Good man Bill.... love his work...
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Good things happening for Hamilton
Although an international doping scandal is still partially hanging over his head, Tyler Hamilton's days are a little brighter since his two-year ban from professional cycling ended.
After taking second place in the Nevada Silverman Triathlon on Nov. 12, the Marblehead native officially signed with Tinkoff Credit Systems, a second-level racing team which will debut in 2007.
"This jump-starts that [starting the 2007 season] a little bit," said Hamilton at a pre-Silverman press conference. "My suspension ended in the end of September but the bike racing season was finished. The [triathlon] team came to me to see if I wanted to do it, and I thought it would be fun."
Hamilton could not be reached for further comment, but his father Bill, still a Marblehead native, chimed in.
"It's a good opportunity for him to get back to racing sooner rather than later," Bill said. "He's had a lot of interest by pro tour teams, but because of this Operation Puerto thing, he'll have to wait until that passes [to sign pro]."
That "Operation Puerto thing" is the aforementioned international scandal. It surfaced in May when Spanish authorities raided the labs of one Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and discovered files that allegedly said Hamilton and up to 55 other cyclists took "treatments" from Fuentes, a "doping doctor."
"What a mess it's turned out to be," said Bill Hamilton, a couple weeks prior to the signing. "There's just nothing there. The suspicion is there, but the suspicion is that when the Spanish authorities did their raid, they clearly falsified documentation to pin the rap on others. That documentation is now with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, but there's zilch there.
"Operation Puerto is becoming a lot of egg on the face of the Spanish authorities," Bill Hamilton added.
Among the Puerto papers were alleged "bills" and "schedules" of what doping elements Hamilton should take and when. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body of pro cycling, threatened to ban Tyler Hamilton for life if the Operation Puerto allegations proved true.
It was reported in an Associated Press story dated Nov. 17 that the acting judge, Carmelo Jimenez, ruled that evidence collected against the cyclists could only be used in legal cases and not as sporting punishments.
UCI chief Pat McQuaid told the AP that it was "'ridiculous' the federation was unable to take action with the amount of evidence available."
Bill Hamilton said you can expect Hamilton to likely take part in the 2008 Tour de France, but the new Tinkoff Credit Systems team will have to earn their spot in that momentous race.
"It's a second level team, just like Phonak was when he joined that team," Bill said. "They've got a lot of money, which is good, so they can get good riders like Tyler and others."
With training camp set to begin on Dec. 1, Hamilton and his Tinkoff teammates will hope the team is invited to the first major event on the 2007 racing calendar, the Giro D'Italia.
"Tinkoff intends to have a good record," Bill Hamilton said. "They have a real outside chance at the Tour de France for 2007, even as a non-pro tour team if they show themselves well at the spring classics."
Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov, who is a rider on, as well as the owner of, the Tinkoff team, began the Tinkoff team in 2005. Described in different media reports as a thrill-seeker, Tinkov is old enough to be the father of some of the riders on the Tinkov team. He went into the brewing and restaurant businesses after a previous stint in the 1980s as a racer, before he was sent to the army. In 2005, Tinkov sold the rights to his brand name and used some of the money to begin the racing team.
"People from a number of different countries are on the team," Bill Hamilton said. "Tyler is excited, and he's staying in shape. His performance at the Silverman Triathlon shows the world he's still got the stuff."
___________
Good things happening for Hamilton
Although an international doping scandal is still partially hanging over his head, Tyler Hamilton's days are a little brighter since his two-year ban from professional cycling ended.
After taking second place in the Nevada Silverman Triathlon on Nov. 12, the Marblehead native officially signed with Tinkoff Credit Systems, a second-level racing team which will debut in 2007.
"This jump-starts that [starting the 2007 season] a little bit," said Hamilton at a pre-Silverman press conference. "My suspension ended in the end of September but the bike racing season was finished. The [triathlon] team came to me to see if I wanted to do it, and I thought it would be fun."
Hamilton could not be reached for further comment, but his father Bill, still a Marblehead native, chimed in.
"It's a good opportunity for him to get back to racing sooner rather than later," Bill said. "He's had a lot of interest by pro tour teams, but because of this Operation Puerto thing, he'll have to wait until that passes [to sign pro]."
That "Operation Puerto thing" is the aforementioned international scandal. It surfaced in May when Spanish authorities raided the labs of one Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and discovered files that allegedly said Hamilton and up to 55 other cyclists took "treatments" from Fuentes, a "doping doctor."
"What a mess it's turned out to be," said Bill Hamilton, a couple weeks prior to the signing. "There's just nothing there. The suspicion is there, but the suspicion is that when the Spanish authorities did their raid, they clearly falsified documentation to pin the rap on others. That documentation is now with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, but there's zilch there.
"Operation Puerto is becoming a lot of egg on the face of the Spanish authorities," Bill Hamilton added.
Among the Puerto papers were alleged "bills" and "schedules" of what doping elements Hamilton should take and when. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body of pro cycling, threatened to ban Tyler Hamilton for life if the Operation Puerto allegations proved true.
It was reported in an Associated Press story dated Nov. 17 that the acting judge, Carmelo Jimenez, ruled that evidence collected against the cyclists could only be used in legal cases and not as sporting punishments.
UCI chief Pat McQuaid told the AP that it was "'ridiculous' the federation was unable to take action with the amount of evidence available."
Bill Hamilton said you can expect Hamilton to likely take part in the 2008 Tour de France, but the new Tinkoff Credit Systems team will have to earn their spot in that momentous race.
"It's a second level team, just like Phonak was when he joined that team," Bill said. "They've got a lot of money, which is good, so they can get good riders like Tyler and others."
With training camp set to begin on Dec. 1, Hamilton and his Tinkoff teammates will hope the team is invited to the first major event on the 2007 racing calendar, the Giro D'Italia.
"Tinkoff intends to have a good record," Bill Hamilton said. "They have a real outside chance at the Tour de France for 2007, even as a non-pro tour team if they show themselves well at the spring classics."
Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov, who is a rider on, as well as the owner of, the Tinkoff team, began the Tinkoff team in 2005. Described in different media reports as a thrill-seeker, Tinkov is old enough to be the father of some of the riders on the Tinkov team. He went into the brewing and restaurant businesses after a previous stint in the 1980s as a racer, before he was sent to the army. In 2005, Tinkov sold the rights to his brand name and used some of the money to begin the racing team.
"People from a number of different countries are on the team," Bill Hamilton said. "Tyler is excited, and he's staying in shape. His performance at the Silverman Triathlon shows the world he's still got the stuff."
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