Not looking good for MIllar

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

See

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=sportsNews&storyID=
539966&section=news

or

http://tinyurl.com/237md

"Millar faces French inquiry
Thu 1 July, 2004 19:36

PARIS (Reuters) - A French magistrate has placed cycling time-trial world
champion David Millar under official judicial inquiry on suspicion of
"acquiring and possessing toxic substances", a judicial source has said.

The Briton had already been banned from the Tour de France starting on Saturday
as his Cofidis team is under investigation in a doping probe. Several other
riders have also been barred from the race while they remain under scrutiny.

Millar was released after questioning in Nanterre, north of Paris, by
magistrate Richard Pallain.

Magistrates decide first whether there are grounds for opening official
inquiries into suspected offences and later whether there is a case to be
answered in court. Official investigation is a step short of pressing charges
in France.

During police questioning last week, Millar admitted taking the banned drug
erythropoietin (EPO), an endurance booster, in 2001 and 2003, his lawyer
Paul-Albert Iweins told reporters as he left the Nanterre hearings.

Iweins said empty syringes were found during a search of Millar's home and
traces of banned substances detected.

Millar now looks likely to miss the Athens Olympics next month after the
British Cycling Federation announced on Thursday that he had been suspended
pending the investigation. Millar was favourite for the individual time-trial.

"I'm greatly saddened by the whole affair but I can confirm that David Millar
is suspended with immediate effect pending further investigation and a
disciplinary hearing," federation acting chief executive David Brailsford told
Reuters.

Three Cofidis riders have already been charged, including 1992 Olympic bronze
medallist Philippe Gaumont, who was sacked by Cofidis after admitting taking
and dealing in drugs.

The team withdrew from competition for a month before starting to race again on
May 5.

The affair is the biggest judicial investigation into cycling since the Festina
scandal that erupted during the 1998 Tour de France.

In May, eight cyclists in the Giro d'Italia received early morning visits as
part of a nationwide probe into doping in sport though investigators said they
found no illegal substances.

Millar, a Scot, won the penultimate stage of the 2003 Tour de France, a 49-km
time-trial, to go with a prologue success in 2000 and a stage victory in 2002.

Also on Thursday, a French appeal court ruled the ban on another Cofidis rider
Cedric Vasseur on competing in the Tour after being charged in a doping
investigation would stand.

"I tried to assert my rights. I failed but never mind. The Tour is not the only
race. I shall carry on racing and my team will help me," Vasseur said after the
hearing.

Vasseur has not been retained for the Tour by his team.

Five-times Tour winner Lance Armstrong will hear on Friday the outcome of his
appeal against publishers of a book containing doping allegations about him.

Armstrong has appealed against the June 21 decision of a Paris court, which
rejected his request that a denial he took any performance-enhancing product be
inserted in the book "L.A. confidential, the secrets of Lance Armstrong",
written by journalists Pierre Ballester and David Walsh.

He was ordered to pay legal costs and fined for faulty procedure."

If he's guilty, I have no sympathy for him. Unfortunately the nature of
the sport (raw aerobic power, and/or power to weight ratio, generally
wins) means that non-superhuman riders feel obliged to do this kind of
thing to keep up.

in message <40e47779.0@entanet>, Zog The Undeniable

(') said:

If he's guilty, I have no sympathy for him. Unfortunately the nature
of the sport (raw aerobic power, and/or power to weight ratio,
generally wins) means that non-superhuman riders feel obliged to do
this kind of thing to keep up.

I actually have a great deal of sympathy for him. It's pretty much the
end of his career. And it's a profession in which, allegedly, doping is
endemic. Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

As to whether professional cyclists should all be on dope, I've no
opinion. But seeing that they all (allegedly) are, picking on
individuals is a tad unfair.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
There's nae Gods, an there's precious few heroes
but there's plenty on the dole in th Land o th Leal;
And it's time now, tae sweep the future clear o
th lies o a past that we know wis never real.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <40e47779.0@entanet>, Zog The Undeniable

(') said:

If he's guilty, I have no sympathy for him. Unfortunately the nature
of the sport (raw aerobic power, and/or power to weight ratio,
generally wins) means that non-superhuman riders feel obliged to do
this kind of thing to keep up.

I actually have a great deal of sympathy for him. It's pretty much the
end of his career. And it's a profession in which, allegedly, doping is
endemic. Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

As to whether professional cyclists should all be on dope, I've no
opinion. But seeing that they all (allegedly) are, picking on
individuals is a tad unfair.

Its not an individual, its the entire cofidis team, just about from what i
read. And how else would they stop it other than prosecuting individuals?
Ban everyone since 'everyone' is doing it?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Simon Brooke said:

Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

What are you saying? That French riders don't get investigated by the
French police?

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <40e47779.0@entanet>

I actually have a great deal of sympathy for him. It's pretty much the
end of his career. And it's a profession in which, allegedly, doping is
endemic. Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

While I feel sad for him and disappointed for 'Britain', that this could be
the end of his career, I don't have much sympathy. It does not seem to be a
question of 'if' he's guilty since, now according to his own lawyers, he has
admitted it. He did it knowing the intense scrutiny his team were under and
knowing the consequences. It was either sheer stupidity or desperation, and
either way I think it's disgraceful to seek competitive advantage through
drugs - even if the 'advantage' is only to stay on a par with other
drug-users.

