Bike Intelligencer » cera http://bikeintelligencer.com All bike, all the time Sat, 04 May 2013 01:18:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 This Day in Doping: Giro riders on notice! http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/05/this-day-in-doping-giro-riders-on-notice/ http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/05/this-day-in-doping-giro-riders-on-notice/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 16:16:22 +0000 Paul Andrews, BI editor http://bikeintelligencer.com/?p=2950 On the eve of the 2010 Giro d’Italia, three riders have been targeted by the UCI for disciplinary proceedings based on possible blood doping: Franco Pellizotti, last year’s runner-up in the Giro, Tadej Valjavec, eighth in the same event, and Jesus Rosendo.

You have to love the Giro. Pellizotti actually finished third last year but got 2nd place when the rider ahead of him, Danilo Di Luca, was bounced for CERA. If he and Valjavec both go, another shakeup in the rankings seems assured.

Is a message being sent here? D’ya think?

More intriguing is the notion that the “biological passport” was invoked in the announcement. No details were disclosed, but it will be interesting to track how reliable the passport program is, and how durable its conclusions are in the certain face of challenge.

All of this assumes that Twisted Spoke is incorrect in its assessment that Pellizotti’s hairspray was to blame. Maybe Franco could just shave his head! And all would be forgiven…

]]> http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/05/this-day-in-doping-giro-riders-on-notice/feed/ 0 This Day in Doping: Test for Human Growth Hormone hGH http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-test-for-human-growth-hormone-hgh/ http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-test-for-human-growth-hormone-hgh/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:49:54 +0000 Paul Andrews, BI editor http://bikeintelligencer.com/?p=2099 BikeRadar has an intriguing post on a positive test for human growth hormone. The test involved a rugby league player but obviously holds huge implications for professional cycling. Although the substance has been banned for two decades, there’s been no reliable test for it.

Now (presumably) all those back samples can be screened over again. But once again, it puts enforcement into a touchy political arena. If all the big stars test positive, will the UCI or applicable governing body really act? Since there’s no transparency in the lab screening process, we the public have to trust that all samples are being tested equally, and penalties meted out fairly. That’s a pretty big leap in this day and age where corporate sponsorships and Big Money ultimately call the shots.

]]> http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-test-for-human-growth-hormone-hgh/feed/ 0 This Day in Doping: Di Luca goes down with fighting words! http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-di-luca-goes-down-with-fighting-words/ http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-di-luca-goes-down-with-fighting-words/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:26:10 +0000 Paul Andrews, BI editor http://bikeintelligencer.wordpress.com/?p=1921 Two-year suspension for Danilo Di Luca comes at a terrible time, as we continue to assemble our our dream Team Rehab in the Dopers Reunion Tour de France 2010. So far Michael Rasmussen and Alexander Vinokourov are on board, and we’re hoping for Floyd Landis. Only a miracle would get our favorite doper, Tyler Hamilton, into the Tour, but we can always hope.

As for Di Luca, all hope is not lost:

“This is not over. I can still try to fight this and I’m going to. We will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS),” Di Luca said, according to the ANSA news agency.

After all, he only tested positive twice. If it had been 5 or 10 times, well, we might concede the UCI was correct in banning him. But a couple of times, hey, the varsity squad of my hometown high school couldn’t meet that threshold.

]]> http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-di-luca-goes-down-with-fighting-words/feed/ 1 This Day in Doping: All in the family? http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-all-in-the-family/ http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-all-in-the-family/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:10:01 +0000 Paul Andrews, BI editor http://bikeintelligencer.wordpress.com/?p=1918 Ricco denies involvement with his girlfriend’s doping. Girlfriend denies doping. They might at least get on the same page on this…

Ricco compared to a cobra. So the question, as Ricco prepares to renew his racing career in May, is: What happens when you give a snake a second chance?

All in all we think Ricco would make a standout addition to Team Rehab, our dream alliance of Michael Rasmussen, Alexander Vinokourov, Floyd Landis and whoever else might be coming off a suspension around then, for what we are heralding as the Dopers Reunion Tour de France 2010.

]]> http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/02/this-day-in-doping-all-in-the-family/feed/ 0 This Day in Doping: Lance ticked off, Spaniards kicked off http://bikeintelligencer.com/2009/07/this-day-in-doping-lance-ticked-off-spaniards-kicked-off/ http://bikeintelligencer.com/2009/07/this-day-in-doping-lance-ticked-off-spaniards-kicked-off/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:03:22 +0000 Paul Andrews, BI editor http://bikeintelligencer.wordpress.com/?p=983 Bicycle.net: Lance lashes back over report that his team (he’s the leader, right? are we all clear on this?) Astana may be beneficiary of “laxity” in drug testing. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Lance says. Well then, case closed, right?

BikePure.org: Two Spanish riders, not in this year’s Tour de France, are suspended for using the blood booster Cera.

More indications that the curtain is coming down. The bright side: So far, this year’s Tour is still “clean” (i.e., no suspensions announced yet).

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