I've heard the same kinds of things from my pro cycling friends. One of my friends rides Cat 3, and he's been awfully discouraged this season so far because it's been very tough for him (he upped to Cat 3 from Cat 4/5 last year). I can tell you for a fact that he does NOT dope. He seems to think that everyone is just doing so much better than he is. He hasn't mentioned drugs yet, but he's also my age (well, 38) and I think he's beating himself up a bit because most of his teammates are 30 or younger.

The only thing I can say about all of this, and it's certainly not a defense for doping-- these pro guys got where they were because they were the best of the best. They weren't always using drugs; there was talent and skill there far before all of that. So if it did turn out that all of the pro cyclists on the Tour are doping, doesn't that kinda even out the playing field in a way? If they're all doping but they're all good, they're still competing, right? But I tend to believe that they're not all doping, which of course makes it very unfair for the honest cyclists who are not.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'clean sport' anymore. I do have a passion for cycling though, so I'll always tune in to watch these guys.

edit: oh and btw? Rasmussen might get booted too... he hasn't shown up for 4 of his random drug tests in the past:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24072007/ ... -boss.html

You're dead-on, D. Same thing Timmy said... they're all doing it, so in a wierd way, it's even.

Cryin ass shame but you're right. Even the Mountain Bike side of racing has had elite cyclists get busted in the past.


As much as I'd like to say I'd have enough integrity to not do it I can't.

I always think of Brett Boone when it comes to this topic. He was a decent player who one year showed up looking HUGE and hit almost 40 homers where in the past he was hitting around 12.

Most people believe he was juicing but it got him a huge multi-million dollar multi-year contract with the Mariners.

Right or wrong that money is his forever even if he was found guilty of doping.

If Floyd Landis wasn't busted he would be a folk hero right now in the cycling world.

Basically, I can't fault these people for risking it even though it saddens me as a sports purist.

well, and then there's the obvious shame of all of this, with Lance Armstrong... American cyclist gone golden boy-- beat cancer, won 7 Tours, ran the NYC marathon last year, has an amazing foundation, etc., etc. For a long time I really wanted to believe Lance wasn't doping, and as far as I can tell, I haven't seen proof of that. Oh, I've heard people say things, and have been told I'm a fool if I think he hasn't doped, but I guess it comes down to the fact that Lance has enough money that he can defend himself against these claims, and defend himself VERY WELL.

I was sad about Floyd, even though I'm not a huge fan of him or Leipheimer.

I'm still pretty excited about this Tour though because it's kinda up in the air on who wins. There are no real picks to win here. Hell, some nobody kid from Germany won a stage a few days ago. All the bigger players are either out (Basso, Landis, Ullrich, Heras), are currently being pushed out (Vino, Kloden, that other rider on T-Mobile), under suspicion (Rasmussen) or just not performing the way they normally do (Michael Rogers, Robbie McEwen, Alejandro Valverde, Carlos Sastre, etc.). At this point, I'm just hoping Cadel Evans wins the whole damn thing.

Levi's doing ok, and seems to be fighting hard, but I don't think he's doing anything special at the moment.

Is this what my threads about "most NBA players are not thugs" used to look like? This is sad. Of course, I had, you know, evidence on my side and whatnot, but hey, the heart wants what it wants.

And the hits just keep on comin.....


http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/news/a ... 930.0.html

well, fuckity fuck....

here's what my pro cycling friend said in response to yesterday's news:

And Rasmussen faces the media today...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/to ... en_media07

http://tinyurl.com/yns5ej

The French might want to consider ending it a little early this year.

Tour de Fraud.

But, here's one way to cheer it on:

Yep. Pretty much the only way to get it through to people that the sport is serious about it.

and of course now for whoever wins it this year, even if they don't end up under suspicion themselves, it will be a pretty hollow victory. I'd like to believe that Contador isn't doping, but not sure that I can. Evans maybe, considering how completely fucked he looks every time he crosses the finish line, but even with him there's that slight twinge of doubt.

well, it's over... (big sigh)... the one thing I look forward to every summer.

Alberto Contador, the Spanish 24 year old hottie, won the damn thing. Cadel Evans, the serious Aussie, came in 2nd. Levi Leipheimer, California midget, came in third. Although I must say, Levi was VERY professional and well-spoken when it came to talking about Contador winning it all over him (they're on the same team, fyi). Hottie McFineAss (Tom Boonen) was the sprinters champion, and Team Discovery won the team award-- which I must say, they kicked serious ass this year.

Now I have to go back to watching local news and the Today show in the morning... (another big sigh)

ok, a last tidbit...

got this link to a video of Phil Liggett, who is one of the commentators (and my favorite!) on the Tour de France, doing what? CYCLING. It's kinda cool to see him still kicking it. He was never a pro racer, like Paul Sherwen or Bob Roll, so anyhow, it's kinda neat to see him riding. Video is about 4.5 minutes long.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTaNmdhAYQ