Let the Classics Begin

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs.

--KBK and Omloop took place this weekend. I won't spoil them for you but they were a lot of fun. You can find videos here on Sporza. Scroll down the Omloop one (ends in "Nieuwsblad 2012"). At about 80km to go in Omloop Lars Boom has a pretty gnarly crash. It's in the first minute of that video. Definitely worth a watch.

--Cycling Tips has a nice photo post about Omloop.

--Vroomen's latest post the completely sloppy enforcement of doping suspensions. For example, Mosquera admitted to doping so he lost a year's pay and then his suspension didn't begin until the final decision a year later. Contador, on the other hand, was able to race for a full year and a half and then had his suspension begin at the time he tested positive.

--Ever wonder about the specifics of the whereabout program? Here's a post about the UCI's program.

--Lastly, Ballan and Blythe show off their wheelies:



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Mr. Jeannie Longo, Cat 4 Phenom

Taking a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs.

--New SF Small Business Commissioner, owner of Rickshaw Bags, and my friend is doing his annual ride down to Long Beach for the TED Conference. He's doing it because he likes to ride, but also to help raise money for homeless youth. Click here to donate money to the cause.

--This is old news but Jeanie Longo's husband, Patrice Ciprelli, got caught buying EPO from Joe Papp's online fun store. It's claimed he made 15 purchases of EPO.

Funny enough, I actually raced against this guy--that's right, he was Cat4Strong, at Fitchburg in 2009. I can't find the results online but I think he probably finished higher than me (I wasn't using EPO at the time).

--In older news, Betsy Andreau not happy about Lance verdict. That link title is about as exciting as it gets, though. Nothing really interesting in the article.

--Here's a cool Michael Matthews.

--Vroomen and former BMC CEO, Andy Kessler are starting a new bike company. I haven't seen any post from Vroomen on this but looks like it could be to expand to a broader market (read: not just Cat 4 bankers and Ironman tatted dentists).

--This is a funny, pseudo-interview with Jan Ullrich. I say "pseudo-interview" because the guy lost or didn't record the interview! Major bummer.

--Looks like Pegasus Racing, which was the Fly V team, is under investigation by the Australian Tax Office due to complaints by numerous former riders. As I've noted before, tax evasion is apparently a badge of honor amongst cyclists...

--Lastly, I'll leave you with another awkward cycling pic from my favorite cycling pics blog:



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Bike Touring with a PRO: João Correia's Bike Tours (inGamba)

My buddy João Correia's recently launched a full scale touring company, inGamba.pro. What started as Fat Man Tours has now expanded into a premier touring shop. Here are some pics from their Tours:



These guys are doing it right. Whereas most touring companies, by definition, cater to triples and panniers, inGamba has focused on the avid road rider. Guys like us, who like a good hard ride, but enjoy a shower after.



They also incorporate one of the best parts about riding: the appetite. From the looks of the site you'd think they were eating tours.




Another cool thing about inGamba is the access to PROs. As a former PRO, João knows all the guys in the biz which means that in addition to amazing routes, you'll get to do some of them with real PROs.



They also go beyond your typical tour spots. Not just Tour and Giro routes but places like Portugal, Northern California, and even Belgium. Many of you have ridden Tour climbs, but have you ever seen a classic? What about a kermis? inGamba has a tour coming up soon which includes the Ronde AND Paris-Roubaix. How cool is that?



If you're thinking of taking a big bike trip this year I highly recommend inGamba. These are top notch tours for the same price as planning it on your own, minus the hassle. Be sure to sign up soon, though, because half of the tours are already sold out. Click HERE for more info.

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Cycling Greats, Decided in Court

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs.

--Looks like Lance is off the hook and Contador is off the hook (-7 months since his ban is retroactive). Both are down a couple million, though. Lance with Fabiani and his spin mafia and Contador with the fines and salary he'll have to pay back. It's unfortunate that half the drama of the sport is tied up in the courtroom, but come Paris-Roubaix I couldn't care less. Regardless of what any court says, these guys still have to live with themselves. And as we've seen from Landis, that's the real punishment.

