Because the news keeps coming today... from CN's Thursday edition:
- Saiz fends off Astana's attempt to get his Pro Tour license. Saiz 1, Sanity 0.
- Headline: "Zabel returns for 65th Dortmund Six Day"... Reaction: damn! that guy really has been around forever.
- Via VeloNews, Agence France-Presse reports that the Pro Tour teams want everyone named in Operacion Puerto to give a DNA sample.
- Finally, the UCI's Anne Gripper laid out some of their ideas for a doping control program. Money quote cut-and-pasted, on the flip:
In particular, she suggested the use of new blood parameters for better targeting controls and called for increased involvement of teams, including more funding for teams' antidoping programs. The UCI also announced it would increase random, out-of-competition testing and control more strictly the authorizations for therapeutic uses of substances.
Gripper asked for an improvement in the quality and quantity of controls by National Federations including the strict application of sanctions and the increased education of cyclists regarding doping restrictions.
Finally, she highlighted the benefits of hematological profiles or baseline DNA testing for each rider in future doping fights.
Looking further ahead, the UCI is presently studying whether shortening the major Tours would help reduce doping in cycling. Some experts now believe that the long duration of the Tours makes them so tough that many racers resort to doping to get through them.
Thanks, CN.