Ridiculous sportspeople.

[DonPeffers]

With the football World Cup upon us for a month we have already seen professional diving by players and I suppose it will continue.

Just spotted --- Cycling or football?  Rider fakes crash and sits down in road to avoid race finale   http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/cycling-or-football-rider-apologises-after-faking-crash-and-sitting-down-in-road-380452    rider Pawel Bernas.

"In what may be the first case of diving in cycling, a CCC Sprandi Polkowice rider has apologised after video footage showed him pretending to have been involved in a crash at the Tour of Norway."

Elsewhere the UCI are dealing with a case involving a top cyclist's legal team (trying to avoid a racing ban) quoting a scientific paper about salbutamol levels where the study is partly based on dogs which appears entirely consistent given the cyclist's nickname. This is after an a reported attempt to explain drug levels by contemplating temporary kidney failure or similar as an excuse.

Also it seems the cyclist has declined to undertake the standard UCI exercise and urine sample test to see if he can give a similar drug reading to the one under investigation.

Although the cyclist says a speedy resolution to the case is wanted it seems after the submission of 1500 pages of scientific material (seemingly obviously flawed) that this may not be the top priority. 

Meanwhile sport becomes an ever bigger farce.
 

[pistonbroke]

sadly cycling , like so many other pursuits these days  is nothing to do with sport , It has become a huge money making business , with untold thousands at stake there will always be the temptation to cheat 

 

 

[DonPeffers]

Although I'm a Scot I will be supporting England at the World Cup and just hope they can get some blackout curtains---see below.

16 Jun 2018  https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/709997/world-cup-2018-england-russia-match-fifa-uk-british-team-hotel-repino

England's squad ‘HELL’ at World Cup base revealed.

The sun sets only around 11.30pm and rises again at 3am.

And remember firstly to do one touch football (NOT three touch) and secondly shoot at goal as often as possible; then you might have a chance.

[DonPeffers]

June 20, 2018  https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/vuelta-a-espana/vuelta-director-cant-start-2018-race-without-knowing-2017-winner-383630

Vuelta director: ‘We can’t start the 2018 race without knowing the 2017 winner"       (2018 Vuelta starts 25 Aug 2018).

"It is a topic that should be resolved for the good of the Tour,"

"Cycling Weekly learned from a rider in the top classification of the 2017 Vuelta that winnings were held after the race finished. Organizer Unipublic is likely waiting for a ruling before paying out."

Unclear if the same applies to the recently completed 2018 Giro or what will happen at 2018 TDF in 15 days.

I do wonder what the UK media and politicians would say if a French or Russian rider was the one at the centre of an investigation into an adverse drug finding dated 07 September 2017, whose actions were resulting in earnings being withheld from others?

If the 2017 Vuelta winner is deleted and the 2nd placed rider becomes the winner then he has lost nearly a year of possible sponsorship which might have come his way as Tour winner.

An almighty mess.

Time for this to be resolved  NOW.

[SootySport]

......and how come all the Norwegian cross country ski team are asthmatics.   If nebulisers are make you go faster, I'll fit one to my Westfield.

[Blatman]

5 hours ago, SootySport said:

......and how come all the Norwegian cross country ski team are asthmatics.   If nebulisers are make you go faster, I'll fit one to my Westfield.

In my head I see a MASSIVE can of EasyStart bolted to the end of a set of throbble botty trumpets with a cone filter on the end...

[DonPeffers]

2018 Tour De France cycle race starts next Saturday, 07 July 2018.

12 months ago    01 Jul 2017      https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/cycling/3923671/tour-de-france-chris-froome-yellow-jersey/   
 HEADLINE-- "WEE? NON 
"Tour de France: Chris Froome begs fans not to take the p*** and respect the Yellow Jersey as he bids for FOURTH crown.
The reigning champ launches his bid for a FOURTH title in Dusseldorf today with Team Sky still engulfed in a doping probe."

                      Then move on to current news and a different doping probe:-

Today  01 July 2018   https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/chris-froome-told-he-can-not-compete-in-this-years-tour-de-france-amid-doping-probe-a3876301.html

"Chris Froome told he can not compete in this year's Tour de France amid doping probe."

Today  01 July 2018      https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cycling/tour-de-france-2018-chris-froome-banned-drug-test-appeal-team-sky-can-he-compete-latest-news-a8425301.html

 "Tour de France 2018: Chris Froome ‘banned’ by organisers in bid to prevent ‘damage to the image’ of the race.  Team Sky are understood to have appealed the decision after the ASO took measures to prevent the four-time Tour de France winner from competing in this month’s event.

