Armstrong to be Stripped of Tour de France Titles

Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour titles, the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympics and all other titles (victories in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and Tour de Suisse, etc.), awards and money he won from August 1998 forward according to the World Anti-Doping Code as a result of saying that he would not continue to contest the charges brought against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Armstrong was faced with a August 23rd deadline to inform the USADA if he would take the case to a full public arbitration hearing or accept the punishments.

"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in a statement. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by (USADA's) Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense."

The charges by the USADA against Lance Armstrong can be read here (pdf).

Armstrong's decision to not contest the charges also means he will be barred for life from competing, coaching or having any official role with any Olympic sport or other sport that follows the World Anti-Doping Code.

The battle between Armstrong and the UCI may not be over. His attorneys have stated that the USADA cannot move forward with any punishment until the UCI's independent review panel sees the collected dossier of evidence against Armstrong and settles the dispute regarding its jurisdiction in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has not yet commented on the possibility of having seven Tour podiums since 1999 altered.

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Giro: Team RadioShack Maybe, Armstrong No

Lance Armstrong decided back in October that he would race the Tour of California rather than the Giro d'Italia since the races now overlap on the calendar. However, there remains a possibility that Team RadioShack may appear at the Giro. Johan Bruyneel said, "We are in talks with the organizers, RCS, but if we participate we will not have riders for the GC. The Tour of California is an important race for us, we'll choose the best formations to achieve the best results."

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondo, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,200 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Lance Armstrong's Giro Bikes Auctioned

Lance Armstrong's custom designed bikes used at the 2009 Giro d'Italia, the 100th anniversary of the race, were auctioned at Sotheby's in New York City yesterday to raise money for his LiveStrong cancer foundation. With Armstrong having said that he will skip the Giro this year in favor of the Tour of California this could become the only bikes ever used by him in a Giro d'Italia.

"So incredibly humbling," Armstrong wrote on Twitter after the auction.

The Giro d'Italia bikes were designed by artists SHEPARD FAIREY (the man behind the Barack Obama 'Hope' poster )and KENNY SCHARF.

For Lance’s Trek Madone road bike, Shepard Fairey had created a vibrant homage to Lance’s cancer fighting foundation while including ancient patterning in honor of Italy’s rich architectural details. Sold at auction for $110,000.

NYC Pop Art legend Kenny Scharf took a totally different approach to Lance’s Trek TTX time trial cycle and created a “lightspeed” space bike. Sold at auction for $45,000.

Five other bikes were on the auction block, with all seven bikes raising a total of $1,255,000! The highest bidding was for the Damien Hirst designed bike that Armstrong rode on the final stage of this year's Tour de France. The butterfly decorated bike sold for $500,000.

Photos: Scharf TT bike, Fairey road bike; both used in the 2009 Giro d'Italia. A video of the making of the Fairey bike is in this previous blog entry.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,000 stories in this blog; the search feature to the right works best for finding things in the blog.

Armstrong: Who Says I'm Boycotting the Press?

Some of the Italian media have decided to boycott Lance Armstrong's Twitter messages and no longer make reference to his messages in their reports. This comes after Armstrong stopped speaking to the media at the Giro.

Today, Armstrong tweeted, "Who says I'm boycotting the press? Marco Casartelli did an interview for his class project!"

Photo: Lance with Marco Casartelli (center); Marco is the son of Armstrong's Team Motorola teammate Fabio Casartelli who died in a crash on the descent of the Col de Portet d'Aspet, France, during the 15th stage of the 1995 Tour de France.

After the Giro we'll get back to "regular programming": everything from A to Z about Italian cycling. Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com.

Armstrong Didn't Read "Giro: Steep Hills, Skinny Tires and Guts"

Lance Armstrong has been commenting quite a bit about the Giro descents, he's not enjoying them at all. What was in store is well known and was captured in the story "Steep Hills, Skinny Tires and Guts" (http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/giro-steep-hills-skinny-tires-and-guts.html).

The essence of that story, "Of all feats in sports, few are as harrowing as this: Carving down a mountain at 60 miles per hour in a pack of 15-pound bicycles with tires as wide as a roll of Scotch tape, while wearing only a thin layer of lycra. Hitting the brakes can send a rider flying, and a mistake in the wrong place can lead to death."

