"First to 21 wins"

The latest issue of Procycling, probably the best cycling mag out there, includes some lines about Iban and his multiple B-tests. The brilliant Jeff Jones, who writes the sarcastic and at times hilariously funny "Keeping up with the jones" news analysis, was obviously on Iban's side in this case. To quote Mr Jones, here it is: "Continuing on with the positive theme, it's absolutely fantastic to see rigorous scientific methods being employed in Iban Mayo's case. Positive A sample, negative B sample. Drop the case? No, just re-test the B sample until it comes back positive. Best of three. No wait, best of five. First to 21 wins". He got it spot on, huh?

Iban's fan club to show support

Iban's fan club, the Iban Mayo Lagunartea, will show it's support for Iban on Sunday. A race of the cyclo-cross World Cup will be held in Igorre, where he was born, on Sunday, and Iban's fans will take advantage of the occasion to showcase their support for Iban and his fight for justice. The fan club will bring a "Iban Mayo Justizia"'-placard, which I don't think needs translation, to the event, and will let their opinion show. It's a great initiative and, even though most people are aware of the injustice and unfair treatment he's being subjected to, will further put forward Iban's case to the public.

More plans for 2008

Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano further revealed the team's plans for the upcoming season in today's Gara. In short, here's what he had to say:

• The team will ride the Giro
• Mikel and Haimar to lead in the Tour de France
• Mikel and Igor will lead the team's charge in the Vuelta al País Vasco
• Igor will probably not do the Tour; he'll focus on País Vasco and the Vuelta
• Haimar will as usual aim for the Tour, but will also aim for some early-season stage-races
• 10 riders, among them Haimar, Rubén, Iván Velasco, Amets and Aitor, will aim to start the season on a strong note
• Samu's racing-calendar will be planned more in detail when he gets to know whether or not he'll do the Olympics
  

Either Igor or Samu to do Tour

Samu and Igor won't both do the Tour next year. If Samu does the Tour, then Igor will do the Vuelta. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano said to the press yesterday that if Samu's going to do the Olympics, he'll do the Tour, and then Igor will probably do the Vuelta instead. It's unlikely that they'll both ride the Grand Tour in July. Though, if Igor is to take part in the Vuelta, he'll lead the team, no doubt, according to Euskaltel's technical secretary. I had hoped they'd both ride the Tour de France, as they would, together with Haimar, Mikel and Egoi, form an awe-inspiring quintet.

Euskaltel's plans for 2008

Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano has already given indications of how next year's racing-calendar will look like. The team will have approximately 25 racing-days less than this year. No races in Portugal will be done, while in France only the Pro Tour races will be on the team's schedule, except for the Tour and some Classics perhaps. The team will also give the Vuelta a la Rioja and the Giro del Trentino a miss next year, though the Giro di Piemonte will suprisingly be included in the team's 2008 plans. Galdeano confirmed that Samu is likely to do the Tour next year, and he also mentioned the riders in the frame for a spot on the Tour team. It looks to be the same team as last year, with Mikel, Haimar, Rubén, Amets, Iñigo, Igor, Gorka, Aitor and Jorge all on the short-list. The team will likely do the Giro as well, suddenly, as Markel and Dioni were definite starters for the Italian Grand Tour according to Igor. Euskaltel will, reluctantly, start the season in January in the Tour Down Under, and might also head to the States for the Tour of California in February as the team have received an invitation. Nothing has been decided, but it's an option. Obviously there'll be many changes come the new season, but one thing stays the same; the biggest goals. As always, the Vuelta al País Vasco and the other Basque races, together with the Tour and the Vuelta, will be the main objectives says Igor.

Samu to do Tour

Samu will, according to several sources, probably do the Tour instead of the Vuelta next year. Samu, who's been brilliant in the Vuelta the last few years, has his eyes firmly set on the Beijing Olymipcs in the summer of 2008. The course is tailor-made for him and, as the Tour ends just 10 days prior to it, he figured "why not do the Tour as well?". Samu did the Tour in 2002 and 2003 I think, but hasn't participated ever since. It would be a big boost to the whole squad if Samu was to take part, as he'll no doubt leave his mark on the race.

"What's happened to Iban is bad for everybody"

Fundacion Euskadi head Miguel Madariaga commented on Iban's on-going doping-case in today's Diario Vasco. Even though he doesn't really say that much, it's clear he has sympathy for Iban and that there's no bad feelings concerning Iban's departure from the team. "No matter what some people might have said; I'm not happy with what has happened to Iban. It's bad for everybody. For cycling in general it's bad, though I think it's worst for Iban himself. It must be terrible not being able to do anything. A person like me, with cycling in the blood, cannot be happy with this situation. Mayo left Euskaltel and initiated a new stage in his career elsewhere. When he left, we wished him the best of luck".

