Poor Frankie, after a 2-hour hearing with the Luxembourg anti-doping association (LADA) (OK, I know it's ALAD really, but LADA is funnier), he now has to wait another six weeks before getting a decision.
For heaven's sake, why???
And the Lux paper Le Quotidien has run a piece suggesting that Nissan are withdrawing their support from RadioShack, for unspecified reasons, but of course it's all to do with bloody Armstrong and the doping scandal.
Interesting side note - did anybody else laugh hysterically at the report that Dr Ferrari gave an interview in which he said he'd never seen Armstrong dope, and explained the "never had a positive test" as being simply because Armstrong always rode clean? Mind you, Dr Ferrari also said that he had never told anyone to dope, but was concerned only with giving advice on nutrition and training schedules, and the use of cunning tricks such as training at altitude. Somehow I don't quite believe him...
Anyway, the loss of Nissan might be a good thing as far as Trek are concerned. They were mighty cross this year at not being allowed to be in the team name - you remember, no more than two sponsor names for Pro-Teams - so next year it might well be RadioShack Trek.
Maybe RadioShack will give up sponsoring as well: after all, they are the main name associated with Armstrong. Then perhaps Leopard will come back in as sponsors, and hey! Leopard Trek!
Well, I'm very sorry for Frankie and all the family, it would have been so much nicer if this could have been resolved before Christmas. Still, let's send them all our very best wishes for Christmas, and we all hope to see a much better New Year for everyone.
Have a lovely Christmas break, Schlecklanders, I don't expect there will be much blogging over the holidays, so I will send you all my wishes for a super Christmas, and a very happy New Year.
Kisses!
Friday 21 December 2012
Wednesday 19 December 2012
Frankie: today's the day.
At least, we hope that today will be the day... the day that Frankie gets a decision, one way or the other, on his "adverse finding" for a non-banned substance at the Tour.
And we all hope that the decision will be for either no ban, or for a short ban that will allow him to race again as soon as the season starts.
Fingers crossed for you, Frankie!
Andy has already announced that he'll be going over to Australia early, in order to get used to the weather and the time difference, ahead of the Tour Down Under. I expect all Schlecklanders in the area to get out their cameras and try to spot him out training...
Meanwhile, the Dark Lords of Katusha are spitting mad to be denied a Pro Team licence, despite - they say - filling all the UCI criteria. They are not happy.
I still think that there has been an admin cock-up on the part of the UCI - well, it wouldn't be the first, would it? - and that they have made a mistake. This could mean that one of the lowest teams gets a massive disappointment, if the UCI have to put Katusha back in, as they will presumably have to push out one of the other teams to make room for them. Argos and - sharp intake of breath - Stinkoff are the most likely to get the shove, I would have thought.
Or, of course, the UCI could just change their own rules, and have 19 teams this year, instead of 18?
And we all hope that the decision will be for either no ban, or for a short ban that will allow him to race again as soon as the season starts.
Fingers crossed for you, Frankie!
Andy has already announced that he'll be going over to Australia early, in order to get used to the weather and the time difference, ahead of the Tour Down Under. I expect all Schlecklanders in the area to get out their cameras and try to spot him out training...
Meanwhile, the Dark Lords of Katusha are spitting mad to be denied a Pro Team licence, despite - they say - filling all the UCI criteria. They are not happy.
I still think that there has been an admin cock-up on the part of the UCI - well, it wouldn't be the first, would it? - and that they have made a mistake. This could mean that one of the lowest teams gets a massive disappointment, if the UCI have to put Katusha back in, as they will presumably have to push out one of the other teams to make room for them. Argos and - sharp intake of breath - Stinkoff are the most likely to get the shove, I would have thought.
Or, of course, the UCI could just change their own rules, and have 19 teams this year, instead of 18?
Wednesday 12 December 2012
The Dark Lords are not happy...
Katusha have waited a whole day before reacting with "anger and surprise" at the UCI refusing them Pro Team status.
Well, they have a point - their rider Rodriguez was the Pro Team number one rider this year, beating even Bradley Wiggins with 692 points: and Katusha as a team were ranked second.
How on earth can the UCI justify not giving them a Pro Team licence for next year?
The Dark Lords of Katusha are not happy.... they are even claiming that this action effectively puts Russia out of the World Tour, as just about all the Russian riders in the peloton are in Katusha.
And this decision has come just five weeks before the start of the season - honestly, what is going on with the UCI? There's a phrase in the UK, "unable to organise a piss-up in a brewery" which is beginning to seem rather appropriate for the UCI.
(Note for non UK readers: "piss-up" = drinking session, ie getting pissed (drunk): brewery = place where beer is made, ie you'd think that any moron would be able to organise one in the other. End of note.)
So what's going on, then? Did someone make a mistake? Will there be a retraction? Will Argos be unceremoniously shoved out to make room for Katusha? Will - *shocked intake of breath* - Stinkoff be the ones to be demoted?
Well, they have a point - their rider Rodriguez was the Pro Team number one rider this year, beating even Bradley Wiggins with 692 points: and Katusha as a team were ranked second.
