If Contador Starts the Tour I Will:

[hfer07]

I don't mind watching it, since all the races that I'm interested in have already concluded I have the filling he's going to be "asked" not to ride it to avoid the already controversy on his acquittal....

 

[Altitude]

I will certainly try my best not to watch it. Not making any promises though.

I'll watch the Giro if he rides only because I suspect he will get his ar$e kicked.

 

[gttim!]

I quit watching the Tour when they pulled Rasmussen and gifted Contador with his first, undeserved, win. I have not watched it since. It is a boring race anyways. I still watch the Giro, the Vuelta and the classics, however. They are much better races. They are much more exciting.

 

[sagard]

I'll be cheering for AC in France if he starts and actually tries to win the Giro. However I predict he will likely get sick and abandon. Or try about as hard as Lance (who he is becoming) did in '09.

 

[Iker_Baqueiro]

if they always let doper armstrong run, then they have to let Contador run too. the same "justice" for everyone !

 

[dougzz99]

I hope that his riding prior to the ban I'm sure he'll get once it's appealed is sub his own standard throwing more anecdotal evidence behind his obvious doping, which he'll have to be a lot more careful about going forward.

It was the steak, what rubbish.

I'd watch the Tour even if the complete rogues gallery of Ricco, Di Luca, Valverde and Contador were riding.

 

[ingsve]

If Contador rides the Tour, it's no different from his riding the Volta ao Algarve.

Well, the slight diffrence is that now he is still in limbo whether UCI/WADA will take the case to CAS or not.

 

[Ryaguas]

I really hope some of you keep to your word and stop watching cycling, if nothing else, just so we won't have to hear these incessant threats about every single controversy being "the last straw."

But we all know just as well as you do that you're going to watch. If you want to lie to yourself from now until July, fine. But you'll be glued to the telly come July.

Classic Moose =D +1234567891011121314151617181920

I want to see Evans gurn his way around the 25% steep bits

wait w00t? I think that you are talking about Il Giro

Hope you can hold you words and stop watching cycling or Le Tour or whatever you have said... and dont come crying or with yours "derp derp derpa derp" in july...

I'll be stick to the tv cheering him as much as a fanboy can cheer and LOLing big time when He beat Andrew for "n" time... maybe I'll post something like "Sux it haters" hahahhaaha but anyway... is just stupid think that Alberto is the only dirty in the bunch... get real... 90% of the peloton is on the juicy or something... ah you dont like it?? Dont watch it and go to watch a cleaner sport like NFL or Tenis

 

[clydesdale]

I'll definitely be watching it. TSN picked up the Tour in Canada for the first time and I'll FINALLY get to watch it in HD. I'm not going to miss out on that because Contador may or may not have doped (I do have an opinion).

Now if they would only pick up the Giro and Vuelta...

 

[theswordsman]

if Contador starts this year’s Tour, it will be the first time a rider has been caught with a banned substance—tested positive twice—and then, because he’s just so damn popular in his home country, somehow, magically, it’s been determined that with him, “positive” isn’t really “positive.”

The decision is yours, but based on what you've written, I'm not sure you have all the facts. People talk about this like it's the biggest doping crime ever - 50 Picograms of Clenbuterol that couldn't possibly have helped his performance. The two positives (actually four) is a case of ingestion on one day of a substance that takes a few days to completely leave the system.

I just typed and deleted a bunch of stuff about WADA and Clenbuterol. But I hope that people who claim to have "connected the dots" and found Contador guilty and the Spanish Federation derelict, have at least read the actual evidence and legal arguments with the explanation of the decision.

AS.com has the entire Final Resolution in a digital form so you can run it through Google Translate. Look through the pages and see where you think they got it wrong while sitting around a table wearing Pistolero caps.

http://www.as.com/misc/resolucion_caso_contador.pdf

Here's the Cliff Notes version:
http://derechoynormas.blogspot.com/2011/02/el-caso-alberto-contador-para-no.html

There's so much nonsense that gets perpetuated as fact in this place. How many times did I see hear that Contador had refused to give a DNA sample during Operation Puerto, even though a few minutes later, while still being questioned, he agreed? The UCI stands to win more than three million Euros in an appeal. If the guy in Humo actually exists, and told the truth, don't you think they'd put pressure on Astana to have him come forward?

