Those are two stories.
Nicolas Jalabert of the Agritubel team has abandoned the Tour de France.
And team Barloworld has decided that it will cease sponsorship of cycling effective the day after the end of the 2008 Tour de France.
Jalabert was just tired and he decided enough was enough with Alps coming tomorrow.
Barloworld made their move because their rider - and the winner of the time trial in stage 6 - tested positive for EPO. And their company policy forbids drug use. So, to be consistent they cannot rightly keep paying riders if any of those riders are using drugs.
Idiot riders! Stupid doping.
Showing posts with label doping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doping. Show all posts
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Stage 13 Overview, Picks and Comment
Stage 13 is sentimental for me because I spent a week in the finishing town of Nimes a few summers ago. I love the south of France. The countryside is so picturesque and the food is great. If you get a chance, you should go. Seriously.
The stage today (Friday) is fairly flat. Not like a billiards table as there are some little climbs, but not a mountain stage by any means.
It's a 182KM journey from Narbonne into Provence that will likely see another sprint finish. If Cavendish has a say, he'll win his fourth stage in Nimes.
My other picks are still Hushovd and Mc Ewen. They HAVE to win a stage soon.
That's all for now. See you here tomorrow.
The stage today (Friday) is fairly flat. Not like a billiards table as there are some little climbs, but not a mountain stage by any means.
It's a 182KM journey from Narbonne into Provence that will likely see another sprint finish. If Cavendish has a say, he'll win his fourth stage in Nimes.
My other picks are still Hushovd and Mc Ewen. They HAVE to win a stage soon.
That's all for now. See you here tomorrow.
Perspective - part deux
I'm angry at cheaters. I'm angry at the enforcement agency (as it seems they were targeting specific riders from the get-go). And I'm angry at organizations that allow their employees to cheat.
According to a number of commentators, this is just another shake-up in the Tour de France and it could signal the end of a classic event.
In-depth, here are my thoughts.
Cheaters have no place in the race. They put other riders who are clean at a disadvantage. These cheaters take away the chance for a super athlete to land on the podium. They affect the very lives of clean riders and they break the rules.
In so many situations I can look the other way when rules are bent. This is because there are times in life where common sense should be followed in lieu of rules. But as it applies to sport, without the rules we have nothing.
The enforcement agency employed what in-effect was a sting. They targeted a handful of riders at the start of the race (as reported they have been watching 10 or 12 riders). Then they are testing and retesting these riders until they get a positive result. That's not quite fair either.
And the testing routine hasn't changed since the start of drug testing in the sport. Riders are guilty from the get-go and there's very little recourse. Witness Floyd Landis' attempts to clear his name and retain the 2006 Tour de France win. I think that the difference between a natural high and a synthetic one could be mistaken, but I'm not a scientist.
If the cycling organizational bodies are going to continue to endorse and conduct witch hunts, the sport is doomed.
Teams are as bad as the rest of the groups. If you are with your riders more than anyone else, you should know if they're cheating. You should yank them off the team and make sure every single person in your organization buys into this approach.
Slipstream is doing it (or at least we think they are) and others could too.
The shame of more doping events casts doubt across the entire peloton. Can we even believe that a drug-free team is totally drug-free?
Bahhh! I'm peeved.
According to a number of commentators, this is just another shake-up in the Tour de France and it could signal the end of a classic event.
In-depth, here are my thoughts.
Cheaters have no place in the race. They put other riders who are clean at a disadvantage. These cheaters take away the chance for a super athlete to land on the podium. They affect the very lives of clean riders and they break the rules.
In so many situations I can look the other way when rules are bent. This is because there are times in life where common sense should be followed in lieu of rules. But as it applies to sport, without the rules we have nothing.
The enforcement agency employed what in-effect was a sting. They targeted a handful of riders at the start of the race (as reported they have been watching 10 or 12 riders). Then they are testing and retesting these riders until they get a positive result. That's not quite fair either.
And the testing routine hasn't changed since the start of drug testing in the sport. Riders are guilty from the get-go and there's very little recourse. Witness Floyd Landis' attempts to clear his name and retain the 2006 Tour de France win. I think that the difference between a natural high and a synthetic one could be mistaken, but I'm not a scientist.
If the cycling organizational bodies are going to continue to endorse and conduct witch hunts, the sport is doomed.
Teams are as bad as the rest of the groups. If you are with your riders more than anyone else, you should know if they're cheating. You should yank them off the team and make sure every single person in your organization buys into this approach.
Slipstream is doing it (or at least we think they are) and others could too.
The shame of more doping events casts doubt across the entire peloton. Can we even believe that a drug-free team is totally drug-free?
Bahhh! I'm peeved.
Ricco DOPING!
Holy Crap. Overnight the entire complexion of the 2008 Tour de France changed. Stage winner Ricardo Ricco tested positive for Cera, a form of EPO, after stage 6.
The Saunier Duval rider was then suspended by his team. And then the team withdrew from the Tour.
