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Post by retzel on Jul 26, 2007 12:01:29 GMT 8
the sponsors will now think twice about future races. the dark days of cycling has just begun. if the tour or any other event can identity dopers before the race or stage starts, that will be better. but it seems that there's still a loophole in that system. a cheater will always cheat.
regarding rasmussen, he may have cheated his way in to the tour for missing out on UCI regulations. it was the responsibility of his team rabobank to keep their troops in check. rabobank looked like a hero for clearing its ranks and giving up the prestige of winning the tour. but they have destroyed the career of a good rider. what will his teammates say to him and management? the team management allowed themselves to be cheated and wasted the energy of their riders. denis menchov should extremely be disgusted being a pre-race favorite and captain of the team
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Post by grnhrnt on Jul 26, 2007 12:06:15 GMT 8
Harsh but that's the way it should be. It is the only way to "clean-up" the sport. Follow the rules and level the playing field. There shouldn't be excuses. Justice should be blind, to race (lahi), creed (religion) and circumstance (situational excuses or explanations).
Hopefully when the teams and riders see how strict the Tour is then they'll clean up their act as well.
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Post by seacid on Jul 26, 2007 12:12:11 GMT 8
McQuaid applauds Rasmussen's removal By Agence France Presse Filed: July 25, 2007
UCI chief Pat McQuaid has applauded the Rabobank team's decision to pull race leader Michael Rasmussen out of the Tour de France on Wednesday.
However, McQuaid said he wondered why the Dutch outfit had waited so long before acting on information about the Dane having missed four random doping controls, which they knew about prior to the race.
"I wonder why they did not make the decision in June when they had the information (about the missed tests)," said McQuaid. "However, it shows a zero-tolerance policy, and I can only applaud it."
Despite having no positive tests so far, the 33-year-old Rasmussen, a climbing specialist, has been the subject of doping speculation since it was disclosed last week that he missed four random doping controls over the past 18 months.
Two of those controls were under the auspices of the Danish Cycling Union (DCU) while the other two were run by the UCI.
Three missed tests by any one body amounts to a doping violation, and a consequent sanction under the rules of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
McQuaid had said earlier this week that since Rasmussen had "not committed any doping offenses" he was free to continue on the race.
Nevertheless, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told AFP Saturday he was angry at the fact that Rabobank, which knew of Rasmussen's missed tests, informed no one about them before the race.
"We would have made the Rabobank team face up to their responsibilities," he said, suggesting the team would have lost its invitation.
Efforts by the UCI and the Tour de France to rid the sport of doping have intensified, and led to the introduction of strict ethical guidelines for participating teams.
Despite having no concrete evidence, the Tour de France ejected 13 riders two days prior to last year's edition because of their alleged implication in a Spanish doping scandal dubbed Operación Puerto.
A few months ago Italian star Ivan Basso, one of the 13 ousted riders, received a two-year ban for his link to the affair, which centered on a Spanish sports doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes.
The breaking point for Rabobank, which had backed Rasmussen until Wednesday, came when team officials learned that he had been in Italy in June, and not in Mexico, where he sometimes lives with his Mexican wife, as he had claimed.
"As a result, it has been decided that he will not start the race tomorrow," said team spokesman Jacob Bergsma.
Bergsma said a decision on whether the rest of the team would remain in the race, which ends this Sunday in Paris, would be made on Thursday morning.
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Post by seacid on Jul 26, 2007 12:16:34 GMT 8
Yesterday's Stage 16
The Tour continues on its rocky road as Rasmussen rides to glory on the Col de l'Aubisque and Moreni of Cofidis reveals another positive doping test
Words and photos by James Startt
Col de l'Aubisque, France, July 25, 2007:
The show must go on everyone seemed to say this morning. And indeed it did. The morning after news that Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for a blood transfusion, the Tour de France got off to another rousing start in the small town of Orthez.
Extraordinary traffic jams filled the roads leading into Orthez, and crowds packed the small streets in the village center.
So what else is new?
But many of the Tour de France riders and followers were nursing their "Vino" hangovers, still in disbelief. Cadel Evans hung tough once again, but couldn't stay with the lead group in the end. Click to enlarge. "I was just shocked," Cadel Evans said. The Australian that rides for the Predictor team finished second to Vinokourov in the Albi time trial, where the Kazakh failed the drug test. "I was shocked he was caught and shocked anyone could be so stupid."
