt – it got him fired from his job at Team T-Mobile, brought about the cancellation of German public broadcasting of the Tour and nearly caused his team's sponsor to pull out of its contract.

He has also dragged a few T-Mobile teammates into the muck, whether they like it or not. Michael Rogers is quoted by CN: "I haven't actually heard anything official directly from the mouth of Patrik Sinkewitz or his lawyer, so for me it's premature to respond directly to him in the press because we don't fully understand the extent of the accusations," Rogers said. "It it's true, I will be very disappointed in him. If it is true, I'll be making some very strong claims to put the record straight."

And a later clearance of Rogers by the UCI:
The UCI has confirmed that T-Mobile captain Michael Rogers "has not been implicated by his team-mate Patrik Sinkewitz." In a statement released Friday evening, the UCI said "This was revealed after the UCI examined the dossier sent by the German Federation (BDR) following the statements made by the German rider. The document sent by the BDR showed that Michael Rogers is not implicated in any way."

Jumping John Fahey to lead WADA by default?

It's not a great way to take over a leadership position, especially one so influential and important, is it? I'm not sure where Fahey really stands on key drug-control issues - and he hasn't had much impact on the sporting community, at least not since he played a role in securing the 2000 Olympics for Sydney. Is this to be a contentious appointment, without wide support?
From the SMH:European Union (EU) sports ministers have failed to give their backing to Australia's John Fahey to become president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).