Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia
There is no such thing as not voting: You either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some diehard's vote. – David Foster Wallace
Latest completed racing:
- November 12: Gavere Cyclocross
- November 5: European Cyclocross Championships
- Oct 28 - Nov 5: Tour of Hainan
- November 1: Cyclocross Koppenberg
- October 29: Cyclocross Ruddervoorde
- October 28: Cincy CX, Devou Park
- October 28: Grote Prijs van Brabant
- October 19 - 24: Tour of Guangxi
Fabian Cancellara's lawyers demand apology over book's claim Cancellara used concealed motor
Road.cc website posted this report on November 13th:
Lawyers acting for Fabian Cancellara have demanded that the publishers of US former professional cyclist Phil Gaimon’s book Draft Animals immediately stop distributing and selling it.
According to a report in Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Cancellara’s manager Armin Meier has also called on Gaimon to issue a public apology over allegations contained in the book that he won races using a concealed motor.
Cancellara has always strenuously denied allegations he used illegal mechanical assistance, including during his 2010 Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix victories.
Last week, after passages from Gaimon’s book were widely reported upon in the media, the UCI said that it was considering opening an investigation into the issue.
You can read the site's full story here.
Road.cc followed up with this on November 14:
American former professional cyclist Phil Gaimon has issued a statement seeking to clarify comments he made in his newly-published book, Draft Animals, regarding Fabian Cancellara in which he said the Swiss rider “probably did have a motor” when winning certain major races.
As we reported yesterday, lawyers acting on behalf of Cancellara, currently on his way to Las Vegas for a corporate event, have insisted that the book be withdrawn from distribution.
Fabian Cancellara (left) at the start of the 2016 Tour de France
The Swiss rider’s manager, meanwhile, has called on Gaimon, who like Cancellara retired in 2016, to issue a public apology for his remarks.
Road.cc's November 14 posting in full can be read here.
And here's the statement in full that Phil Gaimon posted on his web site:
Statement on motor doping controversy
In “Draft Animals,” I repeated a rumor that’s well-documented and many years old, and I presented it as such. I stand by my opinion, but it’s exactly that, and anyone who actually opened the book would know that what I said was far from an “accusation.” Put a gun to my head and that’s what I believe so I’d be a liar if I left it out, but I claim no revelations or proof, so I don’t see it being “taken off the shelves” except by the folks buying it. Ironically, that part in the book is dismissing conspiracy theories about motors today as clickbait, and it’s now been turned into clickbait.
My friendship with Tom Danielson is a big part of the story, so usually when I get hate mail, it’s calling me a hypocrite for not being enough of a “doper hater.” I didn’t expect this to be pulled out of context or turned into mudslinging, and I’m sorry for anyone who’s wasted time or energy on it. That’s not how I wanted to sell books, and it’s not worth this headache. There were some things I had to get off my chest and some tough times to share to give a picture of the sport as I experienced it, but if a juicy tell-all is what you’re looking for, don’t bother buying it. I don’t reference any scandal you haven’t heard before, and I’ll probably show empathy towards dopers that you want me to hate. I expect that type of reader will be disappointed.
The story I want to tell is about what it means to follow a dream to the bitter end–how hard I worked, how good I had to get and what I chose to put myself through, ultimately to suck at the highest level of cycling and make peace with it. It’s my truth and it’s the best I could do and I put a lot of time and emotion into it, but my opinions aren’t always popular, which I understand will make some people angry. I hope a few of you will read past the noise and enjoy “Draft Animals” for what it is.
As always, shoutout to everyone who gets it, everyone who takes the time to read the book (instead of a sentence that someone tweeted) before they judge, and I’m going for a bike ride.
European Bicycle Manufacturer's Association's dumping complaint document; Allegations against Bafang
Bike Europe sent me this news:
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The latest developments in the dumping case on e-bikes imported from China refer to Bafang; China’s biggest maker of e-bike drive systems. The company has issued an official statement (see separate report) on the specific allegations against Bafang made by the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) in its Complaint document that has led to the instigation of the dumping investigation by the European Commission. These allegations are mentioned in this article while we also publish the EBMA complaint document in full.
The dumping case on e-bikes and speed pedelecs imported from China into the EU has been initiated by EBMA. On what grounds EBMA’s dumping case is based, can be researched in full by inspecting the 41 page Complaint document (open version) which is available for download on this webpage.
As said, in this dumping complaint document EBMA mentions specific allegations against Bafang. It says that “As bicycles and e-bikes are a clear focus area in China’s 12th and even more in China’s 13th 5-Year Plan for Bicycles, the Chinese bicycle producers have thereby been able to obtain heavy State-subsidies from authorities at provincial, regional and local levels. These subsidies have enabled the Chinese e-bike producers and their suppliers, most importantly Bafang, the main Chinese producer of e-bike engines, to catch up quickly with the EU industry in terms of knowhow.
You can read the entire story here.
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