Please consider taking the time to send an email to Christian Prudhomme and the ASO regarding the decision to leave ASTANA out of ASO events for 2008.
Christian Prudhomme
A.S.O
2 rue Rouget de Lisle
92137 Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex
Tel. : 01 41 33 15 07
Fax : 01.41.33.15.09
E-mail: cprudhomme@aso.fr
Laurent Bezault, Assistant Competition Director
A.S.O
2 rue Rouget de Lisle
92137 Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex
Tel. : 01 41 33 15 43
Fax : 01.41.33.15.49
E-mail: lbezault@aso.fr
Seriously, its about time they heard how happy the cycling community is that ASO is finally taking a stance on keeping no good stinking cheaters out of their races.
I’ll be sure to include my acknowledgment that 2008 is simply a year of collateral damage.
ps. you may need this www.google.com/language_tools
Does Hallmark make a thank-you card for this occasion?
“Does Hallmark make a thank-you card for this occasion?”
maybe you guys can help me out on this. i’m all for kicking teams out of ASO events if these teams are a threat to a clean peloton. but in this case, what i’m not seeing is specificity. what is it the ASO is kicking out of its races? is it the team management, that is to say, bruyneel? is it the team ownership? is it the team’s sponsor? is it contador, or klöden? i’d like to know, because i’m not sure what the message is here.
for example, if it’s specifically not klöden they’re blacklisting, then i’d like to know that if i’m a DS from another team and i might like to sign him. of it’s not bruyneel, i’d like to know that (esp if i’m bruyneel). is it the sponsor? fine. i’d like to know how it is i’m supposed to act if i’m a sponsor, what’s allowed, what’s not. where’s my guidebook for sponsoring a cycling team?
maybe it’s the team’s ownership. wasn’t vino an owner? is he still an owner? is this the issue? fine, then the ASO should establish a rule that nobody under current suspension can be involved in any way with the team. if the ASO wants to suspend a team, then fine, suspend it. don’t just not invite it, suspend it.
but, then, this gets into the realm of who can suspend a team, and it’s probably just the UCI, which is why the ASO is punishing its sport’s riders and sponsors by not being specific. lacking this specificity opens the ASO up to charges of arbitrariness, of nationalism or regionalism, if protecting certain sponsors or manufactures at the expense of others.
but maybe this specificity has been given and i just missed it. please update me on what it is the ASO specifically wants excluded from their events.
Mine would start like…
Dear ASO,
You are ASs hOles… 
In all seriousness, I’m +1 on Slowman’s post on the subject. He said it way better than I ever could.
+2. I just can’t figure it out. If I’m Levi, I am filing a lawsuit.
I completely agree Dan. I’ve been bouncing around between Velonews, CylingNews and Pez for the past couple days, trying to figure the whole mess out…! Doesn’t make much sense to me…
From what I can gather it is a fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me thing. When the team was Liberty Seguros they had to pull the whole team from the 2006 Tour because of opertion puerto. Then we all know what happened last year. Regardless of the changes they don’t want the team resposnisble back. At least that is what they say. Not a very good way to reward a sponsor for sticking with the sport in tough times.
I am unaware that Vino has anything to do with the team.
what is it the ASO is kicking out of its races? is it the team management, that is to say, bruyneel? is it the team ownership? is it the team’s sponsor? is it contador, or klöden? i’d like to know, because i’m not sure what the message is here.
Dan
It’s for all these reasons. Plus: ex-Phonak (5+ caught druggies and I wont mention the strange need to train in black). Hard to beat by any other team.
Clear reason? No.
Justifiable? You bet.
All
I propose to volunteer to write the letter in French 
cheers
uli
If I’m Levi, I am filing a lawsuit.
Oh hell, yeah, bite off the hand of the one that feeds you. We are talking France here not the US.
Gee…
some of the wind has gone out of the sail…
and we do not really know why; yeah it’ll still be the Tour but it seems that they are out for
punishment without there being any real judgement (or of what we know not).
Puerto needs to away for good or show some flames;
speculation, introspection, escalation … opps, thought I was streaming a song there !
For those of you that understand some French, here’s what some Frenchies think (Francois would probably have a link to a better forum)
http://www.velo-club.net/viewtopic.php?topic=46419&forum=3
Do you remember?
“Petit rappel: en 2007, Astana avait déja besoin d’une invitation pour être présent sur le Tour. Aso lui accorda sa confiance ! A tord apprendra t on en cours de course ! Deux des trois grands coureurs de l’équipe sont choppés la main dans le sac! Astana et les deux coureurs continuent de nous prendre pour des cons puis pensent se racheter une conduite en virant quelques personnes et en reprennant d’autres sulfureux ! C’était stupide ! Complètement stupide.”
How cool would it be if all the Pro Tour Teams Boycott the Tour? Would serve them right. There is so many thing wrong with professional cycling. One of them is the power that the three grand tour organizers like to throw around. A lot needs to be done to fix all the problems. I think a complete overhaul is the only thing that is going to fix it.
Either you really don’t understand english or you are just a serious troll…not sure which, but you are very tiring.
Either you really don’t understand english or you are just a serious troll…not sure which, but you are very tiring.
Obviously I am not a native speaker but I even put a smilie after my proposal.
It’s worth looking outside one’s little world. It often helps to understand others and their actions, in this case ASO.
How is that biting off the hand that feeds him?
How is that biting off the hand that feeds him?
Why would they ever let him race again? Leipheimer needs the tour not the other way round.
If the Tour wants to be considered the best race in the World. It really needs the best riders in the world. Levi can make a living without riding in the Tour. There a plenty of professional cyclist that do.
Then how do you explain High Road’s inclusion into Paris-Nice and presumably le Tour?
“It’s for all these reasons.”
so, if klöden races for another team, it would be banned.
if contador signs with another team, it will be banned.
if bruyneel goes to work for slipstream or Ag2R, it will be banned.
if astana signs as the new title for a team that loses its title, then that team will be banned.
it’s like that?