How on earth can the UCI justify not giving them a Pro Team licence for next year?
The Dark Lords of Katusha are not happy.... they are even claiming that this action effectively puts Russia out of the World Tour, as just about all the Russian riders in the peloton are in Katusha.
And this decision has come just five weeks before the start of the season - honestly, what is going on with the UCI? There's a phrase in the UK, "unable to organise a piss-up in a brewery" which is beginning to seem rather appropriate for the UCI.
(Note for non UK readers: "piss-up" = drinking session, ie getting pissed (drunk): brewery = place where beer is made, ie you'd think that any moron would be able to organise one in the other. End of note.)
So what's going on, then? Did someone make a mistake? Will there be a retraction? Will Argos be unceremoniously shoved out to make room for Katusha? Will - *shocked intake of breath* - Stinkoff be the ones to be demoted?
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Stinkoff are IN!!
Well, we all have a sneaky liking for Stinkoff and Uncle Bjarne, even if he is a former doper who has never been punished, nor forfeited his title, despite admitting that he was doping when he won.... but somehow his name never comes up in the doping rants, and he is still securely running his team, despite terrible odds this year.
And the good news is that SaxoBank Tinkoff have, at long last, been confirmed as having a Pro Team licence for next season, which starts in just five weeks' time - so I bet that Uncle Bjarne is heaving a massive sigh of relief.
Bad news for the Dark Lords of Katusha, though: they don't have a licence, despite having Joaquim Rodriguez on the team. Oh, woe for the Dark Lords!
So our roster for next year looks like being:
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cannondale (Ita) [currently Liquigas-Cannondale
Lampre-Merida (Ita) [currently Lampre-ISD
Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Bel)
Orica-GreenEdge (Aus)
Sky Procycling (GBr)
Vacansoleil-DCM (Ned)
Movistar Team (Spa)
AG2R La Mondiale (Fra)
Argos-Shimano (Ned)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spa)
FDJ (Fra)
Garmin-Sharp (USA)
Lotto-Belisol (Bel)
Former Rabobank (Ned)
RadioShack-Nissan (Lux)
Saxo-Tinkoff (Den)
All we need now is to see the new kits!!
Other news: Frankie's hearing has been set for the 19th December, and we all have our fingers crossed that he is cleared, or given a fine, or - at worst - a short and backdated suspension, so that he can get on with a family christmas without this horrible issue hanging over him. It's desperately unfair to drag this case out for so long, when it isn't a banned substance, and when he hasn't actually been banned from cycling, either by the team, or by the UCI. He voluntarily stopped riding. Sigh.
I am really, really surprised (and disgusted) at the Luxembourg cycling authority taking so long to get this sorted out: why, only last year they were holding Andy and Frankie up as being ambassadors for Lux, etc etc, yet they leave him dangling under suspicion for months like this.
And finally, many thanks to Barbara for the link to the video of The Road Uphill, an hour and a half of enjoyment, watching our Leopards at the Tour last year. Before they were swallowed up by the Shack, and it all went horribly wrong.
Still, maybe next year will be better?
And the good news is that SaxoBank Tinkoff have, at long last, been confirmed as having a Pro Team licence for next season, which starts in just five weeks' time - so I bet that Uncle Bjarne is heaving a massive sigh of relief.
Bad news for the Dark Lords of Katusha, though: they don't have a licence, despite having Joaquim Rodriguez on the team. Oh, woe for the Dark Lords!
So our roster for next year looks like being:
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cannondale (Ita) [currently Liquigas-Cannondale
Lampre-Merida (Ita) [currently Lampre-ISD
Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Bel)
Orica-GreenEdge (Aus)
Sky Procycling (GBr)
Vacansoleil-DCM (Ned)
Movistar Team (Spa)
AG2R La Mondiale (Fra)
Argos-Shimano (Ned)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spa)
FDJ (Fra)
Garmin-Sharp (USA)
Lotto-Belisol (Bel)
Former Rabobank (Ned)
RadioShack-Nissan (Lux)
Saxo-Tinkoff (Den)
All we need now is to see the new kits!!
Other news: Frankie's hearing has been set for the 19th December, and we all have our fingers crossed that he is cleared, or given a fine, or - at worst - a short and backdated suspension, so that he can get on with a family christmas without this horrible issue hanging over him. It's desperately unfair to drag this case out for so long, when it isn't a banned substance, and when he hasn't actually been banned from cycling, either by the team, or by the UCI. He voluntarily stopped riding. Sigh.
I am really, really surprised (and disgusted) at the Luxembourg cycling authority taking so long to get this sorted out: why, only last year they were holding Andy and Frankie up as being ambassadors for Lux, etc etc, yet they leave him dangling under suspicion for months like this.
And finally, many thanks to Barbara for the link to the video of The Road Uphill, an hour and a half of enjoyment, watching our Leopards at the Tour last year. Before they were swallowed up by the Shack, and it all went horribly wrong.
Still, maybe next year will be better?
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