The doping scandal that has haunted decorated French cyclist Jeannie Longo since August took another turn on Wednesday when French police arrested Patrice Ciprelli, Longo's husband, on charges that he illegally bought the blood booster EPO. In August, the French cycling federation banned Ciprelli after disgraced American cyclist Joe Papp claimed he had helped Ciprelli find a Chinese supplier of EPO. That ban was later overturned. Longo, 53, is an Olympic gold medalist and a 58-time French nati... Read More
Bicyclists in Paris are now allowed to proceed through red traffic lights as part of a test program to improve accident statistics. The rule, which city councilors approved last week, will be tested at 15 crossroads and could be implemented citywide. Similar experiments in other French cities have shown no rise in cyclist accidents. Proponents say it could actually decrease accidents that occur when riders compete with vehicles during heavy traffic. Cyclists would still be required to yield to... Read More
The World Anti-Doping Agency has asked U.S. investigators to turn over evidence gathered during a two-year criminal investigation into possible doping by Lance Armstrong. Federal prosecutors dropped the inquirey without explanation on Friday. WADA president John Fahey said that the agency would like to use any evidence that prosecutors may have collected as part of its own ongoing investigation of doping in cycling. "It is important that that happen as quickly as possible, just in case there a... Read More
Filmmaker Mike deGruy, who won an Emmy award in 2002 for his work on The Discovery Channel's "The Blue Planet" documentary, died in a helicopter crash on Saturday in Australia. DeGruy, 60, was traveling in a helicopter piloted by fellow filmmaker Andrew Wight when the aircraft crashed outside of Sydney. DeGruy contributed films for National Geographic and collaborated with director James Cameron on "Last Mysteries of the Titanic." In 1978, he survived a serious encounter with a gray reef shark... Read More
A Puerto Rican fisherman was released from the hospital on Monday after surviving for 20 days while lost at sea in the Caribbean. Jose Luis Mendez drifted more than 1,000 miles when his boat had engine trouble as he attempted to return to port on January 15. He eventually landed on the island of San Andres, in Colombia, having survived for 20 day on rain water and raw fish. He had lost 40 pounds. In 2006, a trio of fisherman were found alive near the Marshall Islands, nine months after setting... Read More
