Archived posts for November 2011

Millar will not challenge BOA ban

Millar was banned in 2004 for taking performance-enhancing drugs

Cyclist David Millar insists he will not seek to overturn a lifetime Olympic ban imposed by the British Olympic Association (BOA).

The 34-year-old Scot was banned in 2004 after admitting taking performance-enhancing drugs.

However, despite the World Anti-Doping Agency ruling against the British stance, Miller has no plans to push for a place at the London 2012 Games.

“In all honesty, I’d written off the Olympics a long time ago,” said Millar.

Under British Olympic Association rules, athletes who have tested positive are given a lifetime ban.

However WADA has has told the BOA that its punishment for athletes found guilty of doping is no longer compliant with their rules.

Millar expressed surprise at the speed at which the dispute between the BOA and WADA over the British ban had escalated.

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If the UK has the choice of having a lifetime ban for the Olympics, why can’t another country just punish six months?

David Millar

“I though it would be something that would more likely happen in the future, maybe even post-Olympics, so to have WADA react so quickly is quite good,” he said.

He also expressed concern that the current BOA lifetime ban ruled out any possibility of offenders’ rehabilitation.

“There’s a place for lifetime bans in sport, but I’d like to think that what I’ve been through is a shining example of the worth of second chances,” said Millar.

“Every case needs to be judged on its own merits. I don’t think every athlete should be treated the same way.

“Imagine you have a 16-year-old who’s been given something by their coach and goes positive and receives a lifetime ban, that doesn’t seem fair.

“But maybe, if you have a 34-year-old multi-millionaire who lives in Monte Carlo, with a team of medical staff, who goes positive, maybe they should get a lifetime ban for a first offence.

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“But those two cases are so different that they can’t be judged the same.”

Millar, who is now an athlete’s representative for WADA, believes that all countries should apply the same rules when it comes to doping.

“If we have individual countries having their own rules in place – and it’s understandable that people feel very strongly about these rules – every country has to be under the same umbrella, if you like,” he said.

“If the UK has the choice of having a lifetime ban for the Olympics, why can’t another country just punish six months?”

But despite the prospect of the BOA’s lifetime ban rule being overturned, Millar has revealed he will not be seeking to challenge it and is not thinking of competing at the Olympics.

“I just considered that the lifetime ban was in place and it wasn’t something I wanted to challenge,” he added.

“There are certain fights I don’t want to fight and that was one of them.

“I just don’t fancy being vilified any more. It’s been a tough couple of years.”

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15922346.stm

Posted by: keith on Monday, November 28th, 2011 posted in: News

Bellis lands team spot for 2012

Bellis represented Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics in 2008

Jonny Bellis says he is delighted to have the chance to continue to rebuild his career after signing with the An Post Sean Kelly team for next season.

The 23-year-old is fighting his way back to fitness after suffering serious head injuries in a life-threatening scooter crash in 2009.

Bellis said: “I’m really happy to sign for the team. It’s another step in the right direction.”

The Manx cyclist represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics Beijing.

Bellis is regarded as one of British cycling’s best academy products and had just completed his first full season as a professional with Danish team Saxo Bank when the accident happened in Italy in September 2009.

The three-time European track champion continued: “I am really grateful for this opportunity and I’m really looking forward to more racing. I am determined to get back to my best.

“I have heard a lot of good things about the team from lots of people and I feel it is the perfect place for me to be next year.”

Bellis won a bronze medal at the Under-23 world road championships in 2007 and bronze and silver medals at the world junior championships the same year.

His new Belgium-based team competes at the Continental level but also gets invited to compete a several major races including the Tour of Qatar, Oman and Belgium.

General manager Kurt Bogaerts says they will choose the races which best suits the rider as he builds his condition.

He will travel to Spain to meet up with his new team in December.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15890759.stm

Posted by: keith on Friday, November 25th, 2011 posted in: News

Contador waits for doping verdict

Spaniard Contador testified in person on the final day of the CAS hearing

Alberto Contador will have to wait until the new year to discover if he is to be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France win after giving evidence at the end of his four-day doping hearing.

Contador, who could receive a two-year ban, gave testimony at the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing.

The Spaniard tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol on the second rest day of last year’s Tour.

But he has maintained that the failure resulted from eating contaminated meat.

The 28-year-old claims to have consumed the drug in contaminated beef, and in February the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation cleared him of a potential provisional one-year ban.

But World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) regards clenbuterol – a fat-burning and muscle-building supplement – as a zero-tolerance drug, and, together with world cycling body UCI, appealed against the decision.

If found guilty, Contador can expect a two-year suspension from the sport and to be stripped of his 2010 Tour win and other subsequent victories.

After a final day of testimony in Lausanne, Switzerland, Cas secretary general Matthieu Reeb confirmed that the rider addressed the appeals panel “for about 15 minutes”.

