Tour de France 2007 who will win?

[KingTermite]

Originally Posted by ronbo 613

Basso is watching on TV.

Yeah.....I realized that after I posted. It shows you how much I'm following it anymore. The doping scandals have really left a sour taste in my mouth.

[tamarelle]

Agreed, actually they should rename this the "tour de pharmaceuticals" and be done with it.

The winner will be the latest performance enhancing drug to be sure

I hope to see a French winner again finally.

[KingTermite]

Originally Posted by tamarelle

Agreed, actually they should rename this the "tour de pharmaceuticals" and be done with it.

The winner will be the latest performance enhancing drug to be sure

I hope to see a French winner again finally.

I thought this was an interesting TdF article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...e=caple/070706

[k0NG0]

That was a great ESPN piece. So very true about the NHL/NFL/MLB and steroid use (I remember the Barry Bonds pictures shown in an old CBS 60 Minutes piece where he went from looking like an antelope to looking like he swallowed the incredible Hulk in five minutes). Compare those organizations to the IAAF, where sprinters and the like are tested as much as twice a month, out of the blue, and if they miss a test or complain too much, they're suspended. They can't even take unannounced trips, the anti-doping people have to know where they are so they can pop in for a test anytime, anywhere.

The new riders' contract for the TdF this year is good. Get caught, it's a 2 year suspension and you have to cough up the full 2007 salary as a penalty fee.

I can't even think of a French rider that looks interesting this year. Voeckler is always entertaining since his break-through a in '04 with keeping the yellow jersey for 10 days, but he's not a contender for winning the whole thing.

Once they're past the Alps, then things start looking interesting, although there's plenty of places to screw up in the Pyrenees as well. It would be nice for Vino to win, after last year's problems.

[spookyload]

I heard someone joking that none of the americans want to win it this year. They fear that somehow the lab would find them positive. They also implied that any non-french rider that wins would likely suffer the same fate. They found Landis doping on one stage last year? Give me a break. The guy is menonite for peat sakes. The thing that screams corrupt and the reason he is still fighting is the substance that wasn't in his urine. He had been taking allowed shots for cortisone. This was due to his hip problem he now has fixed. Funny thing was it wasn't in the sample, yet it was in every other sample he gave at the Tour.

As for a frenchman winning. Don't hold your breath. Christoph Meareu is the French hero right now for winning Dauphine Libre. He will end up like when Mayo won the DL. Peaked too early in the season and will blow in the Alps. He has a long history of blowing in the mountains the second time. Great in the Alps, cooks in the Pyreneyes. If it went flat after the Alps he might have a chance. His time trial skills also lack for him to win the Tour. Pantani was the only non-TT guy to win the tour in 15 years.

[tamarelle]

That piece was so typically american LOL.

one thing. The typical level of hCG in a human male is 2 n/ml ... 5 n/ml is high and an indicator you need to get checked out. Armstrong was "passing" doping tests with a level of 50,000 n/ml of hCG in his blood stream and thats why he got testicular cancer. It happens all the time in cycling when people are doping.

[XJ.]

Tam,

While HGH as been shown to accelerate cancer growth, there is no way to say that it caused LAs cancer. Bulk statistial data, obviously, doesn't apply to individuals.

Oh, and Thor is the Man!!

[tamarelle]

True. But just how did he get a reading of 50,000 n/ml if he was not doping?

Also, according to reliable reports, Mr. Armstrong admitted to his doctors that he was doping and this is according to his friends. I think its rather obvious he was doping and rather obvious a lot of people are.

Also, IMO, the difference between doping in a individual sport, where one doped person competes against a person who does not dope, such as cycling, or tennis, and the difference between doping in pro football or baseball, is lightyears, IMO.

[ronbo 613]

Originally Posted by tamarelle

Also, according to reliable reports, Mr. Armstrong admitted to his doctors that he was doping and this is according to his friends. I think its rather obvious he was doping and rather obvious a lot of people are.

Which "friends" are you talking about and which "reliable" reports are you referring to?
Armstrong never tested positive for drugs(he was probably tested more than any cyclist in TDF history because of his winning record) and aways denied using them.
There's only one thing I've got against the Tour de France, it's run by the French. France cannot produce a quality cyclist winning their own race, so they discredit everyone else who wins. Cycling's greatest race is held in a nation that can't produce a great cyclist, so everybody else is on dope if they win.
Like I said before, I'm against dopers, but they should move the testing labs out of the reach of the race organizers.

[tamarelle]

Armstrong's own teammates who requested to remain anonymous, and M. Andreus and his wife Betty, who testified in court that they heard Lance Armstrong admit that he had taken drugs, including testosterone, cortisone, and EPO.

May I ask what proof you have that the french are trying to discredit Americans because of some sense of jealousy? To say such a thing is very childish.

FYI, NOBODY fails a drug test in cycling, because only an idiot fails them. The riders are notorious for carrying condomns of clean urine in their anus for just this purpose, to thwart drug testing. There are many ways. All this is documented, and even many of those convicted of doping have never failed a test because they know how to avoid detection.

The French do not focus all their energies on Lance Armstrong, they have gone after many many Europeans, including Frenchmen, for the same offense, and yet what of the arrogance of Americans who simply don't care if Armstrong won because of doping and attack anyone who asks the obvious questions? Those are the things that appal me.

In the end, I ask myself one question. If Lance Armstrong has indeed given himself Testicular Cancer by doping, and still continues to encourage american kids to follow his example, will he lead a generation of youngsters into ruin and if so how does he sleep at night?

[tamarelle]

And now I apologise for "hijacking" this thread. The thread was lighthearted and a discussion of Lance Armstrong was my doing, so I will shut up now

[TQ]

It's a bit ironic that it was a French pharmaceutical company that invented one of the primary drugs used last year to treat my cancer and that Lance - a cancer survivor - is from Austin.

Ever read the opening paragraph to his book?

[JimTram]

Has anything ever been proven concerning the allegations against Lance Armstrong? Sounds like a bunch of whining by the losers!

Welcome back TQ - I missed you.

Originally Posted by TQ

It's a bit ironic that it was a French pharmaceutical company that invented one of the primary drugs used last year to treat my cancer and that Lance - a cancer survivor - is from Austin.

Ever read the opening paragraph to his book?

[tamarelle]

Originally Posted by TQ

It's a bit ironic that it was a French pharmaceutical company that invented one of the primary drugs used last year to treat my cancer and that Lance - a cancer survivor - is from Austin.

Ever read the opening paragraph to his book?

Welcome back Dear TQ

I'm so very happy about your return! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[k0NG0]

Originally Posted by TQ

It's a bit ironic that it was a French pharmaceutical company that invented one of the primary drugs used last year to treat my cancer and that Lance - a cancer survivor - is from Austin.

Ever read the opening paragraph to his book?

Ah, the ol' geezer's back. That made me smile...