COURAGEOUS WOMEN

Betty Andreu and Emma O'Reilly had scorn poured on them for many years and endured heartache and Law Suits ! Today the person that caused them this aggravation was buried in the first avalanche of 202 pages of evidence ! Just so that he doesn't get complacent , there are another 880 pages coming his way !

Lance no doubt has reasons for the way he conducted his life . I know from personal experience that there are things that i did , that i wish could have been done differently . I made my bed and so will have to lie in it and suffer those consequences . Lance set out on a particular path , and TODAY , has discovered that there are consequences ! What the final wash up will be , is anyone's guess at this time .

Apart from Emma and Betty , there are other victims of the Omerta that seems to have surrounded Lance's career and people like David Walsh will find themselves busy fielding calls from colleagues that doubted their ability to discern the truth .

Paul Kimmage was one of the first to be treated as a Pariah because of his writing about " Doping " , in his book " The Rough Ride " and his subsequent career as a journalist . The evidence that USADA has published today , has come too late for the Trial that flandis did not attend but will be usefully available for Paul should the " prats of Aigle " dare to enter the courtroom on December 12th !

Following are a selection of Tweets this evening after the documents were released on :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/109619079/Reasoned-Decision

2h Cyclocosm.com ‏@Cyclocosm

@Charles_Pelkey In before "ah, so you admit it was a witch hunt, then?"

• 
  

2h Charles Pelkey ‏@Charles_Pelkey

So what do you call a "witch hunt" that actually uncovers a coven of witches? @LanceArmstrong

2h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST

I did mean to type Emma O'R, and definitely don't want to get on the wrong side of Emma O'Reilly, one of the most formidable women I know!

2h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST

When reading USADA report, remember Betsy A, Emily O'R and Stephen S who told the truth 10 years ago, without being compelled to do so.  

2h Ryan Trebon ‏@ryantrebon

You know what takes more courage to do than coming forward and admitting ones mistake? Having the fortitude to not do it in the first place.

Retweeted by Cyclocosm.com

2h Cyclocosm.com ‏@Cyclocosm

Oh man, @michaelibarry. You're almost as bad at this press statement stuff as George.

2h Jonathan Ramsden ‏@Sammydoo13

@DavidWalshST Some might say better late than never for GH et al. Not so sure. Would have been never without BA, E O'R and SS and others

Retweeted by David Walsh

2h Kathy LeMond ‏@KathyLeMond

@DavidWalshST I love that those strong women played such a role in bringing the truth to the male sport of pro cycling

No doubt there will be much more to add to this story as Australia wakes !

LADIES , THERE IS MUCH THAT COULD BE SAID !

THANKYOU FOR YOUR FORTITUDE !

COURAGEOUS WOMEN

GIRO D'ITALIA 2013

Naples will be the Grand Partenza , start , of the 2013 Giro D'Italia . I enjoyed a few days there when the Giro started in Sardinia some years back . I recall that it was a warm and sunny period whilst waiting for the Giro d'Italia to continue from Naples on the Wednesday . I had hitched from Austria on the Sunday , since the trains would not carry my bike , even in a box , arriving on the Adriatic coast that night and then riding over the mountains on the Monday . Several visits to the area over the years have always led to visits to the Amalfi Coast which is really taxing riding , in that the roads are narrow and the Tourists are generally less friendly towards cyclists . Of course it would be a nice destination for sunning and observing , as i had done at Portofino many years before in the 1990's , as i was driving through to a Greek Holiday . With the Denmark Grand Partenza having been bitterly cold , i will welcome a return to warmer climes . This year the Giro will depart from Italy and visit France , even having a rest day in Valloire which is the home town of J P Grange ,

the French Slalom Ski World Champion . I have had occasion to visit and ski there during my stay ,and meet the family of this World Class Ski Star . Several visits to the " Gallibier " have meant that i have come to know these climbs . One December i stayed in Valloire , after arriving there with my bike and cycled up the Gallibier climb to the third Avalanche barrier after having sauntered up to the top of the Telegraph as a warm up . Dry roads but very crisp sunny weather and freezing in the shadows of late afternoon after a day on skis .

Mont Cenisio is another area i have visited frequently outside Giro and " Le Tour " visits . Having stayed in Sestriere and Susa on Cycling Holidays , i have made the climb on the way through to France .

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION : http://www.change.org/petitions/international-cycling-union-aka-the-uci-remove-pat-mcquaid-and-hein-verbruggen-from-cycling-forever and also visit the " Paul Kimmage Defence Fund " ! ONLY BY YOUR SUPPORT , will phat & heinous come to realise the depth of feeling that the Cycling Community has had forced on them ! Even if we have to wait until the " UCI Voting Delegates " have their ballot at the Management Meeting . Between times the " Voting Delegates will become aware of the GROWING Ground Swell of dissatisfaction that exists in all parts of the Cycling Community !

GIRO D'ITALIA 2013

HEIN VERBRUGGEN

As an " Honorary President of UCI " , Hein is copping some stick this week ! Seems that he has never been popular with the " mushroom farmers at CNF ! Not being in Holland i am as yet unaware as to whether he arrended any of the Management Meetings or the Annual Friday Congress .

