Bikesuperhub

Floyd Landis, former teammate of Lance Armstrong, has filed a federal “whistle-blower” lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper reported that Landis filed a suit under the U.S. federal False Claims Act, which allows Americans to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.

According to the Journal, the lawsuit is currently sealed so its exact contents are not known.

But in the article posted on its website the newspaper noted that Landis and Armstrong were teammates on the squad sponsored by the US Postal Service, an independent government whose funds are considered to be public.

Landis has alleged that some of the team’s riders, including himself and Armstrong, used performance enhancing drugs – a charge Armstrong has strenuously denied.

“Such a lawsuit is likely to claim a fraud was committed against the Postal Service in relation to the alleged doping,” the Wall Street Journal wrote.

Landis won the Tour de France in 2006 but was stripped of the title after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.

This year he ended years of denials and admitted he doped, and he accused Armstrong and others in the cycling world of doing the same.

Armstrong won six of his seven Tour de France titles with the U.S. Postal Service team.

Landis’ claims have already sparked a reported probe by U.S. authorities into doping in professional cycling.

Federal investigators, who have met with Landis, are investigating whether Armstrong or anyone else committed fraud or conspiracy in connection with the alleged doping.

Under the whistle-blower law, the government can intervene in Landis’ suit, essentially pursuing the case on its own behalf. If it doesn’t, Landis is free to carry on the action on his own.

As a whistle-blower, Landis could collect up to 30 percent of any money the government recovers if fraud is determined.

“This news that Floyd Landis is in this for the money reconfirms everything we all knew about Landis,” Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani said Friday in a statement.

“By his own admission, he is a serial liar, an epic cheater, and a swindler who raised and took almost a million dollars from his loyal fans based on his lies. What remains a complete mystery is why the government would devote a penny of the taxpayer’s money to help Floyd Landis further his vile, cheating ambitions. And all aimed directly at Lance Armstrong, a man who earned every victory and passed every test while working for cancer survivors all over the world.”

Mobile version

Message by Alastair Hamilton
Roadside St.7: Today there was a big fast sprint into Orihuela, before that the fast men had to get themselves over a bit of a climb. Some got dropped, but they all got together for the gallop into town. Surprisingly I managed to see the hill and the sprint action...here it is: - [Read more]

Team Sky masseur Txema Gonzalez dies after contracting an infection as a virus takes atoll on the teams riders in the Tour of Spain. - [Read more]

Txema Gonzalez, a member of Team Skys back-up staff at the Vuelta, dies.

The masseur for Team Sky has died from a bacterial infection after falling ill during the Spanish Vuelta. Txema Gonzalez died in a Seville hospital Friday after going into septic shock, Sky team doctor Steve Peters said. The team said the infection entered Gonzalezs blood stream and developed into sepsis which damaged the organs in his body. - [Read more]

Txema Gonzalez, a member of Team Skys back-up staff at the Tour of Spain, died on Friday. - [Read more]

Message by Dave Aldersebaes
Today was another sprinter’s delight with just one Cat 3 climb along the course, and a flat run in to town. The usual sacrificial break getting caught and today’s sprint was handled by a hard working Lampre team that delivered Ale-Jet just ahead of Mark Cavendish. - [Read more]

Italys Alessandro Pettachi scores a thrilling victory in stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana ahead of Britians Mark Cavendish in Orihuela.

James McLaughlin smashes the Guernsey Velo Clubs five mile time trial record by 20 seconds. - [Read more]

The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships continued on Thursday with the U23 womens cross country contest and the elite mens and womens four-cross qualification rounds. - [Read more]

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN)—The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced plans for a formal approval process Wednesday afternoon that would allow manufacturers the ability to ensure product concepts meet the organization’s rules during the design process.

The announcement, made by UCI president Pat McQuaid during an invitation-only meeting here at Eurobike, will save manufacturers time and money since they will know early in the development process whether a potential product meets UCI standards instead of waiting until it is on the market or used during a race.

It’s also a huge step toward clearing up some of the ambiguity surrounding the rules, which can be interpreted differently by manufacturers and UCI commissaries.

“It’s exactly what we wanted,” said Pat Cunnane, president of Advanced Sports Inc., which owns Fuji, Kestrel and Oval, among other brands. “We just want a stamp that says OK.”

ASI had one of its bikes challenged by the UCI during a pro race earlier this year for violating a section of the 3.1 rules, which regulate measurements, weight and configurations of UCI legal bicycles. The bike was eventually cleared for the race.
In the Tour de France, ASI had to pull an Oval handlebar off its bikes even though the bar had been used in competition for two years.

“We bought [the Oval brand] with the understanding that it was allowed, but it turns out the way they interpreted the rules, it’s not,” Cunnane said.

McQuaid said details of the new approval process would be announced Oct. 1, but he told the crowd of about 50 that it included hiring a full-time equipment coordinator, creation of a technology commission and partnerships with external experts such as professor Jan-Anders Mänson, director of the laboratory of polymer and composite technology at Ecole Polytechnique in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mänson, who also spoke on Wednesday, will be responsible for permanent monitoring of technological evolution and validation of equipment submitted by manufacturers. He hopes to help level the playing field between competitors, some of who have access to the UCI during the development process while others do not.

For more news directly from the halls of Eurobike, click on the PDF link above.

—Nicole Formosa
nformosa@bicycleretailer.com - [Read more]

NANJING, China (BRAIN)—One ticket, two fairs is the motto of “Asia Bike," a new bicycle trade fair that is to be held for the first time in Nanjing, China, from July 27-30, 2011.

It will take place right next door to the 6th Asia Outdoor, which will be held at the same time and place. Asia Bike is a special fair for mountain bikes, sports and luxury bikes, cycling clothing and accessories. The concurrent Asia Outdoor has developed into China’s leading outdoor fair and, in 2010, attracted 16,326 visitors and 359 exhibitors on 32,000.

The organizers of Asia Bike and Asia Outdoor are Nanjing Nantex International Exhibition Centre and German Messe Exhibition Consulting Ltd. Beijing. The shareholders of German Messe Consulting are Messe Friedrichshafen; Asia Outdoor Marketing, Hong Kong and Beijing, and Alpinist Outdoor Media, Beijing.

The coordinator for Asia Outdoor and Asia Bike is Knut Jaeger, who is also responsible for marketing the two events. Knut Jaeger co-founded OutDoor Friedrichshafen in 1994 and has worked as a management consultant in Hong Kong and China since 2004. The aim of the organizers is to exploit the great synergies generated by outdoor activities and sports bikes (especially mountain bikes). - [Read more]

The 2010 Richardson Bike Mart USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships got underway on Wednesday, awarding 13 Stars-and-Stripes on Wednesday before the Texas skies opened up to a torrential suspending the evening session. All competition will resume in order on Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Superdrome. - [Read more]

CARLSBAD, CA (BRAIN)—Haro and Masi launched their 2011 bikes to the press yesterday at the Sheraton Carlsbad, as both brands had different points of emphasis to stress. For Haro it’s back to the future, as the company looks to reintroduce its “Dare to be Different” slogan. “For some reason we kind of went away from that mentality, and we probably should have never done that,” said Jill Hamilton (pictured), Haro’s MTB/Asphalt Bike brand manager. “While the product was looking good, it was a little boring—it was a little stale. The brand name on the downtube wasn’t really jumping out. The branding on the bikes just kind of blended into the background.” - [Read more]

Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein, former world champion Mari Holden and four-time US national champion Kimberly Baldwin will serve as ambassadors of breast cancer awareness by leading the seventh annual YSC Tour de Pink presented by Hersey’s Bliss Chocolate. The 352 km route will start on October 1 in the small Pennsylvania town of Hershey and conclude on 4 October in New York City. Besides participating in the event the riders’ have brought additional support to the event. - [Read more]

- [Read more]

- [Read more]