International Capsules: Armstrong says not worried by new doping claims
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Lance Armstrong says he has nothing to worry about “on any level” over new doping allegations raised in a report by Sports Illustrated.
The seven-time Tour de France winner curtly brushed aside questions about the story before taking part in Wednesday’s second stage of the Tour down under.
In a report posted Tuesday on its website, Sports Illustrated magazine previewed a longer investigative piece that will appear in this week’s issue, available Wednesday, that challenges Armstrong’s statements that he cut ties to an Italian doctor and training adviser who has long been accused of helping cyclists cheat.
Armstrong repeatedly refused to comment on the report Wednesday before saying he had perused it and “I have nothing to worry about on any level.” Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong’s mentor and the manager of this Radio Shack team, also refused to discuss the report.
Without identifying its source, Sports Illustrated said that when Italian authorities raided the home of Armstrong teammate Yaroslav Popovych last November in Italy, they found texts and e-mails linking the Radio Shack team with Dr. Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009.
Armstrong publicly severed his connection with Ferrari in 2004, amid accusations the doctor aided another rider in using performance-enhancing drugs. Ferrari was convicted and then later cleared of criminal charges on appeal.
Armstrong spokesman mark Fabiani called the Sports Illustrated report “old news from the same old, discredited sources.”
A U.S. federal grand jury in Los Angeles has been hearing evidence for months on cheating in professional cycling. the investigation turned toward Armstrong — and several of his associates have testified before the panel — since ex-teammate Floyd Landis accused the seven-time Tour de France winner of systematic doping.
Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999 to 2005. He is currently 60th overall after two stages at the Tour down under, which Armstrong has said will be his final race outside the United States.
Swift wins second stage of Tour down Under
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Lance Armstrong was content once again to avoid all the trouble in the Tour down under. He hasn’t been nearly as fortunate when he gets off his bike.
The seven-time Tour de France winner missed three crashes in the final few miles to finish in the main pack during the second stage of the race, won by Britain’s Ben Swift on Wednesday. Armstrong is 60th overall in what he already has said will be his final international race.
Armstrong also brushed aside questions before the stage about a report in Sports Illustrated that challenges past statements that he cut ties to an Italian doctor and training adviser who has long been accused of helping cyclists cheat. Armstrong would only say that he had perused the report and that “I have nothing to worry about on any level.”
Johan Bruyneel, the manager of his Radio Shack team, also refused to comment on it.
Ben Swift won the 91-mile second stage from Tailem Bend to Mannum, avoiding a series of crashes in the final three miles that claimed overnight leader Matthew Goss.
Sprinting star mark Cavendish, riding for the U.S.-based team HTC-Highroad, suffered a serious cut above his right eye, deep lacerations and abrasions to his shoulder, side and knee during one of the crashes, but said he plans to start the race’s third stage on Thursday.
Goss, also racing for HTC-Highroad, recovered from his fall to finish in the peleton. He still gave up the overall lead to fellow Aussie Robbie McEwen, who was second in the stage.
Graeme Brown of Australia was third in the chaotic finish, ahead of Romain Feillu of France and Jurgens Roelandts of Belgium. Armstrong, who finished 81st in the opening stage, was 42nd and credited with the same time as the winner.
McEwen, Armstrong’s Radio Shack teammate, leads the overall standings ahead of Goss and Swift, who share his accumulated time of 6 hours, 44 minutes, 42 seconds. Defending champion Andre Greipel, who was second overnight, fell back to fourth overall, 4 seconds behind McEwen.
The second stage in the Murray River region of South Australia was relatively uneventful until the last few miles, when Cavendish and Goss fell. More riders came down when they skidded on gravel on a corner about two miles from the finish, and a large group crashed on the sprint.
Britain’s Geraint Thomas fell back through the field sharply in the bunched sprint and following riders, compressed into a tight finishing stretch on the main street of Mannum, were forced to attempt evasive action, collided with each other and crashed to the ground.
McEwen avoided the worst of the carnage to take over the tour leader’s ochre jersey.
“I’m very happy, I have the jersey through consistency,” he said. “Unfortunately guys crashed, that also influenced things. I’m sure otherwise, Greipel and Matt Goss would have been up there in contention for the win, but that’s part of bike racing.
“You have to actually get to the finish and bad luck is a part of racing” McEwen said. “I was fortunate not to get caught up in it and it’s delivered me the jersey.”
Goss said there was “plenty of carnage” in the stage’s final few miles. He was able to remount his bike after falling and caught the peleton, and was fortunate not to reach the front of the bunch, where two more crashes wrecked the chances of some of the leading riders.
Goss finished 47th in the stage and Greipel 76th.
The most serious injury was to Australian Bernie Sulzberger, who broke his collarbone and was taken to a hospital for surgery, needing a metal plate inserted to repair the injury. He has withdrawn from the remainder of the tour.
