"Those riders named...will not be allowed to start"

[cPritch67]

Unfortunately for me, I am usually inspired to do more training by watching the Tour. I don't know what effect this year's Tour will have on my attitude.

Perhaps this will inspire you to dope.......oops, wrong message. Go ride a little more, stay clean and you may be in France riding the tuor next year.

 

[jhuskey]

Why do fit healthy men need doctors?

A doctor to a high level athlete is like a mechanic in a pit crew. The higher the intensity the more need more maintenence.
In this case it seems the mechanic may have been adding nitrous to the fuel .

 

[limerickman]

So McQuaid has scapegoated Ullrich and Basso to somehow show that the UCI is dedicated to the war on doping in the sport? What a joke - all those riders who have 'prepared' elsewhere and with other doctors (like Ferrari) must be laughing their socks off - the thought that we are supposed to buy anyone not on this list as 'clean' is a farce.

Lim, McQuaid has hardly covered himself in glory - I see that, whilst all this is kicking off, the UCI are involved in something far more important - the banning of overshoes...

If I thought this would sort out the soping problem once and for all I'd at least feel that something good would come out of all this - but that's a joke, Fuentes will be treated as the one bad apple, these riders will carry the can for the peloton and the rest of the riders, with very few exceptions will be allowed to carry on in the same old way.

I saw the Overshoes pronouncement from the UCI.
And I saw a comment on another site where a poster suggested that it was the UCI rearranging deckchairs as the Titanic was sinking!

You're correct, Micron.
There isn't just one bad apples (Fuentes) - there has to be other doctors doing the same.

If you cast your mind back to 1998 : festina and bruno roussel were made to carry the can.
Did it stop doping?
Of course it didn't.

Leon Schattenberg (head of the UCI anti-doping panel) said in July 1998 "This will never happen again in cycling".

Eight years later - and numerous cases since 1998 - we're still in the exact same position.

 

[cPritch67]

Thanks...

Vino isn't on the list, right?

What about Simoni? I hope I'm not mis-spelling, the one who made the allegataions about Basso during the Giro?

Neither are on the list.

The list is published on Eurosport.com - sorry I don't have the specific link.

 

[whiteboytrash]

So the DS of the team is caught with 60k in cash, blood, EPO and growth hormones but the team stays in the Tour and Ullrich and Basso are linked to the doctor by a phone call and the "son of rudy" inscription on a piece of paper and get suspended ! Huh ? Am I missing something ?

Neither are on the list.

The list is published on Eurosport.com - sorry I don't have the specific link.

 

[bored_again]

Neither are on the list.

The list is published on Eurosport.com - sorry I don't have the specific link.

Try http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/sport_sto917127.shtml

Does anyone know the situation re Astana? Are they riding or excluded?

 

[jhuskey]

Does anyone know what forum Flyer is on now? He must be going into seizures by now.

 

[discobean7]

Try http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/sport_sto917127.shtml

Does anyone know the situation re Astana? Are they riding or excluded?

9 members of Astana are implicated, but not Vino. A weird fact in and of itself. The teams have agreed not to replace the removed riders so that doesn't leave Vino with much of a team even if ASO doesn't ban them outright. I thought ASO said yesterday they were going to override the decision of CAS anyway?

 

[whiteboytrash]

Some more comments:

During a grim press conference Prudhomme sat alongside longtime Tour boss Jean Marie LeBlanc and AGCP chief and Quick Step sporting director Patrick Lefevere.
"I'm not very proud to be here today," Lefevere declared, adding that the decision not to replace the banned riders was a unanimous one taken "to send a strong signal."

"The sporting directors of each team are informing the riders concerned right now," Prudhomme said.

Basso, the Tour's runner-up in 2005 and this year's favourite, had already been warned by CSC sporting director Bjarne Riis the Frenchman added.

"I am cool, I am waiting for someone to bring me evidence of my guilt," Basso had said earlier on Friday when leaving his hotel for a training session.

Prudhomme said that Vincent Lavenu, the AG2R team boss, was also talking to Mancebo, who finished fourth overall in last year's Tour.
_____________

Astana up in the air
As far as Alexandre Vinokourov's Astana-Wurth team, which has been at the centre of the affair since majority owner Manalo Saiz's arrest, Prudhomme indicated the situation was still unresolved.

