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*Tour de France*- Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Archive: The Arena' started by Ree, Jul 19, 2008.

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  1. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    Whether he wins or not now will have little impact on how I view his past wins one way or the other. His age is a huge factor, espcially given the endurance demands of the tour.

    I should point out that I was a huge fan of Armstrong's, and still am. To put it bluntly, even he did dope (I suspect he did) it merely got him to a level playing field with his competition. It was still his training and incredible drive to win that got him 7 tour victories.

    Sadly, it's his dominance that makes me sure he did dope -- how could he have crushed people like Jan Ullrich, who were walking chem labs, if he was clean. And remember, many of his competitors (like Ullrich) never tested positive either.
     
  2. jhc36

    jhc36 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003
    Lance will dominate the already decimated field for 2009. Who could possibly challenge him?
     
  3. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
    I suppose I'm also the optimist in this case. Until proven guilty, I've got to believe that he's clean. And I'll say a victory in next year's Tour is definitely a good possibility. Age may play a role given the intensity of these races, but we are talking about Lance Armstrong. I mean, the guy's a machine. :p
     
  4. Rogue...Jedi

    Rogue...Jedi Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    Oh, I agree, he'll at least make a very good run, and has a good chance to win yet again... I'm just saying that IF he doesn't, that is by no means evidence of prior doping.
     
  5. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
    Absolutely. ESPN brought that up, though? Sometimes those guys and gals just make me sigh in frustration. There's no need to make up a lame theory about everything in his past now being a sham if he were to lose. [face_talk_hand]
     
  6. jhc36

    jhc36 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003
    Well, at the least, it will make watching the Tour fun again. These past two have been pretty pathetic.
     
  7. Rogue...Jedi

    Rogue...Jedi Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    The last two have gotten pretty much zero coverage in the US, because there was no Lance. That'll change, big time.

    I forget who it was on ESPN that I saw mention it, but it was one of those many crazy talking heads :p
     
  8. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    New doping reports coming out of France: apparently they have now have a test that detects the presence of a third-generation epo product. The Tour decided to do additional testing of the top finishers, reports say that 4 CSC riders, including Carlos Sastre, had "abnormal" blood values.

    That should shatter the halo that somehow still remained on Bjarne Riis despite his own doping admissions once and for all.
     
  9. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
  10. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    Well, more stories of additional riders getting snatched as their samples are being subjected to a new test that detects a new version EPO. Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner, who won both time trials, tested positive for his A-probe. No more word on last week's report regarding CSC.

    A bit disappointing to hear the Armstrong wasn't willing to subject his old samples to the newer testing. Maybe he's serious about handling issues with those samples, but it makes it look like he has something to hide.
     
  11. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    The fall-out from these additional positives is really gathering momentum -- the IOC is considering removing cycling from the Olympics.

    At this point, I think cycling needs to literally be destroyed before it can be reformed -- loss not just of a few sponsors but of almost all, resulting in prize money dropping dramatically.
     
  12. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
    linky

    Score! Let's get rid of something else really quickly and make further room for softball and baseball to return. :p

    In all seriousness, though, I guess what really bugs me about it all is that you've gotta know that there are cyclists out there who don't dope and have never doped, but they've also never won. That the cheaters can very well ruin everything is just downright ridiculous.

    Call it naïveté or a stupid hope in all that is good and holy, I guess that's why I continue to accept that Lance Armstrong is clean. The idea that someone could have done it and been clean is awesome. You can tell I'd be devastated if that turned out to be false, too. :p
     
  13. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    Well for what it's worth, the IOC is now going to go back and do testing for CERA for the Beijing games. I'd be stunned if they didn't turn up a few new positives.

    As for Armstrong, if he really was clean, then his streak at the Tour is the greatest achievement in the history of sport.
     
  14. PTMurphy84

    PTMurphy84 Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2008
    You know, whoever he is that is the comissioner can go do something to a pickle [face_whistling].

    I mean really, the only reason he is beating his effeminete chest is because he wants to make noise and make a name for himself, thats it!

    The fact remains the same: Lance is that good, period.
     
  15. jhc36

    jhc36 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003
    Well it looks like Lance is cleared to race in the tour of australia. We'll see how he does.
     
  16. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    Well, the Tour is now not only doing testing for CERA but also using a new method to test for "own-blood" doping. Should be interesting to see how many "clean" riders really weren't.
     
  17. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    At this rate, Lance will be riding through France by himself next year: Third-place finisher Bernhard Kohl tested positive for CERA. This one really stunned me, Kohl is from my adopted homeland, and his success really got me interested in the race again.
     
  18. jhc36

    jhc36 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003

    I think at this point they just need to allow whatever for racers. i'm sick of seeing the high profile racers go down because they took an ibuprofen.
     
  19. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
    No Tour for Lance after all? He's (at this point, anyway) going to race the Giro d'Italia. LOL News: Ivan Basso will be there, too, after his doping ban expires this month. w00t for the rivalry, if they both are still up to par with years and glories past.

    And we'll probably get some great commentary around the world about how Lance is just trying to avoid the truth that he dopes and blah blah blah Tour de France blah blah prestigious race blah. As much crap as he gets from the French every time they hold a press conference, I probably wouldn't race it, either. :p
     
  20. jhc36

    jhc36 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003
    Well, looks like the Tour is changing things up. They have now added the grueling climb of Mt. Ventoux as the 20th stage with the 21st still being the victory lap into Paris. Lance has stated that his chances of riding for Astana at the 2009 Tour is now 50/50.
     
  21. Trika_Kenobi

    Trika_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1999
    Ouchy. Lance broke his collarbone today while riding in Spain. It'll be interesting to see how this changes the outlook on prepping for the Giro and the Tour.
     
  22. Rogue...Jedi

    Rogue...Jedi Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    Yeah, just heard about this on ESPN. Hopefully he'll recover quickly and well :)
     
  23. Zaz

    Zaz Jedi Knight star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 1998
    That may the end of another title
     
  24. DarthIntegral

    DarthIntegral JCC Baseball Draft/SWC Draft Commish star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2005
    *conspiracy theory*

    Lance wrecked on purpose to get injured, so he could save face and skip the tour (and the testing that he was tipped off would be stronger than his masking agents this year).





    :p
     
  25. Rogue...Jedi

    Rogue...Jedi Administrator Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    :rolleyes: @ conspiracy theory :p
     
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