quote='Terryc'rooman said:we come back in 08 and watch the titanic struggle with clean riders
from the start ( I hope)
They found 2 out of 180 (20x9?)
That means 98% are clean.
The third was sacked by his team for lying,
Unless they suddenly annouce another dozen or more have been caught,
that is pretty clean to me.
What other sport comes that clean?[/QUOTE]
"found" being the operative word.... 2% is 2% too many ... like being a bit pregant.
The effect that 2% had on the outcome of the stages though is what matters.
Rassmussen committed a "drugs" offence, in his team's opinion and his team took the initiative, it would have been an issue IMO as the effect of him lying about his whereabouts supports the "warnings" for not giving his diary in to UCI testers on time. Rassmussen was ducking and weaving over his whereabouts related closely to his diary and missing drug tests and warnings..not about him visiting his sick grandma, so his is drug related too!
And Rassmussen having the warnings for missing OOC tests and not being able to be "found" (there's that word again), was building and raising that other word "" suspicion" of using drugs, which ASO relies upon to remove riders from the Tour. ASO were scathing of the UCI over Rassmussen in the end. Thay ask why werent they told he had a cloud of suspicion building into a storm?.
We know from Cadel's statements what effect Rassmussen had on him and his recovery from the attacks he had to fend off when Rasmussen and Contador worked against him.
Even Vinokourov was a serious GC threat in the event. He cost cadel a TT stage win cermeony. Consider what that would have done to Cadel's motivation and status in the peleton, especially the Discovery reaction.
..The positive tests also meant that innocent riders in those +ve rider's teams had to leave the tour, it forced Klóden out, who was well placed on GC ( and he and others might now end their own careers as well).
How do you think the Cofidis and Astana riders are feeling?.
Although his team largely continued, how is Michael Boogerd feeling these days?...He busted his heart out for Rassmussen, and got S%!t for Suger.
IMO Chicken should never have started the event.
I see where you are coming from, and sure it wasnt a dozen riders tossed out for drugs, but it was more than a dozen who suffered the effect of those removed drug doping riders.
Like deaths on roads for culpable driving, nothing is acceptable beyond zero tolerance.
and speaking of % of "road" users on drugs check this out :
news.com.au0,21985,22138184 24331,00.htmlOpen ↗