Is Alberto Contador Guilty of Doping?

Alberto Contador is fighting for his cycling career after he tested positive for metabolism stimulant clenbuterol on July 21st 2010.

If he is found guilty by the UCI he would become only the second winner of the Tour de France to be stripped of his title for doping; the other was Floyd Landis in 2006. However is Alberto Contador guilty and should he be banned for two years? In my opinion the answer to this question is no and for more than one reason.

Contador the Man
Normally I would be the first person to be asking for a rider to be banned if they have been doping. However, with Contador my feelings are very different. I have never been a fan of el pistolero despite his superior riding and I haven’t been converted as a fan. However, after I had the fortune to meet him during an interview in Spain in 2009 in came to like him as a person. He is a very unassuming man who you wouldn’t think he had enjoyed as much success in cycling as he has. He never seemed like the type of man to take an unfair advantage in that way.

Alberto Contador tries to Save Career as he Submits Clenbuterol Defence Docoments

Alberto Contador should be enjoying his winter off after winning his third Tour de France at the age of 27 and joining Bjarne Riis at the SunGuard Saxo Bank team for 2011.

Instead he has just submitted his defence documents on Friday 26th November 2010 in his aim to salvage what has been a brilliant career for the Spaniard so far. Contador has been locked in battle with the Union Cycliste International (UCI – Cycling governing body) since he tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol in September. So how has el pistolero’s season gone from riding high to down in the dumps?

Andy Fenn Takes Two in the Madison with Six-Day legend Franco Marvulli

The Le Col team of Franco Marvulli, Andy Fenn and Jon Mould took victory in the highly anticipated three-man Madison at Revolution 30 on Sunday 21st November 2010.

Six-day veteran Marvulli produced a brilliant final sprint to give him and his young teammates a hard fought win in the 80 lap event. Close behind were the Max Gear Racing team of Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Leif Lampater, who had been ahead for much of the race, but finished two points behind. The three-man Madison has been a common occurrence during the hugely popular six-day events, but it is the first time it’s happened at the Revolution.

Top Five Turbo Trainers for Winter and Christmas

Winter and Christmas are soon approaching and the thought of going out on your bike in the cold is slowly becoming less enticing. So how do you keep yourself fit when the winter weather is against you? A turbo trainer is the perfect way to keep off the Christmas dinner and several bottles of wine over the festive period.

If you are a keen cyclist or one of your loved ones is always out on a ride and you would love to keep them in the house on Christmas day then here are five of the most popular turbo trainers and the market.

Elite SuperCrono Power Fluid ElastoGel Trainer

A leaver attached to the handlebars allows you to change the resistance while you’re riding so you can go from the flat roads of the Netherlands to climbing the Alpe d’Huez with quick flick of your hand.
Its lightweight and adjustable frame make it easy to move around the house or take to warm up before races. The ElastoGel roller means you get a reduction in noise and tyre wear without losing out on grip. It comes readymade so you won’t be going bonkers on Christmas morning trying to find the allan key.
Best Price: Wiggle.com for £111.58
Other Sites: Chainreactioncycles.com

Koichi Nakano a Cycling Legend: The Greatest Track Sprinter

Over recent years Japanese track cycling has struggled against some of the better funded nations like Australia and Great Britain. This wasn’t the case back in the ‘70s and ‘80s when Japan was the proud home of one of the top track cyclists in the sport’s history.

Koichi Nakano was born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1955 and remains the only rider to win sprint gold at the world championships 10 times in a row. He is also the only Japanese rider to have ever won gold in the sprint competition. Known as the “de laatste Keizer” (the last emperor), he was one of the most successful on the Japanese Kerin circuit, but never won a world championship as it was introduced toward the end of his reign. He was coached by Bill Long, who was one of Australia’s top cyclists and journalists.

European Track Championships - Jason Kenny wins Kerin ahead of Matt Crampton

Jason Kenny made it through a crash filled Kerin event to win gold ahead of compatriot Matt Crampton on Sunday 7^th November in Pruszkow.

