Bye Lance

[eck]

Nah, it's a spoof:

... have accepted bribes, are corrupt, areterrorists, have no regard for the rules, load the dice, are fools, do not have a genuinedesire to restore discipline to cycling, are full of shit, are clowns, their words areworthless, are liars, are no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi...

Isn't it? 

[citoyen]

Nope, it's real. The comedy is entirely unintentional.

d.

[spesh]

Not according to Cycling News: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/swiss-court-finds-in-ucis-favour-in-landis-defamation-case

Actually, that's a tad unfair to compare PM and HV to the late Libyan Dictator. Goodness knows what Gaddafi had done to merit such vile calumny.

[citoyen]

The bit I don't quite get is section III of the ruling. If I've understood correctly, Landis has been ordered to take ads out in the press stating that he's not allowed to call Verbruggen and McQuaid terrorists, clowns, corrupt etc.

Streisand-tastic! 

d.

[Toady]

The bit I don't quite get is section III of the ruling. If I've understood correctly, Landis has been ordered to take ads out in the press stating that he's not allowed to call Verbruggen and McQuaid terrorists, clowns, corrupt etc.

Streisand-tastic! 

d.

That's what the UCI have requested in the Kimmage case too.  Do you think Landis will use the wording from the court judgment, stating he was incorrect in his assertion about what the UCI was full of, which recently deposed political figures they resemble ... and so on.  Could backfire a bit.

[Hot Flatus]

I don't think Floyd will care.

It's a Phyrric victory for the goons McQuid and Verboten

[spesh]

From  http://twitter.com/Doctor_Hutch

As far as the list of things Landis isn't allowed to say goes, I'm confident there are gaps. 'Paramecium' isn't banned, for a start.

 

As for corruption, Lionel Birnie's been pointing out a few of the UCI's conflicts of interest today: http://twitter.com/lioneljbirnie 

[citoyen]

Lionel Birnie has been on top form this afternoon.

[clarion]

That judgment is just mad.

Mind you, so's Landis, and, whatever I think of the UCI, I do wish he'd shut his ignorant gob.

[Hot Flatus]

I think he's brilliant

[spesh]

http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/10/uci-reveals-words-rejected-in-judgement-against-landis/

 

There may be a small trace of satire lurking somewhere in the linked story.

[mr magnolia]

The bit I don't quite get is section III of the ruling. If I've understood correctly, Landis has been ordered to take ads out in the press stating that he's not allowed to call Verbruggen and McQuaid terrorists, clowns, corrupt etc.

Streisand-tastic! 

d.

I'm looking forward to the tee shirt, although I suspect I'll be forbidden to wear it chez magnolia!

[Somnolent]

Good take on it here: http://inrng.com/2012/10/uci-are-not-terrorists/

I particularly enjoyed

 if it’s forbidden to say McQuaid and Verbruggen are full of shit, should we deduce they regularly use colonic irrigation?

[spesh]

It turns out that the UCI tried to silence Greg LeMond after he had cast nasturtiums about the dice-loading terrorist ass-clowns them w.r.t. the Vrijman report and Operation Puerto - only his lawyers successfully told the terminally constipated Gadaffi emulators the UCI where they could get off. The quoted extract from the reply fired back to the UCI is a doozy.

“In your July 26 letter, you accuse Mr. LeMond of committing criminal infringement and then demand that he either (1) corroborate his alleged accusations; or (2) withdraw his alleged accusations publicly. You also “suggest to discuss the way to proceed.” Obviously, Greg LeMond’s public retraction of his statements regarding UCI is something of value to UCI. Indeed, you would not have written your letter to Mr. LeMond and demanded the same unless it had value to your organization. Under United States’ law, threatening criminal prosecution in order to obtain “any money or other valuable thing” is a federal crime. See 18 U.S.C. 0 873. Violations of section 873 require a fine and imprisonment for not more than one year.”

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ucis-failure-to-silence-lemond

[Somnolent]

This is just WRONG !
On so many levels.
http://instagram.com/p/QNazrCHCO8/

[alexb]

I vote we lobby Trek to reissue the LeMond brand of bikes.

[citoyen]

Dick Pound interview on VeloNation - worth reading:

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/12997/Richard-Pound-Interview-The-Kimmage-case-Armstrong-the-governance-of-cycling-and-more.aspx

[Nuncio]

I've lost track. 

