Lizzie, we need answers

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The rainbow jersey has never been stained by a doping ban. No reigning world road race champion has been banned — but Britain’s Lizzie Armitstead came close this summer. Cycling fans now are left with many questions and only a few murky answers.

It’s troubling that she missed three anti-doping controls in a span of less than 12 months, that British Cycling came to her defense in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and that it all happened mere weeks before the Rio Olympics.

But really, what’s bothering me is the obfuscation. The lack of transparency, and the lingering questions over what really happened. This steaming pile of pre-Olympics doping intrigue has landed on the doorstep of one of cycling’s most well-liked personalities to boot. So, before Armitstead toes the line Sunday in Rio, I think cycling fans need a few questions answered.

Why didn’t she contest the first missed test?

This whole sordid affair began almost one year ago in Sweden, where Armitstead missed her first out-of-competition anti-doping control. The day before her Boels – Dolmans team finished a modest third in the team time trial, an anti-doping official came knocking (at 6 a.m.) and could not reach Armitstead. But it wasn’t her fault — CAS ruled there was “no negligence on Armitstead’s part and that she had followed procedures according to the guidelines.” Seems simple, right? Get it sorted out and move on. But Armitstead, then ranked third in the world, on the …

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