keba 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 And then Rasmussen fell (and the Rabobank team with him)... there won't be much of a traffic jam on the Champs-Elysees at this rate. Are any of these guys clean? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 Yes, Cadel is and that's why he was struggling to keep up with Ramussen. Thank god he's out. Might be too late though as if he was gone, eht situation would have been very different for Cadel and he would have been deservingly in the yellow jersey after the TT the other day. Link to post Share on other sites
Rag-Doll 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Even if they weren't guilty, the extent of cheating in the race puts a big question mark over champs like Armstrong and Indurain. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 Not reslly. Champs like Armstrong and Indurain were tested and tested over and over again. Sure Rasmussen didn't test positive during the tour but him missing off season tests then trying to lie about where he was at the time makes him guilty in my book. If he wasn't taking something, why go to all the effort to miss the tests? Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 He should never have been allowed to start le Tour. All this was talked about before the start, and during the first few stages, he was kicked off the Dutch Olympic cycling team for those missed tests. The tour organisers should have taken action then, not waited for Rabobank to do it for them. A cloud is over them all. I'd like (as an Aussie) to believe that Cadel is clean, but how can I? Remember Martin Vinnicome? Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hopefully now the administrators have started applying the rules, the teams and riders will clean up their acts. This could all turn out rather well. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Tour de Farce, as the Daily Mail put it. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Yeah might seem like that but spare a thought for all the clean guys who have had it. UK boy Wiggins was 4 days out from Paris and has to head home now because one of his spaghetti team mates hit the juice. The penalties are hopefully going to get increased to life bans soon. Contador takes the Yellow with cadel close behind. Contador sounded like he wasn't so well tonight so lets hope Cadel can pull a biggy out in the TT on saturday night. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 They're all on some kind of juice. Remeber that some of those that got expelled were not even close to 1st place in the standings. I just wonder if cycling gets more of a bad rep because they actually do catch cheaters. There are so many sports out there with people high on illegal juice. Sports has become a big business and peeps are willing to risk their health and reputation to get a slice of the pie. I think athletics should give a call to the cycling union on tips about controls. By the way, seems they may pull cycling out of the olympics as well... Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Valid points Serreche but I think also there is a different mindset about doping in OZ cycling & Euro cycling. I know about the OZ system because I went to the ASI and they were so hard core about it. Maybe that's why we don't have as many stars (in events such as the tour) and the tend to struggle? Still think we might have a close finish. Who are you backing? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 oh and regarding the Olympics.. I doubted that they would pull and here's an article I just found. "No plan' to ban cycling from Olympics Friday Jul 27 22:24 AEST Banning cycling from the Olympic Games was not being considered as a response to the doping scandals shaking the sport in the Tour de France, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge said. "To exclude the sport from the Olympic Games is not a solution," he told reporters during a visit to Belgrade which is currently hosting the Youth Olympics. "You have to put everything into perspective. What is happening now in the Tour de France is first of all a sign that the mentality of the athletes has changed drastically, and rapidly," Rogge said. "Secondly it is also proof that the system is working well - because if people are caught positive it's that the testing is very accurate and the testing is very good." Rogge said the IOC planned to help the International Cycling Union (UCI) "as a trusted partner" to improve the sport. "It is not the UCI that is cheating. It is the riders who are cheating," he added. Some companies sponsoring Tour de France teams, such as Rabobank and France's Cofidis, are reconsidering their involvement in the sport because of doping scandals plaguing the world's greatest cycling race." Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 There have surely been these issues for a long time. Why has it taken them so long to (try to?) get their act together? Strikes me as being bordering on ridiculous. Link to post Share on other sites
SirJibAlot 0 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Tour De Drugs? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Cadel's up soon. Needs to gain 1.51sec to take the yellow. He has the potential to do it... Go Boy! Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 I like the young columbian rider Indo. He has proved himself in the mountains like all his columbian predecessors. It is good to see some fresh and unexpected talent pointing its head. He may be the next Delgado. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 Contador? Yeah he's proved his worth even though he's beating Cadel! He was way more exciting in the mountains and that's where Cadel lost the race. Will be interseting to see if Levi tries to take 2nd place. He's already said that he won't try. Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I was actually thinking about JM SOLER. I think 11th in the standings. Too bad for Evans. Maybe next year ;-) Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Apparently the australians are trying to set-up an all oz team for next year. They think they can get the yellow and green jersey in the same team. They only need funds, although some has been pledged already. The recent scandals are not helping with sponsors though... The 23 seconds Evans lost by is the second smallest margin ever in the 104 year history of the tour. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Actually when Lemond won in 89 he won by 8 seconds! I think the closest margin this year has to do with the top 3 riders being within 31 seconds of each other. I doubt the Aussies will be able to get a team together, if they did they would have to take some big pay cuts then get a wild card. Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 i just saw the higlights on the news.... what's the deal with people not challenging on the final day - is it tour de france etiquette? ot is there absolutely zero chance that evans could have made up the 23 seconds? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Usually the tour is won by the TT the day before. The 8 laps of the Champs-Elysées are a pretty intense criterium where the peloton can usually catch anyone as all the sprinters teams want the final victory. They usually travel at about 55-60kph, so to get a break going you'd need to be able to hold 65kmph for an hour. Also the Discovery team is so damn strong bar Contador crashing yesterday They would never have let it happen. Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 There is the etiquette, or at least a long-held tradition, that the yellow jersey isn't challenged. The final stage is for the sprinters, and a "lap of honour" for the yellow jersey. I was more worried that Leipheimer would try and make up the 8 seconds Cadel had on him, but even before the stage, he reassured Cadel that there would be no challenge for 2nd. Imagine that, a code of honour among cycling professionals. And inevitably, some German has come out of the woodwork to claim he knew of Contador using drugs last year... Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 I was thinking the same about Levi challenging for 2nd too. Why didn't this German come out sooner, he was cleared last year of involvement with that team but he say's he's got documents that prove otherwise. Who wants to win the tour if you can't stand at the top of the podium in Paris. Would suck if it happened that way. Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I suppose he was waiting to see if Contador won, there wouldn't be much publicity for him if he outed the third- or forth-placegetter... who knows the motivation of these people? Link to post Share on other sites
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