Team Sky has appealed the decision and the case will now be heard in the court of arbitration of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) on Tuesday, four days before the race’s start on Saturday 7 July."

"Froome was found to have double the permitted level of the asthma drug Salbutamol in his system when tested after stage 18 of his Vuelta triumph last September.

He has assembled an expensive legal team to present his case but is yet to propose a date for any hearing, and continues to insist that he is desperate for the affair to be resolved as soon as possible. He has faced criticism from some fellow and former riders, suggesting he should step aside from competing while the case remains unresolved."

The latest probe relates to Froome providing a sample with twice the permitted level of asthma drug salbutamol on 07 September 2017 (stage 18) at last years Tour of Spain which he won. In addition Froome won the 2018 Giro D'italia on 27 May 2018 while still under drug investigation and possible ban negating results.

Previously ASO  (TDF organiser) banned 2007 TDF defending champion Alberto Contador (Team Astana) from the 2008 event.

Froome's possible entry to this years TDF  will be decided in the next few days.

 

[DonPeffers]

02 Jul 2018  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/07/02/chris-froome-salbutamol-case-dropped-uci-freeing-team-sky-rider/   "The UCI has closed its anti-doping disciplinary case against Chris Froome."

"In a dramatic development, cycling’s world governing body released a statement on Monday morning admitting it had received information from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) last week that made it abundantly clear that the UCI’s disciplinary body would be unable to prosecute Froome."

"Monday’s statement from the UCI revealed that, after months of research, Froome’s lawyers had submitted their explanation for his AAF on June 4 “together with significant additional expert evidence”.

"It is unclear where this leaves Wada or the UCI in terms of potential action. Italians Diego Ulissi and Alessandro Petacchi were both banned on the strength of having less salbutamol in their systems than Froome had. They may try to seek damages now that the reliability of the test has been undermined."

Froome’s use of an inhaler received attention in June 2014, when he was filmed using it during the Critérium du Dauphiné. This seems to be the first time the inhaler use had been seen publicly although apparently his asthma has existed since childhood and Froome has been a professional cyclist since 2007.

With the Froome case closed it could be that the UCI and WADA have many questions to answer and will WADA amend their prohibited list?   https://www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-is-prohibited/prohibited-at-all-times/beta-2-agonists   .

[AdamR]

It's daft. I'm in the cycling industry and one of the guys who works here knows a fair bit about this.

Apparently a lot of pro cyclists have asthma or other respiratory diseases. b*****k*. I would bet good money that they get a bogus diagnosis so they can take these drugs which would otherwise be illegal. Why would you pursue a career in something that almost solely relies on you having very efficient lungs if you have a respiratory disease? And how would you get any good at it (to get towards pro level) if you did have such diseases?

It's a shame that cheating and dishonesty is so rife through all aspects of life nowadays.

[pistonbroke]

6 hours ago, AdamR said:

It's daft. I'm in the cycling industry and one of the guys who works here knows a fair bit about this.

Apparently a lot of pro cyclists have asthma or other respiratory diseases. b*****k*. I would bet good money that they get a bogus diagnosis so they can take these drugs which would otherwise be illegal. Why would you pursue a career in something that almost solely relies on you having very efficient lungs if you have a respiratory disease? And how would you get any good at it (to get towards pro level) if you did have such diseases?

It's a shame that cheating and dishonesty is so rife through all aspects of life nowadays.

Forget the scene or which Clint Eastwood film it was , but someone famously said          * A mans got to have an advantage * 

 

[DonPeffers]

02 Jul 2018  http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-information-on-salbutamol-case-to-be-released-in-coming-days/    Headline--- "Chris Froome: Information on salbutamol case to be released in coming days".  

"Chris Froome has said that further details of his salbutamol case and the reasons why he was cleared will be released in the coming days. On Monday morning, the UCI announced that after a nine-month investigation, they were closing their case on Froome's elevated levels of salbutamol from an anti-doping test during the 2017 Vuelta a Espana. 

The statement said that the UCI had conferred with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) during the process, and they had agreed with the decision, but it did not go into the scientific details behind it."

Might be a technical, scientific read but interesting nonetheless;  I await the publication.

[DonPeffers]

On 05/07/2018 at 11:38, DonPeffers said:

02 Jul 2018  http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-information-on-salbutamol-case-to-be-released-in-coming-days/    Headline--- "Chris Froome: Information on salbutamol case to be released in coming days".  

