Tyler Hamilton interview

Cyclingnews.com did an email interview with Tyler Hamilton where he lays out his side of the story (again). I feel he has valid scientific reasons to question the results of the test. The problem has been that the UCI, WADA and those claiming he was doping, have yet to release all their data. Therefore it's hard to say whether the "facts" that Tyler is putting forth are true or false. There is just nothing to compare them to and so I have to believe they are most likely the truth.

Tyler also posted a few other articles about the decision on his website: www.tylerhamilton.com. Check it out.

Tour de Georgia recap

The 2005 Tour de Georgia had it all this year; sunshine, rain, hail, strong winds, SNOW and drama. The weather assisted in giving the race some extra drama, but the racers provided most of the incentive for a nerve racking spectacle. With 6 PRO-TOUR teams in attendance, including the 6 time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong, the field was strong and the eventual winner couldn't be considered a fluke.

The 30k individual time trial and the subsequent 2 climbing stages were the deciding 3 stages in the 6 stage race. Floyd Landis of Phonak and Lance's former Tour pace man in the mountains came away with the TT victory and put 1.46 mins on Lance himself. While the next stage included rain, hail and numerous climbs, it didn't separate the expected strong men. It did, however, soften the bunch in preparation for the penultimate and brutal climb up Brasstown Bald in Stage 4. With temps in the 30's at the top of the 4000 ft climb and light snow falling at the top, all the favorites arrived at the climb together ready to decide the race going one on one. Well, Lance and Discovery had 3 teammates as did Bobby Julich and CSC while Floyd Landis and Levi Leipheimer were without any team help. But it didn't really matter as the ultra steep climb dictated the racers go all out and not much team work would have helped. Tom Danielson ripped everyone apart and took the win just 14 seconds in front of Levi, 0.59 seconds ahead of Lance and 1.09 in front of the then race leader, Floyd Landis.

Tom Danielson took the overall lead by 4 seconds over Levi and 9 seconds on Floyd. Tom is riding the Giro d' Italia this year and should be well prepared for his first grand tour. The TDG also showed the depth of the top US riders with Levi, Bobby Julich and Floyd all putting together a great week. Tom is the youngest of the bunch and should be the bright star the USA needs for cycling in the future.

Final General classification
1 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 26.53.44
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 0.04
3 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.09
4 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 1.10
5 Lance Armstrong (USA) Discovery Channel 1.41
6 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 3.04
7 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Prodir - Saunier Duval 3.11
8 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Navigators Insurance 3.14
9 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC 3.51
10 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel 3.58

Tyler Hamilton suspended for 2 years.

For all things considered and pending a long shot with the Court of arbitration and Sport, Tyler Hamilton's cycling career is over. Today the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) gave Tyler the maximum sentence of a 2-year suspension with a 2 to 1 decision. Tyler put forth information about his defense and to me the details are quite convincing. Read for yourself and decide. With Tyler already being 34 years old, there isn't much of a future for him in cycling after a 2-year break. The news coincides with Lance Armstrong announcing his pending retirement and puts the future of US cycling in doubt, if for only the next 2 years

Lance to retire after the 2005 Tour de France

Lance Armstrong announced he will retire immediately following the end of he 2005 Tour de France no matter if he wins or loses. Not much else to say, but check out the transcript of the press conference.

Tom Danielson and Tour de Georgia

The Discovery Channel's new signing this year and the USA's future hope is an up and comer, Tom Danielson. Tom is a tremendous climbing talent and is showing improvement in time trialing. He is slated to ride the Giro d' Italia in June and hence is showing good form as of late. I didn't include Tom on the list of people to expect on the podium at this years TdG as he rides for the defending Champion, Lance Armstrong. But I don't think it would be too difficult for Dicso to have two guys on the podium without lacking any team power punch. I expect to see Tom in the Top 5.

Predictions and wrapup

Amstel Gold Race: AGR is another one-day classic but unlike Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, this spring race features a lot of climbing. The next few classics, including AGR, typically feature a rider that is considered a climber or a power climber. Don't expect a sprinter to be near the finish for Amstel Gold. Last years winner, David Rebellin, has a great chance of repeating and should be considered a favorite. In my book he is. Here are my top 5 picks:

1. David Rebellin - Ita, Gerolsteiner
2. Danilo Di Luca - Ita, Liqui-gas
3. Jorg Jaksche - Ger, Liberty Seguros
4. George Hincapie - USA, The Discovery Channel
5. Jens Voight - Ger, CSC

I would pick George a bit higher, except he is possibly more tired from the past few weeks than the others. But he certainly wouldn't surprise me with a win.