How many risks you take depends upon how much you want to win. It's obvious that Armstrong has considered the equation and isn't willing to take the risks that others are.

Today we saw the oldest rider in the peloton, Alessandro "Kamikaze" Bertolini Bertolini (above), taking incredible risks while descending on wet roads to try to win a stage (he didn't succeed). Only a few months ago Alessandro Bertolini risked his career and more, falling during a sprint in the GP in Camaiore. Racing downhill at crazy speeds on the Maloja, Simoni’s team-mate, who won the Cesena stage one year ago, ran the risk of providing an encore. "I knew that descent very well,” said Bertolini, who lives in Dosso, near Rovereto. “I led Gibo ahead of the group, then I saw that nobody was behind me so I went for it. Unfortunately, they caught up with me, but the important thing is to be there when it counts, and I want to win a stage."

Some of Armstrong's comments about the last two stages:

Stage 6: "Done with stage 6. Uh...wow. That was the craziest last 30k I've ever seen. Long, fast decent at 80k (50pmh) plus then a tight circuit; at one point today we reached 110kph. That's almost 70 mph. CRAZY! Tomorrow is the same kind of finish. It's bike racing, not moto gp.."

Stage 7: "Done with stage 7. I've seen it all now. 25 mile fast decent to the finish. In the pissing rain. 55 mph. Makes no sense. The boys in the bunch are.... Why always talk about the "health" of the riders then ignore it when it comes to safe courses?"

After the Giro we'll get back to "regular programming": everything from A to Z about Italian cycling. Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Lance Armstrong's Artist Bikes for Giro d'Italia, Part III

Artist Shepard Fairey has also created a matching helmet, based on a GIRO Ionos, to complement the special Trek Madone to be used in the Giro d' Italia.

Photos of the Shepard Fairey Trek Madone:

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/lance-armstrongs-artist-bikes-for-giro.html

and

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/lance-armstrongs-artist-bikes-for-giro_05.html

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Cunego, Armstrong Arrive in Venice

The Lampre-NGC team has arrived in the Lido and have checked into the Park Hotel Perù. The final selection of the Giro squad has been made and will be: Bono, Bruseghin, Cunego, Da Dalto, Gasparotto, Gavazzi, Marzano, Mori Manuele and Tiralongo.

Cunego, who won the 2004 Giro, said, "Can I win? I don't know, I will start off as one of the favorites and then we will have to see what I am capable of."

Lance Armstrong said, "Never been here. Can't wait to experience it."

The team presentations will be tomorrow (Thursday) in Piazza San Marco in Venice beginning at 4:15pm (local).

Photo: Piazza San Marco as featured in Giro d'Italia brochure

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Lance Armstrong's Artist Bikes for Giro d'Italia,Part II

More photos of Lance Armstrong's Shepard Fairey road bike for the Giro (Part I was yesterday, or see http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/lance-armstrongs-artist-bikes-for-giro.html).

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Lance Armstrong's Artist Bikes for Giro d'Italia

Lance Armstrong will have special TT and road bikes to ride for the Centenario del Giro as reported in http://www.supertouchart.com/:

"In a world exclusive we’re happy to reveal the first full look at Lance Armstrong's newly completed Supertouch-curated Trek art bikes designed for his run in the upcoming Giro d'Italia by artists SHEPARD FAIREY (the man behind the Barack Obama 'Hope' poster )and KENNY SCHARF. The world’s most prestigious cycling stage race after the legendary Tour de France, the Giro is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009 and a lengthy run through several historic cities was designed to honor the event. Coincidentally this is also the only year Lance has ever entered the race, a historic first for the cancer crusading cyclist who broke his collarbone last month in a Spanish race. Lending their formidable creative talents to the challenge, Shepard and Kenny created two vastly different and utterly unique cycles to draw attention to Lance’s upcoming NIKE-backed “STAGES” anti-cancer art show benefiting LIVESTRONG that will debut on July 16th in Paris at GALERIE EMMANUEL PERROTIN during the TDF. Getting up on Lance’s “daily driver” Trek Madone road bike, Shepard Fairey created a vibrant homage to Lance’s cancer fighting foundation while including ancient patterning in honor of Italy’s rich architectural details. NYC Pop Art legend Kenny Scharf took a totally different approach to Lance’s Trek TTX time trial cycle and created the “lightspeed” space bike that will hopefully hurtle Tex across the finish line in record time. Both bikes will be auctioned off on October 2nd (10/2 marks the date of Lance’s original cancer diagnosis) at the NYC stop of the “Stages” art tour at the historic Park Ave Armory with all proceeds going to benefit Livestrong."

