Page 3 - No Tour for Astana

14-02.-2008, 04:47 AM

#31

thoughtforfood

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Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

I am sure the UCI would make exceptions. Teams have already spent their budgets. Contador may be one of the few riders who could find personal sponsorship to bring to a new team. Of course, any team would have to worry about what putting Contador on the team might cause the ASO to do.

What about Leipheimer? I'd be willing to bet he would have to come stateside because who really believes he could win the TDF anyway? (IMO) Bet Ball love to extend him a contract so full of holes and escape clauses that you could use it to drain pasta.

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14-02.-2008, 04:48 AM	#32
RAGT Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 34	Re: No Tour for Astana One aspect of Astana which is often forgotten, is that it's a Kazakh national project, with the Kazakh cycling federation in charge of operations. That's the federation which suggested that Vinokourov "may have been targeted by Tour de France organizers who didn't want the Kazakh rider to win the race" http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf20...tory?id=2948842 The same federation (and Astana organizer) somehow found that Vino's blood doping should result in an one year suspension, which would enable him to enter the Beijing olympics. That's a bit different from what High Road have been doing the last couple of years.

14-02.-2008, 04:55 AM

#33

Bro Deal

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Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoughtforfood

He could sit on his ass and collect his paycheck from Astana's bank guarantee.

It's not likely that Rock would pay him what Astana is.

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14-02.-2008, 04:56 AM

#34

thoughtforfood

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Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

He could sit on his ass and collect his paycheck from Astana's bank guarantee.

It's not likely that Rock would pay him what Astana is.

True, and Odessa would be a nice ass to sit on.

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14-02.-2008, 05:09 AM

#35

Leafer

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Join Date: Apr 2006

Posts: 204

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

Contador had a hell of a time finding a team in the first place, before Astana took him on - iirc, he was quoted as saying that he didn't receive a single offer from a Spanish team. Probably would have an even harder time now.

14-02.-2008, 05:16 AM

#36

Bro Deal

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Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leafer

Good point. Maybe he cannot get sponsorship. The Spanish did rally around Fernando Alonso and he was able to bring money with him to an F1 team. Maybe Cantador does not have the same connections.

I have to think that Contador, Leipheimer, etc. knew that Bruyneel was likely to take over Astana. At the end of the season they were all tight lipped about where they were going. Perhaps Contador did not try very hard to find another team.

14-02.-2008, 05:21 AM

#37

whiteboytrash

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Join Date: Mar 2005

Posts: 4,879

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leafer

I think there is more to it than the press releases..... ASO would have spoken to JJ and got the inside word on Contador...... they know he doped with Liberty S and last year with Disco..... suffer in ya jocks Bruyneel ! now my bet is on Sebastien Chavanel for the Tour !

and today.......

"Contador, currently riding in the Mallorca Challenge, broke clear at the front of the race on Wednesday and drew close to the television crew car, shouting "Astana for the Tour, Astana for the Tour," before being chased down by the peloton four kilometres from the finish line."

.....maybe Lance could chase him down in the next race for the roses bike-a-thon !!!! HA HA HA !! LOL !

14-02.-2008, 05:29 AM	#38
doctorSpoc Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 871	Re: No Tour for Astana he won paris-nice 2007 too right... no paris-nice either... report says no ASO events.. these guys are so f!cked! a while ago i wondered out loud whether it was Bruyneel or Armstrong that was responsible for USPS and discovery's success... well, looks like we have an answer.. Bruyneel got lucky he hooked up with LA and LA was running the show and had the connections (maybe pics of Hien Verbruggen humping a horse or something... just a guess but it has to be really bad)... 'cause Bruyneel is a total f!ckup... first with Basso and then with Contador... they can't let him ride with a Puerto reopening luming... i agree with them 100% is would just be stupid for them the let him ride... think this has little to do with Astana and almost everything to do with Contador

14-02.-2008, 05:39 AM	#39
earth_dweller Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1,391	Re: No Tour for Astana This is quite the strategic move by ASO, by barring Astana, they announce to the world that UCI has no power over their races pre-emptive move to please their current & future sponsors, especially TV rights. lets be honest, Astana would have gone in with a very strong team and with a high probability would have won it again this year. With the long shadow of OP, there is no way that ASO could take that chance. They can't afford another scandal during the tour without losing broadcast $$$ Astana is sponsored by a kazakh group, which would never be a sponsor for any races, so they are not jeopardizing any future revenues Wake up call to the other teams to provide a perception of 'cleaning' house and, bitch-slap to Bruyneel for all the anti-ASO/French comments in the past and for his seemingly tight relationship with UCI brilliant actually.

14-02.-2008, 05:51 AM	#40
poulidor Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 970	Re: No Tour for Astana 6.Kazakh wanted more kazakhs in the races. JB deluded them by hiring his bunch of dopers!

