Armstrong Waives the Rules?

[girofan]

Seven-time Tour de France Lance Armstrong was on Wednesday cleared to race in the 2009 Tour Down Under in Australia, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced.
It was clouded in doubt as the veteran was told that he had to respect the UCI's 'biological passport' rule demanding that athletes must be registered with an anti-doping programme six months prior to competing.
But the world governing body said it was satisfied that Armstrong could take part.
"The International Cycling Union (UCI) has decided to approve Lance Armstrong's participation in the forthcoming Tour Down Under in Australia, to be held 20-25 January, the first event of the 2009 UCI ProTour," said a UCI statement.

"According to Article 77 of the Anti-Doping Regulations introduced in 2004, a retired rider may only return to competition by informing the UCI six months in advance in order to allow him/her to be available for out-of-competition testing.
"Consequently, Lance Armstrong would only be able to return to the sport at international level from 1 February 2009, a week after the end of the Australian event.
"In respect of this situation, the UCI has taken into account the progress made in its anti-doping programme since 2004. As a result of the improvements implemented, riders are now subject to a much-reinforced system of monitoring compared to that of the past.

So that's OK then, one rule for bully Armstrong and another for all other competitors???

 

[andy_wrx]

Another way of looking at it is whether

"In respect of this situation, the UCI has taken into account the progress made in its anti-doping programme since 2004. As a result of the improvements implemented, riders are now subject to a much-reinforced system of monitoring compared to that of the past.

is a bit of a swipe at St Lance, saying 'you might have got away with it back then Sunshine, but you won't get away with it now' ?

 

[Chuffy]

Oh well, not a huge surprise really. To be honest it would have been a bit tight of the UCI to apply that rule to the day, no matter who the rider was.


I still hope ASO tell him to f*ck off though.

 

[zimzum42]

Maybe he'll get caught up with all this CERA rubbish and it'll all be academic anyway.....

 

[mondobongo]

I still hope ASO tell him to f*ck off though. :?:

So do I as well as the Giro Organisers, don't want him sullying the Giro.

Cant say I am at all surprised seems he can do whatever he wants.

 

[yello]

I'm surprised. I was expecting (hoping?) the letter of the law to be applied.

 

[kennykool]

I for one am delighted he's getting to ride the Tour Down Under.

Say what you like about LA...he'll make the sponsors a fortune over the coming season!!!!!

Chuffy - I almost thought you were warming to Lance there....then you're last sentence reminded me it was REALLY you

 

[MrGrumpy]

LA could be cleaner than Daz ultra, but I reckon it still would not satisfy the doubters.

 

[yello]

I don't see this as a matter of anti-Armstrong or doubters. Simply that in this current situation (where we have 30 TdF riders under re-examination) that the organising bodies should be applying their own rules to the absolute... yes, even if that means sponsors missing out on cash bonanzas and riders missing out for the sake of a few days.

 

[itisaboutthebike]

McQuiad's a shister..........payments from Japan for the Kieran, and can't even be bothered to apply his own rules. What a dickhead !

Notice it's the Frech (who else !) who've been at the forefront of the CERA ousting - NOT the UCI. They couldn't catch a bl**dy cold !

 

[Chuffy]

ISay what you like about LA...he'll make the sponsors a fortune over the coming season!!!!!

Because the money is all that matters...

I wouldn't hold out much hope of LA being done for CERA. His six month pre-race 'quarantine' started after the Tour busts and we know that Team LA is famously attentive to detail, something that his ex-lieutenants (you know,the ones who were always clean when they raced with him) might have missed when they moved team. I doubt that he would be foolish enough to be using anything known to be detectable. If he rides the TdF then there are two possibilities. One is that he really is riding clean (stop sniggering at the back), the second is that he's using undetectable techniques.

 

[John the Monkey]

ProCycling's broom wagon column is working on the assumption that Pat McQuaid doesn't actually want the job, and is desperately trying to get himself sacked.

It would explain a lot...

 

[Keith Oates]

He's had a tough time since he got the job but with Verbruggen out of the way perhaps it will now become less stressful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kennykool]

Chuffy "Because the money is all that matters..."



It is all that matters to the Sponsors...thats whole whole point in sponsorship ain't it?

I wonder what LA has to do to stop the doubters?

As i've said in other threads....innocent until PROVED guilty!!!!!!

 

[yello]

As i've said in other threads...

And will no doubt say again