Pechstein loses final (?) appeal of passport conviction

[mtb Dad]

This might be the case the UCI was waiting for. Speedskating has won it's case against it's star athlete Claudia Pechstein, in what I think is her final appeal.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/val...&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0

Pechstein was suspended on the basis of a passport-like monitoring of her blood values. Seemed the court didn't buy the story she had a "disease" that peaked her reticulocytes just in time for world cups and Olympics.

The graph of blood values.
http://www.bild.de/BILD/sport/mehr-...stein/verweis-statistik,property=Download.jpg

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Let's hope that this will set a precedent in terms of the bio-passport in cycling.

Tracking the data's one thing, but following it up is another. As the IO/WADA release stated earlier (from the TdF), the passport is only good for making it look like you're doing something. If you don't act on it, then it's pointless. But it can make for good PR...