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Armstrong to Ride Giro in Support of Leipheimer

ROME (AP) -- Lance Armstrong will ride in support of teammate Levi Leipheimer in the Giro d'Italia, saying he is not ready to contend for the title.

The seven-time Tour de France winner broke his collarbone in a crash in March and hopes to win at least one stage of the Giro, which begins Saturday in Venice.

''While at the beginning of the year my objective was to contend, with the crash I'm not sure I still can,'' Armstrong said Tuesday at a meeting with Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, to support his campaign against cancer.

''Before that I was ahead of schedule. Now we're behind schedule. I have to go into the Giro knowing I'm not a contender for the overall. But we have a rider who is going for the overall, and I'll ride for him.''

Armstrong already helped Leipheimer win the Tour of Gila in New Mexico last week and the Tour of California at the beginning of the season.

Still, Armstrong was coy when asked what will happen if Astana is in position to win the team time trial Saturday. The first rider that crosses the line for the winning team will take the leader's pink jersey.

''I don't know. Johan decides that,'' Armstrong said, referring to Johan Bruyneel, Astana's team director, who also guided the American in his Tour de France victories.

''I would be disappointed if I didn't win one stage. I don't care if it's a mountain stage or a time trial,'' Armstrong said. ''I assume I'll get better as the race goes on. I'm still recovering from the crash.''

Armstrong, who fought through testicular cancer before he began to dominate cycling, met with cancer patients at a children's hospital before heading to the foreign ministry.

Armstrong returned this season after 3 1/2 years of retirement. Since the crash and surgery, he trained for several weeks in Aspen, Colo., and finished second behind Leipheimer at the Tour of Gila.

''We had a tough week. The race was tough in New Mexico and I've been at elevation for a month, so I'm just trying to come over here now and recover from the travel,'' he said. ''It took a long time to get here yesterday.''

Armstrong went for a training ride Tuesday morning along the coast near Rome, including some hills.

Meanwhile, Armstrong's old nemesis Filippo Simeoni walked into the Italian cycling federation's offices Monday and handed in his Italian champion's jersey. Simeoni is upset that his small Ceramica Flaminia team was not invited to the Giro. Ceramica Flaminia appealed unsuccessfully to the International Cycling Union to intervene.

Armstrong managed to enter the Tour of Gila despite a UCI rule that bars top professional teams like Astana from sending organized squads to national-level races.

''I do not run (Giro organizer) RCS and I do not select the teams,'' Armstrong said. ''I understand the media fixation, but this story goes back to 2004, and that's a long time ago. I'm more than happy to have him in the race, but I don't control that. At some point this story must die.''

Giro director Angelo Zomegnan also denied that Armstrong had anything to do with Simeoni's exclusion.

''It's just media speculation,'' Zomegnan told The Associated Press. ''Armstrong and I never spoke about Simeoni. The invitations are for teams and Simeoni's team is not good enough for the Giro.''

Armstrong is interested in creating his own team, but he is having trouble finding financing.

''If we had the support and sponsors and financing, we would,'' he said, noting some problems with Astana's finances. ''We don't have the funding today.''

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Lance Armstrong in Rome

Lance Armstrong arrived in Italy yesterday. Today he visited, in Rome, the Policlinico Gemelli to visit cancer survivors and their families and to launch the Italian portion of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign:

Later he met with Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to discuss the campaign and the support Italy will provide:

Regarding the Giro he said, "At the beginning of the year my objective was to come to Italy and battle for a victory but after crashing (ed. note: in Spain) I don't know if that will still be the case. I envision Basso or Leipheimer as the winner. In any case, during the Giro I'll have the opportunity to discuss important issues such as the fight against cancer, world poverty, and also the beauty of cycling."

