Bike World News

In today’s cycling news, Johan Bruyneel says Contador will learn that his fame will fade, Lance Armstrong says that he an Alberto “are not friends”, more Gran Fondo, Masters racer Kenny Williams suspended and more….

International Olympic Committee chairman Jacques Rogge pledged anew to fight the “evil corrosion” of doping and says that they will work with the World Anti-Doping Agency on a new program to monitor blood profiles of athletes. Whether this program will replace or supplement the the UCI’s biological passport program is not known at this time. [Who's paying for this? - Ed.]
USA Cycling is joining with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League, the U.S. Olympic Committee and other national sports and health organizations to launch an effort to end the “dangerous and unscrupulous practices of ‘rogue’ manufacturers within the nutritional supplement industry.” The new effort, called “Supplement Safety Now”, will work to eliminate the practice of selling dangerous products containing steroids and other drugs  as “safe and legal” dietary supplements.
In an interview with the Belgian magazine Knack , Johan Bruyneel says that Alberto Contador will have “to learn that his fame is temporary”. Bruyneel expects that Lance Armstrong will come back better and faster next year but says, “Whether he is good enough to compete with Contador, the strongest rider of the peloton today, is another matter. We must wait.”
In an interview with the Australian Sport & Style magazine, Lance Armstrong said that his conflict with Alberto Contador during the Tour de France this year was real. “We … invented nothing, it was just there,” said the American. “It is no secret that we are not friends,” he continued. “It was just typical.” Armstrong admits that he used to cause conflicts as well, but added, “I’m a different person than ten years ago.”
The Androni – Diquigiovanni squad was yet another team that did not past muster for a UCI Professional Continental license. Team manager Gianni Savio expressed shock and says that the team has provided their lawyers with the full required documentation for their appeal.
Heinrich Haussler has headed to his second home of Australia to get in some winter training. He will stay in the country until just before Christmas, when he’ll return to his European base of St. Moritz.
More Gran Fondo! The Echelon Gran Fondo series aims to Americanize the Italian tradition by combining the Gran Fondo with the American charity ride. Cyclists register for the “big ride” and raise funds for a local charity. Unlike a typical charity ride, licensed racers can compete for prizes, and Echelon organizers promise “epic courses” ranging from 30 to 100 miles and “the pageantry of the Tour de France” on roads with rolling road closures, police escort, feed stations and even motorcycle photographers. The first ride in the Echelon Gran Fondo series takes place May 23, 2010 in Napa, California, with the next beginning in Portland, Oregon. (thanks to Cyclelicio.us [http://www.cyclelicio.us/2009/12/gran-fondo-for-charity.html])
Mario Cipollini ran into an old woman (also on a bike) while out testing a new road bike in Versilia yesterday. The woman was transported to the hospital by ambulance for tests while Cipollini escaped unscathed.
Vuelta organizers were quite pleased with this year’s foray into the Netherlands for the first few days of the race, so they are planning a return to the country in 2013 or 2014, likely to Drenthe.
Bergamo has singed on to be the technical apparel supplier for BBox Bouyges Telecom in 2010.
De Rosa – Stac Plastic will meet at the Master Hotel Brescia on December 11th and 12th to prepare for the 2010 season. The first meeting will be dedicated to medical suitability for racing and testing of technical equipment. It will also be an opportunity for the Team Manager Giovanni Fidanza and sporting director Marco Tabai to welcome the athletes, outlining the competition programs of individual riders as well as newcomers to learn and create from the start of the season a winning team spirit.
Court officials have delayed the sentencing of Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson, who was convicted last month of assaulting three cyclists in Los Angeles. The sentencing hearing is now scheduled for January 8, 2010. Thompson faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, but with no prior record is unlikely to get the maximum.
Masters racer Kenny Williams has accepted a two-year suspension after testing positive for an anabolic agent at this summer’s masters national championships, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Thursday. Williams submitted a urine sample at the national championships on August 21, which later showed evidence of a prohibited substance. Williams has admitted the violation and accepted a two-year period of ineligibility, beginning September 21, 2009.

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