Egoi: "The team has changed"

In today's El Correo there is an interview with the returning Egoi Martínez. The 29-year-old will be one of Euskaltel's main hopes for success come the new season, and was looking forward to assuming leadership responsabilities. He mainly talks of his stay with Discovery, put also had something to say about his new team. Read on: "It's been the hardest winter ever. As I'll be one of the captains I've had to put down a lot of work. I hope to return to the level I displayed in 2006. Here, like with Discovery, I'll have freedom in some races, but sometimes I'll work for the others as well. After all, there are many good riders in this team. The team has changed a lot; you can easily see that from outside as well. We talked about how the team has changed in Discovery. I've always got along well with Miguel Madariaga, and I like Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano's vision of the sport. He'a an intelligent director."

Lissavetzky: "I won't argue with the UCI"

Spanish Secretary for Sport, the controversial Jaime Lissavetzky, has said he's reluctant to fight with the UCI in the "Mayo case". "A balance between the fight against doping and the respect for the rights of cyclists needs to be found", he started, but then, disappointingly, went on to say "I don't want to enter into polemics with the UCI. When I heard that the B sample was not 'positive', I said that the rules had to be fulfilled, that is, Iban Mayo was cleared of doping. But then we come into some formal legal aspects used by the UCI as a reason for claiming a new analysis of the B sample, so I don't want to argue with the UCI". Well, this is disappointing, as I had hoped Lissevatzky knew the rules for these kind of cases. But then again, who can blame him? Has there ever been a case like this before?

Poll results: When is Iban's test coming back (again)?

Iban's test is probably coming back in December, and the majority got it right this time round. 30 % voted for "December", while 23 % voted for the originally-unserious-but-maybe-not-so-unlikely-after-all option of "Before London 2012". Interestingly, "Never of course" accumulated 14 %, clearly showing what many cycling fans think of the UCI these days.

What's the rules?

The RFEC (the National Spanish Cycling Federation) has stated that they've shelved Iban's case, and that an eventual positive third B-sample test would do nothing to change their verdict. To them, Iban's cleared and free to race. But is that all? Haven't the UCI got anything to say if it comes back positive? Or is it enough that the RFEC clears him? I'm not sure, so I'm asking you, my readers, for some help here. What's the rules for these kind of cases? Is the RFEC's verdict all that counts in the end?

Iban protest third test

Iban and his team of representatives and lawyers are not happy with the UCI's decision to perform a third B-sample test. Iban finds it ridiculous, and rightly so, that the third test will be carried out in the only lab that's come up with a positive result so far: " They will get the result they want there (in Chanenay-Malabry)," he said frustrated. "In Paris they'll be able to analyse it time and time again until they get the result they want. They'll do it 15 times over if that's what it takes". Iban's representatives have asked the UCI to explain how on earth this is legal, but has of course not received an answer as of yet. Iban has therefore said that neither he nor one of his representatives will be present in Paris for the testing. The Spanish papers are all on Iban's side in this fight, with many highly-regarded newspapers calling the UCI criminals and claiming Iban is being prosecuted and the subject of a witch-hunt. I couldn't agree more. Luckily his national cycling federation share our opinions, as a spokesman for the RFEC said that "we won't change our decision no matter the result of the third test. We cannot judge the same thing twice. We've shelved the case".

10 days...

The testing of Iban's B-sample will be carried out between the 4th of December and the 6th of December. The first week in December is the new date; assuming Iban or one of his representatives are present in Paris.

Test put on hold

The third testing of Iban's B-sample has, incredibly, been put on hold. The UCI decided to postpone the testing as they, suddenly, wanted Iban or a representative of him to be present. This totally contradicts all they've said earlier about the sample being tested no matter what, but I guess that's the way the UCI go about things. "The analysis of the B was scheduled to occur in Paris yesterday (Wednesday), but it was postponed to make absolutely sure that Mr. Mayo had the opportunity to attend or elect a representative to attend the opening and analysis on his behalf," she said. "I can't confirm the new date publicly until Mr. Mayo, RFEC [the Spanish Cycling Federation] etc. have acknowledged receipt of the information." Well, first of all Gripper, you've got to send a notification to them. It's kind of hard to "acknowledge a receipt of the information" if they don't have any information. Further she said: "The analysis of the B sample was conducted by the Gent lab. It was inconclusive. They sent the results to the Sydney lab for a second opinion. The sample itself was not sent to Sydney. Sydney confirmed the inconclusive result and suggested that the remainder of the B sample be analysed in the Paris lab to obtain a conclusive result". Well to most this might seem logical. But it's not. If a test is inconclusive, it's classified "negative", as EPO use would have given a clear and straightforward "positive". Anyway, I've said this all before, so I think I'm just going to leave it at that...