"For the team Astana-Wurth it's a bit more complex, because so many riders are on the official list that it seems to be a team doping system."

While Vino's name did not appaear on the list of riders implicated, nine of his team-mates did.

Before the Tour de France received the official report, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Thursday against the race organisers' request to exclude Astana-Wurth (formerly Liberty Seguros) from the Grande Boucle.

"I think this is normal. I think it is a brave move and a good example sent to the other sport directors. Today, we can do only one thing: be brave," Leblanc said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.

Both LeBlanc and Prudhomme said five or six riders would ultimately be suspended.
____________

New favourite Valverde reacts
The suspensions now leave the race to start with no clear front-runner, though one of the top contenders who was not implicated, Alejandro Valverde, was upset by the news.

"It is a big blow for the race. You could see something like this might happen," Valverde told Spanish daily Marca's website on Friday.

"Oscar [Sevilla] is a great friend of mine and Ullrich is one of the favourites. I am calm about it all because I have nothing to fear from something which affects lots of other people.

"I just want the race to start as soon as possible and hope it is clean and that everything goes well."

9 members of Astana are implicated, but not Vino. A weird fact in and of itself. The teams have agreed not to replace the removed riders so that doesn't leave Vino with much of a team even if ASO doesn't ban them outright. I thought ASO said yesterday they were going to override the decision of CAS anyway?

 

[limerickman]

Does anyone know what forum Flyer is on now? He must be going into seizures by now.

I'll PM you.

 

[whiteboytrash]

[size=-1]Can't believe Riis actually pulled Basso..... the report must of been daming....[/size]
_________
[size=-1]CSC team manager Bjarne Riis, a Tour winner in 1996, emerged from one of the crisis meetings saying nothing had been decided over Basso's participation.[/size]
[size=-1]"We had a good meeting. Everyone agreed on the ethical program we have with the different teams. Now I'm going to talk to my team, and make a statement a little later," said the Dane.[/size]

[size=-1]Riis later said he personally made the decision to exclude his top rider.[/size]

[size=-1]"It's my responsibility to make this decision and suspend Ivan from the race," Riis said. "I have to think about the team, that is now the most important thing. I trust Ivan Basso, but now it is up to him and his lawyers to show he has nothing to do with this affair."[/size]

[size=-1]Prudhomme meanwhile reserved special criticism for the Astaná-Würth team of Vinokourov, suggesting organisers could put further pressure on them to pull riders out.[/size]

[size=-1]Prudhomme said fresh evidence from Spain which arrived late Thursday was even more damning and would have condemned them in the eyes of the CAS had it been made available earlier.[/size]

[size=-1]"Astaná-Würth is a bit more complicated because there are so many names from that team being linked to the doping probe," added the Frenchman. "Some of those implicated are on the Tour, and some are not. To us, it looks like they have been operating a team doping policy."[/size]

 

[Orla_24]

I'm trying to imagine the EuroSport commentators tomorrow and just can't, the doping and banning are going to shade a huge dark shadow over the entire tour...

As we have no clue whose doping and who is not, it's hard to find someone to root for tomorrow (and I must decide on one for the emotional connection) I liked Vino and his big spirit a lot last tour - but if there is evidence against the entire team he's suppose to be leading...

I really don't believe any of them anymore, I can't imagine evidence against 50 people are fabricated. And yet I feel VERY sorry for all involved, because when there are evidence against a third of the Pelaton, it means the entire thing is rotten from the core. I can't see how a young rider refuse to dope when all the big names are doping (if it's indeed true and I hope we'll find out it isn't).

With the tour starting tomorrow, even if they manage to clean their names eventually this tour is gone.

And what's going to happen to Basso's Giro title?

"Orla.

