Once again, we bring you the Friday Roundup. Alongside some of the major cycling news from the week just gone we’ve got a video, picture and some products of the week for you.

The week’s news in brief:

Landis suggests Clenbuterol is in widespread use within the peloton.

On Sunday Floyd Landis, in his first major European television interview, reiterated his allegations that Lance Armstrong and other riders such as Alberto Contador are guilty of doping. In the interview, Landis suggests that the risks of using Clenbuterol are now higher than they used to be, although remain relatively low since “the product has usually degraded when the control takes place”.

In addition to this, Landis also argues that the UCI have protected certain riders over the years. While some suggest that Landis has turned over a new leaf and is now merely trying to clean up the sport, others, such as Armstrong, suggest Landis is a “notorious liar” who is only looking to make a profit from his statements.

Pat McQuaid strikes back.

On Tuesday, Pat McQuaid struck back at Landis. Like Armstrong, McQuaid has also called Landis a liar, while continuing to threaten legal action. McQuaid: “it’s very easy for Floyd Landis to make statements like that with no proof”, before continuing; “he has already proven to be a liar and continues to be a liar. There is no truth in it, absolutely no truth in it”.

In the UCI’s defence, McQuaid states it would be “impossible to protect riders” since the World Anti-Doping Authority also gets the same reports from anti-doping tests. He continues to conclude that Landis, Rasmussen and Contador have all been tracked down by the UCI, therefore proving that Landis’ accusations are complete fabrications. What do you think?

Garmin-Cervelo enjoy the first few days of their training camp.

 

Some happier news concerns what the Garmin-Cervelo team have been getting up to on their first few days at their training camp in the Cayman Islands. Leisurely boat cruises, beach volleyball, swimming with stingrays, plenty of fine dining and helicopter rides seem to be the order of the day! Sounds like the perfect getaway for the PBK team, given all the snow here in England at the moment!

However, there has also been a serious side, with several 70 kilometre training rides to get those legs going again. In addition, each rider was also asked to sign the team’s mission statement which states that no supplements or needles should be used unless approved by the team. Riders can also be tested at any point. These measures reinforce the team’s strong anti-doping stance.

Contador corner:

Being Alberto can’t be a lot of fun at the moment.  Pat McQuaid of the UCI this week announced that if the Spanish Cycling Federation do not reach an acceptable decision regarding Contador’s positive drugs test for clenbuterol they will challenge the decision with WADA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.  The case, McQuaid stated, is relatively straightforward – presumably we’ll not be waiting too much longer then?

Tweet of the week:

@cyclingalps
“I broke my chain on the indoor trainer. Due to a) super strong legs, b) poor chain hygiene ….. sadly it’s b)”

Pic of the week:

Have you ever asked yourself what bike Batman would ride?  Well neither had we til now, but this has to be a pretty strong contender:

It’s an M55 electric bike, or as they call it, The Beast!  The designers said:

“The aim was a brave outward appearance, which bears resemblance to the Transformers while providing the robust image of Terminator and functionality of the Batmobile.”

Genius!

Video of the week:

This week the UK has had an awful lot of snow, we couldn’t ignore this great idea!

Pick of this week’s new products:

This week has seen the arrival of the SRAM Red Limited Edition Tour Yellow Groupsets at PBK!

We have a Road groupset and also a Time Trial Groupset, if you want them make sure you’re quick they’re unlikely to hang around and they’re only available in limited numbers!

Next we have these great value Knog Limited Edition Twinpack lights – make sure you don’t get left out in the dark!

Finally we have the award winning Cycloc Wall Mounted Bike Holder.  Stylish, simple to fit and a quite ingenious way of clearing precious floor space in your garage.

What we’re up to this weekend:

This weekend John is off to Manchester for a night out with his uni friends.

Chris shall be sampling some of France’s finest and scrabbling up some Lake District hills, hopefully not at the same time.

Grant is off to Cardiff to check out the Christmas Market, go ice skating and try to get a cameo in Doctor Who.

Meanwhile I shall be digging paths in the snow and a tunnel to my garage door!

Any comments on this week’s news? What have you got planned for this coming weekend? Let us know below!



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ProBikeKit

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A hub of reviews, advice and news from the online road cycling experts at ProBikeKit.