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GENEVA -- Tour de France champion Chris Froome wants an investigation into cyclings doping history to finally close an era dominated by Lance Armstrong. Kyle Fuller. Almost 18 months after Armstrongs seven Tour wins were wiped from the record, an independent panel created by the new International Cycling Union leadership has begun work to discover the extent of the sports past problems. "I hope that anyone who does have anything to contribute would get involved." Froome told The Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday. The three-man Cycling Independent Reform Commission aims to investigate how doping happened from 1998-2013 and possible UCI complicity in helping Armstrong and his teams avoid scrutiny. "I am hoping that at the end of the day people will be able to say of it, Right, that was that era, we can now put that to bed and stop asking questions about it," Froome said. Armstrong and former UCI presidents Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid will be invited for confidential, closed-door interviews with the panel which is based at Lausanne, Switzerland. None of the trio has committed publicly to meeting with the panel, which is chaired by Swiss politician and prosecutor Dick Marty. Froome said the panel could engage "not just necessarily those three, but anyone really who is part of that era and can contribute to resolving it." "Its going to be more negative publicity for the sport. Thats never good," Froome acknowledged. The Team Sky leader, who made a winning return to racing last month at the Tour of Oman, said he had not heard much talk about the commission among current riders, who must help restore the sports credibility. "Theres a lot of really, really talented young riders coming through the system now that I believe in personally." Froome said. "These are going to be the guys carrying the torch going forward." Froome will be 29 when he is scheduled to start defending his Tour title on July 5 in northern England -- probably with 2012 winner Bradley Wiggins alongside him. "Im confident whoever is in there, we are going to have the strongest team possible," said Froome, whose frayed relationship with Wiggins was mended in the off-season. "He can do a lot of damage to the peloton. Hes one of the best climbers in the world and we know his time trialing ability." Froome expects to follow the path both he and Wiggins followed to Tour success, competing in -- and winning -- stage-race preparations at the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland and Criterium de Dauphine in France. "I think it would be crazy to really change things up too much," Froome said. "We found it has been a good system that has worked quite well for us." Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show, on the sidelines of a Team Sky sponsors event, Froome said extra work being a Tour champion was "a bit of a juggling act" with his training program. Still, the Oman victory suggests he got the balance right. "It just backs up that I have had a really good winter preparation," Froome said. "Im where I need to be for the season coming up." Brandon Marshall . The All-Star point guard, sidelined for the past six months with a knee injury, was set to return to the Oklahoma City Thunder lineup for Sunday nights home game against the Phoenix Suns, weeks earlier than expected. Chicago Bears Jersey . Liverpool is at the top at Christmas for the first time since 2008 after scoring 42 goals. Only Manchester City has been more lethal in front of goal, with the team — a point behind Liverpool and Arsenal in third — scoring 51 goals in 17 games.PARIS -- Even Rafael Nadal acknowledges his French Open semifinal against Andy Murray is not nearly as intriguing as the one between unbeaten Novak Djokovic and 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. "Its the best player of today against the best player in history. ... Its going to be a beautiful match," Nadal said. "I would watch it -- if I was a spectator." Sure, theres a lot on the line for the entire quartet of men wholl be playing at Roland Garros on Friday, which one might expect, given that its only the 12th time in the Open era, which dates to 1968, that the top four seeded players reached the semifinals at any Grand Slam tournament. Top-seeded Nadal, for example, is bidding to equal Bjorn Borgs record of six French Open championships. No. 4 Murray is dealing with an injured right ankle as he hopes to win his first Grand Slam title -- and give Britain its first male champion at a major tennis tournament since 1936. No. 3 Federer, meanwhile, has gone more than 16 months without reaching a Grand Slam final, which doesnt sound too bad unless you consider its his longest gap since he won Wimbledon in 2003. Lofty aims, certainly. But nothing compared to what No. 2 Djokovic is chasing: -- The 24-year-old Serb is 41-0 in 2011, and a win over Federer would allow Djokovic to equal John McEnroes record for best start to a season in the Open era, 42-0 in 1984. -- Add in two victories for Serbia against France in the Davis Cup final in December, and Djokovics winning streak stands at 43 overall, three shy of Guillermo Vilas mark of 46 in a row in 1977. -- Djokovic is seeking to reach his first final in Paris; if he were to win the title, hed be the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian Open and French Open in the same year. -- If he beats Federer, Djokovic will be assured of rising to No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time, no matter what happens in the Nadal-Murray semifinal or in Sundays championship match. "To be honest, Im thinking about this tournament only. I definitely want to go as far as I can in Roland Garros. And then, you know, if the No. 1 ranking comes this week, Ill be more than happy, definitely," Djokovic said. "But its not something Im thinking about." In the womens final Saturday, No. 5 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, the defending champion, will face No. 6 Li Na of China. Li eliminated Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-4, 7-5 Thursday, while Schiavone beat Marion Bartoli of France 6-3, 6-3. Djokovic has had plenty of idle time to ponder things: Djokovic hasnt played a match since winning in the fourth round Sunday. He got a walkover in the quarter-finals when hiis opponent, Fabio Fognini of Italy, withdrew because of a left leg muscle injury. Martellus Bennett. "Im sure, for Novak, it will be a little bit strange; five days off in the middle of a Grand Slam is very rare. He definitely wouldnt have been through it before. We were talking about it a little bit the last couple of days. Like, what would you actually do if you had five days during a Grand Slam? Would you play some sets? Would you take it easy?" said Murray, a three-time major finalist. "I know hes played a lot of tennis, but hes got to be switched on from the start against Roger, because hes playing Roger." Federer was the last player to beat Djokovic, back in November at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, and holds a 13-9 edge in their career series. But Djokovic is 3-0 against Federer this season, all on hard courts. That includes Djokovics win in the semifinals en route to his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. Djokovic also beat Federer in the U.S. Open semifinals in September, saving two match points along the way. Djokovics winning streak is the talk of tennis at the moment. Hes won all seven tournaments hes entered in 2011, beating Nadal in four of the finals; two were on clay, in Madrid and Rome last month. "Hes not making a big fuss about it, which is a good thing for him," said Federer, who once won 41 consecutive matches. "Obviously a big question remains: How long can you keep it up? ... Its just hard, day in and day out, to be asked the questions. How many more wins can you get? You would just like to not talk about it. Just go out there and do it, over and over again." Djokovic, who turned 24 on the first day of this tournament, is roundly praised by others for having become more mature, on the court and off. The physical talents been there for quite some time -- his spectacular two-handed backhand, his as-good-as-anyones return of serve and court coverage -- but even Djokovic admits he only recently has managed to get his mind right. "Its really a (demanding) sport. You have to travel and play so many matches on different surfaces, different continents, different countries. It really is a mental game," Djokovic said. "Im still young. But I have a lot of experience, and I have been trying to learn every single day of my career. Now its getting together." And now its Federer -- owner of more Grand Slam singles titles than any man, including from the 2009 French Open -- who finds himself in the role of potential spoiler. "Theres less at stake for me than for him," Federer said. "Hes got a lot of things going." wholesale nfl jerseys ' ' ' |
