Damien Ressiot, where are you?

[Adamastor]

The famous reporter specialising in doping matters for French paper "L'Equipe" has been extremely quiet over the last few weeks and months regarding the Landis/Armstrong affair. He was the one, who proved, that Armstrong cheated.

I knew that with changes in the management of Amaury Sports (owners of Tour de France and l'Equipe), new strategies in cycling were being developed.

But still, I was expecting a reknown newspaper like l'Equipe (and no, it is not a tabloid!) would comment on developments in the States around Novitzky and his team.

But nothing, zip, nada over the last 2 months!

And now, I bumped into this article
http://www.acrimed.org/article3417.html (sorry, French only),
that explains very well what has been going in France with the most famous French sports paper ever. Well, looks like they will lose a(nother) faithful reader. Bye !

"...Il a également été expressément demandé à Damien Ressiot de ne plus générer de révélations et de se contenter de traiter l’info dopage en réactivité..."

"Damien Ressiot was asked (by Marie-Odile Amaury, owner of Amaury Sports) not to generate other "revelations" and to keep on handling doping activities in reactivity..."

 

[theswordsman]

I'll read the article in a minute, but when the ASO got the new boss, it was announced that from then on L'Equipe could print doping stories that were reported elsewhere, but they weren't to go out digging for stories like they used to. It blends perfectly with the UCI's dream of giving the illusion of a clean sport and Tour de France.

 

[python]

tbh, i'm not too concerned that l'equipe was toned down from above. if it was their business decision prompted by the political ambiance, so be it. france is not a country where texas and doping will find sustained shelter. the pendulum, particularly in france, swings back and forth and i trust it started to swing back where texas does not want it to swing.

i'm far more encouraged by the main stream american media taking the new line.

ressiot's pioneering example has been 'contagious' and i am happy to see the results across the ocean.