Aquarius wrote:
Some rumours in the French media say that the TDF podium will be modified after the results of the 30 riders (or is it 30 samples belonging to a restrained number of riders ?) tested again last week will be published tomorrow.
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
After losing his anti-doping case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Floyd Landis took an unusual next step. In US Federal Court, he is challenging the CAS decision to uphold his positive doping test verdict. He and his lawyers are arguing that the arbitrators who heard his case had conflicts of interest, causing his hearing to be unfair.
According to ESPN.com, lawyers filed a motion "to vacate the June arbitrators' award in Landis' appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport" in a Los Angeles US District Court on Thursday.
In the motion, lawyers argued that all three arbitrators on the panel, including the one selected by Landis, ought to have revealed conflicts of interest that may have biased them. The conflicts, as defined by Landis' team, are that the arbitrators were selected from a short list of people who take turns serving in roles such as panellists and lawyers for clients appearing before panels. The switching of roles purportedly influences them to issue rulings that will benefit each other or will help anti-doping agencies with procuring future work and cases.
One of the arbitrators on the Landis case, Richard Young, told ESPN.com, that he followed CAS rules which specify that arbitrators may not be on panels when representing other clients in pending CAS cases.
The motion cited six CAS cases in which athletes faced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) while it was represented by Jan Paulsson, the single arbitrator on Landis' case that was picked by Landis' legal team. In addition to involvement with these other cases, Paulsson's law firm represented London during its ultimately successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games - a decision made by the IOC.
"Thus, members of the Freshfields firm, particularly Mr. Paulsson, have a significant economic incentive to espouse positions favorable to the IOC and little interest in embracing positions taken by an athlete with adverse interests," according to the motion.
Landis' motion also asks the court to overturn the US$100,000 fine for legal costs he was ordered to pay by the CAS panel. It argues that the fine was based on "unsworn statements by USADA's lawyer after the close of evidence, denying Mr. Landis a right to respond," and it called the award outside the "scope" of the mandate of the arbitrators. Finally, the motion asks for a jury trial.
Landis won the 2006 Tour de France, but the title was subsequently taken away after he tested positive for testosterone and the American Arbitration Association upheld the decision. Landis received a two-year suspension, which will end January 29, 2009, leaving him free to race most of next season. However, USADA has told Landis he cannot race again until the $100,000 fine is paid. Landis is expected to race with Health Net in 2009.
What remains to be determined is whether the US Federal Court will consider itself to have jurisdiction over the case, which was decided at CAS headquarters in Switzerland.
There's no point slapping a schleck - Sean Kelly on "Who needs a slap"
Macquet wrote:
Siutsov seems to have been mentioned before in other allegations, so I would not be surprised, that said I'm surprised that Columbia would have anyone as I thought they had an external testing program.
Like CSC who are blatant dopeheads, like Astana who are the same.
Columbia still has Rogers, Kirchen and Gerdemann who are guys I really don't trust.
Those internal programs look more like a "no scandals insurance" to me than like a "we're not doping" proof.
If five CSC'ers and two Columbians have been using CERA in the Tour, this will of course be one of the saddest and definitely the most tragi-comic event ever in cycling. Laughable in a crying way.
Hypothetical, if riders from those two teams are caught, what will happen next? I'm sure the Danish media will cut all connections to the cycling world, so will happen in a lot of other countries, but I'm more worried about where to go with the anti-doping work.
It would definitely be rather tragic, if the Damsgaard testing regime, was proven useless. But it would be a good thing as well. If they cheat they of course should be banned. However, only indiciums so far has been, that they ride a damn fast on their bikes. But let me remind you, all pro's ride damn fast on their bikes! Accusing anybody of cheating, based on heresay and rumours, really isn't fair. If we want those guys to play fair, we should do so ourselfs!
issoisso wrote:
Gerolsteiner - Schumacher and Kohl
CSC - Cancellara, O'Grady, Sastre, Schleck, Schleck
Saunier - Cobo, Piepoli
AG2R - Goubert, Efimkin
Columbia - Kirchen, Siutsou
I'm guessing here
Those are exactly my guesses. WHAT DID I TELL YOU ALL! I TOLD YOU SASTRE WAS DOPED AFTER HE WON...
this is a great day for those who did ride clean...
And for those who didn't and aren't caught.
No serious I can't see why it would be a great day. First of all it are still only speculations, which are very understandably, but hurt the sport. Second of all if it's really Sastre it's very bad for everybody who loves the sport. A doped Tour winner is very bad publicity and less people will take the sport serious. As a result the clean riders will have to ride for less money and for a smaller audience.
If the list is the following, then the stages results were (I removed all those caught during the Tour and afterwards, but Casper who was cleared since then, doesn't matter much anyway) :
Doped rider list to be announced (+ Beltran, Ricco, Dueñas, Fofonov) :
Sastre
F.Schleck
A.Schleck
Voigt
O'Grady
Ricco
Piepoli
Cobo Acebo
Kirchen
Sioutsou
Valjavec
Efimkin
Schumacher
Kohl
Rumours are that the list is really that, and I doubt l'Equipe (where the rumours originate from) will resist to the temptation of publishing it.
Now will they be declassified, that's another question.
i read somewhere a while ago that they waited so long to do the new test, to ensure that when they did the tests, it would have no legal loopholes that can be exploited and that it was recognized by all concerning federations(uci,wada,etc), so i think they will get suspended if found positive
MortChill wrote:
i read somewhere a while ago that they waited so long to do the new test, to ensure that when they did the tests, it would have no legal loopholes that can be exploited and that it was recognized by all concerning federations(uci,wada,etc), so i think they will get suspended if found positive
Sounds smart. So lawyers can't go over and try to make sure ever t is crossed and every i is dotted....like landis...
If cancellara is guilty i wonder if they can strip his gold as well.
If he's guilty (which seems not to be case, at least here), his suspension will likely start with the last TDF (when they took the sample) so he'll lose the benefit of all he achieved since then.