Logically Evans will now be declared the stage winner. But as his team director Marc Sergeant said, "that's just a statistic. All the benefits, all the publicity, all the press, already went to Vinokourov."
Yet nevertheless, crowds, often five and six deep swarmed the streets around the start.
"Allez Christophe," shouted one spectator as French national champion Christophe Moreau rolled by. As always with the Tour, the fans have been the constant. But how much is too much with the neverending doping scandals? Click to enlarge. Soulange, another fan was nearby. "I've been here since six o'clock," she said. It's not every day, not every year that the Tour comes to town.
Ask anyone here this year and it is the crowds that save the sport. They have always been there in times of crisis and continue to be this year.
The formula for Tour survival is simple, and it starts with the fans. The logic is also simple. With no fans there is no television. With no television there are no sponsors. With no sponsors there are no teams. Get the picture?
Traditionally the fans are some of the most understanding regarding the issue of doping. "It's in all the sports, in life," Soulange added.
But the fans are not duped. As the yellow jersey rolled toward the start like, the town's local marching band broke into song. The crowd, however, broke into boos. Ever since news broke last week that he had missed several out-of-control anti-doping tests, Dane Michael Rasmussen has been the target of criticism. And the Vinokourov affair helped little.
Later at the start, some of the cyclists, primarily those on French and German teams, refused to start. Other riders, other teams rolled out as tradition holds. But the French and Germans waited behind.
Just last night when news of Vinokourov's positive broke, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme called for a revolution.
Was this the response by certain riders? Little matter, once everyone caught up, Frenchman Stephane Auge made the first attack of the day and the racing really began. Apparently nobody was holding any grudges.
It was a beautiful stage, rolling into Spain before finishing on the mythic Col de l'Aubisque. And the racing was spectacular.
Mid-way through the stage climbing specialists like Colombia's Juan-Mauricio Soler, and Spaniards Carlos Sastre and Iban Mayo broke free.
Although not a threat to the yellow jersey, they nonetheless put pressure on Rasmussen wearing down his Rabobank team prematurely. Levi Leipheimer put in a valiant effort on the Col de l'Aubisque today. But Rasmussen is simply too strong for anyone on the climbs. Click to enlarge. Attacking the final Aubisque climb, Rasmussen soon found himself isolated between three Discovery Channel riders, Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych and their young leader Alberto Contador.
Again crowds were thick, calling to mind some of the more intense days on the Alpe d'Huez. This time the crowds didn't have time to boo Rasmussen. As often happens, throngs of Spaniard's have rushed to the Pyrenees to see the Tour. And they were too busy encouraging their countryman Contador.
Yet despite repeated attacks by their new sensation, Rasmussen could not be controlled. Eventually, he rode away for his fourth victory of his Tour de France career.
It was a stunning victory, but it couldn't silence the critics. But then really, how could it?
At virtually the same time Rasmussen crossed the line, news broke that another rider, Cristian Moreni tested positive on the stage 11 ride to Montpellier last week. Rasmussen was long on climbing legs, but was equally short on answers as to his whereabouts in June. For the good of the Tour, these are questions he may soon have to answer. Click to enlarge. Moreni, while not a major rider, is a member of the French Cofidis team, one of the most outspoken teams regarding doping. Like with T-Mobile's Patrick Sinkewitz earlier in the race, this case shows that even teams with the strictest anti-doping measures cannot guarantee the actions of their own riders.
Unlike T-Mobile, however, they announced immediately that they would withdraw their entire team from the race, a bold move in the midst of a Tour de France now in full disarray.
The Tour received yet another blow and everyone here wonders just how many more it can take.
But perhaps only the fans know the answer.
For complete results, race standings, route and stage information, please check out Bicycling.com's Interactive Tour Tracker.