“He took the case very seriously. He was present for all the case and attended all the discussions”, Reeb said.

As he left the court, Contador made no comment.

The result of the Wada and UCI appeal should be revealed in January 2012, Reeb confirmed.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15880082.stm

Posted by: keith on Friday, November 25th, 2011 posted in: News

Corsica to host 2013 Tour start

The 100th staging of the Tour de France will start from Corsica in 2013.

It will be the first time the Mediterranean island has hosted a stage in the prestigious three-week race.

Corsica is the only metropolitan region of France never to have hosted a stage and more details are set to be revealed on Tuesday, 6 December.

The 2012 race starts on 30 June, with Australia’s Cadel Evans starting the defence of his title in the Belgian city of Liege.

Corsica has held the past two editions of the two-day Criterium International, with Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck winning this year’s race.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15871188.stm

Posted by: keith on Thursday, November 24th, 2011 posted in: News

Ricco loses appeal over sentence

Ricco was riding for Spanish team Saunier Duval at the 2008 Tour

Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco has lost his appeal against a two-month suspended prison sentence for doping during the 2008 Tour de France.

A Toulouse court upheld the June 2010 verdict, when Ricco was found guilty of “using a poisonous substance”.

Ricco tested positive for Cera, an advanced version of the banned blood-booster EPO, after winning two mountain stages on the 2008 Tour.

Ricco has five days to appeal against the latest court ruling.

Ricco’s lawyer Annamaria Tripicchio-Rogier tried to get the charges dropped because Ricco had already been charged by a court in Italy in February 2010.

She said: “We’re not pleading in favour of doping, far from it. Mr. Ricco made a mistake and admitted it.

“But given the fact he’s already been condemned for the same thing by an Italian court, he can’t be condemned again by another tribunal.”

Ricco also lost his appeal against a fine of 3,000 euros (£2,600).

Ricco had won two stages of the 2008 Tour before he was disqualified. He served a 20-month ban and was also tried and fined 5,710 euros (£4,930) by a court in Padua.

Ricco has not raced since being investigated by Italy’s anti-doping body over reports he performed a blood transfusion on himself at his home near Modena in February.

He was subsequently sacked by his Dutch team Vacansoleil-DCM after the incident.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15848251.stm

Posted by: keith on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 posted in: News

Win for Cavendish on track return

Cavendish thrilled the sell-out crowd with victory in the scratch race

World road race champion Mark Cavendish made a successful return to track cycling winning the scratch race at the Manchester velodrome.

In his first track appearance since the 2009 World championships, Cavendish won in front of a sell-out crowd at the National Cycling Centre.

Cavendish took the honours in the scratch race ahead of Steven Burke.

He said after the race: “It all started off here [in Manchester] so it’s good to come back.”

He added: “It was more intense than what I’m used to at this time of year. The reception I had was amazing. It’s packed here and it’s great.”

The scratch race at the Revolution 34 event was competed over 15km, with Cavendish winning in a time of 17 minutes exactly.

Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett and Geraint Thomas made early breaks in the race, but eventually finished in 15th and 18th place respectively.

The recently-retired rider Rob Hayles was afforded a standing ovation by the 4,000 crowd and fellow riders paid tribute to the 38-year-old who won Olympic medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and four years later in Athens.

Ed Clancy and Andrew Tennant won the 1km Madison time trial event.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/cycling/15810856.stm

Posted by: keith on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 posted in: News

Armitstead forced to drop omnium

Armitstead, right, won the British National Championships road race title in June

British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead has abandoned plans to ride in the omnium at London 2012 in order to concentrate on the 140km road race.

The 22-year-old – a world champion on the track and national champion on the road – had intended to compete in both.

“I don’t think it’s possible,” she said. “It’s a difficult decision.”

“I can’t commit to the team pursuit [part of the omnium] as much as I can to the road race because that’s what I’m passionate about.”

The lure of winning road race gold at the finishing line on The Mall proved decisive for Armitstead.

“It’s difficult to look at the velodrome and see the atmosphere that I’ll be missing out on, but the whole of London will be atmospheric,” said Armitstead.

“A decision is made, just because of the fact I didn’t want to miss out on the road race.

“The Mall is quite iconic as well and to race down there and cross the line in a setting like that would also be very special.”

Laura Trott or Dani King are likely to take the omnium place – a six-discipline event making its Olympic debut in London – vacated by Armitstead.

Instead, the Yorkshire-born rider will now aim to be leader on the road of a British team that also includes Nicole Cooke, the 2008 Olympic champion.

Armitstead looked well placed for a medal when she was caught up in a crash late on in the finale of September’s World Championships in Copenhagen. She recovered to finish seventh, while Cooke finished fourth.

Article source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/sport1/hi/olympics/15745653.stm

Posted by: keith on Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 posted in: News