apparently David Walsh is 100% sure it Contador…
http://www.tdfblog.com/2007/07/walsh-contador-.html
at least he is an impartial journalist looking for the real story… oh wait.
That’s true. My bad. But he did win the yellow, polka dot, and points jersey in the same year.
i never understood your humor but it has grown on me…very funny…
But here is the issue, Soler wasn’t technically the polka dot jersey that day, he was simply wearing it as the #2 in the classification as Ras had the yellow. If it was him, it must’ve been a random test.
Bob
I do beleive he was 3rd that day, which means he should get an automatic test.
Doesn’t look good for Soler…
http://www.cyclingpost.com/tour/article_005202.shtml
When I saw Soler climbing so well, I suspected doping. You just dont come from nowhere and win KOM…!?
why exactly is it the fault of the Tour de France? I suppose if they shorten it a week and exclude a few mountain passes, that may just limit the amount of positive test results. You must remember that the only reason we hear about the dopage in the sport during the Tour is because it is the most televised event. If you were to apply your logic of cancelling bike racing because of positive drug test results then there would be no racing bike industry. Spend a few weeks in Belgium and watch a few of the amateur Kermesse races.
Like my mom always says, “Guilt by asscociation.”, I guess.
It’s not the fault of the TdF, it’s the fault of the riders for not following the rules of the sport.
So why cancel the Tour? Why not continue doing what they are doing?
Because riders are disrespecting the sport, the race, the sponsors and the fans. I think the better question is Why continue it?
I’ll tell you why…there has been doping in the Tour de France since its inception, there has been doping in professional cycling since its inception. The very Tour you seem to love so much and the very sport you feel is being disrespected has seen several on up to thousands of victories by athletes who used some kind of substance to get an edge up on the competition. If anything maybe you should consider selling all of your bikes, because drug use in professional cycling isn’t going away. There are people who have cheated and there will always be people who cheat.
Please don’t get me wrong, I love cycling, the Tour and all things Professional cyling has to offer the fans and sponsors. I however also see the sport for what it is…an extremely difficult sport, physically mentally, socially, and personally. Sometimes when faced with the choices that the cyclists are faced with and the idea of PED’s comes along unfortunately some say yes others say no…that doesn’t mean the race should be cancelled. I recommend you try for one month what these guys do, oh that’s right you have a job and an education to fall back on. It’s easy to judge but not always easy to see.
One more reason to continue the Tour is your very liking of it. You like it so much that you feel a few guys have destroyed the whole damn thing…that passion is why the Tour should go on.
You hit the nail on the head. I’m getting sick of all of the “Let’s end the Tour” talk when PED use has always been a part of it. I can understand being surprised, but we act surprised every year.
Your logic stinks, but that’s ok. Just because somethings always been done doesn’t make it acceptable. It’s still wrong.
Really, my opinion of canceling the tour is half sarcastic. I’m actually a strong proponent for legalizing and regulating medical care (what we now call doping) for cycling. I’ve been arguing this position for a good two years on this board. If a non-athlete walked into a doctor’s office with a body in the same physiological condition as a TdF cyclist in the third week, I guarantee you that person would receive medical care. However, if the governing body is going to set and enforce these (what I see as archaic) rules, then the athletes must respect and follow the rules. You make it sound like these athletes had no choice in life but to ride a bike, and that’s simply untrue. They could have pursued any number of paths through life, and I respect the cheaters no more than lying politicians or thieving corporate executives.
Ultimately, I’m sad that our star athletes are embarrassing the sport in front of the world. I’m sad that our champions are cheaters and I think the sport deserves better.
You’re correct just because it has been done before doesn’t make it right. I don’t agree with the drug use, but the very sport I enjoy, the races I like, the athletes I grew up admiring jsut so happens to be a sport that has a long history of drug use. It is very clear that your experiences with cycling and mine are very different. Yes, some of the guys you are watching race had no other choice but to race their bikes. You can again judge from a comfortable American perspective, a perspective that had the good fortune of design and destination. Some of the athletes you see racing had the choice of being, dairy farmers, brick layers, iron workers, day laborers. They didn’t have the opportunity to attend UC Berkley, Stanford, University of Colorado etc…etc… Sure, sure, sure, you can make the argument that they are masters of their fate and can accomplish anything they want to in life and that is your perspective, in their perspective they have also done that by way of the bike. You seem like a fairly intelligent guy and I am sure if you think about it long enough it might make sense.
'Nuff said…Le Tour is on and I heard a Frenchman won the stage with a gaping wound on his ass…I like that kind of spirit and passion in a person I’ve got to go watch.
I think the testing has finally gotten close to the dopers and the Beijing Olympics next year are going to make this version of the Tour look like a tea party.
I agree with your position. Well stated. The history of Le Tour is simply amazing. TONS of stories about cheating, sabotage, wacko drug usage etc.
I try to watch with 2 eyes…from a cycling racer myself trying to be a fan of the sport and also from a historical perspective (which is much more fascinating, btw).
“in their perspective they have also done that by way of the bike.”
No, they’ve done it by way of cheating. I could cheat and make millions of dollars in a number of different ways, but I doubt you would find such an approach admirable or even acceptable (or legal). Just because they do it on a bike rather than by way of a Nigerian internet scam doesn’t make it ok.
dude. you have a choice. if you don’t think the tour de france should continue. then DON’T WATCH IT ANY MORE… if enough people are just like you then there won’t be a race anymore. but what makes you so god-damn smart that you know better then the 100s of thousands of people who went out to watch the race today who apparently don’t want it to be cancelled.
you have a choice. use it.
Interesting. Looks like Soler did NOT test positive after all.
http://www.cyclingpost.com/tour/article_005202.shtml
Unfortunate. I have a feeling this might follow him around for a while.