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Friday, September 8, 2006
13 riders tested positive during
Tour, 12 had exemption
Entrance to the CPLD, France's anti-doping agency
(photo Copyright ©
2006 Pete Geyer)
Paris (cyclingfans.com) -- The Paris-based French
anti-doping agency Conseil de Prevention et de Lutte Contre le Dopage (CPLD)
announced today that 13 riders tested positive for banned substances during
the 2006 Tour de France but that 12 of them were cleared because they had
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE). For
more
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In early 2005, with the hope of impressing voting members of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the selection, in July of that year, of
the host city for the 2012 Olympics, France rushed through a new anti-doping
law that called for the creation of a new French anti-doping agency, the
Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD). The AFLD
is to replace the current CPLD and also take responsibility for the Laboratoire
National de Dépistage du Dopage (LNDD), the controversial anti-doping
lab in Châtenay-Malabry outside Paris. With much fanfare in France,
French Minister of Youth and Sport Jean-François Lamour announced
at the time that the new agency would benefit from a larger budget and more
independence.
The AFLD was to have been created no later than February 1, 2006 ahead
of the Winter Olympics in Turin. Alas, London won the bid for the
2012 Olympic Games, not Paris, and the creation of AFLD seems to be dragging.
That fact along with the hype with which AFLD was announced in 2005
suggest a lack of true willpower on the part of public authorities in France
to seriously address the subject of doping in sport. The subject of
the future AFLD does not seem to have been covered at all in the English-language
media, cycling or otherwise.
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2006 Tour of Spain
August 26-September 17
(Vuelta a España)
(Tour d'Espagne)
Live video streaming:
(German)
(select alternative language stream below)
(Currently shows still
photos from the stage in progress. Live video only available
in Spain? We continue to look for alternatives available
to everyone worldwide.)
Live audio streaming:
Live tickers:
News and photos:
(cycling news)
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Thursday, September 7, 2006
Notes:
Click graphic for Tour of Poland live video streaming
(from that page, click on animated cyclists (only visible
during broadcast times) to open video window). You can select
from two separate video sources.
2003 Tour de l'Avenir winner Egoi Martinez of Spain won yesterday's
stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana ahead of former teammate Inigo Landaluze
(Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Volodymir Gustov (Team CSC).
Alejandro Valverde remains race leader ahead of Andrey Kashechkin
and Carlos Sastre.
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2006 Tour of Spain
August 26-September 17
(Vuelta a España)
(Tour d'Espagne)
Live video streaming:
(German)
(select alternative language stream below)
(Currently shows still
photos from the stage in progress. Live video only available
in Spain? We continue to look for alternatives available
to everyone worldwide.)
Live audio streaming:
Live tickers:
News and photos:
(cycling news)
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Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Notes: Defending Vuelta champion Denis Menchov
has pulled out of the race due to illness.
Sergio "Funny guy" Paulinho poses for the camera a few kilometers
from the top of Mont Ventoux during the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré.
Paulinho, seemingly at ease, at least for the camera, finished
a strong 8th on the stage of 159 riders and subsequently signed for Discovery
Channel for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
(photo Copyright ©
2006 Pete Geyer)
Portuguese rider Sergio Paulinho (Astana Team) won yesterday's
stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana, making it three stages in a row for
the Astana team. Paulinho, silver medalist in the road race at
the 2004 Olympics in Athens and who is heading to the Discovery Channel
team next season, finished the stage two seconds ahead of Davide Rebellin
(Gerolsteiner) and Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom).
Alejandro Valverde remains race leader ahead of Andrey Kashechkin
and Carlos Sastre.
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2006 Tour of Spain
August 26-September 17
(Vuelta a España)
(Tour d'Espagne)
Live video streaming:
(German)
(select alternative language stream below)
(Currently shows still
photos from the stage in progress. Live video only available
in Spain? We continue to look for alternatives available
to everyone worldwide.)
Live audio streaming:
Live tickers:
News and photos:
(cycling news)
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Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Note: Live video streaming of the Tour of Poland
is working today and like last year you can select from two camera
angles. (Click on the Live video streaming link above, then once
the page has loaded click on the animated cyclists to open the video
window.) If nothing happens
when you click on the animated cyclists, it may mean the server is overwhelmed.
Note that the animated cyclists disappear when they are not broadcasting.
