Portuguese roadie Cabreira suspended for alleged masking

It's hard to imagine anyone slipping a protease molecule into a dope-test sample and getting away with it, given how closely these things are "managed", but apparently it can happen. Well he'll be appealing, and here it is:Former LA-MSS rider and Portuguese road champion João Cabreira was suspended for two years for "tampering with a doping control sample", the Portuguese Cycling Federation announced Friday. The rider is the first to be suspended for a long-suspected technique of using an enzyme called protease to break down products such as EPO in the urine to cheat a doping control.

So what is "protease"? Well it's being a bit vague and mis-informative to say it's "an enzyme called protease", in fact it will be a specific hydrolase enzyme that targets a protein in the EPO molecule and breaks it down, just like molecules in your body break down, for example, food. Wikipedia says: A protease is any enzyme that conducts proteolysis, that is, begins protein catabolism by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain, which form a molecule of protein.

Why would an athlete use it? It was probably added to the urine sample post-micturition, hence the tampering allegation. A cyclist or other sportsperson may use it to break down (and thus mask) a banned substance such as EPO. By breaking down or digesting the target protein the banned substance becomes undetectable (at least in and of itself, as fragments or by-products of that protein may be detectable, and the absence of natural EPO would be suspicious).

Confessions of a doper: Jaksche again, with feeling

Nothing new here, move along please. Someone has dug up some dirt or simply created speculation out of thin air regarding a confession made almost 2 years ago. Some of it we knew already, some is more detailed and this bit would be damning, if proven true: Jaksche rode for Riis and Team CSC in 2004. During this time, according to Bild, Riis decided who should take how much of what product, with Jaksche saying how he was helped to avoid a positive doping control. Team Saxo Bank did not have a comment on the story.

No-one is saying anything at this stage and it is, as I said, a thin air story published by the German tabloid Bild am Sonntag. Did I say tabloid? It has plenty of juicy detail but little or no credence at this stage.

Schumacher cops 2 year ban, Valverde investigated again

The process can't really get any slower or messier, surely? We all remember Stefan Schumacher's tireless attacking efforts in Le Tour '08 and wished we could all back up and fly again like that. We also remember the positive test for CERA, and Stefan's denials. Now he has (finally) been given a 2 year ban for doping: The French National Anti-Doping Agency AFLD has suspended German rider Stefan Schumacher for two years after testing positive for CERA, a new generation of EPO, during the Tour de France. Schumacher confirmed the suspension Thursday evening, calling the decision "a shock" and the process a "farce". In between times he has been in limbo, expecting to get a licence to race in '09. At least he now has some certainty, pending appeal.

Less certain is Valverde's future. Alejandro Valverde arrived in Rome, Italy on Thursday to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) only to be informed he was now also under criminal investigation. The Spaniard was informed that the separate probe had been opened when he arrived at Rome's Olympic Stadium for his hearing with CONI's anti-doping prosecutor. Once implicated and cleared of involvement in the Fuentes blood-bag fiasco, the whole kettle of fishy activities has been reopened; Valverde's DNA has allegedly been identified (via an Italian-initiated blood sample taken during the 2008 Tour de France, no less) and matched to one of the blood bags in question. He denies any involvement. Yes, these are Italian investigations into a Spanish rider over a Spanish-originated allegation. Go figure.

The main problem appears to lie in the differences between countries, their specific criminal legislation and their local sporting bodies' treatment of doping. Whilst the UCI has a process, it's become clouded by where the offence takes place and the country under which the rider races. Now it's a global sport and a global problem but surely if we are to set and enforce doping regulations we must get a consistent banned list and set process together, act quickly and decisively and stop messing around like this... surely it's not that hard? Evidence suggests it's almost impossible to be fair and transparent at the moment.

Follow Armstrong's haematocrit online

Well it's meaningless really, but there you go: Detailed blood test results from seven International Cycling Union (UCI) and Damsgaard out-of-competition tests are now posted on www.livestrong.com.

It goes up and down, often without any particular reason (it has its own reasons, I guess). Mine is 46, or was when last tested. I still couldn't beat Lance over any distance, especially so with my Achilles injury!

And why meaningless? Well it has some meaning, especially if verified by an outside, independent body. We are however reading a public report and trusting that's it's verifiable. I don't think it would get published if it wasn't true, but it's still built on that trust. Would it get published if a value went over an accepted limit? We may never know, but it's something to wonder about.

And does it matter? Transparency may matter, however the ups and downs of a blood test result are fairly obscure unless you know how to read the details, understand the impact of workload and diet and take it in a longitudinal context. Most of us will just go, uh-huh. Or we will misinterpret something and start some sort of rumour...

Beltran gets 2 years

Contrary to earlier reports suggesting that he could get a licence this year, Spanish rider Manuel Beltrán has been banned for two years from French competition and looks set to suffer the same punishment on the world stage.

Tricky indeed. I don't want to get judgemental, I just want to open things up for discussion. Sometimes we get so black-and-white about "passionate" beliefs that we can't see through the spin and look at the human being who may have been tempted, coerced, lured or tricked into doing something they otherwise wouldn't do. It's against the law to exceed the speed limit (and unless the road is empty and devoid of the unexpected it's a high-risk activity anyway) yet many of us choose to do it. Why? Is it as black and white as you think?

Aussie World gold Master caught out

The psychology of the young and the tempted is one thing, what of the should-know-better Master? Well it's more complicated than most people will say, isn't it? It's not simply cheating, although when rules exist and you break those rules it's certainly cheating. Is it to get advantage over others, a power game? Or to recover more quickly from injury? (Especially as you age - I wish my left Achilles would stop flaring up, for example!) Perhaps it adds to the excitement, the risk... it is all a game, after all.

Anyway, there's a discussion here and a local newspaper report on the rider, Andrew Burne, here. Apparently he quit Rugby Union because of repeating injuries... and anabolic steroids are a good, well-proven way back from body-contact injury as well as a useful way to increase muscular strength. It would be interesting to have a longitudinal view of Andrew Burne's apparent doping - is it cycling-related or a hangover from earlier sports?

There's a reference to Andrew winning the Fatman's Wheelrace in 2007, here. He weighed an impressive (for a sprinter, I guess) 112kg at the time.. man mountain indeed!

For the record, on Armstrong and Valverde

There's always more, isn't there? I wondered why Lance Armstrong would want to fund yet another testing service when there are so many others already provided. OTOH it seemed like a good way to display commitment. OTOOH it looks like a bad move when he has to back down on that commitment. OTOOH it never really mattered, it was for show. He could just get a feed of data from the other testers, like Team Astana, surely, and post that on the web?

And now to more disquieting news: Valverde.

The Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) has summoned Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde to face charges of doping or attempting to dope in relation to the infamous 'Operation Puerto' affair.

OK, no big deal, we've been through this a few times now - except that there's an alleged DNA match between last year's Tour stage sample (taken on Italian soil) and soem DNA extracted from one of those infamous Spanish bags of blood. Whilst it's all sounding very forensic, it's also very serious if proven.