Monday’s Mailbag: Disco’, Basso and Levi

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

An individual gives up a certain amount of rights to privacy anytime he pursues a public presence, and being a professional cyclist is certainly a public presence. This is true even more so for a “star” in the sport, or any sport for the matter. Professional cycling teams are employers with a compelling interest in certain aspects of their employees physical conditions, including, but not limited to, whether or not the employee is free from use of banned or illegal performance-enhancing substances or procedures. I believe this to be true were the athletes to be contractors for services rather than direct employees. An enterprise has the obligation to protect its business interests and any action by an employee or contractor that presents a direct or indirect threat to the enterprise is a legitimate area of concern.

I would be very disappointed to learn that the Discovery Channel team had signed Ivan Basso without the requirement that he absolutely clear his name in regards to the allegations made about him in the Operación Puerto investigation. It appears that one very definitive step to take in clearing his name would be to provide a DNA sample; yet he refuses.

It would be counter to the interests of the sport, its sponsor, and its fans should the Discovery Channel team not take an aggressive stance regarding Basso’s clearing his name, and in general against the use of illegal and banned performance-enhancing substances and procedures.

As a fan, I expect better from the teams and hope they all have at least some sense of professional responsibility for the sport beyond simply winning races.

Ron Weis
Springfield, Missouri

Walk the walk
Editor:
I hope that Discovery does require Basso to provide his DNA to exonerate himself. I imagine that they and he will not. Which leaves us where?

If he refused to submit DNA, most of us will consider him dirty, and Discovery to be more interested in winning than in cleaning up the sport. And while Bjarne Riis may look foolish for letting Basso go, I will certainly be rooting for CSC.

Come on, Discovery, this was your chance to really walk the walk. And it seems you blew it.

Peter Howe
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Cheers held in abeyance
Editor:
Now that Basso has signed with Disco, will the team demand a DNA sample to fully exonerate the Italian from the Puerto affair? Basso and the other implicated riders owe nothing less to the fans and the sport. Basso will be a great addition to Discovery, but I’ll hold my enthusiasm until the DNA test clears him completely.

Terri Davis
Denver, Colorado

What does Disco’ know that we don’t?
Editor:
After all the news this week, I am left with one burning question. What does Discovery know that we do not? Johann Bruyneel, Tailwind Sports and their sponsors have never struck me as reckless or stupid. But I can’t for the life of me figure how they could have signed Ivan Basso knowing just what we, the cycling public, know.

Putting aside for a minute the “gentleman’s agreement” not to employ those implicated in Operacion Puerto, which they appear to have ignored or reneged upon, if Basso continues to refuse to supply DNA samples, the prospect of the Discovery team being uninvited from the Tour de France is very real. How could they in good conscience jeopardize the chances of all their riders to perform in the sports biggest stage race? If I am Levi Leipheimer or George Hincapie, I must be losing a lot of sleep.

I hope that Basso is a pure as the driven snow, but unless I had better evidence of closure than I have today, there is no way I would play Russian roulette with my riders, my sponsors and my reputation, even if I could sign the top rider in the world.

Come on, Johan, clue us in.

Michael Giunta
Simsbury, Connecticut

Cleared is cleared, Olaf old boy
Editor:
Quoth Olaf Ludwig, “Discovery regards dropping the legal proceedings as the same thing as being cleared” (see “Sunday’s EuroFile: Ludwig critical of Basso deal”). If having charges dropped is not being cleared, perhaps Herr Ludwig would like to explain the formal UCI/WADA-sanctioned method for clearing oneself of doping allegations.

Jeremy Browne
San Jose, California

Is Basso really no longer implicated?
Editor:
I’ll be curious to see what Discovery says about signing Basso since they were part of the AIGCP group that swore back in October that they would not sign any rider who was implicated in doping investigations.

As I understand it, the investigation into Basso has been suspended in Italy, but only because they were unable to get the documents necessary from Spain. Once Operación Puerto has concluded and the documents are released, his role in Puerto will be reexamined. Doesn’t this mean, then, that he is someone who is implicated in doping investigations?

Teams really shouldn’t make statements like this unless they are going to live up to them. The problem with doping in cycling is that there is too much talk on all sides and not enough solid science and solid enforcement of rules and methods.

Until the big talkers shut their mouths and everyone lives up to their obligations, road cycling as a sport will not be enjoyable.

Matthew Vaughn
Graham, North Carolina

Basso, Disco’ are missing an opportunity
Editor:
It is a shame that Discovery Channel has signed Ivan Basso. True, Basso has (currently) been cleared by the Italian disciplinary authorities, but it remains a fact that Basso has refused to provide a DNA test to positively clear his name.

We all must ask the following question: If Basso were innocent, why would he not be jumping at the opportunity to clear his name unequivocally?

That testing him is an invasion of privacy is, quite frankly, BS. People routinely have to submit to drug testing for employment, so unless we think that this is an egregious invasion of privacy, then Basso’s case should be no different.

And that he doesn’t want to be tested because he is concerned about the state of conservation of the bags of blood taken during the raid on Dr. Fuentes’ office is also BS. Unless Basso has good reason to suspect that the bags are not suitable for testing, then he is once again, like many before him, pointing to a mere possibility which has no basis in fact.

Discovery Channel, like T-Mobile, should take the initiative in the new era of drug-free professional cycling. Unfortunately, in signing a rider like Basso, Discovery Channel does not appear to want to be part of a new era.

Ian A. Smith
Salt Lake City, Utah

And how about Levi?
Editor:
Does anyone else wonder how Levi Leipheimer must feel about the Basso signing? I mean, here’s a guy who went into the Tour this year with a team everyone knew was clearly not up to the job of supporting a contender and he still managed to finish “only” 13th. Then he gets wooed back to Discovery by all the talk of being the leader for the Tour (on a team that clearly can support a contender), only to find out once “someone better” came along that it was not to be the case after all.

Perhaps Disco’s strategy is just to gobble up all the contenders it can to improve the odds? I know it’s just business, but it must be rather demoralizing, even for a professional. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out, because I can’t see Levi being satisfied with being relegated to super-domestique status again after leaving to become a team leader.

Neil Hickey
Lake Stevens, Washington

The team with the biggest budget wins
Editor:
With Discovery’s recent acquisition of Ivan Basso, I would have to say that Team Disco’ has officially become the New York Yankees of pro cycling. With Leipheimer, Tom Danielson, Yaroslav Popovich, Paolo Salvodelli and the old veteran George Hincapie, the deck looks pretty stacked for the Tour de France

While I don’t blame anybody for grabbing Basso, I have mixed emotions about getting right back into an American team dominating the Tour again with barely a year having passed since the departure of Lance Armstrong. I guess I was looking forward to at least two or three good years of epic racing while the pecking order got reshuffled by highly motivated wanna-be’s.

The one benefit is that Disco’ could boost U.S. cycling (along with their own bottom line) from all the pre-Tour hype every summer. However I can’t help but wish that the Tour would become a no-holds-barred, bare-knuckle sporting event instead of a predictable, rotating five-year dynasty.

Oh well, I guess there is always the Giro d’Italia for some real competition.

Clark Reames
Paris, Arkansas

FILED UNDER: Mailbag TAGS: Mailbag