The Gazetta dello Sport, an Italian sporting newspaper, reported today that Dr. Michele Ferrari was present at Astana’s first training camp for the 2014 season.  They cited information for the Padova inquiry that there are pictures of Michele and Astana riders outside their team hotel.  Remember, Dr. Ferrari is banned from all cycling, on a global basis, so hanging out with the Astana riders is a serious no-no.

Astana has declined to comment on the Gazzetta article.   Oh, really.

Let’s just get rid of these guys.  It is such a joke that they are still riding around.  Alexandre Vinokourov used Dr. Ferrari when he was busted for blood doping when he was a rider.  5 of their guys have tested positive this season.  It all seems like such a farce.

Anyone with a brain should be able to realize that if cycling is serious at all about trying to rid itself from drug use, it can’t just keep turning a blind eye to consistent and non-remorseful dopers.  And that is what Astana is all about.

Vinokorov has already said he won’t testify at the UCI commission for doping.  Even Lance has talked to them, and he doesn’t run a Pro Tour team, like Vino.

The only guy that I’ve seen that publicly supports Astana is Katusha’s team manager Viatcheslav Ekimov.   He doesn’t think it is right to suspend the license of Astana for a few riders doping on their own.  I don’t really give a shit what Eki thinks.   Eki’s team, Katusha, was denied a UCI license by the UCI for doping positives in 2012, but that was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

You remember Ekimov, the guy that rode in support of Lance forever, has the gold medal from the Athen’s Olympics, since Tyler gave it back.  I bet he feels pretty great about winning those Olympics.   I wonder if Eki and Vino get together, over a glass of vodka, and congratulate each other on their Olympic  victories?

On Wednesday, supposedly, the UCI is going to announce whether Astana gets a license to race this year.  Hopefully they have brains, then their decision will easy.   But, money talks and the whole system is polluted, so don’t hold your breath on them making the right, and easy, decision.

I’ve never been a fan of Vino. Who goes and gets a jersey made with their own head sublimated on it? Nice comeback statement.

I saw a few articles about Bobby Lea’s 3rd place finish at the Track World Cup in London this past weekend.  This was following his winning a World Cup a few weeks ago.  He is leading the omnium World Cup overall competition now.  This is pretty unprecedented for US track cycling. Pretty great.

It got me thinking about track cycling and how it has pretty much disappeared off the radar screens of cycling fans.  Road, cyclocross, even MTB racing has a greater media and fan base than track cycling does currently.  I’m wondering how that happened.

I know that, here in the US, the USAC doesn’t put any emphasis in track cycling.  I know that they would disagree with that statement, but I know of no organized track program, which doesn’t mean that there isn’t one, but it has to be pitiful ,at best.  I would bet that Bobby Lea’s success this track season is because of his individual efforts and training and nothing to do with a USAC track program.

I have a friend, Jim Thiele, that has been going over to England the past few years to compete in the Master’s World Track Championships in Manchester.  He told me that when the British track team takes over the track for training, it is amazing.

The riders are riding their full race equipment, with telemetry on each rider’s bikes and the track, with guys with laptops looking at real-time data as they train.  He said there were probably 5 support for each rider.  And this was just for training.  He compared that to our sprint program where there is a half empty apartment in LA for the riders and having to pretty much fend for your own.

He said that there is no way that the US riders have a chance to compete with the British, taking the two programs into consideration.  I would have to agree.

But the organized track program doesn’t make the sport seem a fringe sport, even compared to other aspects of cycling, which is a fringe sport on its own.   It has just fallen off with popularity, which is too bad.

Track cycling is super fun to watch, in person.  Maybe it is because there are so few tracks where spectators can go and see it live?  I dont‘ know.

Bobby comes from Lehigh Valley where the Trexlertown Velodrome is located.  They have a super healthy track program going on and Bobby can train and race at a level that is much superior to the rest of the United States.  But, it still isn’t Britain or Australia.  These two countries track programs are off the charts superior to ours.  And the results show it.

Anyway, if you have a chance to catch so track racing, in person, I think you’ll be surprised how exciting it is.  Bobby Lea is currently doing something unprecedented in US track racing, for men.   It will be interesting following the rest of the World Cup season, which is one more race in Columbia, in January.    Wishing Bobby good luck!