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Unfairly Treated? Italian National Champion Thinks So

Filippo Simeoni, the 37 year-old current Italian national road race champion, today turned in his tricolor jersey to the Federazione Ciclistica Italiana to protest his and his team's non-selection to the Centenario del Giro d'Italia.

"It is unacceptable that the Italian national champion cannot participate in the most important cycling event of his country. The organizer should explain to all fans why national values are not respected, why team selection criteria is not clear, and why commercial interests take precedence over sporting interests."

Simeoni also insinuated that the behind the non-selection was the old controversy involving Lance Armstrong; Armstrong will be racing in the Giro for the first time this year. The old controversy goes back to 2004, Stage 18 - July 23: Annemasse - Lons le Saunier, in the Tour de France. Here is what happened as reported by AFP:

"Lance Armstrong displayed his well-known determined side, but in bizarre fashion today after chasing down an early attack by Italian Filippo Simeoni on the 18th stage of the Tour de France.
The 32-year-old US Postal leader finished the stage with the main peloton at 11mins behind a group of six riders from which Spaniard Juan Miguel Mercado had emerged to sprint home ahead of Vicente Garcia-Acosta and win the stage for his Quick Step team.

Armstrong, who has also won four stages on this year's race, retained his 4min 09sec lead on second placed Italian Ivan Basso, of CSC, and is well on his way to a record sixth yellow jersey.
But despite his total domination, Armstrong also showed his unforgiving side, especially with Simeoni.

The 32-year-old Italian is a key witness in the trial of Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari, with whom Armstrong has admitted collaboration in the past, and earlier in the race confirmed his intention to take Armstrong to court for defamation.

Simeoni wants to sue the five-time winner over comments made in French newspaper Le Monde in July 2003. The article quoted Armstrong as saying that Simeoni had ''lied'' when he gave evidence to investigators saying was Ferrari who had showed him (Simeoni) how to use the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) effectively.

The comments did little to improve Armstrong's image vis-a-vis Ferrari, who in the cycling world is looked at with suspicion as much as with curious admiration for his knowledge of advanced training methods.

Today the Domina Vacanze team rider's attempts to get into the six-man breakaway were kept immediately in check, as though Armstrong was intent on trailing him wherever he went even though Simeoni is not a threat in the general classification.

And the message from Armstrong seemed clear: 'Me and the peloton don't like what you've said about Ferrari, and we won't let you forget it'.

Race leaders rarely need to chase down such attacks, and although stranger things have happened in cycling it still shed Armstrong in a curious light.

Simeoni, for one, wasn't happy: ''Armstrong today showed everyone the kind of champion he is,'' said the Italian, who has never implicated Armstrong in any evidence he has given about Ferrari.

''If he was truly a big champion, he wouldn't have to preoccupy himself with modest riders like me.''

When questioned, Armstrong later insisted: ''I was protecting the interests of the peloton. The other riders were very thankful,'' he said before hinting at his real motives.

''All he (Simeoni) wants to do is destroy cycling, destroy the sport that pays him.

''I can't say how many riders said thank you very much.

''They understand that it is their job, and they don't want somebody from within destroy it,''

added Armstrong, who took his petulance a stage further by poking fun at the journalist from L'Equipe newspaper who had interviewed Simeoni two weeks ago.

But despite Simeoni's outcry, Australian veteran Scott Sunderland believes Armstrong's behaviour wasn't out of the ordinary.

''That sort of stuff does happen, and it has for years. I remember a lot of rivalries between teams in the past,'' Sunderland said.


The 37-year-old Alessio rider admitted that Simeoni's card had been marked by some in the peloton, and that Armstrong was within his rights.

''Filippo Simeoni spoke out and from what I can gather was throwing accusations around, saying things like you can't win anything on the big Tours if you're not taking stuff (drugs), so I think a lot of guys have just taken offence.

''It was stupid for Simeoni to do that, especially if he's still in the peloton and riding the big races.
''Plus, he's (Simeoni) talking about what happened in 1996 when things were a bit out of control. Since then things have really moved on as far as fighting against doping is concerned,'' added Sunderland.