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Post by enzo on Jul 26, 2007 13:39:15 GMT 8
>:(I've lost faith with Tour De Drug
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Post by grnhrnt on Jul 26, 2007 14:30:20 GMT 8
The tests of Rasmussen's blood during the Tour doesn't seem to show any traces of drug use. (news as of today) This is amazing! he's actually winning the Tour drug free. I would think that they are attributing his spectacular performance (holding off contator, levi and popo attacks and even adding time on them) to drug use. But no reports yet. They taking him off the Tour on another charge which Retzel has cleverly pointed out to be a Team responsibility (I agree). W/ all the money that they're paying their riders you'd think that they'd lespu them even in the off season.
Or the "doctor's" have found a way to enhance your performance by drugs or blood transfusions a month or two before the Tour and have the gains in performance kick in one or two months after w/o any trace. Amazing! To date they still haven't figured out what Lance used! if any... hehehe
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Post by enzo on Jul 26, 2007 14:34:24 GMT 8
The tests of Rasmussen's blood during the Tour doesn't seem to show any traces of drug use. (news as of today) This is amazing! he's actually winning the Tour drug free. I would think that they are attributing his spectacular performance (holding off contator, levi and popo attacks and even adding time on them) to drug use. But no reports yet. They taking him off the Tour on another charge which Retzel has cleverly pointed out to be a Team responsibility (I agree). W/ all the money that they're paying their riders you'd think that they'd lespu them even in the off season. Or the "doctor's" have found a way to enhance your performance by drugs or blood transfusions a month or two before the Tour and have the gains in performance kick in one or two months after w/o any trace. Amazing! To date they still haven't figured out what Lance used! if any... hehehe Spot on ;D ;D The team or rider with the biggest budget can get their hands on the drugs that can mask performance enhancing drugs.
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Post by kulot_salot on Jul 26, 2007 14:34:42 GMT 8
To date they still haven't figured out what Lance used! if any... hehehe corticosteroid applied on his pwet nga! hehehehehe ;D ;D ;D for saddle-soreness daw.... hehehehehe ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Ben Dover on Jul 26, 2007 15:37:26 GMT 8
thats what i'm saying...ban for life "those u caught" coz they're stupid enough for using a lousy doctor..hehe! ;D
punishment should always commensurate the offense...thats what i think is justice.
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Post by retzel on Jul 26, 2007 17:28:04 GMT 8
Excerpt from cyclingnews.com
After years of silence riders who dope are being frowned upon by their colleagues, with Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom)and Sebastian Hinault (Crédit Agricole) joining the growing list of riders to speak out. Pineau aimed his comments at Cristian Moreni. "There are a lot of riders in his team whose contracts will expire at the end of the season," he stated to HLN.be. "Thanks to him they may also be living on the street. If a rider like him was in my team, I wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the face."
I wouldn't be shocked if any of those riders would beat or even kill Vino and those cheaters. They spent times of hard training away from their loved ones for their aspirations and jobs to disappear because of these selfish people.
YOU WASTED MY TIME YOU STUPID B A S T A R D S!!!
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Post by retzel on Jul 26, 2007 19:03:18 GMT 8
A good rider bids farewell to the tour and a stellar cycling career. No thanks to the team manager of Rabobank. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Boogerd++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Boogerd wants to go home Tour de France organizers have said that the remaining Rabobank riders are welcome to stay in the race, and the team management has said that it will leave that decision up to the individual riders. But Michael Boogerd said last night that he wanted to go home. "To ride for four more days in the Tour for nobody? I won't do that," he said, according to Sporza. "I don't know what I should think of all this. I want to go home immediately. "And what do you think it will be like in the criteriums?" Boogerd continued, according to HLN.be. At Boxmeer you come to the start and the announce will say, 'Look, here we have Michael Boogerd, who rode for Rasmussen for weeks.' I find it terrible." "I don't want to think about it. This is a disaster, man. I hadn't held it for possible." Boogerd has already announced that he will retire at the end of this season. The Rabobank team is staying in the same hotel as the teams Euskaltel, Caisse d'Epargne and CSC, and while those three showed signs of live Thursday morning with the mechanics running around and getting the bikes ready for the stage, the Rabobank area was suspiciously quiet.