 

[limerickman]

[size=-1]Can't believe Riis actually pulled Basso..... the report must of been daming....[/size]
_________
[size=-1]CSC team manager Bjarne Riis, a Tour winner in 1996, emerged from one of the crisis meetings saying nothing had been decided over Basso's participation.[/size]
[size=-1]"We had a good meeting. Everyone agreed on the ethical program we have with the different teams. Now I'm going to talk to my team, and make a statement a little later," said the Dane.[/size]

[size=-1]Riis later said he personally made the decision to exclude his top rider.[/size]

[size=-1]"It's my responsibility to make this decision and suspend Ivan from the race," Riis said. "I have to think about the team, that is now the most important thing. I trust Ivan Basso, but now it is up to him and his lawyers to show he has nothing to do with this affair."[/size]

[size=-1]Prudhomme meanwhile reserved special criticism for the Astaná-Würth team of Vinokourov, suggesting organisers could put further pressure on them to pull riders out.[/size]

[size=-1]Prudhomme said fresh evidence from Spain which arrived late Thursday was even more damning and would have condemned them in the eyes of the CAS had it been made available earlier.[/size]

[size=-1]"Astaná-Würth is a bit more complicated because there are so many names from that team being linked to the doping probe," added the Frenchman. "Some of those implicated are on the Tour, and some are not. To us, it looks like they have been operating a team doping policy."[/size]

Good god!

Riis pulled Basso!!
I can't believe this. I really can't.

Riis must have had his arms broken by CSC.

 

[jhuskey]

I'll PM you.

Got the pm.
Thanks

 

[limerickman]

I'm trying to imagine the EuroSport commentators tomorrow and just can't, the doping and banning are going to shade a huge dark shadow over the entire tour...

As we have no clue whose doping and who is not, it's hard to find someone to root for tomorrow (and I must decide on one for the emotional connection) I liked Vino and his big spirit a lot last tour - but if there is evidence against the entire team he's suppose to be leading...

I really don't believe any of them anymore, I can't imagine evidence against 50 people are fabricated. And yet I feel VERY sorry for all involved, because when there are evidence against a third of the Pelaton, it means the entire thing is rotten from the core. I can't see how a young rider refuse to dope when all the big names are doping (if it's indeed true and I hope we'll find out it isn't).

With the tour starting tomorrow, even if they manage to clean their names eventually this tour is gone.

And what's going to happen to Basso's Giro title?

"Orla.

I agree 100%.

 

[Bro Deal]

Good god!

Riis pulled Basso!!
I can't believe this. I really can't.

Riis must have had his arms broken by CSC.

I think the ASO might have taken a hard line that any team that did not go along would be banned from the race. The ASO is not going to be rolled by anyone like they were in '98 and '99.

 

[DV1976]

Good god!

Riis pulled Basso!!
I can't believe this. I really can't.

Riis must have had his arms broken by CSC.

So many big teams are in a hurry to pull their best riders (and biggest cycling stars). Either this is the biggest knee jerk reaction in history and a collosal mistake (unlikely) or there is something in that report that hasn't been published yet and is very very damning (far more likely). I can hardly imagine Riis pulling Basso out because of a dubious codename and a phonecall (as WBT wrote). Let's see how things unfold.

 

[jhuskey]

Beyond the emotions ,beyond the titles and personal feelings this is a business with sponsors that depend on a name to promote their product.
It has to require some very hard decisions to pull a rider that an entire team has been built around.
It is still about money and I can't imagine the implications and eventual fallout at this point, but money fuels the sport and I am afraid of what might happen if the big sponsor lose interset.
Lets hope for the best!

 

[limerickman]

So many big teams are in a hurry to pull their best riders (and biggest cycling stars). Either this is the biggest knee jerk reaction in history and a collosal mistake (unlikely) or there is something in that report that hasn't been published yet and is very very damning (far more likely). I can hardly imagine Riis pulling Basso out because of a dubious codename and a phonecall (as WBT wrote). Let's see how things unfold.

That's my thought exactly.

Mr 60% must have had the gun placed squarely to his temple.

And I thought that I was shock-proof at this stage?

 

[Lonnie Utah]

Did anybody else catch this little gem?

From Velonews....

[size=-1]"We then had a meeting with the AIGCP. During that meeting it was decided that the race's ethical code will be applied to the letter and that none of the riders suspended will be allowed to be replaced. "The sporting directors of each team will now contact the riders concerned."[/size]

So what are the intact teams at this point? I hate to say it but it looks like Disco for one. Phonak's lost 2, CSC 1, T-moblie 2, Ag2R 1....

I'm in shock!

L