Tour de Georgia: The TdG gets underway with a special news conference from Lance Armstrong on April 18th. Speculation has run wild over what he will be announcing. Rumors run the gauntlet from outright retirement, riding the Giro (Tour of Italy) and Tour double, to indicating girlfriend Sheryl Crow is pregnant. I think he will announce that 2005 will be the last he is racing in Europe and 2006 will be spent trying to pump of cycling in the states. But we will see.

Tyler Hamilton's blood doping case is rumored to have a decision coming on Monday which may also clear him for inclusion to TDG. That is wild and would be great to see. With Tyler possibly taking part, the startlist would include 5 top USA cyclist and all but two representing different teams: Defending TdG champion Lance Armstrong (Discovery), Bobby Julich (CSC), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), Floyd Landis (Phonak) and Tyler Hamilton (Phonak).

As Bobby Julich has already won twice this year (Paris-Nice and Criterium International) I am betting on a more than solid performance from him this year. But as all the other top Americans listed above are actually tour hopefuls, you can expect a great battle for the top podium position. Lance will fight it out with Bobby for the win, and third will be edged out by Floyd Landis just over Levi. Let me state that if allowed to race, you will see Tyler instead of Floyd in the top 3.

The big name missing this year's TdG is Saunier Duval's new signing, Chris Horner (USA). Chris had a bad wreck in his season opener Terreno-Adriatico and was forced to quit. A few weeks later he nabbed a top 20 GC finish and a 6th place stage finish in Setmana Catalana. However the pain in his leg wouldn't go away and after coming back to the states it has been confirmed that he broke the tip of his femur. Bad news for Chris, but hopefully we will see him in the tour this year.

Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix

If the last few weeks are an indication of what's to come this year in cycling, hang on. Tom Boonen (BEL) of Quickstep took the double by winning the Tour of Flanders in a solo effort and then backing that up the next week with a sprint win in Paris Roubaix. Both victories showed the 24 yr old is not only "fast and strong" (as Lance Armstrong described him this week), but also very astute with tactics. Congrats to George Hincapie (USA) of Discovery for an amazingly strong showing in Paris Roubaix and getting a well-deserved 2nd place while narrowly missing out on the top podium spot. After 163 miles of hell including 60 kilometers of pave' (cobblestones), to see a three up sprint finish in the Roubaix veledrome was nothing but exciting. Can't wait for next year.

Category Upgrade

I have upgraded from a category 5 racer with USA Cycling, to a category 3. The upgrade was needed for a few reasons. First, it's just a bit too dangerous riding in the lower category as the bike handling skills of the group are not that great and I don't want to crash for no good reason. Secondly, my family was embarrassed that I was racing as a cat 5 considering my previous experience and exploits. And thirdly, I needed the motivation for getting faster. Hopefully this upgrade will be a good thing and not have me dying to hang on with my tongue on the top tube.

First Race of the Year.

So I did two criteriums this past weekend and did okay in both. Top 10, but I haven't seen the official results yet. This year I am doing category 5 races as my fitness wasn't up to the PRO I/II level it once was. Here are some photo links to the ultra wet Land Park Criterium and the windy West Sac Criterium.

Land Park - SGW
Land Park -Velocommunity

West Sac - SGW
West Sac - Velocommunity

On another note, I saw my former team-mate, friend and cycling legend Michael Carter at the Land Park Crit. He was here in town this past week with two guys he is currently coaching. Michael rode the 1992 Tour de France and was a world class climber. Michael is racing this year with the Marco Polo Cycling team and just finished the Tour of Qatar along with a ton of europros.

Lance Goes for 7 straight

Lance Armstrong has announced that he has decided to attempt a 7th straight Tour de France win. Previously, Lance had speculated that he may not attempt the Tour this year and try again in 2006 while focusing on other events. It will still be interesting to see if Lance does focus more on the Spring Classics, the Hour record and maybe the Giro di Italia.

Euthanasia for Conservatives?

The Netherlands has started to euthanize some of their "terminally ill" newborns. These so called "mercy killings" were in accordance with new guidelines by the Dutch government and include the following:

The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital's guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child's medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it's best.

Examples include extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as severe cases of spina bifida and epidermosis bullosa, a rare blistering illness.