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Post by kulot_salot on Jul 27, 2007 8:08:45 GMT 8
Boogerd = boogered ;D
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Post by seacid on Jul 27, 2007 18:40:28 GMT 8
Rasmussen Leaves Stain On Tour De France
Danish Rider Michael Rasmussen Is Gone From Tour De France, But He Leaves An Indelible Stain
(AP) For the first time in days, there were no new doping revelations at the Tour de France. It didn't matter. Cyclists, fans and officials were still reeling from the Rabobank team's decision to yank former overall leader Michael Rasmussen from cycling's premiere event.
So, Thursday's 17th stage began without a rider in the yellow jersey of the race leader. When Spaniard Alberto Contador shouldered that burden hours later, it was business as usual at this year's Tour _ scorn and suspicion, followed by vows of clean riding.
"Contador's performance is suspicious _ very suspicious," AG2R manager Vincent Lavenu said. "But we can't say anything unless he's caught in a doping check. I don't trust this team. Maybe one day we'll know."
Contador, who rides for Discovery Channel, didn't wait to reassure cycling fans that he would not taint the yellow jersey.
"I am clean," he said. "If I weren't, I wouldn't be here."
Contador led Australia's Cadel Evans, by 1 minute, 53 seconds. Teammate Levi Leipheimer of the United States is third, 2:49 back.
The 24-year-old Spaniard is just three days from victory. The Tour might be years away from recovering its dignity.
"It is bad for the Tour, the yellow jersey leaving," said 21-year-old Geraint Thomas, the Tour's youngest rider.
In an interview with The Associated Press before the Tour, race director Christian Prudhomme said cycling's governing body, the UCI, should have received the "Golden Ostrich" prize for burying its head in the sand.
That proved impossible the past two days.
In the span of 30 hours, from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday night, a 104-year-old institution was torn down.
First came the news of Alexandre Vinokourov's positive test for a banned blood transfusion.
While the main pack was reeling from losing its most popular rider, it was announced midway through Wednesday's stage that Cristian Moreni tested positive for testosterone. The Italian rider didn't deny it, and he was carted off by lespu.
With riders winding down late Wednesday night, it was announced Rasmussen had been booted out.
"Too much, too much," said German rider Markus Fothen, who rides for Gerolsteiner and finished second in Thursday's 117-mile stage from Pau to Castelsarrasin.
"Every day it's new news," Fothen said. "Moreni yesterday, Rasmussen. I'm so tired."
By the roadside, homemade banners reflected the public's feelings.
"The Tour keeps its libido without EPO," read one in French, referring to the performance-enhancing drug once at the top of the menu for cycling cheats. Blood transfusions and testosterone have replaced EPO.
Missed drug tests, ignored warnings, lies to teammates and infighting between race organizers and cycling's top brass were thrown into the Tour pot until it bubbled over.
Three days remain.
Riders get another mostly flat ride Friday, a 131-mile course from Cahors to Angouleme, before Saturday's time trial and Sunday's ride to the finish in Paris, where it's unclear what kind of reception awaits them.
___
Associated Press Writers Jamey Keaten, John Leicester and Jean-Luc Courthial all contributed to this report.
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Post by seacid on Jul 29, 2007 6:47:01 GMT 8
Stage 19: Leipheimer Wins His Stage
American with Discovery Channel dominates the stage 19 time trial as top three for the 2007 Tour de France form closest podium in the race's history By Joe Lindsey
Levi Leipheimer was charging hard in the stage 19 time trial and he turned in the ride of his life to win his first-ever stage at the Tour de France. © AFP/ Getty Images
July 27, 2007:
He had a bad ride on Stage 13. On Stage 16, he lost to a rider who was later pulled from the race. The entire Tour de France so far has been one of close misses for Levi Leipheimer of the Discovery Channel team, but in today's final time trial, he showed he was the class of the race, taking a convincing win that also compressed the top three overall into the closest podium finish in the 104-year history of the Tour.
On a 55-kilometer dragstrip of a course between Cognac and Angouleme, Leipheimer displayed the dominance in races against the clock that made him a pre-Tour favorite. Inconsistent in the past(he lost 1:25 to winner Cadel Evans in stage 13), Leipheimer put together the best time trial of his career today for his first-ever stage win in the world's greatest race, and nearly jumped into the overall lead.
"This is an absolute dream come true for me," said Leipheimer at the finish.