I'm kind of on the opposite end of this poll. I've given up on almost all of cycling. I'll only watch the Tour de France if Contador IS racing. Cheers

 

[erader]

Okay, given that as any long time participant/fan of this sport I’ve had to eat a fair amount of excrement in my day—the first memorable time being when Pedro Delagado tested positive for probenecid and was then cleared to win the race—with the support of all the other racers, who felt great compassion for the suffering he endured from years of gout—but still: if Contador starts this year’s Tour, it will be the first time a rider has been caught with a banned substance—tested positive twice—and then, because he’s just so damn popular in his home country, somehow, magically, it’s been determined that with him, “positive” isn’t really “positive.” I think this marks, for me, the time when enough is finally enough. If Contador starts the Tour this year, I will do my absolute best to ignore the event—and given that I live in America and that there won’t be any Americans in contention for the overall, that won’t be hard to do. I was just wondering how many other people feel the same way.

sounds like "cutting off your nose to spite your face". many of the great racers were given passes for doping. if you are anti-doping you should have been gone years ago.

whoever wins le tour this year will be a doper. or don 't you believe that?

erader

 

[flicker]

I hope Contador rides the Tour. It will make the race more competitive and exciting. I would watch the race anyway, on computer, as I have no TV.

 

[bridgeman]

Contador will not win a major race this year.

 

[Michael Brown]

Provided he's still cleared to race, I'll watch. If he's placed back on suspension and cannot race, I'll watch.

Heck, I'd watch if he wasn't cleared and showed up anyway. Drugs, no drugs, it's the greatest sporting spectacle in the world. Drama. Crashes. Criminal activity. For 3 freakin' weeks. Even my wife watches.

The only thing I won't watch is him standing on the top spot on the podium.




And Evans winning? Won't happen unless a wreck takes the rest of the field out. He just doesn't have it.

 

[sniper]

Contador will not win a major race this year.

not sure if he'll care once the acquittal is final > an instant 3.000.000 prize money.

 

[Christian]

Of course I'll watch it but I'll be really disappointed ...

I remember Valverde was supposed to start the Tour and then go until his ban came into action, I hope they're not doing that ...

 

[Barrus]

Of course I'll watch it but I'll be really disappointed ...

I remember Valverde was supposed to start the Tour and then go until his ban came into action, I hope they're not doing that ...

Well he would've ridden the tour two year ago, the only problem with that was that it passed through Italy, where he was banned

 

[Hmmmmm]

I will watch it and every other cycling event I get the chance to watch, Contador participating or not. This morning I was glancing at the book "Eddy Merckx: The Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century" and got all excited about racing and riding. Dopers and cheaters can kiss my *** but they do not deter my own likes and dislikes.

 

[Christian]

Well he would've ridden the tour two year ago, the only problem with that was that it passed through Italy, where he was banned

Oh yeah that was it, he was going to pull out before the border ...

 

[Ullrich]

If he starts, i will celebrate one more title!!!

 

[forty four]

I really hope some of you keep to your word and stop watching cycling, if nothing else, just so we won't have to hear these incessant threats about every single controversy being "the last straw."

But we all know just as well as you do that you're going to watch. If you want to lie to yourself from now until July, fine. But you'll be glued to the telly come July.

yeah exactly please go away if you really hate it so much delete account move on with life goodbye.

 

[forty four]

I will watch it and every other cycling event I get the chance to watch, Contador participating or not. This morning I was glancing at the book "Eddy Merckx: The Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century" and got all excited about racing and riding. Dopers and cheaters can kiss my *** but they do not deter my own likes and dislikes.

well sorry but eddy doped still the best ever imo. my favorite man is sean kelly who also doped none the less both true hard men real competitors dope dont make the mental state only the man does.
its very unfortunate in this day and age we put so much stock in doping and forget the mind/body on the ****ing bike. class is class crap is crap something to consider.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I quit watching the Tour when they pulled Rasmussen and gifted Contador with his first, undeserved, win. I have not watched it since. It is a boring race anyways. I still watch the Giro, the Vuelta and the classics, however. They are much better races. They are much more exciting.

Giro >>>>>> Tour

The Giro is the above-average looking, very athletic, awesome personality chick that people stupidly ignore in favor of the hot dumb bimbo with big hooters that is the Tour.

 

[Hmmmmm]

well sorry but eddy doped still the best ever imo. my favorite man is sean kelly who also doped none the less both true hard men real competitors dope dont make the mental state only the man does.
its very unfortunate in this day and age we put so much stock in doping and forget the mind/body on the ****ing bike. class is class crap is crap something to consider.

I'm with you. Big fan of Sean Kelly here - have The Sean Kelly Story video, have watched it many times, and the grit and determination of that man gives me chills. The mentality of both Kelly and Merckx is something that pushes me when I ride - I draw energy from both.

 

[Angliru]

I'll be watching regardless of what transpires. I don't see how the Contador incident is any different than what has transpired in the past 100 plus years of the sport. It's just the most recent event to moan about. It's quite curious too since many here insist that they all are juiced anyway so how is this latest drama such a monumental afront?