Cavendish ended the stage with his face caked in blood from cuts above and below his left eye that needed two stitches. He confirmed later he would race in the 70-mile third stage from Unley in suburban Adelaide to Stirling in the hills on the city’s eastern fringe.
Decision in Contador’s Tour doping case next week
MADRID (AP) — a decision in Alberto Contador’s doping case from the Tour de France should be reached by the end of next week, according to the head of the Spanish cycling federation.
Contador failed a doping test on the way to his third Tour title, and the Spanish cyclist blamed the positive clenbuterol result on contaminated meat.
Juan Carlos Castano said Wednesday the federation’s disciplinary committee is expected to receive the International Cycling Union’s verdict on the case by Monday. then it would need several days to finalize its decision on whether to impose a two-year ban on Contador and revoke his Tour title.
“The UCI’s document is expected by Jan. 24, which would then need about three days to review before a decision is taken,” Castano told the Associated Press.
Contador and the UCI have the right to present further arguments based on the decision, something Castano said could postpone the final ruling until mid-February.
Contador, a three-time Tour champion and winner of the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta, tested positive during a rest day at last year’s Tour. He claims he ingested the muscle-building, weight-loss drug clenbuterol inadvertently after eating contaminated beef.
Contador, who also won the Tour in 2007 and 2009, signed a two-year deal to race for Saxo Bank from this season.
Skiing
U.S. skier looks to tough Austrian course to improve
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — U.S. downhill skier Travis Ganong believes his first run on one of the World Cup’s most demanding courses will help him become a better racer.
The 22-year-old from Squaw Valley, Calif., is the youngest member of the American speed team, which will take on the famous Streif course. after one training session was canceled because of rain and fog, Ganong hopes to make his debut on the course in Thursday’s final practice.
“The excitement that comes from being scared actually helps you perform, it helps you to elevate to the next level,” Ganong said Wednesday. “I’ve got to learn to embrace that nervousness and use it to execute my plan.”
The U.S. ski team remembers the Streif course for the horrifying crash by Scott Macartney in 2008.
On his 30th birthday, Macartney lost his balance on the final jump, slammed his head on the iced slope, lost his helmet and sled unconscious over the finish line. He was in an induced coma for several days, but ultimately returned to World Cup ski racing the next season.
“We had our team meeting in the finish area last night and we talked about it,” Ganong said. “Scott came back and raced again. He has still a big influence on our team.”
Ganong said the accident has not scared him away from downhill racing.
“You can’t neglect (the danger),” he said. “That nervousness is always in the back of your mind. But when you’re scared, that’s where accidents happen. you have to be confident, stick to your plan and charge.”
Speed racers from the U.S. team generally regard the Streif as the ultimate test.
“In my career, this is where I will go from a rookie to establish myself more,” Ganong said. “I will be building on this for the next season and the following years.”
Ganong, whose older sister Megan is on the women’s team, is in his first full season on the World Cup circuit after placing second in the North American Cup downhill standings last year.
He’s raced almost all the famous downhill courses — Lake Louise, Val Gardena, Bormio, Wengen — and his best result came in December in Bormio, Italy, where he placed 20th.
The daunting Kitzbuehel event is next. his goal is a top-30 finish.
“For me, every time I can ski down these hills, it helps so much,” Ganong said. “So far, I loved them all. I’ve always been a bit nervous before, but afterward I wanted to go back and do them again.”
Injured Walchhofer could miss Kitzbuehel races
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Michael Walchhofer could miss this weekend’s World Cup speed races after injuring his throat during super-G training on Wednesday.
Austrian team doctor Herbert Resch told the Austria Press Agency that Walchhofer straddled a gate, which hit his throat.
The Austrian struggled with speaking and complained about pain while swallowing. However, tests in a hospital near Kitzbuehel, Austria, showed no serious damage.
Resch said breathing tests will be done before Thursday’s downhill training to see if he can start.
Walchhofer has won three races this season and leads the downhill and super-G standings.
The 35-year-old Austrian announced he’ll retire at the end of the season. He’s won 18 career World Cup races and claimed the 2003 world downhill title.
Karl, Zavarzina cruise to parallel GS world titles
LA MOLINA, Spain (AP) — Benjamin Karl of Austria and Alena Zavarzina of Russia earned commanding victories in the parallel giant slalom events at the snowboard world championships Wednesday.
Karl defeated Rok Marguc of Slovenia in the men’s final on the La Molina course. Rolan Fischnaller of Italy took third ahead of Switzerland’s Kaspar Fluetsch.
Zavarzina easily secured the women’s title after Claudia Riegler of Austrian slid when coming out of an early turn, falling too far behind to mount a challenge. it was the Russian’s first world title.
Doris Guenther of Austria edged German rider Amelle Kober for third.
