Boonen can ride

[ak-zaaf]

great news!

too bad for davis.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Already posted in the existing Boonen topic.

 

[39*23t]

great news!

too bad for davis.

great for Tom feel really bad for Allan though must suck being at the presentation ceramony getting pumped and then being told cheers the airport is that way.

 

[issoisso]

And the dangerous precedents keep coming.

So now, you can't decide what teams or riders will ride in your race. If they want to race, they can take you to court and ride.
It's exactly the same as having a party at your house and having the courts force you to invite people you don't want.
You no longer have any control on who's invited and who isn't.

This makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[franciep10]

great news, boonen is one of the best riders and he can challenge cav for green.

 

[lostintime]

Boonen can ride.

Way to send mixed messages! It's okay to take coke, as long as you don't take other illegal drugs. Try explaining that to the kiddies.

That said, yeah . . let him race. It's only a matter of time before he get his nose into it again. The sooner he bottoms out, the sooner he can deal with it.

He appears to be lost as a human being. He's got to play the role of Tom Tornado. Damm, fame and fortune is real double edged sword.

 

[stefrees]

disgraceful decision. has made a farce of the race already

 

[Barry Muzzin]

"...........Try explaining that to the kiddies."

Muzzin agrees wholeheartedly. For a sport STRUGGLING to turn the corner, this decision reinforces the popular opinion that my sport is a fraud.

 

[Cloxxki]

Just lay a line of white powder heading for the finish, but bending off to the gates before quite reaching it.

In all seriousness, a junkie can crown himself hero now, in the country known for their no-tolerance and no-compassion with narcotic suspects. Long, most unpleasant, imprisonment.
So, convicted wife beaters and child molestors are expected to be featured in mayor cycling races from now on. Crimes cannot be held against you. Must like systematic doping, now that I think of it.

 

[Jasper]

great news, boonen is one of the best riders and he can challenge cav for green.

Great news indeed.

I don't think he can beat Cavendish in a one on one flat sprint, but he should be able to be a serious threat on those nastier uphill sprints. And he understands the art of battling for every intermediate sprint and single point, and that's maybe where the key lies to beat Cavendish for green. It will be a tough battle with Hushovd, Bennati and Freire in there as well, but Boonen has what it takes to take home the green. And at this moment, he'll be pretty motivated to get back at the ASO, and vengeance can be a big motor.

 

[auscyclefan94]

This will really hot up the battle for green. Boonen is in good form off the Belgian Championships. Feel bad for my countryman 'Alby' Davis

 

[Mongol_Waaijer]

Boonen should go ride la Vuelta a Colombia.

Then he can see first hand the damage that cocaine demand inflicts.

 

[Anonymous]

as ive already said in the "other" boonen thread (cos it seems we need three threads for everything)

great for the spectators
great for the green jersey competition
great for boonen
bad for davis
bad for the race

i think it sucks to be honest.. Once the team has been presented that should be it! riders should only be changed through injury or illness..

nothing against tom.. but the rules are BS

 

[stefrees]

in the fight against drugs its a joke-its not ped, but look at rugby - matt stevens gets automatic ban for 2 years, how anyone can say its good for the sport is beyond me. if boonen wins a stage it will be a disgrace. quickstep hang your heads in shame

 

[subzro]

Don't blame Quick-Step. Blame the UCI.

It's a joke that there are different rules for in competition tests, to out of competition tests. I said in another thread he was lucky.

At the end of the day the rules are the rules. UCI writes the rules, and the court has upheld the rules.

Good luck Tom.

 

[SpeedWay]

disgraceful decision. has made a farce of the race already

Finally some positive PR for the drug cartels around the world. Be like Tom, if you can't cross the white line first you always have a chance to snort it on the rebound. Lucky for the cartels it wasn't Armstrong, the French would have tried to, among other things, ban him from visiting the Statute of Liberty. That would have really sent a bad message to kiddies around the world that its not OK to court Snow White.

 

[Cloxxki]

If UCI also puts coke on the out-of-competition banned substances, Boonen has a REAL problem. Stop cycling or stop sniffing. He gets to do both as he pleases now.
As long as you have a pretty face and fast legs...rules do not apply to you.

 

[Belokki]

Boonen doesn't need to prove anything!

He is a Belgian and WCH! He was the undisputed number one sprinter for 4 years! He earned his place! And he's still young ( 28 )! Just look at Freie, Petachi all are among the best despite their age. We won't se the last of Boonen thats for sure! All you hypocrits shut up! Boonens participation is good news! He will force Cav to fight harder for the green jersey!

Peace!