''As far as Lance is concerned, I think he was on an easy day and he wanted to show Simeoni that if he was going to attack he would find it difficult.

Ferrari, who once claimed that EPO was no more harmful than orange juice, is set to go on trial in Italy for sports fraud and the distribution of banned substances.

The fallout from the trial, scheduled for later this year, could raise further questions about Armstrong's links with the Italian doctor. "

Reading this reminded me, regretfully, that not much has changed when it comes to doping.

Photo: Filippo Simeoni

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Lance Armstrong Training and New Bike

Ivan Basso is in Venice training for the time trial. Lance Armstrong is near Aspen, Colorado, training on dirt roads, and has a new bike being prepared; he says his collarbone feels good even on the dirt roads.

18 days, 16 hours to the Giro!

Photos: Armstrong training on dirt roads; his new Trek Madone

Stories, including cycling trip stories, for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Armstrong Training in Aspen and 100% GO for Giro

Lance Armstrong is out on training rides and doing climbing intervals in Aspen, Colorado. His recovery and training must be coming along well, the organizer of the Giro d'Italia announced that Armstrong contacted them from Colorado today confirming his participation in the race.

Photo: Lance Armstrong in Aspen (note Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop jersey, that's Armstrong's bike shop in Austin, Texas: http://www.mellowjohnnys.com/

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Lance Armstrong: "I'm Looking Forward to the Giro"

Lance Armstrong talks in this video about his healing process, looking forward to participating in the Giro d'Italia, and the recent allegations by the French "Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage" (AFLD), the French anti-doping agency, of irregularities in his last control which might lead to his not being able to participate in the Tour de France:

http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/5345-update-lances-injury-response-drug/5345/




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Giro Gyrations: Why It's Not Entering France

Coincidence or...?????


March 17th: Lance writes on twitter, "Yet another "surprise" anti-doping control. 24th one. This one from the French authorities. Urine, blood, and hair! Classic.."

March 18th: Lance, on twitter, "I'm hearing from a lot of folks that there's a lot of press clips re: my hair test/drug test yesterday and I was surprised and asking ?'s.", and "First off, I'm never surprised anymore. What does surprise me is that AFLD (Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage) feels the need to publicly comment on confidential matters."

April 6th: first reports in Italian press that there was an irregularity in an anti-doping test involving Lance Armstrong on March 17th, in France at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The story says the tests involved blood, urine and hair samples.


April 7th: France's L'Equipe has reported that AFLD, which conducted the March 17 out-of-competition test, submitted a report to the International Cycling Union (UCI) and WADA on March 30. The report apparently details the abnormal behaviour observed before and during the surprise visit from the French agency.

April 7th: Lance writes, "Outrageous reports yesterday coming out of France allege that I “misbehaved” during a recent unannounced drug test performed by the French government while I was training in southern France in early March. The test in question was my 24th unannounced drug test, since I announced my return to cycling last fall. The first 23 of those tests were performed without any questions and all have been returned negative. This 24th test, which included a blood test, a urine test, and a test of a substantial quantity of my hair, was also negative.I returned home that day after a long training ride to find a man chasing me as I rode up to the house. He stopped me and told me he was from the French laboratory and was here to test me. I had never heard of labs or governments doing drug testing and I had no idea who this guy was or whether he was telling the truth."

April 8th: The complete statement from Lance regarding a report that was filed by a representative of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) stating that the American acted in a strange manner on the occasion of the out-of-competition test, his 24th control since returning to the sport last year:
"Outrageous reports yesterday coming out of France allege that I 'misbehaved' during a recent unannounced drug test performed by the French government while I was training in southern France in early March.

The test in question was my 24th unannounced drug test since I announced my return to cycling last fall. The first 23 of those tests were performed without any questions and all have been returned negative. This 24th test, which included a blood test, a urine test, and a test of a substantial quantity of my hair, was also negative.

I returned home that day after a long training ride to find a man chasing me as I rode up to the house. He stopped me and told me he was from the French laboratory and was here to test me. I had never heard of labs or governments doing drug testing and I had no idea who this guy was or whether he was telling the truth.