The disturbing part is that the panel will get to decide whom they will terminate and who will survive. This prospect immediately brought to mind a study released by UC Berkeley titled "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin. The study compared Hitler, Mussolini and former President Ronald Reagan as right-wing conservatives that "preached a return to an idealized past and condoned inequality in some form."

The paper also stated that some of the psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

• Fear and aggression
• Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Need for cognitive closure
• Terror management

All this seems to be setting up the premise that being a conservative is like having a mental disorder allowing a medical panel to authorize the "mercy killing" of so many unwanted and incurable people. Perhaps a leap? Maybe, but have you seen and heard the foaming-mouth liberals and their outright hatred for the right the past few years?

Happy Thanksgiving

First of all I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for my wonderful family and to all the brave servicemen and women defending our country.

On a different note, I discovered two important stories today. The first is the possibility of finding a chemical weapons lab in Iraq, and the other concerns a press release from Tyler Hamilton on his blood transfusion issue. The weapons lab story needs some more time to play out, but it certainly indicates that the WMD issue is not over and perhaps still a viable reason for the invasion of Iraq. Regardless, the invasion was still necessary and justified but to find a WMD lab is just icing on the cake.

Tyler Hamilton's press release, if true, shows a major cause for concern with the validity of WADA and the dope testing procedures in general. I tend to believe Tyler Hamilton as my personal experiences with him were nothing but positive and I also "hope" he's clean. But the testing society needs to make sure that what they are indicating and accusing is undeniably the truth. Lives and reputations can be ruined with a simple false-negative test. Not only does the sport need clean riders (to which I applaud rigorous testing), but the testing society needs reputable tests. Otherwise, it's like the elections in the former Soviet Union or of a current third world country. Rigged and nobody trusts or believes the outcome. I'm not for letting cycling turn into a sport full of conspiracy and doubt.

Blogging is tough work

Okay, I haven't updated this site for a few weeks/months and I've totally missed commentating on the presidential campaign. Sorry, but I'm sure this hasn't really effected anyone's life.

The President did better in the debates than the pundits and the high school debate coaches would have you believe and here is why. Even though Bush put forth his point of view much better for the last two debates, Kerry made some grave mistakes during his stoic retort on that same first debate. The statement about needing to pass a "Global Test" and offering nuclear fuel to Iran will both (or should) come back to bite him. And therefore, he cannot be considered the winner of the first debate.

Cheney mopped the floor with Johnny Edwards as it looked like the father of a teenage daughter arguing with her boyfriend. One person was serious and the other wasn't. Don't get me wrong, Edwards was serious about what he said, but you can't take him as such if you are a thinking adult. Edwards is supposed to be this brilliant lawyer, yet he tried to make the point that States do not recognize a marriage from another State (in response to a question on a gay marriage ban via a Constitutional amendment). I don't remember having to get remarried when I moved from Colorado to California. Not a serious choice in a candidate.

With less than a month before the election things should be getting HOT and dirty. Hopefully Hugh Hewitt's prediction of a 40 state win by GWB will be correct. Stay tuned.

Stripping Lance of his Sixth Tour Title!

A breaking news story was released yesterday that the French Ministry of Sport is considering stripping Lance Armstrong of his sixth Tour de France title. Evidently the French authorities finally found some evidence against the great cyclist and have documented three known French-banned substances in his hotel room. The French authorities were shocked at the brazen and overtly cocky attitude of the American cyclist by leaving residue and evidence of the banned products in about every hotel room he visited throughout France during the month of July. The French investigators are also baffled as to how Armstrong was able to acquire the products in a country that is so strongly opposed to their use and are making a stink in trying to flush out the network of smugglers. The preliminary list includes but is not exclusive to: 1. Soap, 2. Shampoo and 3. Toothbrush.

Resume of 4

President Bush and John Kerry are both touting the number 4 on their resume for the Presidency of the United States. President Bush is putting his last four years as leader of the free world up for vote and Kerry is countering with his four months of service in Vietnam as a swift boat captain. On the surface this sounds a bit ridiculous as Bush would obviously have a huge advantage as far as work experience. John Kerry wasn't even a General, just a captain of a boat for the duration of four months some 30 years ago. But when you really investigate the issue you realize the brilliance of the Kerry Campaign in ignoring the last 20 years of service in the US Senate and concentrating solely on Kerry's exploits in the jungle. His record in the Senate isn't that impressive and he wants to be seen as a military leader.

