Cycling journalism generally ranges from colorful to salacious, so when it turns out to be wrong, it's only fair to the named suspects that we update the record. In that vein...
- Mario Cipollini is probably not coming to Rock Racing. In fairness to earlier reports, the various rumormongers didn't blow it; something has since gone awry and Cipo has headed back to Italy, rather than sticking around for a press conference Monday.
- Less charitable descriptions apply to this week's "big scandal," wherein German TV network ARD determined that an Austrian medical clinic had been supplying drugs to Rabobank riders (among other athletes), including Michael Boogerd, Denis Menchov, and Michael Rasmussen. [Georg Totschnig too.] ARD has since fessed up that they don't actually have the story.
"It is not justified and not compatible with our professional standards, that such sweeping charges be made without having any evidence to back them up. We regret that accusations and suspicions against athletes arose because of this report."
Yeah, well, you should. Putting the genie back in the bottle is tricky, so in case there is any confusion, let's break out the bold type: Denis Menchov, Michael Boogerd and Georg Totschnig have NOT been implicated in any doping activities. As for the Chicken, well, F- him. Thank you.