Hard to imagine Contador NOT getting off this almost-homeopathic doping charge.

Yep, he's positive to Clenbuterol - but the "dose" is sooo tiny that it couldn't possibly have any useful effect... unless this asthma medication has some previously unknown/un-noted masking or multiplier effect, of course - I'd say he'll get off. We'll see what happens next.


PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

An independent expert opinion from Dr. Douwe de Boer of The Netherlands (attached) and the facts of the situation point to Alberto accidentally ingesting Clenbuterol by eating contaminated meat. The trace amounts and timing of detection also show that Alberto could never have received a performance enhancement of Clenbuterol.

Following is a condensed version of Dr. Douwe de Boer’s expert opinion:
Alberto Contador underwent sport drug testing during many days of the 2010 Tour de France, including July 19, 20, 21, and 22.

No Clenbuterol was detected in any of the tests prior to July 21.

An extremely low trace concentration of Clenbuterol was found in the urine sample taken on July 21; the concentration found in the urine sample taken on July 22 was even lower.

The half-life of Clenbuterol is 25-39 hours.

These facts show that Clenbuterol was ingested after the urine testing on July 20 in an amount that could have never enhanced his performance.

There are numerous documented cases of humans ingesting Clenbuterol accidentally by eating meat from animals that have been fed the substance to stimulate growth.

A general doping wrap up in case you blinked. 187 athletes all up, apparently

187 athletes in the frame? That could be big; it's certainly been a substantial business for a few people up to now. There are some hints at another US racer to be "outed" soon, too. What with Landis coming to Oz and Armstrong being Armstrong it all looks set for a few more months of intrigue. Will the truth out, as Floyd hopes? I doubt it.

Papp Confirms Additional Doping Investigations Underway | Cyclingnews.com

Joe Papp confirmed to Cyclingnews that the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is investigating possible doping violations stemming from sales of EPO and HGH that he facilitated on behalf of the Shandong Kexing Bioproducts company.

Purchases of the illegal performance-enhancing drugs were made by up to 187 international athletes from a variety of sports, including cycling, from September 2006 to September 2007.

Papp Confirms Additional Doping Investigations Underway | Cyclingnews.com

Yesterday, Cyclingnews confirmed that USADA had given a two-year suspension to Jonathan Chodroff, who bought EPO through Papp in the spring of 2007 - though at the time he was unaware that it was his compatriot who was facilitating the transaction.

"I have nothing but praise for Jonathan Chodroff's decision to accept responsibility for his actions," said Papp. "He made a mistake - albeit a costly one - but unlike at least one of his colleagues in the US pro peloton, Jonathan stood up and took it like a man."

Landis Explains Why He Will Attend Australian Cycling Conference | Cyclingnews.com

On Friday the organizing committee of the world championships withdrew its support for the conference in Geelong. Media director David Culbert told the Herald Sun newspaper: “Providing Floyd Landis with a soapbox to deliver a tirade like he did on the eve of the Tour of California is not something the world championship organisers want."

Landis has replied by explaining how he wishes to be a catalyst for change so that other riders can learn from his mistakes and won't have to face the same consequences.

"The conclusions reached and the learning taken away by me during that time (of the ban for doping) are now moving me to correct, to the extent possible, the effect of those decisions on others and to speak out in a manner so that today’s young and future professional and amateur athletes can learn from my choices and, hopefully, avoid the same painful consequences which I have suffered and which I continue to suffer today. In other words, like Deakin University, I too want to be a catalyst for positive change," Landis writes in the statement.

Kiwi Stewart banned 2 years for 'attempted' EPO/hCG use, Sentjens A-sample +ve for EPO

Goodbye Adam Stewart and hello Roy Sentjens. Stewart didn't even get to try his EPO and hCG (allegedly) whereas Roy was (also allegedly) a user of EPO.

Now the hCG is interesting - as it more often used to alleviate the side-effects of anabolic steroid abuse. Alternatively (possibly) it may have a blood-boosting or EPO-masking property that I was previously unaware of...


Attempted Substance Use Sees Kiwi Dumped From National Squad | Cyclingnews.com

Adam Stewart has been axed from BikeNZ’s Commonwealth Games squad after being handed a two-year ban for attempting to use prohibited substances. New Zealand’s Sports Tribunal handed down the sentence for Stewart’s attempt to use erythropoietin (EPO) and for possession of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Sentjens Positive For EPO | Cyclingnews.com

Roy Sentjens of Team Milram tested positive for EPO at an out of competition doping control last month, it was announced Wednesday night. Sentjens was removed from the Vuelta a España and provisionally suspended from racing.

Human chorionic gonadotropin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Human chorionic gonadotropin or human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone produced in pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta).[1] Its role is to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteum of the ovary and thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. hCG may have additional functions; for instance, it is thought that hCG affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy. Early pregnancy testing, in general, is based on the detection or measurement of hCG. Because hCG is produced also by some kinds of tumor, hCG is an important tumor marker especially (with clinical significance) in Gestational trophoblastic disease,[2] but it is not known whether this production is a contributing cause or an effect of tumorigenesis.

Human chorionic gonadotropin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles. As a result, hCG is included in some sports' illegal drug lists.

When AAS are put into a male body, the body's natural negative-feedback loops cause the body to shut down its own production of testosterone via shutdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA). This causes testicular atrophy, among other things. hCG is commonly used during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size as well as normal testosterone production.[19]

High levels of AASs, that mimic the body's natural testosterone, trigger the hypothalamus to shut down its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. Without GnRH, the pituitary gland stops releasing luteinizing hormone (LH). LH normally travels from the pituitary via the blood stream to the testes, where it triggers the production and release of testosterone. Without LH, the testes shut down their production of testosterone.[20] In males, hCG helps restore and maintain testosterone production in the testes by mimicking LH and triggering the production and release of testosterone.

WSJ reports Landis has filed a lawsuit as "whistleblower". Now it really looks like he's after the money

Rightly or wrongly, now Landis looks just like the money-seeker Armstrong alleges. OTOH what other options does he have?

Landis Files Whistle-blower Lawsuit | Cyclingnews.com

Both Landis and the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit when approached by the Wall Street Journal, while a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service stated: “Since this matter is under review by the Department of Justice, the Postal Service will have nothing to say until this review is completed.”

Meanwhile, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for former U.S. Postal Service rider Lance Armstrong was critical of Landis’ lawsuit. “What remains a mystery is why the government would devote a penny of the taxpayer’s money to help Floyd Landis,” he said. “This news that Floyd Landis is in this for the money confirms everything we all knew about Landis.”

Armstrong’s spokesman also confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Armstrong’s lawyers had recently met with federal prosecutors from Novitzsky’s investigation in Los Angeles.

Landis files 'whistle-blower' lawsuit - VeloNews

Floyd Landis, former teammate of Lance Armstrong, has filed a federal “whistle-blower” lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper reported that Landis filed a suit under the U.S. federal False Claims Act, which allows Americans to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.

According to the Journal, the lawsuit is currently sealed so its exact contents are not known.

But in the article posted on its website the newspaper noted that Landis and Armstrong were teammates on the squad sponsored by the US Postal Service, an independent government whose funds are considered to be public.