I've been tested in-competition and out-of-competition by USADA, by WADA, by the UCI, and by testing authorities at all the events in which I have competed, but I was unaware that in France the government tests athletes and takes the position it can test any athlete residing in or visiting France. I also had never heard of a laboratory (as opposed to an anti-doping organization) sending testers to collect samples.

We asked the tester for evidence of his authority. We looked at his papers but they were far from clear or impressive and we still had significant questions about who he was or for whom he worked. I was there with Johan Bruyneel and two other people. We told the tester we wanted to check with the UCI to confirm who he was and to make sure he wasn't just some French guy with a backpack and some equipment to take my blood and urine.

Johan stayed with him and in his presence called the UCI to find out what was going on. We asked if it was OK for me to run inside and shower while they made their calls and the tester said that was fine.

As soon as they completed the phone calls, which took about 20 minutes, we started the tests. Johan had confirmed with the UCI that the tester had authority from the French government to take samples. I immediately provided blood, urine and hair samples – all the samples that he requested, as he requested. All this was done within 20 minutes of returning home from my ride and finding the tester at my home.

I did not try to evade or delay the testing process that day. I had just returned from an all day training session, wasn't sure who this French man at my home was, and as soon as the UCI confirmed that he was authorised to conduct the tests, I let him take all the samples he requested.

The drug collection forms we both signed state that we started the testing just 20 minutes after I arrived home. In addition, the form asked the tester to state if there were any irregularities or further observations from the testing process and to that he wrote "no". I have learned that after the tests were all negative, the laboratory has now suggested that the 20-minute delay should be investigated.

I find it amazing that I've been tested 24 times without incident and the first test I do in France results in more outrageous allegations and negative leaks to the press. This is just another example of the improper behaviour by the French laboratory and the French anti-doping organisations.

I am sorry that they are disappointed that all the tests were negative, but I do not use any prohibited drugs or substances. As always, I'm available anytime and anywhere to be tested. It is this sort of behaviour that hurts the entire system and causes me and many other athletes to call for reforms in general and an improvement in the conduct of French laboratories and authorities in particular."

April 8th: Giro d'Italia organizers announce that Stage 10 has been modified and will no longer enter France (http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/stage-10-cuneo-pinerolo-modified.html)


April 9th (per http://www.cyclingnews.com/): Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong could soon face disciplinary proceedings from the French anti-doping agency AFLD, following what it says was improper behaviour during an anti-doping test carried out on 17 March 2009.

In a statement issued today, the AFLD said that Armstrong did not obey the rules of the World Anti-doping Agency's International Standard of Testing, specifically Article 5.4.1, which states that the person being subjected to an anti-doping control must remain within the sight of the doping control officer from the time of notification until the sample is collected.

The AFLD release stated that the UCI has already confirmed its right to open disciplinary proceedings against the American. "Via a letter dated April 8 sent to the Agency, President Pat McQuaid has, in his response, stated that the combined interpretation of the world [WADA] code and UCI anti-doping regulation conferred upon the AFLD the jurisdiction to open possible disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Lance Armstrong."

The WADA code article in question states, "when initial contact is made, the ADO [anti-doping official], DCO [doping control organisation] or Chaperone, as applicable, shall ensure that the Athlete and/or a third party (if required in accordance with Clause 5.3.8) is informed.... of the Athlete's responsibilities, including the requirement to... remain within direct observation of the DCO/Chaperone at all times from the point of notification by the DCO/Chaperone until the completion of the Sample collection procedure."

Earlier this week, Armstrong responded to news that the AFLD had raised objections to the incident. He issued a statement saying that while he and team manager Johan Bruyneel were attempting to verify the validity of the person requesting the samples, Armstrong was permitted to leave.

"We told the tester we wanted to check with the UCI to confirm who he was and to make sure he wasn't just some French guy with a backpack and some equipment to take my blood and urine.

"Johan stayed with him and in his presence called the UCI to find out what was going on. We asked if it was OK for me to run inside and shower while they made their calls and the tester said that was fine."

