Who is your favorite in this years TdF - Page 2

He's over his sun allergy?  He's not wearing those fancy arm warmers - what was that all about?

Typical pom, allergic to the sun.........   

Yep, poor form by Roland.... imaging the rest of his ride will be quite lonley. And I wonder if Kiserlovski's crash just over the summit was related to a tack-flat???  A slow deflating front on a fast descent can be a very dangerous thing.

Re tacks, chaingate etc.... there is a strong history of riders not taking advantage of "mechanicals" and sometimes racing incidends eg Armstrong waiting for Ulrich after Ulrich had run out of road....

Unfortunatley the tack incident and the "proper" response by the heads of state essentially resulted in the stage becomeing a non-event.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadrash 

Well my boy Roland showed himself to be pretty classless today.  Kudo's to Wiggo and the Sky boys for doing the anti-Contador move and slowing things down and letting Evans get back on today.

 

Too bad they didn't catch the idiots that threw tacks on the road.  That is something we have come to expect from the rednecks here in North Georgia but I would have thought the French above that sort of thing.

You can't compare Andy Schleck shfting like an amateur while he is attacking everyone else to tacks on the road. To do so just makes you sound moronic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadrash 

I don't know about that.  Ulrich rode off the mountain like an amateur and Lance waited for him.  Armstrong crashed on a final climb and Ulrich waited for him (he didn't know that a fan caused the crash, he only knew he crashed).  At the time it was all unfolding yesterday, Wiggins didn't know about the tacks, all he knew was that Evans had problems.

Still....Andy Schleck initiated the attack, AC was responding to someone trying to put him in trouble. Contador didn't attack Schleck when he was down. He just kept the pace that the yellow jersey had initiated

Frank Schleck out.....irregular A sample (diuretic)

Meh, he's been out since the crash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxman 

Frank Schleck out.....irregular A sample (diuretic)

He claims he was poisoned if b-sample will be positive too. Otherwise he wasn't.

I'm kind of wondering what he is getting at with the poisoning charge. If you were a real conspiracy theorist, you could think he is blaming Bruyneel or someone else in Leopard management. With team members going unpaid and the Schlecks failing to live up to expectations it would be pretty convenient for him to test positive. Then I think he'd owe the team all of his salary rather than the other way around. On the other hand, the team said that they had held back those payments because the riders wanted them sent to strange Swiss bank accounts. Could that be so they can pay their doping docs without getting caught?

Or just simple try at avoiding taxes ;)

PS: Even though I'm all for conspiracy stuff, this is something I would never think of. His salary is not that big, that it would be worth risking whole team with this. Normally with doping cases there's big hit also on team, so I doubt someone would really do it this way. But on the other side, I have my own opinion about these people, so yeah everything could be possible :)

Well someone spiked the tyres of a lot of lot of riders so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility to have spiked Frank's drink/food  e.g. grabbing a biden or musette from someone who looks like team support but who just happens to be wearing a team jersey.

Anyway, there is no way either of the Schlecks have taken any steriods that required masking, if they did they would have grown an upper body....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxman 

if they did they would have grown an upper body....

Or won something

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxman 
Anyway, there is no way either of the Schlecks have taken any steriods that required masking, if they did they would have grown an upper body....

Steroids are not used all that much in endurance sport. You have huge list of other things that also needs masking ;)

Anybody see the pattern and the common denominator in so many of the most recent positive tests?

Just watched Cav jet propelled across the finish line in Brive. That's a serious reminder if anyone forgot he was riding very much for the team this year, that he is the man to beat for the Olympic title. I'm going to wave a flag a bit here. These are unbeleivable days for British cycling. Things tend to be somewhat cyclical if you can forgive the pun and we are very much at the top of the pedal stroke on the road and hopefully soon on the track!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adie 

Anybody see the pattern and the common denominator in so many of the most recent positive tests?

 

Just watched Cav jet propelled across the finish line in Brive. That's a serious reminder if anyone forgot he was riding very much for the team this year, that he is the man to beat for the Olympic title. I'm going to wave a flag a bit here. These are unbeleivable days for British cycling. Things tend to be somewhat cyclical if you can forgive the pun and we are very much at the top of the pedal stroke on the road and hopefully soon on the track!

Without a doubt in a true field sprint without crashes. Cav is the fastest man in the world. I fully expect to see him win on the Champs-Elysees, and in London.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxman 

Well someone spiked the tyres of a lot of lot of riders so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility to have spiked Frank's drink/food  e.g. grabbing a biden or musette from someone who looks like team support but who just happens to be wearing a team jersey.

 

Anyway, there is no way either of the Schlecks have taken any steriods that required masking, if they did they would have grown an upper body....

Cycling is on another level than any other sport when it comes to cycling. Most of these guys have their programs so dialed due to the scrutiny cycling receives. It's so dialed though that it only takes one screw up to knock it all down.

Obviously we're not at mid 90's level of EPO use, and i'm certain there is a degree of cleanliness to the peleton. But that is all relative.

The reality is that professional athletes in all sports are willing to make sacrifices on another level to achieve greatness. This includes PED's. It's part of being at the top.

Wow! What a ride by Wiggins. To take that much out of the field in a TT is stunning. Froome's ride was something special but to eclipse that by over a minute. Don't anybody tell me he's not a worthy winner. Cav for Paris and then for next week's Olympic road race. These are good times.