The Kerry Campaign doesn't want to seem light on experience but risks losing votes when exposing the actual super-liberal voting record on Kerry's 20 years in the Senate. Therefore they are buffeting his purple hearts and bravery and the fact he enlisted himself to serve when so many others went north to Canada. But shouldn't a presidential candidate be judged on his entire life and perhaps we should put a little more weight on the last few years of making decisions rather than those made just after college?

Much like an Owner of a major sports team when assessing talent, we should make our decision based on "what have you done lately." So, John Kerry, what have you done lately?

Matt's Blog

Matt is the blogger extraordinaire over at The Bearded Cognoscenti and is making some great insights with humor. He has a good post on the Hair-scapade revelation from Kerry's speech.

Hitting the tough issues
The 2004 Democratic convention came to an end with
the most controversial stand in recent memory. Finally, a politician was
willing to go against the party lines and tackle an issue that has been a plague
among inner-city youths and 80's revivals...hair pollution. On Thursday
night, Vietnam tough guy and presidential hopeful John Kerry gave hope to many
when stating "What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in
Harlem have asthma because of hair pollution? America can do better.
And help is on the way." No child should suffer from a cruddy cut or dusty
do. We can do better. We must do better. This is the Ulta-mite challenge for every
American. But how do we address an issue that seems to polarize the
country. Who to shampoo? Where to Nair? There are no easy
answers to these questions. Fortunately, the man with the luxurious locks
seems to have a plan. Sadly, like most issues, he hasn't offered any
solutions. He only knows that we can do better.

Reporting for Doodie

John Kerry started his acceptance speech last night by stating he was "reporting for doodie."  That's an interesting way to great your constituency, but after listening to them all week and looking at them on TV, Kerry's description is probably correct.  Just a giant bunch of human cr**..... 0h, wait...I'm being told he was "Reporting for Duty."  Interesting contrast and an honest mistake.

The speech was long and full of mostly hot air.  However, Kerry did mention that the kids in Harlem were having a hard time breathing due to "Hair Pollution."  Either he misspoke or the FDA needs to investigate "Soul-Glow" and it's related hair-care products.  I could have sworn that earlier Kerry had declared hairspray to be a Right not a privilege, so he may have to clarify this possible hypocrisy. 

Have I been in a time warp?  It appears from last night’s affair that John Kerry was born in Colorado, went to school, fought in Vietnam and then immediately ran for President.  Unless I'm mistaken the Vietnam War was about 30 years ago.  What's he been up to lately?  Has he done anything that would warrant him being President?  For a great breakdown of the Kerry speech take a look at Ben Johnson's article on Frontpagemag. 

9/11 did happen....didn't it?

Through all the DNC speeches I haven't heard much said about the actual event of 9/11.  Remember that event?  A few planes crashing into the twin towers, another plane nose-diving into the Pentagon and the last plane not meeting it's target and crashing into a Pennsylvania field.   I just thought I would remind you of this incident as the Democrats seem to have forgotten its relevance and impact on the world and especially the USA.  Unless you are drinking Michael Moore's conspiracy cool-aide, you don't think Bush is responsible for 9/11 and therefore isn't responsible for the repercussions of this attack.  9/11 had an extreme bearing on the economy as our major financial institutions were rocked and likewise the fear of flying caused big cuts for the airlines.  Bringing the economy back on track in 3 years after the biggest attack on US soil is no small feat and all the time we were fighting terrorism abroad and protecting the homeland.   The Democrats give no credit to the impact of 9/11 or to the saving grace of the tax cuts, but then again most blame Bush for the attack anyway.

Did you Know John Kerry Served in Vietnam?

If you didn't know it, you probably haven't been paying attention.

Shove it!

The ketchup lady went berserk the other day in confronting a reporter about a comment she made during a speech. Mrs. Heinz-Kerry told the reporter to "Shove it" and now she is reaping the praise for her veracity from both the Kerry campaign and the media. The real problem is that while she may in fact be standing up for herself and speaking her mind, she is really just a blatant liar. In her talk, she called the political process and its cohorts "un-American," and when confronted with this comment, she denied ever saying it. But somehow the press and her husband aren't really worried about the facts of the issue, just whether this over-serious billion-dollar windbag is allowed to speak her mind. But of course John Kerry isn't about to speak out against his wife as his prenuptial agreement probably has a clause against it.