Quoted message said:

As to whether professional cyclists should all be on dope, I've no
opinion. But seeing that they all (allegedly) are, picking on
individuals is a tad unfair.

Of course they should not all be on dope. If athletes can't do it
drug-free, better they don't do it at all. There's no way to try and clean
up the sport except by making an example of the individuals who are caught,
whether by admission or testing.

Rich

In article <[email hidden]>,

Simon Brooke said:

endemic. Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

Being French didn't exactly help Richard Virenque, did it?

ian

in message <[email hidden]>, David

Off (') said:

Simon Brooke said:

Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

What are you saying? That French riders don't get investigated by the
French police?

That Millar was apparently - from the stories we're seen - clyped on by
French riders.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
; ... of course nothing said here will be taken notice of by
; the W3C. The official place to be ignored is on www-style or
; www-html. -- George Lund

On 01 Jul 2004 20:20:22 GMT,

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers said:

During police questioning last week, Millar admitted taking the banned drug
erythropoietin (EPO), an endurance booster, in 2001 and 2003, his lawyer
Paul-Albert Iweins told reporters as he left the Nanterre hearings.

Iweins said empty syringes were found during a search of Millar's home and
traces of banned substances detected.

From the report I have just heard on the radio, Iweins also said that Millar
had kept the empty syringes as souvenirs. Strange souvenirs to want to
keep I would have thought. You can't really put them on the mantle with
the trophies can you.

--
Andy Leighton => [email hidden]
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

Simon Brooke said:

That Millar was apparently - from the stories we're seen - clyped on by
French riders.

Oh I see, they certainly did land him in it.

Simon Brooke <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

in message <40e47779.0@entanet>, Zog The Undeniable

(') said:

If he's guilty, I have no sympathy for him. Unfortunately the nature
of the sport (raw aerobic power, and/or power to weight ratio,
generally wins) means that non-superhuman riders feel obliged to do
this kind of thing to keep up.

I actually have a great deal of sympathy for him. It's pretty much the
end of his career. And it's a profession in which, allegedly, doping is
endemic. Millar's offence, fundamentally, appears to be that he is high
profile and not French.

As to whether professional cyclists should all be on dope, I've no
opinion. But seeing that they all (allegedly) are, picking on
individuals is a tad unfair.

There is a perfectly legal way of boosting Haematocrit, live and train
at high altitude.
The bone marrow automatically increases the red cell count to
compensate for the reduced oxygen levels.

Maybe he should have stuck to art.

Then he would have been well paid for drug induced work.

David Cowie said:

Maybe he should have stuck to art.

Then he would have been well paid for drug induced work.

Eh?

MartinM [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

There is a perfectly legal way of boosting Haematocrit, live and train
at high altitude.
The bone marrow automatically increases the red cell count to
compensate for the reduced oxygen levels.

This is a well-known phenomenom, but injecting EPO has the same effect.
Only faster and without the high-altitude. While I don't agree, I can
see why people do it. How far back up the line do you think it goes? Did
his coach know?

Jon

Andy Leighton said:

From the report I have just heard on the radio, Iweins also said that
Millar had kept the empty syringes as souvenirs. Strange souvenirs
to want to keep I would have thought. You can't really put them on
the mantle with the trophies can you.

Well, he's probably got his favourite bikes, his best cycling shirts, so why
not keep a few favourite syringes that have done him good service in the
past?

Pete.

Jon Senior <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

MartinM [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

There is a perfectly legal way of boosting Haematocrit, live and train
at high altitude.
The bone marrow automatically increases the red cell count to
compensate for the reduced oxygen levels.

This is a well-known phenomenom, but injecting EPO has the same effect.
Only faster and without the high-altitude. While I don't agree, I can
see why people do it. How far back up the line do you think it goes? Did
his coach know?

I do full blood counts for a living and I could probably spot an EPO
taker's at ten paces. They will all of course die prematurely as a
result, as do mountain dwellers who move down to the valleys.

Quoted message said:

I do full blood counts for a living and I could probably spot an EPO
taker's at ten paces. They will all of course die prematurely as a
result, as do mountain dwellers who move down to the valleys.

Eh? Why's dat den? And how do you recognise them? Being a sea level
dweller, will I live longer if I move up to the mountains?

On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 09:09:48 +0100, "Richard Goodman"
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):
....

Quoted message said:

either way I think it's disgraceful to seek competitive advantage through
drugs - even if the 'advantage' is only to stay on a par with other
drug-users.

Quite - it appears to be more a case of avoiding competitive
disadvantage by not avoiding drugs...
--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Mark Thompson <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I do full blood counts for a living and I could probably spot an EPO
taker's at ten paces. They will all of course die prematurely as a
result, as do mountain dwellers who move down to the valleys.

Eh? Why's dat den? And how do you recognise them? Being a sea level
dweller, will I live longer if I move up to the mountains?

Because their Hct would be over the normal range (this is how UIC do
it I think)
If you moved up to the mountains your RBC would go up, but if you came
back down it would stay high.

MartinM said:

Because their Hct would be over the normal range (this is how UIC do
it I think)
If you moved up to the mountains your RBC would go up, but if you came
back down it would stay high.

My understanding was that when you came back down it would revert back
to normal over two to three weeks.

Tony