Now that you mention it that does ring a bell, but to be honest I can’t remember. Well, other than Theunisse, who was caught in the act. I don’t know about the other guys, at the risk of opening a can of worms I know that LeMond has claimed he left PDM when Theunisse tested positive because he wanted no part of it.

The book sounds interesting, it’s called “Het laatste geel,” which apparently translates to “The Last Yellow” – perhaps one of the Dutch contingent can give us a rundown? ;)

Thanks for that link – yeah it sounds like he’s arguing strictly on procedural grounds (though I guess that’s what he’s been doing from the start? I admittedly haven’t followed very closely). It will be interesting to see what the UCI has to say next week.

He has said he’ll give DNA, but no-one has ever asked for it. However he says he won’t let CONI have his DNA because he doesn’t trust them since this is an injustice. Which is fair enough, not sure I’d let someone determined to nail me have my DNA. Obviously they claim they already have it based on the test from the TDF but he claims he’s never seen that evidence, as do Caisse d’Epargne. They’ve (he, the team) not had the chance to test the DNA and see if it matches to the blood in that bag, even the Spanish federation didn’t, so how could CONI? So much just doesn’t add up.

My only point in all of this would be if there was really a clear match between his DNA and that blood test and they’d seen this, why are Cd’E still be backing him, not having suspended or anything. It’d be damaging for them, so clearly they believe him? I don’t even know anymore.

He also re-iterates in an interview how many times since 2006 he’s been tested, always coming back negative, and how his results have always been consistent and he’s always won things since he was 14 and older. There haven’t really been any surprising results with him, he’s always done well and always had odd bad days. Yes some seasons have been better than others but hell couldn’t we nail most riders on that basis, but largely he’s slowly and gradually improved, like many others.
He is leading the case with emphasis on procedural grounds but there is slightly more to it. And in the first statement he ever released he did say he hasn’t doped, and that he was willing to have his blood values compared with that in the bag but it never came to that.

Perhaps I’m biased and want to believe it, but you gotta admit the case is a weird one.

I really don’t know, I know that Valverde has asked them to take “urgent action.” As for Boonen, the story’s now up at CN.