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Monday's EuroFile: Valverde for T-Mobile? Landis speaks out
Alejandro Valverde, currently under contract with the Illes Baléares-Caissed'Epargne, may be leaving the team to join a re-vamped T-Mobile squad.
According to Monday’s edition of El Pais, the team is activelycourting the ProTourwinner as a replacement for Jan Ullrich, who the team fired this pastsummer. Ullrich was barred from the Tour de France after he and severalother riders were implicated in the Operación Puerto druginvestigation.
The newspaper quoted Valverde’s agent as saying the T-Mobile team hasmade an offer significant enough to “put aside any reservations we mighthave about leaving (Illes Baléares).Valverde, who also finish second in this year’s Vueltaa España and third in the worldchampionship road race, is an appealing enough prospect that T-Mobile has alreadyexpressed a willingness to pay the 3 million euros necessary to buy-outhis Illes Baléares contract.The deal could be settled quickly, sources noted, adding that Valverdemight even make an appearance at the T-Mobile training camp on the Islandof Mallorca this week.Ullrich, meanwhile, is in negotiations with several teams and stillhoping to sign a deal with a ProTour-level squad. Ullrich has reportedly been approached by the Italian continental Acqua e Sapone team."We would certainly like to have someone of Ullrich's caliber, although there is a certain cost. We have to see what the possibilities are," Acqua e Sapone team manager Palmiro Masciarelli told The Associated Press on Monday.Like other continental teams, Acqua e Sapone does not have an automatic invitation to the grand tours and hiring Ullrich may make it even more difficult to secure an invitation."We would have to speak with the organizers," Masciarelli said. "It would be a shame to have someone like Ullrich and not race."
Editor’s note: VeloNews European correspondent AndrewHood will be attending this week’s T-Mobile training camp in Mallorca and will bejoined by videographer Andy Pemberton. Former Discovery rider MichaelBarry, now a member of T-Mobile, has agreed to continue his regulardiary contributions to VeloNews.com.
Landis lashes out at Pound comments
Floyd Landis has hit out at World Anti-doping (WADA) chief Dick Poundcalling his remarks in the New York Times and Wiredmagazines "defamatory."Landis won the Tour de France last July, largely due to a heroic efforton stage17 of the race. The win, however, was put into question after it waslearned that he had tested positive for testosterone after that stage.Landis has been in cycling limbo ever since - suspended from racing andfighting to clear his name.This week, Landis hit out at Pound for branding him as guilty beforehis
case has been closed - he is appealing a ban."Dick Pound's recent defamatory and absurd public comments - in themidst of a process where the highest ethical standards should support afair and just outcome - highlight the dramatic and systematic problemswith global anti-doping enforcement and adjudication," said Landis.Landis's letter came a day after the NewYork Times published comments from Pound about Landis's case.
"He was 11 minutes behind or something, and all of the sudden there'sthis Herculean effort, where he's going up mountains like he's on a goddamnHarley," said Pound.
Landis's Tour-winning effort came just a day after his yellow jerseyhopes had seemingly gone up in smoke as he cracked on the final climb ofstage 16.
"It's a great story," added Pound. "Wonderful. But if it seems toogood to be true, it probably is."Turning to Landis's alleged testosterone results, which included a hightestosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, Pound described his reaction rathercrudely."I mean, it was 11-to-1!," he exclaimed. "You'd think he'd be violatingevery virgin within 100 miles. How does he even get on his bicycle?"
But Landis has hit out against what he claims is misinformation comingfrom Pound."Mr Pound's published reference to the testosterone in my system proveshe has not even bothered to review the facts regarding the unsubstantiatedallegations against me," said Landis. "My testosterone levels were testedas normal following stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France and this fact isclear to anyone who cares to review the lab data.
"Absolute testosterone levels are not even part of the allegations,”Landis continued. “The LNDD (Laboratoire National Depistage de Dopage -the French lab that tested Landis's sample) tested a clearly contaminatedsample of my urine, against WADA rules, and even then my testosterone levelsfell into the normal to low range.
"Mr Pound should conduct himself in a manner more consistent with theseriousness of the unsubstantiated allegations against me and the damagethey have caused to a great number of people."Landis is not the only American Tour winner to have had a run in withPound.
Record seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is a vocal critic of theWADA chief who has supported unproven allegations that he took performance-enhancingsubstances during his career.
