Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    World leaders call Trump tariffs 'wrong' and 'unjustified'    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Suspicions over latest probe into Armstrong team
By John Leicester
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 21 - 10 - 2009

There is something fishy about France's latest probe into the former team of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
Leaving no stones – or in this case, syringes – unturned in the battle against doping is commendable. Unless, of course, the investigation proves to be little more than a vendetta against the cyclist some French love to hate, convinced as they are that the cancer-survivor can only have triumphed through doping.
The facts: After this year's Tour, French police descended on a waste management firm, Cosmolys, that many teams use to dispose of their medical trash - bloody bandages, used sticking plasters, etc. The officers seized 15 containers, according to a French judicial official who was happy to brief reporters about the probe but not to be identified by name.
The officers went through the boxes. All of them checked out except one that the judicial official says was labeled as belonging to Armstrong's Astana team. The official says the box was stuffed with a “large quantity” of syringes and, most alarming, equipment for doing intravenous infusions. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, such IV drips are banned without a compelling medical need.
This paraphernalia is now being inspected by a laboratory, Toxlab, which also worked on the investigation into Princess Diana's death. It is looking at whether the syringes contained substances banned for athletes and, if so, whether blood specks on some needles can, through DNA analysis, be traced to riders.
Now for the troubling aspects.
The probe comes amid a public dispute between the UCI, which governs world cycling, and France's anti-doping agency, known by its French initials AFLD.
Ideally, they should be partners. But they don't trust each other. Officials at the AFLD suspect the UCI isn't doing everything it could against doping. In a 10-page report to the UCI that leaked to French media, the agency this month accused the cycling body of messing up drug tests at this year's Tour. Perhaps most damagingly, it claimed that the UCI's testers granted “privileged treatment” to Astana, which Tour champion Alberto Contador also rides for.
The view at the UCI is that AFLD officials are unreliable publicity hounds. To rid cycling of its drug-tainted image, the UCI has spent a small fortune building one of the most sophisticated anti-doping programs in sports. It rejoiced that, for the first time in years, no rider tested positive at this year's Tour. It is miffed at AFLD suggestions that its efforts are still full of holes.
The syringe probe could work in AFLD's favor by giving an impression that there may have been nefarious goings-on at the Tour that the UCI missed or ignored.
But what prompted police to search the bins in the first place? Did they have legitimate reasons or are they being manipulated by people seeking to embarrass Armstrong and the UCI? Would they have gone to such lengths with other sports? They are refusing to comment on this case.
“We never hear of police going through the bins at Roland Garros or after a football match,” notes Gerard Guillaume, a doctor for French team Francaise des Jeux.
What is clear is that the probe was kept quiet for three months until last week, when word leaked to French media just before Armstrong flew to Paris for the unveiling of next year's Tour route. The timing took some shine off the ceremony. Armstrong and Contador faced questions.
Even if one assumes that someone at Astana cheated, it's difficult to believe they would throw the evidence in the trash. Doctors from other teams say Cosmolys' waste containers aren't sealed, so anyone could conceivably stuff them with needles to tarnish Astana. There also are legitimate reasons why a team might need syringes - for vitamin injections, for instance.
That doesn't mean police shouldn't investigate.
Intravenous equipment found in 2007 in a bin in Lucerne, Switzerland, was traced through DNA analysis to eight Russian rowers who were banned for two years. Police will deserve applause if their doggedness turns up Tour cheats.
But if Astana is exonerated, will the same people who put Armstrong and cycling in the spotlight by leaking word on the probe say sorry? Don't count on it.


Clic here to read the story from its source.