 

[The GCW]

Lostintime, !try explaining prohibition to kiddies! Smart kiddies at that!

Barry Muzzin, For cycling to support prohibition, is the fraud. For cycling to support prohibition, discredits the credible wish to rid performance enhancing cheaters.

Cloxxki, You’re kidding, right? Junkie? ?convicted wife beaters and child molesters- in the same boat as a human who choosing to use a little coke? There is a difference! One has a victim -the wife beater and cycle molester…. and the other doesn’t - when someone uses coke responsibly, there is no victim!!!!

Mongol_Waaijer, ???the damage that cocaine demand inflicts???

Don’t confuse “the damage that cocaine demand inflicts” with the damage that prohibition, inflicts.

-0-

One of the big arguments prohibitionists lose here is that a person can not use “drugs” and be successful. That message is threatened when people all over the world use “drugs” recreationally - responsibly, and win. Prohibitionists don’t want people to know the truth and one way to stop the truth from getting out is to persecute people who responsibly use “drugs.”

Get Tom out of the picture, so people don’t see an example of a person using coke responsibly.

And it’s not just Tom & coke. Look at Gold Medal swimmer, Michael Phelps! Phelps is another in a long list of examples of people using cannabis responsibly and winning!!! But then cannabis is a PLANT, not a drug.

Prohibitionists are a bigger problem than the people they wish to control. As more and more people understand the ills of prohibition, it will end just like the original prohibition with alcohol.

Then a person who chooses to use cannabis (or coke for than matter) after a race instead of beer, will not be stripped of their winnings.

-0-

It would be wise for cyclingnews editors to not be in the position of supporting or taking a stand to support prohibition.

Taking a stand to get rid of performance cheaters is one thing. ....

 

[lostintime]

Well GCW . . .

There lies the neurosis of a self identified image. We'll never have penalty free drug use because those in power are just as neurotic as those that need to take the drugs to start with. They can't bear to see themselves in the mirror. So, we get all the "rules".

It's a bit like a chief of police hunting down a serial arsonist when the chief of police IS the arsonist. It's not happening.

 

[Ziptie]

It's exactly the same as having a party at your house and having the courts force you to invite people you don't want.

Yeah... that's really not at all the same thing. Nice try though.

Cycling employs a govering body (no matter how useless they are). And there are set rules that govern the sport. The organisers of major races agree to abide by these rules. You can not invite a team, then tell them who they can and can't have on their roster when no sanctions have been handed down by the UCI against a given rider. Boonen is not guilty of any infraction, outside of insulting your own sense of morality. Sorry, not a crime.

 

[issoisso]

Yeah... that's really not at all the same thing. Nice try though.

Cycling employs a govering body (no matter how useless they are). And there are set rules that govern the sport. The organisers of major races agree to abide by these rules. You can not invite a team, then tell them who they can and can't have on their roster when no sanctions have been handed down by the UCI against a given rider. Boonen is not guilty of any infraction, outside of insulting your own sense of morality. Sorry, not a crime.

Actually, they are allowed to determined who they wish to "uninvite". They are also allowed to do the opposite: They can invite teams only with the condition that a certain rider takes part.

The only situation in which the UCI can superimpose its decision is if the rider is suspended, or if the organizers are contracted to inviting certain teams. Which they aren't.

 

[Stelvio]

Haven't Simoni and Di Luca been 'not welcome' (after some suspected but not sanctioned activities) at the TdF in the past even though their teams have been invited without making too much noice about it?

I agree though, an invited team should be allowed to bring any unsanctioned rider to a race. Also, if I understand correctly, the UCI haven't had much say in this affair (after deciding not to decide anything). The out-of-competition-use-of-cocaine-is-not-forbidden rule is from WADA(?) and the decision to allow Boonen to race was by CAS, whose powers in such matters exceed those of UCI.

 

[Ziptie]

Actually, they are allowed to determined who they wish to "uninvite". They are also allowed to do the opposite: They can invite teams only with the condition that a certain rider takes part.

True, they can invite any team they want, and set conditions that certain riders take part in order to secure that invitation. But they can not uninvite a rider who has done nothing wrong under the rules that govern cycling. They can try to, which they did, but the govering bodies have the power, like it or not, to force their hand... which they did. Thankfully IMO.

 

[issoisso]

True, they can invite any team they want, and set conditions that certain riders take part in order to secure that invitation. But they can not uninvite a rider who has done nothing wrong under the rules that govern cycling. They can try to, which they did, but the govering bodies have the power, like it or not, to force their hand... which they did. Thankfully IMO.

Actually, they forced it twice. This time and with Valverde at the Worlds. Only big names get that.

It's called a double standard.