Here are some of the reactions:

Liggett is first to jump back on the Lance train saying the "whole investigation was a waste of money." Maybe he's trying to pitch his new book "Talking About Cycling, For Way Too Long."

WADA Boss, Fahey says "Contador is a cheat", but goes on to backpedal: "The only argument then comes as to what was the nature of how that prohibited substance got into the athlete’s system. But you’re a cheat, effectively, the moment you’ve got that substance in there."

Schleck still believes in Contador's innocence and thinks it took way too long.

Cancellara agrees that the whole thing took way too long.

In the end, the length of it played to what I believe was McQuaid's ends. It took almost two years so Contador didn't have to take much time off racing. And at the same time it wasn't overturned, meaning they'd have to overturn all the other clenbuterol positives.

And as for Lance, it's come out that the case was closed rather hastily leaving some of the other agencies baffled and angry.

--In other news, my buddy Jack Bauer was rocking at Qatar the other day:



Glad to see he's made it to Garmin. We stayed at the same place in Gent a couple summers ago.

--I'll leave you with a cool pic of Bernie and Cav:



And another awkward one:



Both courtesy of The Uphill Shift.

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The Lance Case: A Legal Opinion

Thinking of take a bike trip soon? Check out Joao Correia's tour company inGamba. Ride like PROs, with PROs.

--Resident counsel, Martin has provided a legal opinion on the recent news in the Lance case. As with anything on this blog, it doesn't mean anything, opinions aren't associated with the blog, and any heretofore consequences are avoided, et cetera.

Legally, all we can know for now is that the U. S. Attorneys (USA's) did not feel they had enough evidence to prove the conspiracy and fraud claims beyond a reasonable doubt. BARD is the highest burden of proof, damn tough to make. They had some evidence, for sure, since rampant PEDs usage is anecdotally well documented. But if they didnt have a stone cold, lead pipe, Master locked case with unimpeachable personal testimony and forensic data, against such a revered public figure the USA would have kissed his career good bye if he prosecuted and lost the case. He would be forever known as the lawyer who took on Lance and lost. No one wants that on their tombstone.

High profile prosecutions of revered public figures are always really political, right?
In this case, Lance's investigation was preceded by two PEDS type prosecutions against athletes where the cases were complete flops: Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. In both those cases the USAs got worked, hard. USA's are ALL very skilled trial attorneys. Its either all in, or cut bait, to mix metaphors. Were they to prosecute Lance and lose (or even only get a conviction on a lesser charge) that would pretty much seal the deal for high profile athlete prosecution related to PEDS.

My gut tells me this is the last of the Novitsky type witch hunts anyway. The 2005 congressional steroid hearings were a lifetime ago. The public outrage has long since subsided. Meanwhile, the country has had to weather a historical financial storm,and cannot stomach another waste of gazillions in another lost PEDs prosecution.

The timing of the halting of the investigation is significant, and calculated. The USA issued the press release just before close of business on the eve of single biggest sporting weekend of the year. By monday, the Lance investigation news will be a mere footnote to the Superbowl headlines. Best believe the USA has been sitting on this press release for some time, and was strategically waiting to issue it so as to minimize any backlash from shutting down the investigation after so much time and money.

The timing is significant on a larger scale, too. We are entering an election year where "distractions" like an unsuccesful prosecution, or even a very long drawn out trial (which it was sure to be) would serve no candidates' purposes. This is also an Olympic year during which optimism in sport should predominate.

To sum, i think the decision to shitcan the investigation is consistent with the absence of an airtight case, and fits the prevailing public sentiment. For that reason, Im skeptical of Travis Tygart saying USA Cycling will pick up the trail where the US Attorney left off. Thats just straight up grandstanding.

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