Tour de France 2006 and the neverending story of Doping..

[cara]

Is there anyone still interested now that big Lens isn't starting anymore?

big favourite Jan Ullrich of Germany's Team T-mobile has been suspended...

T-Mobile announced that it has suspended Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla and Rudy Pevenage in the wake of the Operacion Puerto affair. The three were implicated in the doping scandal as being clients of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes. None of them will take part in the Tour de France.

see here for more

so who is to win? Basso? He's also said to be in the Fuentes thing.. Leipheimer? Or somebody else?

 

[Ishbel]

I'm not really interested in road racing like the TdF - but a couple of times we've been staying in the area where one of the stages has been running. And that was certainly exciting! Lance Armstrong has now retired, and that's about the depth of my knowledge of the racing teams!

 

[Andy M.]

Sadly, I'm no longer surprised when another athlete is shown to have been using a performance enhancing drug. Every record-breaking performance now comes with a shadow of doubt that the athlete was not acting alone, but had a hypodermic in his back pocket.

 

[kleenex]

This is big gift to the Americans though. Helps them big time in winning the thing.

I think OLN'S ratings are going to tank big time because Lance is not riding in this year.

 

[ironchef]

Sadly, I'm no longer surprised when another athlete is shown to have been using a performance enhancing drug. Every record-breaking performance now comes with a shadow of doubt that the athlete was not acting alone, but had a hypodermic in his back pocket.

On the flip side of that though, if you were just an average or below average player, and someone told you that they could help you get a 50-100 million dollar contract, how many guys wouldn't jump at that chance?

 

[Andy M.]

On the flip side of that though, if you were just an average or below average player, and someone told you that they could help you get a 50-100 million dollar contract, how many guys wouldn't jump at that chance?

It's not that they wouldn't, it's that they shouldn't.

 

[cara]

there is still the risk of beeing caught, so I don't know if it's worth it...
but with all these favorites out, there is a big chance that there will be another US winner this year..
The former Posties have good chances, Hincapie, Landis, Leipheimer or Salvodelli.

 

[cara]

a great stage today...

Menchov, Leipheimer, Landis, Evans, Sastre still in lead after all those mountains..
Now it's the real tour!

 

[urmaniac13]

Ah... football is all over now the attention turns on to cycling....

I did follow this stuff briefly some years ago and remember watching Vuelta 2002 almost all the way through... sort of forgot about it, but where is Oscar Sevilla, the cute Spaniard I was cheering for back then? Is he still around?

 

[cara]

Oscarchen is riding with Team T-mobile at this moment, but his not in Franmce with the tour.
I think he will go for the Vuelta again.. in my opinion one of the most boring Grand Tours
the best one is "yours", Licia, the Giro... TdF is the most famous, but sometimes a bit boring...

there were two US citizens in the first three places, Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteienr and Floyd Landis of Phonak... Floyd Landis is now the overall leader in the yellow jersey

 

[cara]

The Tour seems to have its next US-Winner:

Floyd Landis!!

last stage today and it's not likely anyone will attack the yellow jersey on its way over the Champs Elysee
well.. I would have liked it when Andreas Klöden would be the winner.. he was quite strong during the first two days in the alps, but then he had to fight to stay in touch..

 

[KathyJ]

I watched almost every day - at least the last hour of the race....

Floyd did an awesome job considering that he was considered to be out of contention for the yellow jersey on Wed and then smoked everyone on Thurs. All the commentators were saying that his comeback will go down in history.
Considering his hip surgery next month, I'm glad he won. He may not be back, though he was saying he would be.

 

[Corinne]

I was very excited about the race this year. My DH is a serious cyclist but too big to ever do any racing.
Floyd & I graduated from the same H.S. - many years apart but still... I was totally rooting for him & I am so proud that he won!

 

[buckytom]

when i heard that landis was only ahead by a minute or so going in to the last day, i was unsure that he'd win. but then i heard about the tradition of honoring the yellow jersey on the last day.
it seemed strange, but classy in a sportsman's kinda way, to have that tradition.
i don't think we'll ever see that kind of thing in america, the land of "the sudden death overtime", and "it's not over until the fat lady sings".

 

[Gretchen]

It is classy. But I also think that if were not that way, they would have "defended" it. The finishing laps were the most interesting in YEARS and the camera work the very best I've ever seen--for camera angles of Paris plus the racers.

 

[jennyema]

Floyd Landis can hardly walk because of his disintegrating hip bone. He is in constant extreme pain. Especially considering that, his recovery on the 4th to last stage was basically superhuman. We may never see anything like that again.

And he may not race again ....

 

[cara]

I'm sorry, but I have my doubts it's only pasta....
I can't believe in those stories anymore.. one day no strength and a loss of 8min during the last 12km... the other day a furious comeback..... I don't believe in miracles...

 

[jennyema]

But when you see the x-ray of his hip, it's easy to see why he might have a bad day among the rest of his really strong ones.

 

[cara]

but if I had a hip like him I think I wouldn't be able to ride even one day

 

[Gretchen]

He didn't eat enough, they say. It can happen.