Karl will try to defend his parallel slalom title Friday.
Riesch leads Mancuso in downhill training in Italy
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Maria Riesch of Germany led the opening training session for the World Cup downhill, followed by Olympic silver medalist Julia Mancuso of the United States.
Riesch finished in 1 minute, 41.67 seconds Wednesday down the twisty Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina, Italy. Riesch is looking to increase her lead in the overall World Cup standings.
Riesch holds a 196-point lead over American rival Lindsey Vonn. they will compete in two super-G’s and one downhill this weekend.
Vonn was fastest through the first checkpoint of her downhill training run. she then coasted the rest of the way and placed 29th, more than four seconds behind Riesch.
Weather forces cancelation of downhill training
KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Rain and fog have forced organizers to cancel Wednesday’s first training session for a World Cup downhill race on the Streif course.
The jury decided that the course will be closed for the rest of the day to prevent damage to the slope in Kitzbuehel. a final training session was scheduled for Thursday.
Racers have to take at least one training run before competing in a downhill race.
Olympics
AP Interview: IOC’s Reedie speaks out on stadium
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s credibility would be undermined if the running track is removed from the main stadium after the 2012 London Olympics, the country’s senior IOC member said.
Craig Reedie, an executive board member of the International Olympic Committee, told the Associated Press that ripping up the track and tearing down the stadium — as proposed by the Tottenham soccer club — would betray a promise to leave a post-games legacy for the sport.
“It would be regretful in the extreme,” said Reedie, who was a key figure in London’s winning bid for the games and is the former chairman of the British Olympic Association. “We would lose all credibility.”
Reedie is one of the most senior and influential figures to speak out in the dispute over the future of London’s $853 million Olympic Stadium.
Tottenham is competing against fellow Premier League club West Ham to become the stadium tenant after 2012. the Olympic Park Legacy Company is expected to choose a preferred bidder by the end of the month.
West Ham, in collaboration with the local Newham Council, proposes converting the 80,000-seat stadium into a 60,000-capacity arena shared by soccer and track and field.
“It seems to be an ideal use of a converted stadium in the Olympic Park,” Reedie said.
Tottenham, on the other hand, would demolish most of the stadium and build a new arena on the site without a track. Spurs officials say fans would be closer to the action.
To make up for removing the Olympic track, Tottenham has offered to upgrade south London’s crumbling Crystal Palace facility.
“If we have one tenant of a major football club and it is going to keep the athletics track, that is my chosen option,” Reedie said. “It was sport that generated the Olympic Park in the first place.”
Reedie was part of the London bid delegation that promised a track legacy for the stadium when the capital won the IOC vote in Singapore in 2005.
He said reneging on that pledge would undo the goodwill engendered by London following previous controversies over Wembley Stadium and a scrapped athletics stadium at Picketts Lock.
“If you have made mistakes and you then recover from that, you better not make them again,” Reedie said. “It seems to me at the moment this argument over who would become a tenant in the Olympic Stadium is in danger of repeating all of the previous mistakes.”
Doing away with the Olympic track would jeopardize any future bids for European or world championships, he said.
“The only correct long-term usage is to have a stadium which can be used as the center of future bids for major sports events, probably concentrating on what is the Olympic Games’ leading sport,” Reedie said.
Backers of the Tottenham bid claim that a running track is incompatible with a soccer stadium. Reedie disputed that, noting that the Lazio and Roma soccer clubs both use the Olympic Stadium in Rome that retains the track from the 1960 Games.
Last week, IOC President Jacques Rogge said he favored a solution with a running track but stressed the IOC would not intervene in the dispute.
France creates a sports agency to promote bids
PARIS (AP) — France has created a sports agency to promote itself internationally for ventures such as Annecy’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Annecy’s bid has struggled against rival candidates Munich and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Bid leader Edgar Grospiron resigned last month and has been replaced by French businessman Charles Beigbeder. the Paris-based agency is the idea of French IOC member Guy Drut and has been approved by sports minister Chantal Jouanno.
Jouanno says the agency will “continue the international work carried out by the Annecy candidature” and help develop strategies for “big sporting events” in the future.
The IOC will select the 2018 host city on July 6 at its meeting in Durban, South Africa.
Track & Field
Top American Goucher to run NYC Half-Marathon
NEW YORK (AP) — Top American marathoner Kara Goucher will run the NYC Half-Marathon in March in preparation for the Boston Marathon.
Goucher is making her return to the marathon in Boston on April 18 after the birth of her first child in September. the 32-year-old runner raced for the first time last weekend at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half-Marathon.
Goucher ran her first marathon in new York in 2008, finishing third in the fastest debut marathon by an American woman. she also finished third in Boston in 2009. Goucher won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2007 world championships.
The NYC Half-Marathon is March 20.