"Chris Froome has said that further details of his salbutamol case and the reasons why he was cleared will be released in the coming days."

Might be a technical, scientific read but interesting nonetheless;  I await the publication.

05 Jul 2018   https://www.velonews.com/2018/07/tour-de-france/dont-hold-breath-release-froome-data-unlikely_471320

HEADLINE---"Don’t hold your breath: Release of more Froome data unlikely."

-------------------------------------  OOPS!!!!!!

07 Jul2018    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-and-wada-need-to-be-more-transparent-says-former-asada-head/

"Chris Froome and WADA need to be more transparent, says former ASADA head

Ings calls on WADA and UCI to publish all documents from Sky rider's salbutamol case."

[DonPeffers]

The Independent's take on UCI and 'doping' probe--   08 Jul 2018   https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/mourning-the-death-of-antidoping-37091856.html

   Headline--  Mourning the death of anti-doping.

"Anti-doping is dead. It died on Monday when the UCI, cycling's governing body, announced that it was dropping its case against Chris Froome who'd tested positive for a higher than permitted level of the asthma drug salbutamol at last year's Vuelta a Espana.

The announcement was made just five days before the start of the Tour de France. Tour organisers ASO had been trying to prevent Froome from taking part on the grounds that he would damage the image of the race. UCI's abject cave-in put an end to that.

Their capitulation reveals anti-doping as pretty much a busted flush. It's difficult enough to detect doping violations in the first place. Forty per cent of athletes admit to having doped yet only two per cent test positive. Then you have the immensely dodgy territory of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) which allow athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs if they claim they have a medical condition which requires the use of such drugs.

Now you have a situation where the world's leading anti-doping organisation has decided to back down from enforcing its own rules in the face of a legal challenge. The weakness they have revealed in doing so will inevitably lead to many more such challenges in the future.

From the moment Froome's test results were revealed Sky simply refused to accept it. Froome continued to race while Sky flooded WADA and UCI with evidence. A 1500-page report! A survey on the effects of salbutamol in dogs! The general impression was of a search for any kind of loophole which might enable Froome's acquittal. In the end WADA wilted under the pressure from Sky and its high-powered legal team.

Key to Sky's argument is the notion that the salbutamol test might be prone to giving false positive results. Yet if this was the case you'd imagine that the number of athletes testing positive for salbutamol would be higher than the 0.0008 per cent in 2016. There have been only 11 positive tests in the UK in the last decade and all of these were judged to be doping violations.

Froome was actually 67 per cent over the permitted level when he was tested at the Vuelta, which is quite something given that the upper limit is a remarkably, perhaps foolishly, generous one which equates to about 500 per cent of the normal dose taken by an asthma sufferer.

But perhaps the number of tests doesn't even matter after a week which showed that the world's leading anti-doping organisation could be backed down by a suitably determined and well-funded foe. It feels like an important line has been crossed and that we have entered a new era.

Anti-doping has passed on. It is no more. It has ceased to be. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It has kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible."

In an earlier post Blatman suggested letting athletes take whatever they want, and reluctantly I've now got to agree.

[Lawrie]

Don't forget Russia and the Winter Olympic ban.  There must be teams of scientists looking for a legal "advantage". 

Man wasn't designed to ride a bike at 30 mph for hours in that heat.

[Blatman]

On 10/07/2018 at 13:27, Lawrie said:

Man wasn't designed to ride a bike at 30 mph for hours in that heat.

There is much man wasn't designed for. Walking upright for example. But with training and preparation much can be achieved. 

With regards to the cycling, Froome was found to have a high level of salbutamol. I'm betting plenty of others had high levels too along with who knows what else. So if we were to take the little leap that most of the front runners were doping, Froome still beat them all. Maybe if they were all clean the result would have been the same but without lawyers. We'll never know.

Surely though, whoever is prescribing the meds is as culpable as the athlete for taking them? How does one get a 2 year supply of (insert name of drug here), finish it in three weeks and then get another script filled? It's hard enough to buy a box of 24 Nurofen Plus without the pharmacist treating us (well me today) like some sort of opiate addict. Isn't there supposed to be checks and balances in the drug prescribing system?

On 10/07/2018 at 09:43, DonPeffers said:

In an earlier post Blatman suggested letting athletes take whatever they want, and reluctantly I've now got to agree.

I'm sure there is a suitable painkiller for that. Just don't take too much of it. But if you do, remember this... I used to work for Sky