Freiburg report dumps on big name T-Mobile riders and systemic doping

These are allegations against a culture of doping in one prominent team, a culture that was almost certainly eradicated after a climactic period of exposure and scrutiny in 2006. I must stress also that these are allegations only; that they must be investigated thoroughly before firm conclusions can be drawn. For mine there are too many questions - indeed inconsistencies - surrounding exactly who took what, and where, and why some newly hired riders were considered 'outsiders' and shunned, whereas others were "in". One obvious newcomer - Sinkewitz - was inducted into the system, yet Bartko was isolated, for example.

Having said all of that, it's undeniable that we expected something to come out of it, and it's probably exactly as most of us thought: it wasn't just Ullrich (not that Jan has ever admitted it, we only have the purported DNA link and heaps - bags even - of allegations). And yet it's strange that Ullrich is implicated elsewhere, not directly with this Freiburg issue. It was a systemic issue for the team, but not a consistent one?

Experts investigating the procedures of two Freiburg University Clinic doctors who worked for cycling team T-Mobile allege German rider Andreas Kloeden doped during the 2006 Tour de France.

That's not just an allegation against Kloden, either: The issue returned to prominence last fall, when Patrik Sinkewitz said that he - and possibly others - had driven to Freiburg for illegal blood transfusions during the 2006 Tour de France, only days after team captain Jan Ullrich had been suspended for his connection to Operación Puerto. The report found that doping within the team essentially began when the team was formed and continued relatively unabated through to 2006.

The allegations go back to 1992. That's a lot of riders, some of whom are still prominent in the peleton today, indeed are current Top 10 Grand Tour favourites. It covers EPO, testosterone and blood doping, plus 'magic elixirs', the contents of which are not known.

As always, expect the worst and hope for the best!

2 years for Hernandez

Miami racer gets a nice rest: Hernandez, 42, tested positive for exogenous testosterone, an anabolic agent, which is prohibited under the USADA Protocol and the rules of the UCI. His suspension took effect September 15, 2008, the date of his acceptance. Hernandez was disqualified from all competitive results achieved on and subsequent to March 2, 2008, the date his urine sample was collected at the Vuelta Independencia National, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

I guess when you are 42 you need every helper you can find - even if it's unlikely to make much (or any) difference. Then again the 22 year olds need to take some "assistance" just to get noticed. And everyone in between is under the hammer just to stay competitive. This is what you call a culture of doping. I wonder what other pro sports do to keep doping under control... something? Or nothing?

Duarte: Short-lived glory?

Who's to blame here? A positive test, disputed by the rider, left in abeyance - and simply not followed up. So the rider keeps racing, no-one tells the UCI and all is well and good. Until someone wakes up and realises that the U23 RR champ has a doping charge hanging around his head. Oh dear.

The new Under 23 road world champion, Fabio Duarte, may not be able to celebrate as much as he'd like after his win Friday in Varese, Italy. Like fellow Colombian Santiago Botero, Duarte tested positive for testosterone. The result came during the Clasica de Girardot prior to the Tour of Colombia in July of 2007. Duarte has been adamant that his values were naturally at that level, and the Colombian federation said it would prove so before July of 2008. However, nothing appears to have been done. Furthermore, the UCI said it knew nothing of Duarte's case until Friday.

If he's innocent it's all a bit unfair, isn't it? In any event it's sloppy and lazy all round.

I'm not saying he's innocent, but...

Then again I am saying something like 'we can't be so certain about these things'. Read it and weep: In the case of Landis, who had no previous record of doping violations, the chances that the positive result could result from anything except cheating - a lab error, an abnormally high natural occurrence of testosterone - were dismissed as not credible. The problem, Mr Berry said, is that for the actual process used by doping labs there is no body of scientific data to show just how rare "false positives" or "false negatives" really are, and that such data is essential for interpreting lab results.

Introducing probabilities into drug testing is interesting and debatable, but I accept the basic premise - that a false positive (or negative) is always possible. Look at Ricco's statement that he took CERA and should have been caught multiple times, but wasn't. Hence we run multiple tests and develop (now, at least) a longitudinal profile of an athlete. So any 'aberrant' values will appear over time and can be tracked without jumping to conclusions over one single test on one sole sample. Even better (or complementary) is the idea for certain pre-identified markers to be identified or inserted into drugs as "tags" that can be easily identified.

So will Landis take this as more evidence for his side of the case, or has he simply agreed to disagree and move on? If he is innocent, what of the human cost here? Are we doing the right thing with these so-called drug "cheats" or are we making what could be unemotional technical points highly emotive and "charged" with guilt, suspicion and pain - and thus feeding the media monster instead of protecting the athletes?

Same lawyer, different drug: Patxi Vila

Not Salbutamol but testosterone this time. Apparently the same lawyer though as Pettachi. From CN: Spain's Patxi Vila has tested non-negative for testosterone according to the International Cycling Union (UCI). The 32 year-old from Italian ProTour squad Lampre is requesting a counter-analysis.

There will be more to come on this one.

Leukemans confirmed

He's tried another excuse and failed, and must be running out of ideas, surely? Which is not to say he won't appeal again... The disciplinary committee of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Flemish Community) on Tuesday upheld Björn Leukemans' two-year suspension for testosterone usage, rejecting his appeal of the sentence handed down in January. The Belgian rider had argued that a team doctor prescribed a substance which caused the positive test and therefore he was not responsible. Leukemans can further appeal the suspension to the Council of the State.

Lifetime ban for Alfred, serial offender

You have to admire Stephen Alfred's persistence, if nothing else: At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Alfred tested positive for norandrosterone. He also tested positive for exogenous testosterone or its precursors and for an elevated testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio in an out-of-competition test conducted on May 28, 2006. Most recently, he tested positive for hCG on June 10 at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Brazil. The latter two offenses were counted as one by the World Anti-Doping Code.

2 years for Fertonani and testosterone

Do the crime, cop the fine. The disciplinary committee of the Italian cycling federation has suspended Marco Fertonani of Caisse d'Epargne for two years. The 31-year-old tested positive for testosterone after the Tour Mediterranean in February. The team suspended him in July when the test results were made public.

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.

Plant extract of the day: Moreni

Wow. A plant extract, eh? Watch what you buy over the Internet, kids.

From CN: Cristian Moreni (Cofidis), who was handed a two-year suspension following his positive test for testosterone, declared to French paper Journal du Dimanche that he had a hard time accepting the ban. "It is like giving the same sentence to someone who stole an apple and to someone who robbed a bank," the Italian declared in light of the fact that riders caught for blood doping got the same suspension.