French Clear Armstrong for Tour

The French antidoping agency has cleared Lance Armstrong of any wrongdoing stemming from a rules violation during a doping test last month. This decision is a stark contrast after comments stating that there was “a very high likelihood” that Armstrong would be barred from the Tour de France.

Per The New York Times:

The agency said it “decided to take into consideration the written explanations of the athlete” that came in a letter from Armstrong dated April 16.

Unfortunately the statement did not elaborate on why the agency made the decision, but did reiterate that Armstrong’s urine and blood samples from that drug test came back without abnormalities. The agency said that his hair sample, also taken that day, has not been tested.

The drug test in question occurred on March 17th. The tester arrived and Armstrong’s assistant checked for the tester’s credentials. Armstrong left the tester for 20 minutes to take a shower even though the tester warned Armstrong that he must be in view of him the entire time of the test.

Armstrong commented on the latest development from Aspen, CO, where he has been training, via his Twitter page: “Just got the word from the French agency AFLD on the shower gate incident. Case closed, no penalty, all samples clean. Onward.”

The self described “most tested athlete” needs to be smarter than this....and accurate. When any tester shows up, don’t leave their sight for a prolonged amount of time and then provide samples. For someone who claims to be transparent, he is not acting in a transparent manner. Also, not all samples were clean since the hair sample hasn't been tested yet.  The hair sample test results will put this incident all to rest…whenever that takes place.

Armstrong’s Vanishing Act Might Force Him to Vanish from the Tour de France

After Lance Armstrong vanished to take a 20 minute shower before providing doping samples when French doping authorities showed up last month, Armstrong now feels that there is a “very high likelihood” he will not be allowed to race in this year’s Tour de France.


Looks like the comeback couldn’t go any worse for Armstrong. He announces the most comprehensive and transparent testing program in conjunction with his comeback to cycling only to abandon the testing without a single test, breaks his collarbone and disappeared for 20 minutes when doping authorities requested hair, urine and blood samples. Now, he appears to be using the only argument left: it’s the French. They are out to get me, always have and always will.

If you know you are a perceived target, don’t disappear for 20 minutes during an unannounced drug test. Do not violate the rules of the sport and expect not to be punished. Public outcry can only help so much, but at the end of the day, rules are rules and violators usually get punished.

You Know You're Doping When...

You flee anti-doping officials. That's what two stage Tour de France winner, Riccardo Ricco chose to do when anti-doping officials were looking for a sample after the fourth stage on July 8th.

Pierre Bordry, the head of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD), gave this description of the failed great escape, "When he knew he was going to be tested, he went off, and it is the escort who caught him. He found himself blocked off. There was a traffic jam of cars and he could not get through the cars."

The AFLD asked Ricco and his team, Saunier Duval for an apology. The AFLD decided to test Ricco everyday after his erratic behavior. Ricco was expelled before the start of the 12th stage after test results came back positive for EPO and his team quit the race. Ricco and fellow teammate Leonardo Piepoli were then fired.

One has to wonder what Ricco was thinking? If he avoided the doping officials in stage 4, would he have tested clean for the remainder of the race? Did he think officials and the media wouldn't be suspicious if he suddenly wanted to get another ride in after a grueling time trial? Here's a novel, inexpensive testing method: if an athlete flees at the site of doping officials, that counts as a failed test.

1st Bust Unoffically Signals Start of Tour de France

For mainstream media in the U.S., the Tour de France strated on Friday with the doping bust of Spanish rider Manuel Beltran. For those not paying attention, the Tour de France officially started on July 5th.

Beltran was suspended from the Liquigas cycling team and kicked out of the Tour de France after testing positive for EPO on July 5th after the first stage. If Beltran was using EPO on the first stage, his chances of winning the Tour were never that good to begin with. Beltran was a teammate of Lance Armstrong helping him win the Tour in '03, '04 & '05. Beltran is the fourth former Lance Armstrong teammate to test positive for doping after Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton and Roberto Heras .

Pierre Bordry, leader of the French anti-doping agency, said Beltran had been targeted after his "parameters were abnormal" during pre-Tour blood testing July 3-4.

Let's give the Tour some credit. Race organizers know their sport is in dire straits and have constantly raised the bar for combating doping. This year the Tour employs 8 specially trained chaperones who shadow riders after each stage, going as far as climbing onto team buses, to ensure cyclists go to post-stage anti-doping checks. Tour officials are realistic enough to know they won't eliminate the problem, but at least they are being out in front of the issue.

Floyd Landis Becomes 1st Cyclist to have Tour Title Stripped for Doping

Floyd Landis lost his appeal today and becomes the 1st cyclist to have his Tour de France title stripped due to doping. The ruling also upholds Landis' two-year ban from cycling which expires January 29, 2009.

A three person panel from the the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a previous panel's decision validating a positive drug test back in 2006 after Landis staged an improbable comeback in Stage 17 that was aided by synthetic testosterone.

In the 58-page decision, the CAS panel said that the lab performing the analysis did not have impeccable quality control, but did not involve any fraud or cover-ups as Landis alleged. The panel continued its criticisms of Landis by stating that he tried to muddle the evidence while blaming the lab and continued with that line of reasoning even when the evidence contradicted him.

The decision said, "Appelant's experts crossed the line, acting for the most part as advocates for the Appelant's cause, and not as scientists objectively assisting the panel in the search for the truth."

The case reached sports' highest court after his first arbitration case last May ended with the arbitrators disappointed in USADA and determining that the testing labs practices were less than ideal.

Most accused cyclists do not defend themselves the way Landis has. Athletes lack the funds to properly defend themselves in this type of case. Landis overcame this issue by creating a fundraising campaign in addition to several private sources contributing to his defense. His defense is estimated to have cost more than $2MM.

This case didn't lack in drama either. Greg Lemond testified that Landis admitted to him that he doped, but the panel couldn't use that testimony as an admission. However, before Lemond testified, Landis' manager called him the night before and threatened to disclose to the world "LeMond's secret" if he showed up the next day. LeMond showed up, and disclosed that he was sexually abused as a child and telling the panel that he told Landis this information...and then receiving a phone call from a member of Landis' camp the night before.

Do us all a favor and admit that you cheated. From the litany of explanations (drinking alcohol, naturally high testosterone, dehydration, thyroid medication, and a conspiracy against him), it just doesn't add up for a sane person - you might get the conspiracy theorists to jump on board, but that's about it.

That is the first step on the road to recovery for Landis. If you don't get past stage 1, there is no stage 2. Unlike Lance Armstrong, there is a smoking gun for you, the positive test so to "deny, deny, deny" is not going to get you anywhere. Your credibility is greatly enhanced if your current explanation is the same as your original explanation for the positive test. Look on the bright side, 7 months until the 2 year ban expires.