Not, I think, peer-reviewed science this time, but two articles from Nature and Science respectively, both on the subject of sports doping, a subjetc which is of course very topical given the Beijing Olympics, due to start tomorrow, 8th August.  The first is a Commentary article from Donald Barry on the statistical significance of doping tests, focussing on the case of Floy Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory following a positive test for testosterone.  The second article is one of a series of News articles in Science related to the upcoming Olympics, and questions whether performance enhancing drugs really do benefit performance.

The figure on the left is included in the article - it shows delta notation of isotope ratios of 167 samples tested at the LNDD (who tested the 2006 TdF samples, including Landis'), those considered positive are in red, those negative are in green.   I don't think these samples are necessarily derived from the Tour, if any, since a good number are considered positive.

 A warm, sticky evening brought out some great times from the riders who turned out for this visit to the Stoke Hammond bypass course.  Personally speaking, this was yet another occasion when I actually thought I'd go sub 22:30 on this course, but was thwarted by the false flat on the run up to the finish.  Still, I seem to be edging closer to Tony.  Having tried out a pointy aero hat last week, Gilbert paired that move to the modern world with a set of aero bars this week!

Tim Carter's fine ride of 20:39 was particularly notable, beaten only by the tandem.

Here are some photographs taken during our 2008 cycling holiday in the Outer Hebrides, Skye, and the west coast.  To view these images in the context of the narrative, click here.

{gallery}tour2008{/gallery}

New Web Pages

My website is now pretty much reconstructed (though with a paucity of comments on the stories I've restored from the old database!).  Let me know of any broken web links.

Cyclingnew.com reports that Emanuele Sella (Team CSF Group Navigare), who won three stages and the King of the Moutains in the 2008 Giro d'Italia, has tested positive for the latest formulation of EPO, CERA.  CERA is the same stuff that Ricco (second placed in the 2008 Giro overall) tested positive for in the Tour de France.

CERA seems to be the endurance athlete's dope of choice at the moment, presumably due to rumours that it was less easily detected. The Olympics start in two days - I wonder how many athletes, of all disciplines, will be collared.

Am I correct to assume that you've not punctured since May? In which case, is this some sort of record?

The morning was pretty vile - alternating light and heavy rain - it was with something of a heavy heart that I set off in a downpour to the Hemel 10, over by Leighton Buzzard.  I took a somewhat circuitous route (somewhat concerned about picking up a flint in the smaller lanes), and by the time I reached the race HQ it was sunny and warm, albeit with a rising breeze.

Despite the squelching shoes, I felt pretty optimistic. The outward leg had something of a tailwind and is the longer leg of the event.  Overall though there were some slightyl tough sections, it was quick to the turn, and a bit harder back.  I reached a max HR of 197bpm during the return leg! I finished in 22:37, which I think is my fastest on this course for a few years. 

What has happened to my web pages?

Basically, a botched upgrade from a Joomla! release candidate to the latest version!  However, I plan a better website than before!  Hopefully reasonably normal service will be resumed over the coming weeks.

Since remodelling this website in August 2008, I have tested these pages in the following browsers and operating systems:

I don't have access to a Mac, so have not so far evaluated browsers on that platform.

Manipulating the Metazoan Mitochondrial Genome with Targeted Restriction Enzymes

Hong Xu, Steven Z. DeLuca, Patrick H. O'Farrell

Science 25 July 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5888, pp. 575 - 577
DOI: 10.1126/science.1160226