An entire team departs!
Saunier Duval is no longer in the Race.
This will affect standings. This will affect perception.
What's going on?
The Saunier Duval rider was then suspended by his team. And then the team withdrew from the Tour.
An entire team departs!
Saunier Duval is no longer in the Race.
This will affect standings. This will affect perception.
What's going on?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
DOPING
I forgot to mention that some riders are forced to abandon the race due to doping.
After each stage, some riders (and especially those on the podium for the day) are tested for illegal substances.
If they're found positive for anything deemed illegal (and this could open a whole can of worms on what constitutes an illegal substance), they're out of the race and subject to an investigation.
One rider that I know of has been yanked from the 2008 Tour because he tested positive for EPO. This rider is Moises Nevado of the Barloworld squad.
He was tested after his finish in the time trial seven stages ago and overnight he was informed that he was out of the race. He was in 19th place overall after ten stages.
After each stage, some riders (and especially those on the podium for the day) are tested for illegal substances.
If they're found positive for anything deemed illegal (and this could open a whole can of worms on what constitutes an illegal substance), they're out of the race and subject to an investigation.
One rider that I know of has been yanked from the 2008 Tour because he tested positive for EPO. This rider is Moises Nevado of the Barloworld squad.
He was tested after his finish in the time trial seven stages ago and overnight he was informed that he was out of the race. He was in 19th place overall after ten stages.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
From the Netherlands
In a recent Radio Netherlands' news report, they said...
I disagree about the way the drug charges comment was presented. Contador and his team are not in the race because of drug use (alleged) by some of his TEAM's riders. Contador was clean, otherwise the UCI et al would be hounding him like they did Floyd Landis.
Further, the Tour seems not to touch another country this year. I'm saying this without taking a closer look at the map, but it seems that everything stays within France for the 95th Tour de France.
"The 95th edition of the Tour de France starts in Brest later this afternoon. For the first time since 1967 there is no prologue. The opening stage is a 197.5 kilometre race from Brest to Plumelec. The sprinters are expected to make a good showing as the first stage is fairly flat.
A number of cyclists including Denmark's Michael Rasmussen and last year's winner Alberto Contador, have been excluded from this year's tour due to drugs charges. This year's favourites are Australia's Cadel Evans, Spain's Alejandro Valverde and Russia's Denis Menchov."
I disagree about the way the drug charges comment was presented. Contador and his team are not in the race because of drug use (alleged) by some of his TEAM's riders. Contador was clean, otherwise the UCI et al would be hounding him like they did Floyd Landis.
Further, the Tour seems not to touch another country this year. I'm saying this without taking a closer look at the map, but it seems that everything stays within France for the 95th Tour de France.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Landis Appeal Fails
In an article a friend of mine sent me, I found out this morning that Floyd Landis' bid to reclaim/retain his 2006 TDF victory has failed.
It was Floyd's last gasp at being recognized as the winner of the Tour, so he's done.
On the upside, the process helped to tarnish the current doping punishment process and cast serious doubt on some of the organizations that have helped ruin some lives and dent this great sport.
Here's the link to that Sports Illustrated story.
More to come...
It was Floyd's last gasp at being recognized as the winner of the Tour, so he's done.
On the upside, the process helped to tarnish the current doping punishment process and cast serious doubt on some of the organizations that have helped ruin some lives and dent this great sport.
Here's the link to that Sports Illustrated story.
More to come...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Giro complete...here comes the TDF!
With Alberto Contador the 2008 winner of the Giro D'Italia, the next major race on the docket is the Dauphiné Libéré beginning next week in Avignon, France.
And, because we've just cracked the first day of June, we've got a mere month before we find out if Astana will be allowed in the Tour de France in July.
According to reports - READ THE ENTIRE STORY...
But I'm worried that this year's Tour will still start with one less team than in previous years and will lack the excitement that Contador, Levi Leipheimer and other Astana riders might have offered.
Stay tuned here while I ramp up the recaps and start to provide my predictions for the 2008 Tour de France.
Keep riding!
And, because we've just cracked the first day of June, we've got a mere month before we find out if Astana will be allowed in the Tour de France in July.
According to reports - READ THE ENTIRE STORY...
Organisers of the Tour de France, run by the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) said earlier this year that the doping scandals which plagued Astana at last year's French race had left them with little choice despite the team undergoing a mass clear-out.
The team's former leader, Alexandre Vinokourov, was fired after testing positive for a blood transfusion during last year's Tour de France.
Weeks after the Vinokourov controversy his fellow Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin also tested positive for blood doping. Other teams riders, including Matthias Kessler and Eddy Mazzoleni, were also involved in doping affairs.
Unlike the French, the Italians relented and finally allowed Astana in.
But I'm worried that this year's Tour will still start with one less team than in previous years and will lack the excitement that Contador, Levi Leipheimer and other Astana riders might have offered.
Stay tuned here while I ramp up the recaps and start to provide my predictions for the 2008 Tour de France.
Keep riding!
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