The AFLD statement directly contradicts this, saying that, "Mr Armstrong, despite being repeatedly warned by the examiner, did not meet the obligation to remain under direct and permanent observation."

As the national anti-doping agency, the AFLD has the authority to test all athletes on French soil, the AFLD has the authority to test all athletes on French soil, regardless of where their licence is registered. This is the same international rule that permitted CONI to carry out anti-doping tests during last year's Tour de France when the race visited Italy, and also enables USADA to carry out tests on riders at races such as the Tour of California.

Today's news is significant as the AFLD could potentially ban Armstrong from competing on French soil. If this is upheld against all appeals, this would rule out his bid for an eighth Tour de France crown this summer.

Armstrong would however be able to ride the Giro d'Italia. The race organisers yesterday announced a modification to the route of stage 16 (ed. note: correct stage is 10), which now no longer crosses the border to France.


April 9th: Lance writes on twitter, "Was winning the Tour seven times that offensive?!?"


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Armstrong Perfects Aero Position with Surgery

During the height of his career Lance Armstrong was famous for taking every possible step to perfect his aerodynamic position on the bike because, during the Tour de France, "every second counts". Since his return to the sport, he has yet to dominate in the race against the clock. Insider sources have revealed to Cyclingnews that the American recently underwent a radical, secret surgery to alter his physique to help cheat the wind.

Following his crash in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, where Armstrong fractured his right collarbone, he flew back to his Austin, Texas home. Once back in Texas he had surgery – supposedly to repair the clavicle which, doctors insisted, was broken into four pieces.

Sources within the Armstrong camp explained that initial reports that the break was a single, clean fracture were true. But the seven-time Tour winner had been told he could shave seconds per kilometre off of his time trials if only his shoulders weren't so broad. The American decided that, since he faced several weeks of recovery from the broken bone anyhow, he might as well go through with a plan which would shorten both clavicles and narrow the width of his upper body.

Doctors cut out a section of the right clavicle before putting the bone back together with a plate and screws, then moved over to the previously intact left collarbone to duplicate the procedure. The surgery marks the first time an athlete has undergone such a radical surgery to gain a performance boost.

The extreme measure was taken with a view toward the Giro d'Italia's stage 12 time trial from Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore which, at 61.7km, is the longest individual test of Armstrong's career and could well be the decisive stage of the tour.

"We did everything we could in the wind tunnel to shave fractions of seconds off of Lance's times – Trek invented new technology to cheat the wind on the bike, Nike used space-age technology to create the world's most aerodynamic skinsuit... but there was no getting around the fact that Lance's frontal area was just bigger than other riders," a spokesman said.

"The surgeons took two centimetres off of both collarbones and then screwed the bones back together," he added. "With the titanium plates holding the bones in place, Lance is already cleared to get back on the trainer. He was so eager to find out how much more aerodynamic he is that we flew straight away to San Diego to do some tests in the wind tunnel. And boy, oh boy, all I can say is watch out!"

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Lance Armstrong on Spin Bike

Lance Armstrong was on the spin bike today for the first time, riding 30 minutes. Pretty good considering the surgery required:

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/lance-armstrong-surgery-results.html

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact veronaman@gmail.com

Lance Armstrong Surgery Results

Lance Armstrong's collarbone fracture was not as clean as first reported, and his three hour surgery required the use of a 5 inch stainless steel plate with 12 screws to repair the fracture.

"Normally we see 8-12 weeks for something like this to heal completely," Dr. Elenz said, stressing the word "completely." In terms of rehabilitation, the doctor wants Armstrong to take it easy for a week to let the wound heal, start back into aerobic training using a stationary bike so as not use his upper body, and then he would see about letting Armstrong out on the road. Doctors will monitor Armstrong's arm strength, range of motion in his shoulder, as well as his pain level in order to decide what kind of training he can do.

As I write this there are 43 days, 20 hours, and 19 minutes remaining to the Giro d'Italia start. Armstrong wrote at this moment, "Surgery/anesthesia/jetlag = hurtin' like hell."

Photo: collarbone photo from Team Astana

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Lance Armstrong In Surgery

Lance Armstrong on his way into surgery this morning. Hopefully the doctor won't be finding any surprises. Forza Lance!

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