More good publicity for Rock Racing
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... dec02news2
The United States Anti-Doping Authority (USADA) has announced the suspension of Kayle Leogrande for two years after it was established he used EPO during last year's Superweek series.
The three-member arbitration panel decided that Leogrande's admission of drug use during The Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic on July 26 last year, in addition to a 'borderline' A-sample taken in that period, constituted grounds to suspend the Rock Racing rider for two years, commencing December 1, 2008.
The panel heard that Leogrande admitted to using Vicadin, Ventalin and EPO to Rock Racing soigneur Suzanne Sonye following an in-competition test by USADA. Sonye recalled the rider telling her that he had not slept well the night of the test, and when asked why this was the case, he informed her that he had used the prohibited blood-boosting substance.
Evidence also emerged that Leogrande had put soap on his wrist prior to entering the doping control station and that, while giving his sample, he put some of the soap into the stream of his urine, thinking the soap "would f*** up the test." This came after the 31-year-old had asked Sonye where testosterone patches could be bought, as the testosterone gel he had earlier tried had not been as effective as he had hoped.
The panel learned that then-Rock Racing directeur sportif Frankie Andreu was informed of Leogrande's admission by Sonye, and he praised her for doing so. He then spoke with other team management and told them of the situation, outlining the need to terminate the rider's contract based on his admissions. Instead, he was suspended for two weeks after which time he could continue racing.
The court recorded that, No one within the Rock Racing management questioned whether Respondent [Leogrande] had used EPO. The only debate was what to do about it. Management determined that it would not terminate Respondent, but instead wait until Respondent received his doping control results from Super Week before making that decision.
Andreu parted ways with the team earlier this year and told Cyclingnews at the time that, "Before Christmas they made some business strategy decisions with me and other members, and that made it obvious to me where they were heading. Since then I was left out of the majority decisions."
It's damning evidence for the team, with team owner Michael Ball coming under fire on occasion for signing riders and staff with dubious records in relation to doping infractions. The latest chapter in this came with the announcement that former T-Mobile soigneur and advisor Rudy Pevenage would have an involvement with the squad next year.
USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart was pleased with the outcome of the hearing, and stated afterwards, "All those who value clean sport should be encouraged by this decision and by those who voluntarily come forward with reliable evidence, placing their trust in USADA, to aggressively pursue those who will cheat their fellow competitors by using prohibited drugs."
The United States Anti-Doping Authority (USADA) has announced the suspension of Kayle Leogrande for two years after it was established he used EPO during last year's Superweek series.
The three-member arbitration panel decided that Leogrande's admission of drug use during The Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic on July 26 last year, in addition to a 'borderline' A-sample taken in that period, constituted grounds to suspend the Rock Racing rider for two years, commencing December 1, 2008.
The panel heard that Leogrande admitted to using Vicadin, Ventalin and EPO to Rock Racing soigneur Suzanne Sonye following an in-competition test by USADA. Sonye recalled the rider telling her that he had not slept well the night of the test, and when asked why this was the case, he informed her that he had used the prohibited blood-boosting substance.
Evidence also emerged that Leogrande had put soap on his wrist prior to entering the doping control station and that, while giving his sample, he put some of the soap into the stream of his urine, thinking the soap "would f*** up the test." This came after the 31-year-old had asked Sonye where testosterone patches could be bought, as the testosterone gel he had earlier tried had not been as effective as he had hoped.
The panel learned that then-Rock Racing directeur sportif Frankie Andreu was informed of Leogrande's admission by Sonye, and he praised her for doing so. He then spoke with other team management and told them of the situation, outlining the need to terminate the rider's contract based on his admissions. Instead, he was suspended for two weeks after which time he could continue racing.
The court recorded that, No one within the Rock Racing management questioned whether Respondent [Leogrande] had used EPO. The only debate was what to do about it. Management determined that it would not terminate Respondent, but instead wait until Respondent received his doping control results from Super Week before making that decision.
Andreu parted ways with the team earlier this year and told Cyclingnews at the time that, "Before Christmas they made some business strategy decisions with me and other members, and that made it obvious to me where they were heading. Since then I was left out of the majority decisions."
It's damning evidence for the team, with team owner Michael Ball coming under fire on occasion for signing riders and staff with dubious records in relation to doping infractions. The latest chapter in this came with the announcement that former T-Mobile soigneur and advisor Rudy Pevenage would have an involvement with the squad next year.
USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart was pleased with the outcome of the hearing, and stated afterwards, "All those who value clean sport should be encouraged by this decision and by those who voluntarily come forward with reliable evidence, placing their trust in USADA, to aggressively pursue those who will cheat their fellow competitors by using prohibited drugs."
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Comments
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Q : What's the difference between Michael Ball and Bob Stapleton?
A : Bob has a beardFckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
Stapleton wears M&S denims?'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0
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Mr Ball's adverts in magazines look like adverts?Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0
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I think she's asking if she can hold it.
I'd let her.
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=43940 -
derby wrote:I think she's asking if she can hold it. I'd let her.
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4394
Jeeez, that photo offers endless possibilities for a game of "Spot the t!t". I can see at least 4.'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
Some complete balls from Ball
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id= ... dec02news3Rock Racing Team Manager Michael Ball is dealing with the negative impact on his team following the suspension of his rider, Kayle Leogrande, by the USA anti-doping agency. The Continental team based in the USA, known for contracting riders linked to doping investigations, confirmed Leogrande will not be on the 2009 roster.
"Whenever a rider is suspended – be it for doping or any disciplinary issue – it brings negative attention to the sport that so many of us are working hard to cast in a positive light," said Ball in a press release.
Ball confirmed that Leogrande will not be on the 2009 team roster, but said the decision was performance based and not due to the doping case.
Ball is working hard to cast the sport in a positive light ?
He's not dropping the guy because he's been banned for two years, but because of his poor results ?
- does this mean he'd keep him on the team, despite being banned and unable to ride, if he had good results ?0 -
They also appear to have screwed up their licence application, along with.......
......LPR! :shock:
The UCI has announced today the teams who have received Pro Continental licenses for the 2009 season. Five teams were denied licenses, due to unspecified irregularities. They have until Friday, 5 December to appeal the decision. The five are: Rock Racing, H2O, LPR Brakes, Amica Chips (Martinelli's new team), Murcia-Contentpolis AMPD. According to this press release, it appears that Rock Racing applied for a Pro Conti license after all, but so far, the UCI has not granted them a license. In the United States, BMC is the only team who has received a Pro Continental license."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Didn't Ball start going down this route but then decided the chances of getting an invite to the Giro were too slim so decided to save his cash?Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0
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You have to be a special kind of dumb to actually take photos of yourself holding a box of EPO and HGH...
http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArti ... ID=36271320 -
If you've got fairly plain arms, it wouldn't be a problem....
If you have more tats than someone off London Ink...well then...you need to have an IQ lower than room temperatureFckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
afx237vi wrote:You have to be a special kind of dumb to actually take photos of yourself holding a box of EPO and HGH...
http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArti ... ID=3627132
hahaha oh my god... what an absolute pleb!0 -
If Leogrande had any cop, he'd adopt a Landis / Vino type defense and claim that the borderline positive could be due to an as- yet undocumented adverse reaction to tattoo ink.
A bit discouraging to think that it appears he was working his way through some pharmaceutical snack-box and the best the labs could detect was a "borderline" positive. If he had kept his yap shut, he may have walked.'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0
