posted Feb 21, 2008

i think he won by default personally....

i'm no fan of the chicken, but as far as anything can be considered as fact, contador is not really different to rasmussen in so far as there is a big question mark over his head still.

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posted Feb 21, 2008

Whatever the politics between ASO and the UCI...

Truth be told, after the scandal Astana caused at last year's TdF, I'm finding it really difficult to feel any sympathy for the Disco crew that chose to join the team for 2008.

Sure, every other team has its own doping past, but from the start Astana/Liberty Seguros have been a particularly dirty outfit - from Op Puerto to Vino. So why would any professional wanting to maintain credibility join such a team? To WIN WIN WIN, I suppose, at any cost to the sport.

So, Contador, Yates, screw them. I'll be cheering on champions that have a hint of moral courage about them.

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posted Feb 21, 2008

When (I can't remember his name) that fellow that used to play for Man Utd testing positive for something-or-other (bear with me!), his team wasn't kicked out of their competitions.

Pretty much what Shakerbluesman said.

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posted Feb 22, 2008

if you are referring to rio ferdinand, it's worth noting that he missed a test and did not fail one. he still had a suspension to serve (even though the three strike rule applies in other sports) mainly down to there being a lack of clarity/credibility over the reasons for missing the test.

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posted Feb 22, 2008

I think that the banning of Astana already taints th 08 TdF with doping. By singling out Astana which has new mangement, new riders and an extensive anti doping regime in place the ASO is saying that it doesn't care about a clean race but rather that it is willing to show it can do as it pleases. Their arguments are spurious and don't hold up to scrutiny. I believe that they should highlight the anti-doping efforts of teams like High Road, CSC, and Astana. This would put a focus on cleaning up the sport rather than the fractured relationship between ASO and the UCI. I hate to see cycling continue to drag itself though the mud and accentuate the petty bickering of it managing partners. It is counter productive to the future of this sport.

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posted Feb 25, 2008

Its the lie...take doping away and there is less to lie about.....if you can't measure 100% of the riders 100% of the time and be 100% accurate all we do is create a void, a gap for an enterprising doctor to fill with something un-detectable. Not a single bike rolls off the start platform that hasn’t been tec’d and weighed, at the same time a blood sample should be taken. 100% of the time of 100% of the riders. Its that time, either let it go or do it without fail, and out of season, who cares, but when the race is on, you dope, I will catch you and if I catch you even just once it will be like when your father caught you on the wrong side of right, the punishment will be swift and severe. I have a dye test proposal that will give you immediate results on the podium and at 97 percent accuracy, just as quickly as I can tell your bike doesn’t weigh in properly I can tell if you are doping. When I catch you you will shoulder your bike and will march off in disgrace in front of the T.V. coverage, in front of family and countrymen. Eliminate the legal issue or implement blood testing measures. Every day, every race, every rider all the time, you don’t test you don’t ride, you dope you never ride again, no room for negotiation, our sport is that damaged.

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posted Feb 25, 2008

ASO organise and run the Tour. They take the financial risk and reward for doing so. It's a business. They have had the Tour ruined by riders thinking they can cheat and get away with it. Maybe other teams should also have been excluded, and we can argue degrees of past guilt for ever. However until we stop thinking that individual riders are bigger than the Tour nothing will change. When every great winner of past tours came to the end of their reign questions are always asked about who will take over next. The same will happen to Contador et al. Don't let him in, clean up the act. The only pressure that should apply is to get rid of the cheats whoever they are. Vive le Tour.

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posted Feb 28, 2008

Contador was part of a Discovery set up which took drug therapy in sport to a new and so far undetected level - Lance Armstrong didn't win 7 TdF on carrot juice and water, did he? Last years race was a farce, and Contador "won" it by default - quite simply he was second best. I for one will be glad to see the back of Discovery, or whatever else they chose to rebrand themselves.

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posted Mar 17, 2008

You can't have rules and apply them at your discretion to suit your prejudices. Astana has not broken any rules so it should be allowed to race. If it is excluded, the Tour will be null and void.

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