News

The UCI is poised to appeal the Floyd Landis and Ivan Basso doping cases if stiff racing bans are not handed out. UCI president Pat McQuaid said Thursday cycling’s governing body would likely challenge anything less than two-year racing bans to the Court of Arbitration of Sport for the beleaguered Tour de France and Giro d’Italia champions. “We have to wait and see the evidence that comes forward, but if we don’t agree with the ruling, the UCI would appeal,” McQuaid told VeloNews. “If we think the evidence doesn’t support the decision, we can appeal it to CAS.” The Landis hearing opened

The rumors have been floating around for months that “Urko” — one of the infamous codenames found in the Operación Puerto dossier — could belong to Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro. No one dared touch it except a few anonymous web sites until Il Giornale, an Italian newspaper in Milan, published a story Wednesday without naming sources linking Pereiro to bags of blood with the pseudonym found in police raids last May. An angry Pereiro blasted the allegations Friday and said he would quit cycling if he’s forced to provide DNA samples to prove his innocence. “I have never spoken with Eufemiano

Day five of the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing started with a public admission of witness harassment and continued with a heartfelt doping confession by a suspended pro cyclist. In between it was more of the less sensational — but likely more critical — scientific testimony that will likely determine whether Landis is found guilty of using synthetic testosterone to win the 2006 Tour de France. The hearing continues Saturday with Landis himself scheduled to take the witness stand. If he beats the rap, he’ll hold onto his Tour title. Otherwise he faces a two-year racing ban, plus an

Editor's Note: Denver-based attorney Antonio Gallegos is in Malibu, California, this week to observe the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing. Gallegos works for the firm of Holland and Hart, concentrating in commercial litigation and government investigation. He is also an avid cyclist and is developing a sports law practice. At the end of each day Gallegos will be providing VeloNews.com with analysis on what happened and why. Here's his take key moments from the fifth day on the Pepperdine University Campus. Today’s evidence was pivotal for both USADA and Landis as testimony from USADA

Both Laverde and Pinotti had reason to smile.

Laverde quickly showed he was the strongest in the day's successful break.

Liquigas simply wanted to keep the margin small and no one else wanted to chase.

The peloton hit the summit of the Terminillo seven minutes after the escapees did.

The quintet worked together, until....

... Laverde put in a big dig on the final climb.

Pinottii gets the jersey, but for how long?

IRMS Supervisor LNDD, Doctor Corinne Buisson, testifies on Friday

Papp explains why cyclists use testosterone

Antonio Gallegos

Buffaz was tired after trying the same thing earlier in the week.

so Ignatiev goes it alone...

but the teams of Petacchi and McEwen had other ideas.

Bernucci and Sella give it a go

Bettini, recovered from the bruising he got on Wednesday, only had an errant shoe to worry about.

Georgia Gould

Mary McConneloug

Kabush is sitting on top of the world (rankings)

Editor's Note: Denver-based attorney Antonio Gallegos is in Malibu, California, this week to observe the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing. Gallegos works for the firm of Holland and Hart, concentrating in commercial litigation and government investigation. He is also an avid cyclist and is developing a sports law practice. At the end of each day Gallegos will be providing VeloNews.com with analysis on what happened and why. Here's his take on the third day of an arbitration hearing that is expected to last up to 10 days. Landis’s attorneys spent nearly the entire day cross-examining

LeMond said he was surprised when Landis called him last August.

LeMond testified under oath that Landis implicitly admitted to doping during a phone call. LeMond also testified that he received what he characterized as a threatening phone call from a member of the Landis team on the eve of his testimony.

Landis listens to LeMond's testimony on Thursday.

Editor's Note: Denver-based attorney Antonio Gallegos is in Malibu, California, this week to observe the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing. Gallegos works for the firm of Holland and Hart, concentrating in commercial litigation and government investigation. He is also an avid cyclist and is developing a sports law practice. At the end of each day Gallegos will be providing VeloNews.com with analysis on what happened and why. Here's his take on a wild fourth day on the Pepperdine University Campus.Testimony from three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond provided some TV-style

Landis's attorney quickly fired Geoghegan after the business manager admitted making the call.

Following his startling testimony on day four of the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond held an impromptu press conference in the hallway outside the courtroom. Here’s what he had to say. On the threatening phone callThe guy who threatened me last night, as I was leaving [the courtroom today], admitted that he called me and the tried to apologize. I plan on pursuing this through the police. It was a real threat and it was very, I hate to say it, creepy. I think it shows the extent of who he is. On

Three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond said he was threatened by a member of the Landis team on Wednesday night.

Förster earns the second Giro stage win of his career.

Claire Frelat

Oleg Tinkov at the Giro

Antonio Gallegos

Another day in pink. Di Luca says he's ready to give up the jersey... for now.

The defense focused on Frelat's handling of samples, but...

Making the boss happy. Ignatiev and Buffaz try another Jacky Durand immitation.

...Ayotte said Landis's sample would have been positive, no matter where it was tested.

Popovych lost 34 seconds... not insurmountable

Brutt was on the attack again.

Pérez Cuapio went with 8km to go...

... the attack caused Piepoli and others to give chase.