The day's early best time was set by Leif Hoste, as the time trial specialists all fell short for one reason or another. CSC's Fabian Cancellara just couldn't quite put out the power, and Bicycling diarist David Millar (Saunier Duval) saw his Mavic time trial disc wheel literally disintegrate not 200 meters from the start house, forcing a bike change that cost him time and his mental focus.
"I didn't give up, I went as hard as I could till the first time check and told myself that if I was inside a minute or under (the provisional leader's time) then I would keep on going but that if I was over a minute I would just shut it down (and save it) for tomorrow," he said.
Then, 300 meters later, the replacement wheel destructed as well. "It's absolutely bizarre. The first one just literally exploded," added Millar. "The rim came off the carbon, they gave me my spare bike, I went off but after 300 metres that one went as well!"
It wasn't until American George Hincapie went through 16 seconds quicker than Hoste that the Belgian was toppled from the leaderboard, but with the big guns firing out on course, his time wouldn't stand either.
Caisse d'Epargne's Vladimir Karpets destroyed the leaderboard by going through 38 seconds ahead of Hincapie, but behind, Leipheimer was chewing up the course like the tiger shark motif painted on his aerodynamic helmet. He'd started the day 59 seconds behind Evans for second and 2:49 behind his teammate Alberto Contador for the race lead.
At the first time check, at 17.5km, he'd lopped 14 seconds of Evans and 36 off Contador. The gaps deepened. 35 seconds to Evans and a full 1:29 into Contador's lead at the second and 51 seconds and 2:09 at the last. But Evans dug deep in the last few kilometers and pulled back one scant second by the finish, while Contador ceded 2:18 by the end.
The standings at the end of the day, after 87 hours of racing over 20 days, were a virtual photo finish: Contador by 23 seconds over Evans and just 31 to Leipheimer - the second closest finish in Tour history after Greg LeMond's eight-second win in 1989, and the closest Tour podium in race history.
Despite that, Evans conceded the win at the finish, saying he'd lost the race in the Pyrenees when he was surrounded by teams with more riders and was isolated and had to ride conservatively. For Leipheimer, a 10-second time penalty in the Alps for accepting a long push from his team car now seems doubly costly, as without it, he'd be in second place.
For complete standings, check out Bicycling.com's Interactive Tour Tracker.
Race Notes:
-Way back in 141st place sits Predictor-Lotto's Wim Vansevenant. As the Tour's last placed rider, he will be given the award tomorrow of Lanterne Rouge. Far from a disgrace, to be the Tour's last finisher is something of an honor, underlining the difficulty of just completing the race. Vansevenant is almost four hours behind Contador in the overall.
-There is rumor of a major protest planned for tomorrow by the riders. Nothing specific is nailed down, but the early word was that the entire pack might stop on the Champs-Elysees before the finish, as a gesture of protest against doping.
-Given that the green jersey competition isn't totally decided yet, that may not happen. What will almost certainly not happen is a dustup for the overall. Evans essentially conceded the race after the finish today and, even if he were in a mood to fight, he'd be hemmed in by a powerful Discovery team that placed four riders in the top 10 today.
Tomorrow's Stage:
The traditional parade into Paris, this 146km stage from Moncoussis to Paris will feature two intermediate sprints that Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and Robbie Hunter (Barloworld) are sure to contest before the race hits the Champs-Elysees at km 108 for eight laps of the famous boulevard. Only three times in Tour history has the finish not produced a mass sprint. Our bet is that Boonen, Hunter, Thor Hushovd and Erik Zabel battle it out for one last stage victory, and that Boonen clinches the green jersey.
AFP Direct contributed to this report.
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Post by allegra on Jul 30, 2007 7:51:30 GMT 8
I think we better wait for awhile , baka madisqualify pa si Contador hehe
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Post by baboinsky on Jul 30, 2007 8:38:22 GMT 8
I think we better wait for awhile , baka madisqualify pa si Contador hehe They will calibrate the Contador hihihihi
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Post by archer21 on Jul 30, 2007 10:08:14 GMT 8
Alberto Contador won the Tour de France, followed by Evan Cadels and Contador's Discovery Channel teammate Levi Leipheimer. Contador also bagged the trophy for the best rookie rider, plus the overall title for Discovery Channel team.
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