The Tour speculation starts NOW!

It's nowhere near July but it's already started: the drug-bustin' scandalisin' name-dropping that suggests that this is going to be yet another speculation-fest.

From CN: In an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said he could make no promises over the participation of defending champion Alberto Contador or Alejandro Valverde in this year's race, after the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) recently re-opened its enquiries into Operación Puerto. "Today I cannot say that Valverde or Contador will not be in the Tour," said Prudhomme, speaking at the Tour of Qatar in Doha. "It is still early, we are not going to exclude individual riders, but instead not invite an entire team."

Meanwhile, over in the US, there's more...
Rock Racing's now former director Frankie Andreu's 2006 mea culpa about his involvement with doping during his time on the US Postal team made him a credible mentor to younger cyclists about the dangers of doping. And Andreu felt that his previous mistakes warranted him to speak to his group of young riders, frequently. But with the revelation that one of the riders on the team during his tenure, which Andreu confirmed is Kayle Leogrande, is under investigation by the U.S. Anti-doping Agency (USADA), Andreu could only say that he did his due diligence to prevent it.

Kayle's beef is that his A-sample was allegedly negative, so why is USADA asking for the B-sample to be tested anyway? Why that sounds like harassment to Leogrande's lawyers, who happen to be the Landis legal team, too. Now there's a team with some success in these matters, eh?

There's having a good time and there's...

...throwing your cyclo-cross career away. Vannoppen opens the door to another career move due to an apparent weakness for nasal inhalation of white powder. From CN:
Tom Vannoppen can start looking for a new team. After his positive test for cocaine was announced, AVB Team Manager Hans van Kasteren said that the rider would be released as of March 1. The manager had hoped to speak with Vannoppen during the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Treviso over the weekend, but that didn't work out. "I heard that he knows how to have a good time," van Kasteren told Het Nieuwsblad. "Maybe he has too good a time and does not behave as a sportsman. Apparently he hasn't learned his lesson yet."

Maybe an apology will do?

If you aren't in the mood to sue, maybe an apology will do?

Team Rabobank is requesting an apology from the German television broadcaster ARD, which had said that current and former Rabo riders Michael Boogerd, Denis Menchov and Michael Rasmussen were blood-doping clients of the Viennese blood laboratory "Humanplasma". ARD issued a public apology last week after it had said that four named cyclists and unnamed German biathletes and cross-country skiers had ties to the blood bank, implicating their doping activities. But the apology did not specifically address the cyclists, and the Rabobank management considered it insufficient.

Prescription EPO... for depression...

Well this is interesting.... imagine a rider who is 'suffering' depression, perhaps because they are not winning? OK, too obvious. Perhaps they really are clinically depressed. In the near future they may well be prescribed EPO to lift their spirits... I'm feeling depressed just thinking about it!
From Physorg.com: A search for novel treatment strategies in coping with depression has revealed that erythropoietin, or Epo, a hormone naturally produced by the kidneys to stimulate the formation of red blood cells, affects cognitive and associated neural responses in humans, and could potentially be used in the treatment of depression. The study, published in Biological Psychiatry by Oxford University researchers based at the Department of Experimental Psychology and the Warneford Hospital, Oxford, found that Epo, known as a treatment for anaemia, modulates human brain activity associated with the processing of emotion.

A roundup of the latest dopage du jour

A roundup of the latest dopage du jour... you don't want to miss out on Eddy's wait for justice, Totschnig's plea for a fair go after being implicated in the as-yet unproved Viennese blood bank 'scandal', Davis's painful search for a team after, again, implication in something he was not involved in, and more.... all the links go to recent articles by Cyclingnews.com. Opinions are mine.

• Guilty as charged, Mazzoleni waits The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) released a statement on Tuesday calling for Eddy Mazzoleni to serve a two-year ban for his involvement in the 'Oil for drugs' scandal. The charges against Mazzoleni relate to SMS messages sent to Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione in 2004, said to contain requests for banned substances and treatments. The Italian cycling federation will now decide whether to accept CONI's recommended sanction for the 34 year-old Italian.
• Implicated but innocent, Totschnig sues Georg Totschnig will sue the German television station ARD for libel and defamation for its broadcast earlier this month claiming he was a blood-doping client at the Viennese blood bank "Humanplasma", even though he knows that "the damage can't be mended.".
• Implicated, innocent and out of a job: Davis struggles after cleared Former Discovery Channel rider Allan Davis is reported to be getting high-ranked support out of the International Cycling Union (UCI) in his search for a new team. Davis, who got caught up in the Operación Puerto scandal in 2006, was cleared of any charges before signing with the American team for the 2007 season. Despite good racing results last year, the Australian sprinter has nevertheless not been able to find a new squad for 2008, as his reputation is heavily tainted since his name was mentioned in the Spanish doping affair.
• Computers pitch in to help make things better With the ProTour season ready to start in Australia at the Tour Down Under this January, the UCI's latest anti-doping tool, the biological passport, is also set to hopefully make 2008 one of the cleanest cycling years ever. One key element to the increased out-of-competition tests (7000 tests in 2008 as compared to 1000 last year) is the introduction of a reliable riders' whereabouts system, the ADAMS computer system (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System).
• Basso actually happy to be suspended, so why did he wait so long? Being suspended "was the best thing that could have happened to me," said Ivan Basso, whose career as a pro cyclist is currently on hold. "It gave me time to reflect and it has turned my life around." The Italian was given a two-year ban for his involvement in Operación Puerto.
• And the source of recent dramas, German TV backs down over Viennese blood bank claims German television station ARD has retracted its charges that four pro cyclists and unnamed German skiers and biathletes were involved in illegal doping at the Viennese blood center, "Human Plasma". Before Thursday afternoon's broadcast of a biathlon race, a moderator said, "It is not justified and not compatible with our professional standards, that such sweeping charges be made without having any evidence to back them up. We regret that accusations and suspicions against athletes arose because of this report."
• Who knows what else may happen in 2008? I suspect there's loads more to come with too many unanswered questions lingering in the air.