On doping and other matters, some articles you should read

The latest edition of Procycling has turned up, cover is “The inside story behind the creation of” Team Laypreacher-Trunk, not a single mention of women’s professional cycling again. So here’s some articles that I’ve been reading that you should read.

Contador, Clenbuterol and cows

The best article you will read this week comes from one of my favourite writers on cycling, ESPN’s Bonnie D Ford. Her central point on Contador:

“Athletes in Olympic sports all over the world are supposed to be governed by the same impartial code. But Contador’s case demonstrates that the way the system treats them is anything but universal. Outcomes still depend entirely on who you are and where your passport was issued.”

She’s bang on the money about many aspects of the case to the extent that the steak defence really struggles to pass the straight face test.

Read Alberto Contador case sets bad precedent for anti-doping ‘adjudication’ system – Bonnie D Ford ESPN

Kimmage and Landis’ hot date

Lots of people were fizzing like teenaged girls at a Bros concert over the prospect of Paul Kimmage’s interview with Floyd Landis in The Sunday Times. In the end it was buried in the magazine rather than the sport section.

It was seemingly the victim of judicious excisions by the subbing and legal departments. Except that, when you read the full transcript on NY Velocity, there’s very little that hasn’t already been said about doping in the sport in other articles and very little revelation.

Perhaps the most notable sections are on the hypocrisy of Pereiro, an elephant in the room that no one ever seems to mention, and the parallel world inside the peloton that Kimmage has been trying to tell us about for years.

I’ve been reading Kimmage long enough to know where his truth is on cycling. As I said early on twitter, once you accept where his truth is he becomes consistent and you can measure your distance and truth against his. That’s what makes him a great journalist.

It’s a good portrait of the man that Landis was, is and how he became that man. But it’s not explosive in the way the believers might have dreamed it would be.

Floyd comes across as human, with all the frailties that entails. That’s all you can expect from a great interview.

Trent Lowe vs Garmin

I still think there’s lots of questions that haven’t been answered. Ed Pickering and Joe Lindsey manage to ask most of the important ones:

Joe Lindsey – Lowe point for Garmin

Ed Pickering – Slipstream more questions than answers

Dan Friebe puts the case for Vaughters’ actions on Cyclingnews:

Opinion: Vaughters’ pedantry just what doctor ordered

I’m not convinced that Lowe is the only villain of the piece and that 500K – regardless of US Dollars or Euro – isn’t much of an ask when his name in now damned by association with Dr Luis Garcia del Moral.

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