Levi Leipheimer, it turns out, didn’t escape the crash at Tour of California unharmed. Though he continued and went on to win the race, it turns out he actually fractured his sacrum and will have to miss Paris-Nice. He’s planning to start racing again in Spain at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Other News-
Operation Puerto is apparently still ongoing. WADA is trying to get Madrid to hand over some evidence and blood bags they’d like to link to some cyclists but the Spanish are so far not cooperating.
The UCI is changing its tactics somewhat. It may not be necessary to have a positive drug test. If a blood profile has significant changes from the control samples, that may be grounds for doping charges. Self-adminstered blood dopers will probably still slip through but EPO usage will not.
