Mogsi

This years tour hit with another drug scandal! When will the riders learn

I did wonder how Vinokourov could ride with almost 60 stitches...

The organisers of the Tour de France have been informed by Marc Biver, the manager of the Astana team, about the positive test of Alexandre Vinokourov on the day of the time trial stage in Albi. At the request of Patrice Clerc, President of A.S.O., the Astana team has agreed to leave the 2007 Tour de France:

PG

out of desperation I'd say. The expectations of him were high and he just wasn't performing. So much so that took his team mate down with him. The accident wont have helped right enough.
There are very few pro atheletes out there that don't use drugs. It's just that some are better than others at control and working out a schedule to take them so as they're not detectable.
There's too much money in sport now for them not to try and get that extra edge.
The Germans pulled all TV coverage earlier in the tour due to another scandle hoping that it would send a message out to the sport and the public.

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Totally agree with PG, anyone under the illusion that most world class athletes, especially ones in the Tour de France are not either on some form of performance enhancing drugs or using blood transfusions to gain faster recovery and increased strength is living in cloud cukoo land.

I've been a Cyclist for more than 15 years, racing both on and off road, and theres no way u can ride for 19 days over the sort of climbs and distance they do and not become "Special" any other way than doping IMO. Sure u get natural talent, but theres the underlying suspision that the riders at the top are doing something that the other guys just are not prepared to do, even in my amateur races there were whispers of people doping so if it goes on at grass roots level then i'm damn sure it goes on elsewhere

TopBanana

A guy I used to work with was a very competitive cyclist. He gave up the sport when he reached a certain point beyond which absolutely everyone was using drugs.

D1CCY

How can there be any satisfaction in winning when you know you've cheated. I blame the big money in sport these days, it spoils the true spirit of competition.

PG

I don't think all the top atheletes are at it though. The rules do have scope to use certain products to aid performance and recovery. As long as you stay within the parameters you're fine but it's all about whether or not you are willing to go to or be pushed to that next level. Amazing natural tallent coupled with the allowed substances can produce astounding results but these can probably be matched by an above average performer pumpped full of all kinds of $h!t.

Iwan

It's really sad for the Tour, but it's good that they're catching cheaters. Hopefully one day it'll be cleaned up, but it'll take time as it's been institutionalised for so long in the sport.

I feel really sorry for Vino's teammates, but then if this was done with the support of team doctors it's quite possible other members of the team were doing it too. Stupid really, Astana got a 10 year contract the day before this story broke.

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Agreed. It's just i find cycling, the sport that i above all others take part in the most to be the most effected by drugs. There must be huge pressure by the teams for the riders to go just that little bit futher. I'm certain it's not just the riders thats involved, it's more a systematic abuse of the rules by the teams themselves.

I've trained with national points winning cyclists and they were way stronger than me but not even close to being the standard of the tour riders. I'm talking about riders who would be out 6 days a week doing 300-400 miles a week training and still could'nt get that extra spark they needed to go pro.

Mogsi

And so it continues. The UCI have just announced that another rider has been found positive after tests that were conducted on day 11. One of the eight riders being tested that day was Rasmussen, hmmmmm.

PG

"stage-winner Robbie Hunter, Michael Rasmussen, Maxim Iglinskiy, Erik Zabel, Lilian Jegou, Cristian Morini, Kim Kirchen and Patxi Vila"

My money is on Iglinskiy

Iwan

Cristian Morini of Cofidis according to this source...

L'EQUIPE.FR Cyclisme - Moreni contrôlé positif

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

It's a joke event. get rid of it. nobody believes for one minute they're clean. I have no doubt Armstrong took things to enhance his performances. The sport has no credibility at all anymore to most people.

Longjing

Cycling is at least tackling the issue. They do ban people, unlike, say, football, where Edgar Davids got caught using EPO and got a three month ban... over the summer holidays.

There is a very long history of it though, and I agree it's ingrained in pro cycling more deeply than other sports. For now.

dicky ticker

has vino been found guilty of taking performance drugs?



from what i've heard it sounds like he's had blood transfusions and not taken any performance enhancing drugs.

i agree its still a form of cheating but is it illegal?

it beggars belief that they still do this when they know they will be tested

i dont think cycling is the only sport that is heavily affected i just think it's publicised more. it seems cycling are making an example of themselves publicly or maybe hasn't got the financial sponorship to keep this quiet.
for example i heard that edgar davids (world cup footballer) was tested positive but his 3 month summertime ban was kept very quiet by football pr machines.

Mogsi

Rasmusen now kicked out the tour by his team...

Translated version of http://www.lequipe.fr/

I'm thinking lifetime bans are the way forward.....

SJ_Skyline

They mentioned yesterday that Vino would be facing a 2 year ban and a fine of one year's wages.

I never had Rasmussen down as a doper but then I guess the pressure to win is so high.

If they are to go down the lifetime ban route then they need a degree of consistency in the testing process with samples being taken from each rider every day so the iffy sample is viewed in context with a control set of samples thus showing if the person does have a slightly higher level something or other. The prime example being Floyd Landis last year - his sample was only a shade over the limit for testosterone and was possible that it could have been nautraly produced.

It's a shame it really has come to this though.

Iwan

Jeez that's harsh on Rasmussen IMO, yes he's been pretty dopey (lol no pun intended) not keeping the authorities informed on his whereabouts during the off season but he's been tested something like 14 times during this TdF and has been clean every time.

Silly yes, cheat no IMO.

I was really hoping he'd win too, I don't like Contador or Evans.

Edit: Oh, I've done a little reading on the cycling news sites and it seems he lied to his team about where he was, telling them he was on holiday in Mexico when he was in fact secretly training in Spain.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

clean now doesn't mean he's not been using previous.

This is no longer a credible sport to the general public

Iwan

He's definately raising far too many questions for comfort, and bringing the sport into disrepute as a result. I guess I'd have to say well done to Rabobank for booting him out, much as I'd have liked him to win.

I think this is all going the right way though, they need to make the consequences of cheating so extreme that virtually nobody will risk it. I.e. lifetime bans, huge fines written into contracts etc. Plus they need to test everyone, and more often.

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

And the more this goes on the worse people will receive it. About time it's been brought out in the open, Rabobank have only sacked Rasmussen because they know full well that if he did fail a test during the last 4 days of the tour the whole of the team will be kicked out. Spare a thought for poor old Bradley Wiggins, he's pulled himself through the mountains only for his team to be kicked out because of one of it's members failing a Dope test due to Testosterone (the same thing Flloyd Landis was kicked out for last year)

SJ_Skyline

Ditto for Andreas Klodden with Astana. He had dragged himself back into contention for a top 3 slot even after blowing a couple of stages to help Vino back into the race and then for Astana to pull out

Total shambles!

messiah

Speaking as an outsider (ie not a cycling fan) The Tour De France used to have a great deal of prestige, now its got the same reputation as voting in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Saw on sky sports this morning that the leader had been booted, fair play to the organisers for doing so but perhaps the damage has already been done.