UCI letter: New anti-doping hotline

Today UCI President, Pat McQuaid, sent out a letter to all the professional riders urging them to use a new "confidential hotline" should the rider witness any doping abuse.

"We need to do more to ensure that the UCI is as accessible as possible, and in particular to you the riders, should you wish to discuss issues or concerns relating to doping", Pat McQuaid writes in the letter.

In the past I've talk with many riders stating they would never 'rat out' any team mates if they saw them using illegal drugs but hopefully things have really changed now. Cycling is once again being seen as the 'dope sport' by the public, but according to Pat McQuaid we can all "be assured that cycling will find a new path forward". I hope that he (for once) is right.

You can read the whole letter from Pat McQuaid here:

So who won?

One of the biggest chances after today's CAS verdict, stripping Jan Ullrich of all his results from May 2005 to February 2007, is that Francisco Mancebo now takes third place in the Tour de France 2005. That made me take a look at the overall classification for 2005 and I must admit the view is shocking.

How many names on this list can you pick out who haven't (officially) been linked to doping abuse? I think the first rider in the Top10 will be Cadel Evans followed by well...who? I fear that one day we will look at the Top10 from the Tour de France 2010 with the same eyes. I don't think it will happen, but I must admit I feel the fear lurking somewhere in my mind...

Take a look here:

What do you think? Feel free to comment below...

Interview - Caroline Wozniacki talks cycling & anti-doping tests

Caroline Wozniacki - Number 1 in the world.

Caroline Wozniacki is the number one female tennis player in the world and knows what it takes to get to the top. I thought it would be interesting to get another view on cycling from an outstanding athlete of another sport. Therefore I made this quick, little interview with the Danish tennis darling.

Caroline, to start off, how much cycling do you watch?
Do be honest I don’t watch that much, but I do watch some of the stages of the Tour de France when it’s on. I think that the riders’ endurance is incredible and what they manage to do during the Tour is simply outstanding.

Do you have a favorite rider?
I remember I cheered for Bjarne Riis when he was in the Tour de France, but now I just support the Danish team [Team Saxo Bank].

Any specific cycling moments you remember?
Well, not a specific moment, more all of the things Lance Armstrong did in his career.

As number one in the world, you are used to the enormous pressure on your shoulders. How do you cope with that and do you see any parallels between tennis and cycling in that direction?
First of all you have to be mentally very strong to reach the top. It requires a lot mentally to be able to keep on pushing yourself in the difficult times. For what concerns me, I try to take it easy now. I know that I have already achieved a lot of great things, so I just try to enjoy every second of it. I have already achieved more than I have ever dreamed of! Now I just try to improve every day and see where it takes me.

To change the subject a little. It’s no secret that cycling is the sport with the most anti-doping tests per year. A rider like Fabian Cancellara had almost 60 tests last year. How many anti-doping tests did you have this season?
Actually I think it’s more than 30. So even though it’s not as many as in cycling, I still think that we are getting tested a lot. I don’t think it’s easier to cheat here since we are getting tested in every tournament we participate in.

Thanks to Caroline Wozniacki for taking time. I think it’s very interesting to notice the amount of anti-doping tests that Caroline, as number one in the world, had this season. People usually claims that big money sports like tennis and football don’t have the same amount of tests as cycling, and even though the number isn’t 60 like in the extreme case with Cancellara, I must say that 30 is a lot higher than I expected. Glad to be proven wrong. What concerns football, well, nothing has changed. According to UEFA, Barcelona had only 3 unexpected anti-doping controls last season.