CONTROVERSY RAGES

Controversy rages as UCIless finally decide to appeal the Spaniards decision and WADA have several weeks to weigh into this affair !

Why are these control bodies waffling around on such a serious matter ? Dragging this out so as to maximise the publicity value of the affair does not reflect well on anyone . Nearly everything that UCIless does these days flies in the face of reality . Mc Queasy has been looking at twitter comments by various people and is interpreting their tweets to suit his purposes and thus the rumour mills are churning out more conspiracies .

Waited for the air to clear but more fog has rolled in so no further forward in understanding what is going on in the Road Race Cycle World . One thing that is clear is when two racers test positive to the same substance in the same race then both should have their case sorted . Whilst one of the racers has a few months of his suspension left to serve the other is still awaiting the hearing and that is just totally unfair ! Justice delayed , is justice denied ! Consistency should be the order of the day but whilst there are supposed to be regulations governing the situation UCIless is interpreting them to suit their own purposes and the racer involved is unable to earn an income whilst the matter drags along .

Does the public really want to see Contador win a number of events and then later see the second place winner get upgraded by way of a note in the sporting media . Levi must be the latest of a long line of sports stars who will see their name in print but not enjoy the prize giving ceremony . Whilst team Radio Shack will win the team event anyway Levi will stand on the podium as second place getter . Later he will get the prize monies , but what of Scarponi and Martin , do they want their moment on the podium and the resulting photos ?

Cast your mind back to the Athens Olympic where tamilton won the gold medal and they messed up the doping controls to the extent that he should have passed the medal to Ekimov but loopholes allow him to retain this disputed victory . Periero was declared winner of the 2006 Tour de France after 11 months past and he got to have a “little prize giving ceremony” before the start of the 2007 Event . No consolation for the team though as they did not get to ride the Victory Lap on the Champs Elysee as they should have had the flandis team been removed in a timely manner .

Speculation is rife as to what 11 teams are proposing to do as a result of the media leaks that are filtering through . Four of these teams are seeking new sponsorship deals for 2012 and there are reports that the TV rights relating to Cycling are now contracted through until 2015 so more mystery is added to the package .

Appears we are living in interesting times !

PARIS-NICE TOUR 1999 (recollections)

Tour de France 1998 ( Photo here )showed me how much publicity can be garnered for "Disabled Sport" by riding the Race Route of the Various Cycle Tours !

With this in mind i drove towards Paris but the car packed it near Charleville M. so had to take to the bike the rest of the way . Pitched up in Nangis on the friday night and did some cycling around the area in the morning before heading into the centre of Paris looking for the next day's ITT parcours .

On the way around i spotted a sign about the "Assembly Nationale" hosting an exposition about the internet and since it was about freezing decided that the warmth would be a good idea . Floating around inside with little French i warmed up and as i was about to leave some "personages" were being shown around so decided to introduce myself .

"Hi i am Skippy from Sydney, here to "publicize Handi Sport " at the Paris-Nice "! in my stumbling French but the "personage" replied in English "Welcome to France and the Assembly Nationale , i am Laurent Fabius and a member of this chamber of the Government ". Well the conversation went on for a little longer with me being offered an escort to see the rest of the building and an offer of refreshments later which was appreciated . During the Tour i saw a lot of the areas that most do not see and was told that "M.Fabius had been the Premier of France in the mid 90's" !

This reminded me of my visit to the White House in the 80's when a Secret Service agent got us into parts of that tour that were generally off limits to the public and also my first visit to the NEW Australian Parliament Building in 1988 when i bumped Paul Keating in the book shop and had an invitation to see some of the "Behind Scenes" areas of the House and Senate . Later i sat in both these areas and phoned various friends around the world whilst sitting in the leader's seat in each chamber .

From the Assembly Nationale i cycled the ITT route then headed back to Nangis on dry but freezing roads . Not easy to cope with the french traffic on a saturday evening in early March .

Sunday i made my way back into Paris and the weather was not much better and hanging around the edge of the Time Trial was not the experience i had been hoping to enjoy.

Monday in Nangis was Wet and Wintery and wandering around the teams seeing them suffering the same conditions did little to lift my spirits for the week ahead . In those days few of the teams had Pullmans so they were sitting out trying to pass the time as comfortably as the weather would allow . Spoke to a few of the racers who were amazed that i was going to attempt the ride in those atrocious conditions dressed as i was in bib shorts and wet rain jacket.

Took off about an hour before the race and after about an hour and half had to stop at a bar as i was shaking so badly . Ordered a Brandy at the bar but since i could not pick the glass up , one of the patrons held it for me as i tried to get the brandy down my throat . Result was a few of them bought me additional Brandies whilst the steam rose from my clothes and i recovered somewhat . When i got going again the weather had cleared a little and i arrived at the roadside lunch that the organisation provided for their Guests just before the Peloton . Seeing me at the table a buch of the racers rode off the road and grabbed handfuls of food on the table display and took off down the road . I was left with little to choose from and a few of the Guests were also dismayed with the little left to choose .

Link to the 1999 Paris-nice story and some details:

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/mar99/parisnice99.html#riderYou may ask what this has to do with the "TourdaFrance" ?



