The Tour de France is underway...... Oh man, Armorama, ModelGeek, now another browser to keep open - OLNTV

Go Disco!!!!!!!!

I can't beleive all the Lance heir apparents got banned for doping. Jan Ulrich, Ivan Basso and about another dozen top riders.....

Yea - it does stink My gut tells me they all wanted the open spot so bad they did whatever they could.


notice - no Disco boy's were kicked out.

Not to make anybody mad but do people really keep up with that?

Not offended at all- I without question follow it. I've cycled since I was 10, I've ridden every type of style there is, my brother is a bike mechanic. I can't escape it.

I too follow Tour de France. It is one tough race. I guess with all the favorites dropping out, this will open a spot for others to give it a go.

I don't watch all the riding but I try to catch the highlights and all the daily results of each stage

Admittedly, Lance Armstrong got me interested, but I then developed an interest in at least the TdF. It is a interesting event from both the individual & team perspective -- team members playing roles to boost their top guy -- quite a contrast to some of the team ego sports ...

OTOH, France did their best to forget LA existed & made great pains to imply "..now it'll be drug free..." and look what they have ...

The guy I feel sorry for is Vinokourov -- he's evidently out because too many of his team-mates got busted to field a team ...

John

Hi all,
Scott,glad that somebody bought this topic up.My father inlaw was a bike mechanic for a number of teams in the Tour from the 60's until the 80's.Most of the top riders were given pills(or injections) to take with no explanation given of their contents.Anything and everything was the norm,jokes were even made over the various coloured pills they took.However some after a while began to think they were indestructible.
His best friend Tom Simpson,a great English rider,died in the Tour as a result of the drugs that he had taken.
I love cycling,but it is one of the most hypocritical sports in the world.Living here in Belgium as a cyclist you learn quickly on what goes on.Alot of the guys start doping in their early teens and are burnt out by the time they are thirty.The only way you can get anywhere near the top is if you use something.If you refuse(like i did) ,you wont keep up with the pace the other doped up guys are setting.You say something about it to someone,and everyone drops you like a fly.Friends no longer want to go for a ride with you.All the ex cyclists like Merckx etc. are saying get rid of the rotten apples.Maybe they should all come clean and say what they took in the past.Look at last years Tour,first Armstrong,second Ullrich,third Basso.Now the last two guys have been caught you can't tell me that Armstrong and anyone who managed to keep up with them didn't do doping either?It's not something that happens overnight,you have to stick to a regime for the doping to do it's work.If you can find balance and good masking products you can get away with whatever you want.It's that simple,if you have the money you can stay one step(medically)ahead of the controls. Now people are really trying to crucify Armstrong at the moment,however he just happens to have alot of money and the best lawyers.Ex team-mates of his just testified in a court case against him,stating that they knew over his doping tactics.Sooner or later the real truth will come out over him and others.
Sorry for the ranting and raving,but this whole doping business pisses me off and its bad for cycling and any other sport that it takes hold of.It also annoys me that the Spanish police only have given the names of the cyclists and not the names of the other top sportsman.Who else is on the list?Footballers,tennis stars maybe?Very convenient to only leak the cyclists names,maybe it would of been more interesting before the world cup football maybe?!
Anyways,this years Tour should get interesting.With alot of the contenders out it's really a mixed bag of riders.I'm pinning my hopes on Discovery,the work horse Hincapie(my favourite rider) deserves a yellow jersey.Keep an eye out on the Aussie sprinter McEwen,and Belgian Tom Boonen that will def. be a great duel.Who knows maybe Boonen has the strength and will power to grab the yellow jersey.
I'm going to follow the rest of the Tour,maybe see a stage or two over the border and keep an ear out over the rest of the doping scandal.
Cheers,Shay


edit(sorry if i've offended any Armstrong fans...)

I love hearing from an inside (or someone really close).
Lets hope the rest of the race runs clean.

George - 1 second from yellow!

Lance - love him or hate - you have to say he did a TON for the sport. I'm happy for that.

I want to meet the genius who gave out freebies sharp enough to cut riders with while they are riding past. Insane...

Shaun

The Tour de Lance no longer...sorry had to.
I love the tour and love what Lance has done for pro cycling.
I've been following pro cycling since Greg Lamond won,with all his little aero tricks that everyone laughed at and then copied shortly after.
I guess the lure of big money for kids who come from modest backgrounds and poor financial situations is too appealing.
Team managers whose jobs rely on sponsor money, will talk these young guys ( and girls!) into anything; for the team, your country, Mom and Dad, anything to win and keep the money coming in.
Unfortunately, most don't question the instructions from the team and when they do, they're gone. The other incredible fact is how many young riders have major health problems later on in life from drugs. I don't think cycling ever mentions how many riders die during their careers and after from drugs, too bad might start the change.
I love "Le Tour" and will continue to watch.
Does it suprise me about the top guys getting busted, nope, but if you think a 150 pound man can ride for 10 minutes by himself at 45kph into the wind without "assistance" your fooling yourself - they are all dirty they just haven't been caught, One day they will.
Regards
Pete