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LATEST NEWS: GARMIN CALLS ON RIDERS TO COME CLEAN AMID LANDIS CLAIMS
Road Bike Action & AFP
May 28, 2010
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(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Garmin Calls on Riders to Come Clean Amid Landis Claims
Garmin-Transitions has called for "transparency" from its team riders if they are called by the authorities to answer recent allegations of doping levelled by American rider Floyd Landis. Landis, formerly of US Postal and Phonak, caused a sensation last week when he admitted to being involved in systematic doping prior to being stripped of his Tour de France crown in 2006. The American also accused seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, among other former teammates at the now defunct US Postal team, and the team's manager Johan Bruyneel.
Armstrong and Bruyneel have categorically denied all the accusations although the International Cycling Union (UCI) has since asked the national federations of all riders implicated to investigate the claims. David Zabriskie, who formerly rode with US Postal and the CSC teams before joining Garmin in 2008, was one of several former teammates named by Landis.
A team statement issued by Garmin's management company Slipstream Sports reaffirmed their "100 percent clean" approach to racing. "We cannot change what happened in the past. But we believe it is time for transparency," the statement said. "We expect anyone in our organization who is contacted by any cycling, anti-doping, or government authority will be open and honest with that authority. In that context, we expect nothing short of 100 percent truthfulness - whatever that truth is - to the questions they are asked.
"As long as they express the truth about the past to the appropriate parties, they will continue to have a place in our organization and we will support them for living up to the promise we gave the world when we founded Slipstream Sports."
The UCI said earlier this week it had requested national federations to investigate claims implicating former US Postal riders Matthew White of Australia and Canada's Michael Barry, Belgian riders Bruyneel and John Lelangue, the former team manager of Phonak, who was affiliated to the French federation.
 Alessandro Ballan at the 2009 Tour de France
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
BMC Says Ballan Cleared to Race
Former world champion Alessandro Ballan has been given the green light to compete again by his BMC team after they said an internal investigation found him innocent of recent doping charges. Ballan, the world champion in 2008, was provisionally suspended by the American outfit after he was implicated in a doping probe in his native Italy.
A report in the Gazzetta dello Sport daily in early April claimed Ballan was among several individuals being investigated for suspected doping while he was riding with the Lampre team in 2004-2009. BMC said that after carrying out its own investigation Ballan - who has not been investigated by any anti-doping authorities - would now be free to compete.
"The BMC Racing Team could not find indications that Alessandro Ballan was involved in any doping in connection with his former team, Lampre," a statement attributed to team president Jim Ochowicz on the BMC website read Friday. "Alessandro Ballan has fully cooperated with the Italian authorities and has provided the investigation authorities with all requested information and even more.
"Apart from that, no sporting authority has opened a proceeding against Alessandro Ballan so far. Given all these aspects, the BMC Team has no reason at all to not respect the presumption of innocence and will no longer withhold Alessandro Ballan from competition."
Ochowicz is a former Olympic cyclist who is credited with being the 'godfather' of American cycling thanks to his involvement with the 7-Eleven team in the 1980s and, later, the Motorola team of Lance Armstrong. Recently, he and Armstrong were among several people accused of being involved in doping practices by disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his yellow jersey in 2006.
Ochowicz said last week: "These allegations are not true, absolutely unfounded and unproven."
OUCH-Bahati Restructures
OUCH Medical Center, one of the principle sponsors of the OUCH-Bahati Foundation team has backed out of the team as a result of the fallout with Floyd Landis’ revelations. While team management says the team will continue and is in negotiations with some new sponsors, riders have reported receiving an e-mail telling them they are free to move to other teams if they choose.
Almost half way into the season it is unlikely that any rider could hope to be picked up by a team with a budget at least equal to what OUCH-Bahati’s was, though they could certainly find a ride with a regional amateur team.
The management team of Rick Crawford, Steve Owens and Eric Smart will be replaced once new sponsors are found.
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