I kinda wanted to write something about the Tour de France as it came to a close about how great it had been.  After the first couple of weeks that was definitely on, it had been one of the greatest races in recent memory and I was looking forward to an article about racing.  Then in the last few days that was brought to a sad halt when two of cycling’s big names Vinokorov and Rasmussen let us and even more so their sport down.

My opinion?  Cycling deserves credit and should be praised; it shouldn’t be ridiculed like some areas of the uninformed press have been doing.  Why you might ask?  Because cycling is yet again taking the fight to the dopers and refusing to let it go on.  It tests more than any other sport and it’s not (unlike other big sports) afraid to expose its top stars.  I also believe it’s carrying the flag that other sports should follow on how to fight against the cheating.  If other sports such as football, rugby, tennis and ice hockey tested their athletes to the same level cycling does, cycling would not be alone in a world of drug scandals.

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Robin Seymour wins for the 16th time so here’s a photo of Beth - who also won. Well done to all and to Banbridge for an excellent event.

Other photos here - View Photos »

Contributed by: Andy Potts

Robin Seymour (Team Worc) confirmed his status as Ireland’s Mountain Bike Cross Country king by claiming his 15th Elite National title in a row on Sunday at Tollymore Forest Park in County Down.  MORE »

For all of you out there who have lifted copies of photos over the years, good luck to you. But now a little pay-back is required.

Some of you will know that my son Matty and his friend Duane are taking part in the TransRockies Challenge in Canada next month. This is a major enduro MTB race over 7 days through the mountains, camping out each night and riding 5-6 hours each day. It was Duane’s idea to go and raise money for the CLIC Sargent charity (Caring for children with cancer) at the same time. Duane was a sufferer a few years ago and benefited from the charity. He ran the London Marathon to raise funds last year and now wants to go a bit further. The lads are covering all their own costs, which are considerable. Every penny they raise will go to the charity and they have done well so far.

It would be great if you could gift any amount to the charity on the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/duaneandmatty

Have a look at the TransRockies site to see what they have gotten into: http://www.transrockies.com/transrockies/index.html

 Thanks for looking anyway.

Source: CyclingNews.com

Cyclingnews’ Bjorn Haake reveals the contents of Jörg Jaksche’s interview with Der Spiegel, where the suspended Tinkoff Credit Systems rider confessed to using performance enhancing drugs and blood doping.

Jörg Jaksche appeared at his Der Spiegel interview with just a cell phone and a black plastic bag. Inside the mysterious black bag was a binder, containing documents and letters compiled by or from his lawyer, Michael Lehner, during the Operación Puerto investigation. For those who recognise Lehner’s name, it’s likely because he also defended Danilo Hondo and Dieter Baumann, an Olympic track and field champion.

Despite his recent admission to having used performance enhancing drugs, Jaksche still trains six hours a day, holding onto the hope that he may be allowed to race again someday. The German rider hopes that offering to be a key witness will be rewarded with a reduced sentence, which could see him return as soon as next year, according to Jaksche.

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