Astana-Würth asked to pull out

sploush said:

Organisers of the tour asked his Astana-Würth team to pull out of the race.

Major blow for Vinokourov.

The organizers cited the rule "damage caused to the image of a race".

After today's allegations in EL PAIS I think the image of racing is already damaged.

I hope they let me change my fantasy team if that happens!

I think Astana-Wurth will start. The only way to keep them out would be to yank their ProTour license and the UCI seems against that right now. Asking the team to pull out is ridiculous - they just landed a new sponsor that paid huge coin to be in it.

DiabloScott said:

I hope they let me change my fantasy team if that happens!

I think Astana-Wurth will start. The only way to keep them out would be to yank their ProTour license and the UCI seems against that right now. Asking the team to pull out is ridiculous - they just landed a new sponsor that paid huge coin to be in it.

"asked to pull out"
"major blow"

Is this about doping or sex?
And I thought this was a family oriented forum!!
😄

bobke said:

"asked to pull out"
"major blow"

Is this about doping or sex?
And I thought this was a family oriented forum!!
😄

You beat me to it...... Let's look at this situation. Vino is going to another team ..... Let's think. He looks good in blue. DISCOVERY!!!!!! Bruyneel announces him as team captain on Thursday. Bruyneel has had this figured out all along. Ullrich gets pulled out of the TDF by his alleged problem, Basso rides under the limit to get people not to look at him, and Vino wins Bruyneels 8th TDF!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

{A sad attempt at humour on an otherwise humourless day in cycling]

Both the ASO and AW are considering whether to ask the Court of Sports Arbitration to intervene. Can CSA move that quickly?

Also, under the applicable contract, does Astana have to sponsor (the five Kazakistan, sp, companies) if AW does not get into the TdF?

DC will not give Vino sole team leader position. It would be too disrespectful of Hincapie, Popo, Ace and Savo. At most, Vino would get to be an equal co-leader (1 of 5, on a team of 9) and Noval would get bumped off. That means Vino will not want to go to DC. He would want a better position than to have Hincapie, Popo, Ace and Savo all competing with him within the team for leadership.

If Vino has not been designated as a reserve for a given non-AW team, can he be added to that team's roster.

It is going to be a big blow to the Tour if Vino doesn't race...

No, it wouldn't be. It would just be a blow to Vino and AS.

musette said:

No, it wouldn't be. It would just be a blow to Vino and AS.

Say that again musette????

We are all assuming that Vino is innocent..... He is the team leader of the "doping team" with the "doping DS" and yet we assume Vino is above it. Strange fans we are.

I second that Wolfix. Who's to say Vino is clean? Who's to say any of them are? Truthfully, I hope this whole thing explodes wide open, exposes people for who they are, and then maybe, just maybe, cycling will get serious about cleaning up. One question I have is the timeline of the investigation. At what point will names in connection with Operacion Puerto be officially disclosed? Until then Tour organizers are playing from a weak hand. However, if names don't come out officially until after the Tour (let's be honest, these things take time) we'll be looking at a Tour forever tainted.

On another conspiracy theory note, what if Jan is clean but is being framed?

seriouslydog said:

On another conspiracy theory note, what if Jan is clean but is being framed?

What if he's not?

Everyones been trying understandably to figure out what other rider "JAN" and "Son of Rudy" could mean, but we still have that news about Sevilla saying Jan is involved.

Why not let them ride, but force them to give DNA samples before the prologue. Then compare them to the blood bags seized by the Spanish. On the last day kick out whovever matches a blood bag and then let the clean riders continue to Paris for victory.

davidbod said:

Everyones been trying understandably to figure out what other rider "JAN" and "Son of Rudy" could mean, but we still have that news about Sevilla saying Jan is involved.

Why not let them ride, but force them to give DNA samples before the prologue. Then compare them to the blood bags seized by the Spanish. On the last day kick out whovever matches a blood bag and then let the clean riders continue to Paris for victory.

Or, we could just move the Race2Replace from IN to France cause at this rate there won't be any pros left.

Thomas Dekker pulled by Rabbobank because of "concerns about his fitness". No matter what the answer, it kinda makes you wonder if they are worried about something else. That hold true for anybody that doesn't show over the next couple of days.

All of this stuff reminds me of a bad episode of the Guiding Light, General Hospital, As the World Turns, etc....

i think its pretty funny that the tour didn't allow Di Luca to race in 2004 because of some questions about doping and they said that it was completely unfair for them to have done that to him. yet here they are trying to exclude Astana Wurth for the same reason. I'm not saying that the AW riders are innocent, but we have been exposed to so much conjecture, rumors, and suspicions i'm not sure i believe anything.

davidbod said:

Everyones been trying understandably to figure out what other rider "JAN" and "Son of Rudy" could mean, but we still have that news about Sevilla saying Jan is involved.

Why not let them ride, but force them to give DNA samples before the prologue. Then compare them to the blood bags seized by the Spanish. On the last day kick out whovever matches a blood bag and then let the clean riders continue to Paris for victory.

DNA is a good solution.

But I go back to the UCI on this.
After 1998, the UCI should have legislated that each riders DNA be recorded and that all subsequent testing be cross-referenced to DNA to identify the blood of the rider tested.
The UCI refused to go down this route citing legal challenges etc.

Agreed and French do this already to a degree. They are far beyond any other nation in terms of dope controls. Each rider has to report once a month and provide samples. Regardless of where they are in world.

They can't use DNA on the Spainish blood because they have nothing to match it with and they can't force riders give DNA samples. In addtion UCI rules state that they can't use the blood they collect for any other reason that for health tests. A rider cannot be suspended from the blood gathered for a health test.

limerickman said:

DNA is a good solution.

But I go back to the UCI on this.
After 1998, the UCI should have legislated that each riders DNA be recorded and that all subsequent testing be cross-referenced to DNA to identify the blood of the rider tested.
The UCI refused to go down this route citing legal challenges etc.

whiteboytrash said:

Agreed and French do this already to a degree. They are found beyond in other nation in terms of dope controls. Each rider has to report once a month and provide samples. Regardless of where they are in world.

They can't use DNA on the Spainish blood because they have nothing to match it with and they can't force riders give DNA samples. In addtion UCI rules state that they can't use the blood they collect for any other reason that for health tests. A rider cannot be suspended from the blood gathered for a health test.

i guess that is why comunidad valenciana volunteered their owned blood so that it could be compared against the blood collected to prove that they are not involved?

limerickman said:

DNA is a good solution.

But I go back to the UCI on this.
After 1998, the UCI should have legislated that each riders DNA be recorded and that all subsequent testing be cross-referenced to DNA to identify the blood of the rider tested.
The UCI refused to go down this route citing legal challenges etc.

Just like a crime scene, free flowing blood is fair game! You don't need a warrant to get a blood sample - all of these riders crash at some point. You just need to have teams of WADA staff out at the races with Q-tips and baggies collecting the blood on the pavement! You'd have the whole pro line up of riders catalogued in a season or two.
😄 😄 😄

The fresh prince of Kazachstan has arrived. Note the police car, lol.