Note: According to the Eurosport online schedule,
their broadcast coverage of today's stage of the Vuelta begins at
15:45 CET (9:45am U.S. Eastern Time)
New wallpaper: An artsy look at Saul Raisin riding
along
the Seine river, 2004 Grand Prix des Nations
If you listened to Sunday's live audio coverage of the USA
Cycling Pro Championships, you may have heard Saul Raisin providing
some guest commentary early on. In our opinion, it was some of
the most articulate, intelligent cycling commentary we have ever heard.
Saul is a natural.
He still has a long road of rehabilitation from the injuries
he suffered in his April crash at the Circuit de la Sarthe race but
we hope to see Saul back in the European peloton as soon as possible.
May he have a long career racing followed by a broadcasting career!
Saul mentioned during the broadcast that he wants to write
a book about his road back to the peloton and that he wants to encourage
others who have suffered similar injuries to keep fighting. In
the meantime, you can go to
Saul's website
to follow his progress as well as to purchase
"Raisin Hell" bracelets
to support the Shepherd Center which helps those with brain
and spinal chord injuries.
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2006 Tour of Spain
August 26-September 17
(Vuelta a España)
(Tour d'Espagne)
Live video streaming:
(German)
(select alternative language stream below)
(Currently shows still
photos from the stage in progress. Live video only available
in Spain? We continue to look for alternatives available
to everyone worldwide.)
Live audio streaming:
Live tickers:
News and photos:
(cycling news)
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Monday, September 4, 2006
Note: Today is the first rest day of the Tour of Spain.
New wallpaper: George Hincapie wins
the 2005 Dauphiné Libéré prologue
George Hincapie of Discovery Channel won yesterday's USA Cycling
Pro Road Race Championship, ahead of Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner)
and Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF). Many American cycling fans will be
glad to see the Stars and Stripes jersey return to the European peloton,
alongside the national champion jerseys of Italy, France, Spain, etc.
Coming up later this month: the race for the rainbow jersey of World
Champion.
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Another stage win for Vinokourov, a first
gold jersey for Valverde
At the end of Stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana, Alexandre Vinokourov
(Astana) stood poised to win the uphill finish after an attack in
the final kilometers. However, a sudden acceleration from Alejandro
Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) saw Vinokourov get pulled back in the final
hundred meters and lose the victory. In yesterday's Stage 9, a
similar scenario was unfolding, with Vinokourov out ahead with teammate
Andrey Kashechkin, while Valverde was rapidly coming up to them after
launching an attack to drop everyone else. This time, however, Vinokourov
made sure that history did not repeat itself. Putting in a hard
acceleration just as Valverde was catching Kashechkin, "Vino" managed
to maintain his gap this time to win his second consecutive stage of the
Vuelta by 16 seconds ahead of Valverde. Vinokourov now sits 5th
overall, 1:38 behind new leader Valverde.
Valverde's 2nd place saw him take the overall leadership after
previous leader Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel) lost 2:14 on the
stage. Valverde now leads by 27 seconds ahead of Kashechkin, who
finished 5 seconds behind Valverde. Kashechkin was perfectly placed
to gain time after he and Vinokourov attacked together with 6 km to go,
with Vino doing all of the work. However, when Valverde made his
move, Kasheckin was unable to maintain the pace of Vino and let him go.
In third place at 44 seconds back is Carlos Sastre (CSC), who finished
4th on the stage. Brajkovic slides down to 6th place overall, 2:05
down.
Vinokourov appears to be getting stronger and stronger each
stage. After losing 2:13 on Stage 5, the first mountain stage,
many, including yours truly, wrote him off as a serious contender.
Since he was (wrongly) excluded from the Tour de France, he has had the
motivation to perform well but not the form to match. Now, however,
it appears as if he is turning it around. Another rider to rediscover
his form was Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas), who finished 6th on the stage
in the group containing Sastre. American hope Tom Danielson (Discovery
Channel), after his bad day on Stage 7, was reduced to the role of teammate
for Brajkovic, waiting for him and pacing him up the final kilometers
of the climb. He and Stijn Devolder, who is having an excellent
Vuelta, did their best to limit the damage for Brajkovic, who had a difficult
time just holding the wheel of his teammates.
Today is the first rest day of the Vuelta, which will be appreciated
by the riders after having 3 difficult days in the mountains so far
in this Vuelta. Tomorrow will resume with a tricky finish that includes
a Cat 3 hill in the final 12 km. Also of note is today's beginning
of the Tour of Poland, the other Pro Tour event during the month of September.
-Chris
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