Di Luca shows who's boss

Saoldelli lost nearly a minute

Mongongu spent most of Wednesday on the stand

LNDD director Jacques de Ceaurriz with analysts Claire Frelat and Cynthia Mongongu

On a day when the International Tennis Federation announced it would send drug test samples taken from the upcoming French Open to the WADA accredited lab in Montreal instead of the Laboratoire National du Dépistage du Dopage outside Paris, the LNDD’s credibility faced more harsh scrutiny on the other side of the Atlantic as the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing rolled on in Malibu, California. While the ITF claimed its decision to swap labs was a question of finances — and not of competence — the Landis defense team continued to make its case that the LNDD wasn’t fit to test samples from

Di Luca wins back the jersey, too.

The Amalfi Coast, beautiful and getting there was half the fun

Narrow roads kept the pace low early in the stage... or maybe they were just checkin' out the view

Di Luca credits his team's big effort.

Bettini fought back and stayed in the race.

Editor’s Note: Denver-based attorney Antonio Gallegos is in Malibu,California, this week to observe the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing.Gallegos works for the firm of Holland and Hart, concentrating in commerciallitigation and government investigation. He is also an avid cyclist andis developing a sports law practice. At the end of each day Gallegos willbe providing VeloNews.com with analysis on what happened and why. Here’shis take on day one of the arbitration hearing that is expected to lastup to 10 days.General impressionsWhat we saw today is USADA trying to make its case that the

The Italian Olympic Committee's (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri hit out Tuesday at the people putting pressure on disgraced cyclist Ivan Basso to clam up. The Giro d’Italia champion had been collaborating with CONI after admitting to having been involved in “an attempt to dope,” but Torri said that Basso has now suddenly stopped helping them with their inquiries. "The results from the first phase (of the inquiry) are a little less brilliant than we were hoping for," Torri told a press conference in Rome on Monday. "After a completely negative first interview (on May 2),

Day two of the Floyd Landis hearing brought further clarification as to who each side may call to testify before the arbitration panel during the upcoming week. Most of the potential witnesses come from the scientific world, but there are a few names more familiar to cycling fans. Among them is Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France, and a vocal critic of doping in cycling. LeMond won the Tour title in 1986, and then two more times in 1989 and ’90. He was listed on the USADA side of the ledger, one spot above former pro cyclist Joe Papp. On Monday, USADA lead counsel

Defense attorneys continued to attack the credibility of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s case against Floyd Landis, as the Tour de France winner entered the second day of the arbitration hearing regarding his alleged synthetic testosterone positive doping test that could cost him a win in the world’s most prestigious bike race. Tuesday’s hearing was punctuated by charges of questionable methods on the part of the French national anti-doping laboratory, and the very public dismissal of a French-English interpreter. Following the conclusion of USADA witness J. Thomas Brenna’s testimony, the

Editor’s Note: Denver-based attorney Antonio Gallegos is in Malibu,California, this week to observe the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing.Gallegos works for the firm of Holland and Hart, concentrating in commerciallitigation and government investigation. He is also an avid cyclist andis developing a sports law practice. At the end of each day Gallegos willbe providing VeloNews.com with analysis on what happened and why. Here’shis take on day one of the arbitration hearing that is expected to lastup to 10 days.There were three key points during the cross-examination of USADA witness Dr. J.

Landis spent another day in a lawyer's kit... an unwelcome and uncomfortable uniform for this time of year.

Ouch! Hushovd apparently suffered only cuts and bruises. He'll ride again on Wednesday.

Landis and wife Amber arrive at Pepperdine Law School

Christopher Campbell (L), President Patrice Brunet (C) and Richard McLaren listen during the Landis hearing.

Landis attorneys Howard Jacobs (L) and Maurice Suh listen during the hearing on the doping allegations against the 2006 Tour de France champion.

Perhaps more than anyone, Óscar Pereiro will be watching Monday's start of the Floyd Landis disciplinary hearing with keen interest. The 31-year-old Spanish rider has the most to gain if Landis loses in his bid to clear his name of allegations that he cheated his way to the 2006 Tour de France victory. Pereiro finished second to Landis and would be awarded the 2006 maillot jaune if things don’t swing Landis’s way. VeloNews caught up with Pereiro earlier this year to gauge his feelings on the Landis case, his own brush with scandal and what he was thinking when he jumped right back into

Floyd Landis moved a step closer to finding out whether his name will go down in Tour de France history or infamy. Landis’s scheduled 10-day arbitration hearing to determine whether he used synthetic testosterone to win the 2006 Tour commenced in the moot-courtroom of the Pepperdine University Law School in Malibu, California, with science — not cycling — taking center stage. If he wins the case he’ll avoid becoming the first Tour champion in 100 years to be stripped of his title. If Landis loses the win is no more, and he faces a two-year racing ban, and an additional two-year exclusion

Not to be denied: You just knew Petacchi had to win one of these days again.

Di Luca says he's cool with it.

A great day for the Giro's final stage on Sardinia.

The day's escape formed early

Ignatiev and Visconti go on their own...

The chase got serious with 50km to go.

Liquigas just wanted to protect the jersey.

They almost made it.

Abbott scored her third-straight stars-and-stripes jersey, winning the women's Div. II road race

Popovych is a bit sore, but 'okay,' says Discovery

Jennifer Bodine picks her wheel to ride with one lap to go.

Boyd nails the men's Div. I title...

First, the Villanova Monterleone trimmed the group to three...

Bodine celebrates her win in the D2 crit.

... and Dad's there to share the moment.

... then Brutt tried his luck.