14-02.-2008, 05:56 AM

#41

whiteboytrash

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Join Date: Mar 2005

Posts: 4,879

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by earth_dweller

This is quite the strategic move by ASO, by barring Astana, they

announce to the world that UCI has no power over their races
pre-emptive move to please their current & future sponsors, especially TV rights. lets be honest, Astana would have gone in with a very strong team and with a high probability would have won it again this year. With the long shadow of OP, there is no way that ASO could take that chance. They can't afford another scandal during the tour without losing broadcast $$$
Astana is sponsored by a kazakh group, which would never be a sponsor for any races, so they are not jeopardizing any future revenues
Wake up call to the other teams to provide a perception of 'cleaning' house
and, bitch-slap to Bruyneel for all the anti-ASO/French comments in the past and for his seemingly tight relationship with UCI

brilliant actually.

Knight to F5 and checkmate !

The Hog is dead !

14-02.-2008, 06:50 AM

#42

padawan

Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: T.O.

Posts: 237

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by earth_dweller

This is quite the strategic move by ASO, by barring Astana, they

announce to the world that UCI has no power over their races
pre-emptive move to please their current & future sponsors, especially TV rights. lets be honest, Astana would have gone in with a very strong team and with a high probability would have won it again this year. With the long shadow of OP, there is no way that ASO could take that chance. They can't afford another scandal during the tour without losing broadcast $$$
Astana is sponsored by a kazakh group, which would never be a sponsor for any races, so they are not jeopardizing any future revenues
Wake up call to the other teams to provide a perception of 'cleaning' house
and, bitch-slap to Bruyneel for all the anti-ASO/French comments in the past and for his seemingly tight relationship with UCI

brilliant actually.

Yes, the UCI is farked. But what is their retaliation?

Would they do everything in their power to catch a few dopers at this year's tour. Some would say it's been in their power to catch dopers for a long time - if they really wanted to. Especially if they could catch a rider or two from the elite GC selection - SCANDAL! Then they could make the statement that allowing the ASO to select teams didn't have the desired affect of preventing scandals. Of course the scary corollary might be that the ASO will do everything in their power to ensure that there are no doping infractions... or at least no public ones.

14-02.-2008, 07:06 AM

#43

Cobblestones

Registered User

Join Date: Jul 2007

Location: Ohio

Posts: 358

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorSpoc

a while ago i wondered out loud whether it was Bruyneel or Armstrong that was responsible for USPS and discovery's success... well, looks like we have an answer.. Bruyneel got lucky he hooked up with LA and LA was running the show and had the connections (maybe pics of Hien Verbruggen humping a horse or something... just a guess but it has to be really bad)... 'cause Bruyneel is a total f!ckup... first with Basso and then with Contador... they can't let him ride with a Puerto reopening luming... i agree with them 100% is would just be stupid for them the let him ride... think this has little to do with Astana and almost everything to do with Contador

On the other hand, if ASO wanted to hurt the UCI as much as possible, wouldn't they choose to ban the team with the closest connections to the UCI?

Btw. great analysis padawan. That's a scary outlook for this season. Unless, of course, everybody and their grandmother start riding clean.

14-02.-2008, 08:23 AM

#44

thunder

Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2006

Posts: 2,322

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by padawan

but the no doping infractions is a diseconomy.

Short term gains, long term harm. This is the Armstrong legacy. In 99, they could have made the peloton reform, but rested on their laurels and their PR flaks.

So, might be good for Leblanc to take Armstrong and the US dollars. But is it good for Prudhomme? Will it be good for Prudhomme's successor for him to rug sweep under. Nope, just be transparent, and get the peloton as clean as possible.

14-02.-2008, 08:33 AM

#45

TheDarkLord

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Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: The land where the shadows lie

Posts: 3,585

Re: No Tour for Astana

Quote:

Originally Posted by padawan

I don't think a few more scandals caused by riders testing positive will hurt ASO as much as the sport of cycling itself. So, for argument's sake, let us assume that UCI starts busting riders left, right and center, and shows that a number of teams that ASO invited are doping. Would that cause ASO to surrender to the UCI asking to restore status quo? Maybe. But they can also start banning other ProTeams from the Tour, and this in the end will hurt ProTour and come to bite UCI's ass. Moreover, in doing so, ASO can show people that they are really serious about punishing doping, which could be a bonus. Not only that, if the suspicion of corruption at UCI is true, then UCI's pulling the plug regarding cover-ups (of positive tests) will immediately cause the underhand cash flow to UCI to stop. Again, more harm to UCI. So, I would think that UCI is not going to do anything, and will just have McQuaid fuming - he gambled on a strategy to get a grip over the Tour, and lost.

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