Simply put i have been re reading "It's not about the bike" and having reached the part where Lance quit the 1998 Paris-Nice i thought it worth reminding ALL just how difficult the conditions were in France at that time of year . No doubt he was not the only racer that suffered that day and there were others that continued who would have liked nothing better than to stop .

Also this morning i saw Lance's Tweet about "dusting off his bike", noticed it had no decalls from "LIVESTRONG" and particularly without the "riding for xxxx" decal which needs to be sorted ! Link here :http://lancearmstrong.posterous.com/dusted-off-the-ol-bike-and-going-for-a-ride-i

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SERENA WILLIAM'S Career Setback ?

Serena Williams the Tennis Star’s Career that we have enjoyed for a decade is all but over ! Pulmonary Embolisms will even after the operation effect her future Career Options ! High profile Athletes need to exert a huge amount of effort to stay at the top of their game and even with the best specialist care it is doubtful we will see her at Wimbledon in the next years let alone on top of the Podium at other Tennis Tournaments where she so rightfully belongs .

Thankfully she is still with us as so many Athletes have either ignored or misinterpreted the warning signs . So many Race Cyclists have woken to find that their room mate has passed away during the night from this or similar symptoms . Could be this is the case in other sports also , but then I am more aware of the Cycling Sport Personalities than many from other Sports .

Here is a link to a press release today that runs contrary to my thoughts on this matter : http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/03/03/serena-williams-targets-wimbledon-title-defence-after-emergency/!

LATimes has an article worth looking at on Embolisms : http://www.latimes.com/health/os-serena-williams-pulmonary-embolism20110302,0,1700712.story


Those who suffer cramps should be thinking about the causes and early medical intervention may be appropriate in some cases . Even with following Doctors’ advice I find myself following a low activity lifestyle currently and with having to wear Compression stockings 24hr each day and taking Anti Coag medication I am somewhat uncomfortable with this change of pace . 2011 started with me thinking that I would be in Oz for the Tour Down Under then circumstances intervened and I went to the UK . From there I went to the South of France for sun and cycling and the plan then was to continue enjoying that area until the Embolism symptoms arose .

Life is full of surprises and marking time in the Tyrol is not what I would choose when Endurance Sports are forbidden , finding a place to live long term in this Tourist Area is also proving tedious .


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EMBOLISMS ! AGAIN ?

Interesting post on Roads.cc, reminded me of similar excursions with a variety of nationalities. Most recent was Monday afternoon out of Ventimiglia with 11 local race cycle enthusiasts. Treated me well on the eastward journey and i guess when i put the hammer down on the climb behind Ospitadello, so as to gain time to put the jacket on for the descent, it woke them up , as the return journey through the traffic was a bit chaotic.

Having ridden in Nice in the morning for a couple of hours as a wind down from the Tour Med which finished Sunday in Toulon and the sun was out it seemed like a good idea to take another ride. I had taken the bike out of the car on the Ventimiglia esplanade planning on enjoying the sun for a short while more when i spotted the group gathering for their lunchtime ride. This episode finished up with another two hours on the saddle.

Later in the evening i was at the UCMonaco club house where i was given a new outfit, since they had seen it on the TV regularly since they had given it to me during the TDF start in Monaco.

As i headed back into Italy i started experiencing similar pains to those of August 2009 when i came down with Pulmonary Embolisms . Arriving back in Austria after deciding that safety was the better option i checked into the Schwaz Hospital for blood tests. These tests confirmed a return of Pneumonia and Embulisms (blood clots)in the right lung.

Advices given in 2009 before leaving the hospital were heeded and yet with all the precautions observed i found myself back where i had started in Aug 2009, only now it was a return to extended medication. On top of this i am now required to wear heavy weight compression stockings day and night for a month and daily thereafter for an indefinite period.


POINT I AM MAKING FOLKS is that regardless of being an advocate for Anti Doping and leading a clean life, Cycling and MY genes have combined to leave me with health issues.

DO NOT THINK THAT CRAMPS are an irritant or irrevelence, and when they ease think no more of them ! SEE your doctor ! You too could for a variety of reasons have blood clots and waking up dead is not the solution , it is very unfortunate for all you leave behind .

Too many Recent Cycle Racers both Pro. & Amateur have had the symptoms i experienced and did not seek advice or visit their health professionals. I am alive thanks to an acute awareness of my body and abilities . Perhaps i pushed the envelope and brought on both attacks to the extent i was able to survive, others just did not realise or put off dealing with their symptoms.

Act Today and survive for your tomorrows !




Will i ride the Giro or TDF routes this year ? Something to look forward to, but health issues will overrule a foolhardy effort !

Those concerned about researching this matter further could look at some of the following sites :





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_embolism
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/p/pulmonary-embolism
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/pulmonaryembolism.htmhttp://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759765-overview

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/antiphospholipid.htm

http://www.thrombosisadviser.com/en/understanding-thrombosis/how-thrombosis-develops/index.php?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=2&ad_group=Blood_Clots_Leg&kw=leg+blood+clot&gclid=CPPKg_CLlKcCFdERfAodgzW4cg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombolysis



Appears that as a blood group B+ subject, it could be the "factor V Leiden "has had an influence on my situation.

More information will be added to this post as it is too important a subject to leave unfinished !