1. USADA are to present the evidence to the UCI within the next week or so.  I was sort of expecting that its content would be made public at that point, but UCI won't be doing that.  Will USADA?  Or will we have to wait?

2.  (Not that it matters but) USADA have announced that they have stripped LA of his titles going back to 1998.  UCI disputed they had the right to do that, so is the expectation that the UCI will also be doing it, if they accept USADA's findings relating to Armstrong?

3. Many of the witnesses are supposedly current pros.  Is it expected that they will be sanctioned by UCI?   Why not USADA?

4. Bruyneel and others of the 10 investigated by USADA have challenged the charges and the case will be going to CAS, I think.  When does that happen?  Has it started?

[Hot Flatus]

It will all come out by the end of the year, when all the outstanding cases are concluded. Bruyneel will almost certainly conduct a volte face and at the last minute decline to defend.

The UCI have tried various ways to undermine this case, because, when all is said and done, it is really about them.

[citoyen]

2.  (Not that it matters but) USADA have announced that they have stripped LA of his titles going back to 1998.  UCI disputed they had the right to do that, so is the expectation that the UCI will also be doing it, if they accept USADA's findings relating to Armstrong?

AIUI, the UCI are signed up to WADA and if WADA accept the USADA's case then the UCI have no choice but to strip Lance of his titles.

I don't think the USADA have actually claimed to have stripped his titles though. I think they've said "He will be stripped of his titles" rather than that they specifically are doing the stripping.

d.

[citoyen]

The UCI have tried various ways to undermine this case, because, when all is said and done, it is really about them.

I think it always was about the UCI all along. Lance may like to think that it was a witch hunt against him personally, but it seems to me that the USADA always had its sights set on the bigger target. Lance was just a stepping stone.

d.

[Nuncio]

I don't think the USADA have actually claimed to have stripped his titles though. I think they've said "He will be stripped of his titles" rather than that they specifically are doing the stripping.

d.

They have.

In addition to the lifetime ban, Mr. Armstrong will be disqualified from any and all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to August 1, 1998, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, winnings, finishes, points and prizes.

http://www.usantidoping.org/media/sanction-armstrong8242012

[citoyen]

Yes, it's a simple statement of fact.

d.

[mzjo]

If the UCI decide to contest their part in the affair and the facts are proven against them and for the USADA does the WADA have any rights to throw them out of WADA approved international sport? If so could we see the WHPVA  taking over responsibility for cycling in the next Olympics 
On a less funny note the reaction of the big league money could be very interesting if the international controlling body is publicly shown to be corrupt and involved in race fixing (and perhaps worse).
We can expect the worst when Cav is seen getting measured for a Raptobike.

[spesh]

If the UCI decide to contest their part in the affair and the facts are proven against them and for the USADA does the WADA have any rights to throw them out of WADA approved international sport? If so could we see the WHPVA  taking over responsibility for cycling in the next Olympics 
On a less funny note the reaction of the big league money could be very interesting if the international controlling body is publicly shown to be corrupt and involved in race fixing (and perhaps worse).
We can expect the worst when Cav is seen getting measured for a Raptobike.

Not so much WADA, but the bodies that have adopted the WADA code can apply sanctions. See:

http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-Anti-Doping-Program/Sports-and-Anti-Doping-Organizations/The-Code/QA-on-the-Code/

What happens if a sports organization or a government does not comply with the Code?
WADA reports cases of non-compliance to its stakeholders who have jurisdiction to impose sanctions, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Olympic charter was amended in 2003 to state that adoption of the Code by the Olympic movement is mandatory. Only sports that adopt and implement the Code can be included and remain in the program of the Olympic Games.

A check through the list of WADA code signatories (link below) doesn't seem to include the WHPVA, so I think we can discount the idea if the pro peloton being made to ride recumbents. In any case, I'm not sure that the WHPVA would be willing to be, or capable of, taking on the administration of all cycle sport, on top of a niche group that revels in its eccentricity. 

http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-Anti-Doping-Program/Sports-and-Anti-Doping-Organizations/The-Code/Code-Acceptance/

If the UCI were to be ejected from the Olympics, it's more likely that there may be some kind of palace coup, or a revolt by a number of national federations. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.