Pat McQuaid, President of the UCI yesterday confirmed that the organisation would double the length of the statutory ban for those convicted of doping if it considered them to have been wilfully cheating. Commenting on the latest doping scandal to hit professional road racing he confirmed that if Schumacher, Kohl and Piepoli had commited their offences at next year’s Tour they would be facing a four year ban. "In these cases, considering that these guys were given the product and then went and took it for the Tour de France, it would be very much classified as wilful cheating. "Next year, a rider in that position would face a four-year ban." McQuaid makes no secret of the fact that he would like to see convicted drugs cheats banned from cycling for life, but admits that up until now the UCI’s hands have been tied by the fact that it is signed up to the world anti doping code which lays down statutory punishments for convicted dopers. One of the reasons that the code’s sanctions go no further than a two year ban is that the bans have to be able to stick in legal jurisdictions across the world. Up until now it has been felt that longer bans would open governing bodies and the anti-doping agencies up to legal challenge in both Europe and the United States. From January 2009 though the code allows for more flexibility and for governing bodies to judge each case on its merits. The UCI will impose sanctions on a case-by-case basis, said McQuaid, and cyclists will be judged on the gravity of the infringement and in particular the nature of the substance.
Doping cheats face four year ban from January
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@Paul J That's not making the BIKE dangerous, that is the rider adopting a position on it. And as is mentioned, his brother didn't witness is so its hearsay. A rider could be on a regular road bike and take their hands off the bars, sit up, or even lay their arms in puppy paws (its a training ride after all no UCI peaking over their shoulders) and potentially not be in full control or reach of the brakes. Does that make the BIKE dangerous?
@OnYerBike His brother, who must have some reason for stating that - I assume because he spoke to Seff!
@Paul J Yes. Your hands are further from the brakes. That is why it is important to train in places where you are less likely to encounter pedestrians and erratic traffic movements, with the head in a position that gives maximum visual warning of any impending problems. I think pros sometimes forget these points. With regard to crosswinds, it depends more on the depth of your front wheel rim. Don't forget that there is more body weight on the front wheel in a TT position. Most club and open TTs have road and TT bike categories, so if you choose to race a road bike good for you. It's a free country. In fact our club TTs are typically a 50/50 split between road and TT bikes. You don't automatically get a huge performance benefit from a TT bike. Training in the position and the extra core strength required is something that has to be worked on. Riding a TT bike is an art in itself. And my last point, some of the road bikes I see cost more than my road and TT bikes combined.
"Lovely relaxing bike ride" Of course the original was furnished by Mark Twain ("Taming the bicycle"): "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live". Albeit the drivers he had to content with were in carts, carriages, or behind herds of animals. Dogs were a major issue then as now, though.
@Mr Blackbird I have ridden road bikes with TT bars, yes, but I generally stick to a road bike when doing TTs in the local scene here. Your hands are further from the brakes, your reaction time before you can get on the brakes in response to some event is higher. As Seff's brother, Matisse, is quoted in the article: "because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn’t brake in time and crashed head-on into that car." You also less control over the front in windy conditions - a danger I've heard some of my fellow testers remark upon on days when we've had a lot of cross-wind. > I suggest you have a look at some of the road bikes that get used for racing in club and open TTs. They certainly aren’t cheaper than a TT bike. That some people choose to spend loads of money on a road bike is irrelevant here. That money is largely to show off, it's not buying any significant extra performance over a low-mid range road bike. Whereas even a lower end TT bike is a significant benefit over any road bike. I use a pretty cheap road bike in competition. Around €1300 for the bike, and another €450 for the wheels (I could have gone a lot cheaper on the bike TBH, a Chinese no-name frame would have halved that cost). Requiring *2* bikes for people to be competitive in UCI road cycling, where 1 of those bikes is pretty specialist and niche (in general market terms) and hence always more expensive, is just wrong.
A friend of mine used to describe his Brompton as an expensive pet. That was in the days long before some Bromptons went bling. I wonder what he'd say now.
@Paul J His brother who didn't actually witness the collision...
@Smoggysteve From his brother Matisse, as quoted in the article: "because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn’t brake in time and crashed head-on into that car."
@OnYerBike From his brother Matisse, as quoted in the article: "because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn’t brake in time and crashed head-on into that car." TT bikes are definitely a bit more dangerous than road bikes, saying that as someone who participates a little in the local TT scene.
Egan Bernal's not referenced in the links in the article, though, so not relevant to OYB's "only common factor" comment. And there's still no good reason to think that the rider would have had time to brake in the current case had he been riding a road bike.