It was a British one-two in the men’s Kerin as Kenny lead muscle-man Crampton over the line. Crampton has the lead going in to the final lap and used his power to get around and looked like gold would be his, but Kenny slipped around just before the line to steal it from his clutches.

Crashes Down the Germans

In Kenny’s second round race German riders Maximilian Levy and Michael Seidenbecher collided resulting in Levy being carried from the velodrome on a spinal board. It was later revealed that he had suffered from a broken collarbone and unsurprisingly Levy was unable to compete in the minor final with Seidenbecher coming last. Initially the man who had come second in the heat Adam Ptacnik from the Czech Republic was blamed for the incident and disqualified from the event. After some reconsideration he was reinstated and allowed to compete in the final and took bronze.

European Track Championships - Sprint Queen Sandie Clair takes Gold

France added another two medals to their haul so far, but will be disappointed that it wasn’t two golds after Kevin Sireau missed out in the men’s sprint on Saturday 6^th November in Pruszkow.

Sireau had been on sparkling form since the championships opened on Friday and became immediate favourite for the title after Chris Hoy suffered a shock defeat in the second round. The world number two was given the surprise of his life when the Russian Dennis Dmitriev, who is ranked 25^th beat him in two straight races. He only got the chance to race in the final after his opponent in the semis was disqualified.

Controversy in the Semis

Damian Zielinski won his first two heats against Dmitriev, but the Russian argued that the Polish rider had moved in to the sprinters line on the inner track and blocked him. The judges agreed and due to it being his second code violation he was removed not only from the race but the whole event. This left Britain Jason Kenny to take the bronze medal without even having to put a wheel on the track.

European Track Championships - Chris Hoy Suffers Shock Defeat in Sprint

Multiple world and Olympic champion Chris Hoy had a day to forget in the Saturday morning session at the European Cycling Championships in Pruszkow on November 5th.

Hoy made it through qualifying with the only sub-10 second time in the men’s individual sprint and you would have bet your house he would take the top spot eventually. However, it all went wrong in the second round when he was pitted against the man with the slowest time from qualification 18-year-old Felix English from Ireland.

French Dominate the Sprint
The Scot was forced to change disciplines when his event was removed from the Olympic programme and since then he has dominated sprinting and won gold in Beijing two years ago. Small errors have been the bane of Hoy’s challenge in the inaugural European Championships. France’s Kevin Sireau was the man on form making it through each round with ease and beat, Great Britain’s other big hope in the sprint, Jason Kenny.

European track Championships - Jason Queally wins Gold at 40

Great Britain were the big winners in the opening day of the inaugural European track cycling championships winning two of the first blue jerseys awarded on Friday 5^th November in Pruszkow.

Jason Queally became a gold medallist at the age of 40 in an event he’s never competed in at international level. Great Britain showed their intentions before London 2012 as they beat Russia in the men’s 4km pursuit by over four seconds with Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Andrew Tennant and Queally.

Russia got off to the better start but was soon overhauled by the Olympic champions by the end of the first lap. The Russians held on for the first eleven laps with the time split hovering around 0.3 seconds, but the Brits put their foot on the gas and dropped their opponents with ease. The Netherlands took the bronze ahead of Spain who just weren’t able to hold on to the pace of the Dutch.

European Track Championships - Britain dominate Friday morning sesson

Britain got the first European Championships off to the best possible start putting in the fastest times in three of the four morning qualifying sessions on Friday 5th November in Pruszkow, Poland.

Obviously a little too early for some the seats wear nearly empty for the morning session which started at 10am, but that didn’t dampen the excitement for the events that lay ahead.

Setting the Standard
It was the Olympic champions who set the standard in the team pursuit to open the three day event with a time of 4min 01.953 secs. Ed Clancy was the only member of the 2008 team who won the gold in Beijing. Bradley Wiggins chose not to race in this event, after it was taken from the schedule for London 2012, to focus on his own Olympic events.