- Jul 5, 2009
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Re: Re:
Nice summary, but I would disagree with a few things regarding the USADA. First, the process is not Kafkaesque. If you get popped, you can request the B sample and have an expert present for the testing. The results go to the ADRB. They decide whether you likely doped. If so, they hand down an ADRV which the athlete can them accept or take to an arbitration panel. The judges on the panel are independent of the USADA, lawyers are permitted, disclosure of evidence and testimony under oath are all used. If the judges decide that the athlete doped then the USADA hands down a sanction. Don't like that? You can appeal to the completely independent CAS based in Switzerland.
The system worked in Floyd's case. There was exogenous testosterone in the sample and the judges agreed. He lost at the CAS too. And later in court.
http://www.usada.org/testing/results/adjudication-process/
http://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Landis_doping_case
Second, Vinokourov had *nothing* to do with USADA. He was sanctioned by the Kazahk federation.
Third, it was up to the UCI to appeal both Floyd's and Vino's sentences.
Beyond that, I agree wholeheartedly that the UCI was/is dirty as muck. Those are the ones who screwed over Floyd, and were most likely encourage by Lance to do so. It also didn't help that the USAC wasn't interested in playing fair. I believe Floyd when he says he wasn't on test in 2006. But I also believe that he got a fair shake at defending himself and for whatever reason the sample had exogenous test in it. The UCI truly threw him under the bus after that. Then put it in reverse and took another run at him.
John Swanson
DamianoMachiavelli said:It was way more than that. This is how it went down:GJB123 said:The truth getting out in the cas elf Armstrong was not down to Armstrong talking too much it was down to the fact that he snubbed Landis when he came looking for a job. Inherently the set-up was such that a lot of people knew about the doping (team-wide set-up) and I agree that in this respect the chance it was coming out was always bigger than when an individual sets up his own program.
When Floyd tested positive for testosterone, he was confused because he
knew he had not been using it for that Tour. He went into the anti
doping process confident that he would beat the charge but quickly
discovered the people running USADA are just as corrupt as those running
the UCI and the process is a Kafkaesque nightmare where it is near
impossible to win, even if you are in the right. In contract law if there
if ambiguity in a contract, the ambiguity is construed against the party
who drafted the contract. In the WADA system, people associated with the
prosecution decide, and they don't have to be consistent from case to case.
There is no precedent. The rules mean whatever is required to get a
conviction in the particular case.
The French scheduled a hearing for Floyd at the same time as a USADA
meeting, telling him that if he did not attend then he would be found
guilty by default. This is something they have never done before or after.
In February 2007 Floyd's lawyer negotiated a delay. In return Floyd
formally agreed not to race in France until his situation was resolved.
Tygart then either made a new rule or a new interpretation of an existing
one so that bans would start when an athlete stopped competing or agreed
to stop, whichever was later. This was done to put pressure on Floyd to
roll over on Armstrong. The result is that Floyd ended up serving a two
and a half year ban instead of a two year one. He also gave up start fees
he could have collected if he had not stopped racing immediately.
During his ban, Vino tested positive for blood doping, was given a one year
ban, and was back racing before Floyd's ban expired even though Vino tested
positive a year after Floyd. This really ticked Landis off. He was set to
join Rock Racing. Michael Ball wanted a Pro Contiental license. He had
designs on using that as a stepping stone to get to the Pro Tour and
eventually race the Tour. The UCI told Ball that if he hired Floyd then he
would not be given a license, so Landis ended up racing for a rinky dink team
sponsored by a friend.
As his ban came to an end, Floyd intended to win the Tour of California
again. He felt he needed a little bit of racing to knock the rust off, so he
asked USAC if he could start racing early. He thought this was reasonable
because he had served more than the two years that was the designated ban
length for a doping offense. USAC (and possibly) the UCI turned him down. At
the same time the UCI granted Armstrong an indulgence to allow him to race
the Tour Down Under despite not being in the testing pool for six months.
This made Landis angry at the unfairness of the system. He called Steve
Johnson at USAC, and Johnson was very condescending, telling Floyd that Lance
racing in Australia would be good for cycling and Floyd should stop thinking
about himself for once. Floyd did not take the double standard nor the way
Johnson expressed it well. Without any preparatory racing, he underperformed
in California. He also felt humiliated when people pointed to the results as
proof that he could not race without drugs.
After racing most of the season on OUCH, Floyd decided he wanted to return to
Europe. He contacted several teams but never heard back. He emailed Bjarne
Riis and never got a response. Landis suspected the UCI was still blackballing
him so he asked JV to inquire whether it would be okay for him to hire Floyd.
He did not want to race for Slipstream. He just wanted to know if the UCI was
behind him not being able to find work. JV got back to him and said the UCI
had advised him not to hire Floyd. Fearing that this might lead to some sort
of lawsuit, JV also told Floyd that he would deny this if it ever came up in
court.
While he was seeking a team, Floyd learned that Armstrong had been contacting
people to discourage them from hiring Floyd. He found this out from a team
owner. He warned Armstrong to stop fcuking with him or else. Armstrong
didn't listen. As Floyd says, "I don't bluff." Armstrong contacting teams may have
been the last straw. But it may not have been. It was about a lot more than sticking
it to LA. By this time Floyd had become utterly disgusted with everyone involved,
Armstrong, the UCI, and USADA. It was a great big FU to everyone as he left
the sport.
Nice summary, but I would disagree with a few things regarding the USADA. First, the process is not Kafkaesque. If you get popped, you can request the B sample and have an expert present for the testing. The results go to the ADRB. They decide whether you likely doped. If so, they hand down an ADRV which the athlete can them accept or take to an arbitration panel. The judges on the panel are independent of the USADA, lawyers are permitted, disclosure of evidence and testimony under oath are all used. If the judges decide that the athlete doped then the USADA hands down a sanction. Don't like that? You can appeal to the completely independent CAS based in Switzerland.
The system worked in Floyd's case. There was exogenous testosterone in the sample and the judges agreed. He lost at the CAS too. And later in court.
http://www.usada.org/testing/results/adjudication-process/
http://www.tas-cas.org/en/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Landis_doping_case
Second, Vinokourov had *nothing* to do with USADA. He was sanctioned by the Kazahk federation.
Third, it was up to the UCI to appeal both Floyd's and Vino's sentences.
Beyond that, I agree wholeheartedly that the UCI was/is dirty as muck. Those are the ones who screwed over Floyd, and were most likely encourage by Lance to do so. It also didn't help that the USAC wasn't interested in playing fair. I believe Floyd when he says he wasn't on test in 2006. But I also believe that he got a fair shake at defending himself and for whatever reason the sample had exogenous test in it. The UCI truly threw him under the bus after that. Then put it in reverse and took another run at him.
John Swanson