With the USADA supposedly compiling their case against Armstrong for delivery at some future date , the Media are churning up all sorts of stories to fill their quotas . Produce articles or else must be their watchword ? No point paying their own expenses for the " jollies " they are enjoying in Holland !

The following article surfaced on CNF :

http://www.newcyclingpathway.com/news/blog/hein-verbruggen-would-like-to-recall-the-message-el-pais-article

"  From: Hein Verbruggen

Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:19:50 +0100
To: Martin Hardie
Cc: Vincent Gaillard , Ingrid Beutler , Hein Verbruggen
Subject: El Pais article
Dear Mr. Hardie,
I refer to an article you have recently written published at: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Verbruggen/SA/Dracula/frente/banco/sangre/elpepudep/20111007elpepudep_11/Tes
Allow me to express my anger and disappointment that you, as a Lecturer at the Deakin University of Australia have bowed so low as to publish such unfounded comments. You state that ‘Y al decirlo es como si describiera a su propio patrón, a Verbruggen, al mismo Verbruggen que, muchos dicen, tiene su dedo en muchos pasteles financieros y vínculos de negocios que, como poco, suponen un grave conflicto de intereses.’ As an academic, such unfounded claims of conflicts of interest without any proof, based solely on rumours, show a profound lack of professionalism on your part.
Having never met you personally, your accusations are defamatory and I would warn you to exercise restraint and journalistic professionalism in your research prior to publishing further such claims. While I do not aim to defend myself here, you should be aware that I have fought to uphold the standards of transparent and ethical practices in doping eradication both during my time as President of the UCI and now as President of SportAccord. I have enabled and driven my organisation’s dedicated focus to combating match-fixing and to establishing good governance in sport.
My disappointment is profound, but trust that in the future your publications pronounce fact and not fiction and serve to benefit those who are working so hard to ensure good governance in sport.
Yours sincerely,

Hein Verbruggen


On 29/11/11 7:31 PM, “Hein Verbruggen” wrote:
Hein Verbruggen would like to recall the message, “El Pais article”.

One wonders who was responsible for these emails becoming available to that blog ?

Another article caught my attention recently and led me to look for the source of the report about the forgotten emails :

 http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/verbruggen-wont-take-legal-action-against-hamilton

I won't bore you by reprinting the content of the article , since you only have to hit the link .

First met Hein , in Valkenberg , in 1998 , at the World Cycling Champs and subsequently visited the old offices , west of Lausanne , after riding the route of the Tour de Romandie one year . It was a very pleasant visit and i seem to recall that i met Ray Godkin , Vice President of UCI , as a result . Ray has been the subject of a variety of controversies also , over the years , one subject was related to Leontin's visit to Australia's , Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney .

Whilst at the 2004 Olympics in Athens i had occasion to ride over to Hein , as he was awaiting transport on the steps of the Hilton , to the Olympic Stadium and whilst chatting Dick Pound wandered over to introduce himself . Seems he was aware of my involvement in Physically Challenged Sport .

Meanwhile CNF warriors are in uproar about the UCI going ahead with their Court action against Paul Kimmage . Seems that UCI has chosen to take the low road and sue the Journalist alone , rather than the Newspapers / vehicles that printed the articles that caused them to be so upset .  Guess they hope that Paul's pockets are not so deep now that he is no longer employed by the " Times of London " ! Last year there was an action to raise monies to help Charles Pelkey , as soon as this means to support Paul becomes available i shall post a link on my blogs !

Here is a link to the Article about the Fund for Paul :


http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/09/paul-kimmage-defense-fund/


Whilst UCI Delegates are meeting in Holland , the WADA org. is meeting in Stockholm ! In fact David Howman in delivering the keynote speech called for " New Alliances " to fight Doping as it is considered to be a " PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE "! Too bad that UCI and WADA have to meet at the same time , since both should be working together to eradicate the sources of Doping in ALL SPORT ! As some may be aware Fatpat (Phat , the CNF nickname ) is a member of the WADA Management , representing the IOC in some manner , curious that he is unable to be instrumental in avoiding a clash of dates ?

http://playtrue.wada-ama.org/news/wada-calls-for-increased-alliances-during-stockholm-symposium/

Garmin are amongst those i choose to follow on Twitter , and this week their Tweeting , included advice of David Millar being involved in setting up future WADA protocols !

http://playtrue.wada-ama.org/news/athlete-committee-discusses-code-amendments/

Some may recall that Dave was suspended for 2 years after admitting to French Police the use of PEDs in 2003 whilst he was UCI World Champion Road Time Trialler . What surprises me is that he is a Co Owner of Garmin Team ! When he returned to Cycling he adopted an " Anti Doping " stance , but , Garmin seems to have collected quite a few other Road Racers with a questionable background .  Zabriskie , Danielson and Vandevelde are ALL awaiting the fallout from their discussions with USADA . No doubt there are others that will hear from USADA when the Armstrong Papers are passed to UCI in the next months !

On another blog there are links to the press conference where Phat  took some questions from David Millar about UCI's handling of Doping during recent years .


Just before you rush away , here is a hilarious take on Hein by these guys :

http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/09/a-vexing-verbruggen-in-valkenburg/

HEIN VERBRUGGEN