Media Coverage of the TDF / Doping

[go crazy]

Something funny was Scott Mcgrory on SBS in Australia. After Ventoux his co presenter asked the doping question about Froome. His response was that Froome attacked without restraint, and if he was doping surely he'd hold back a little. Interesting answer.

'cept he was holding back.

 

[laziali]

It means as much as any poster on this forum
and as much as any of the pseudo-scientists.

Read the Lemond article again champ, this time all of it. Didn't give Froome a pass at all - was referring to his own performances and Hinaults.

 

[pedaling squares]

Le Mond giving Froome a pass means nothing really. He thought Armstrong was clean until 2001 ffs!

"I want to believe in what I'm seeing" is hardly a free pass.

 

[oldcrank]

From the interview with Gregory James Lemond in CN:

"He is very strong," the American said. "He can still have
a bad day, but I don't believe he will. In 1986, during my
first victory on the Tour I never had bad days..."

"You can't forget this is a team competition and this is a
great team," he said.

Now anyone who feels he knows more about professional
cycling and/or the Tour de France than Mr. Greg LeMond,
please feel free to discredit him if it will make you feel
more important. Anyone who wants to spin or twist the
words of Mr. LeMond please do so, but the truth is there
in black and white for the open minded to see.

 

[whittashau]

From the interview with Gregory James Lemond in CN:

"He is very strong," the American said. "He can still have
a bad day, but I don't believe he will. In 1986, during my
first victory on the Tour I never had bad days..."

"You can't forget this is a team competition and this is a
great team," he said.

Now anyone who feels he knows more about professional
cycling and/or the Tour de France than Mr. Greg LeMond,
please feel free to discredit him if it will make you feel
more important. Anyone who wants to spin or twist the
words of Mr. LeMond please do so, but the truth is there
in black and white for the open minded to see.

How about all the ex cyclist commentators who are questioning it though? Plus Lemond is working for the Tour and probably getting paid handsomely for doing so. I don't see how it's in his best interests to question Froome right now.

 

[UlleGigo]

Nice attempt at a preemtive ad hominum defence but there really isn't anything about doping either way in those comments.

 

[Cycle Chic]

Ricco

riccardo riccò ‏@riccardo_ricco 47m

Finalmente il ciclismo ha trovato un corridore pulito che batte tutti i record di corridori dopati!!!

translation

'Cycling has finally found someone clean who can beat the times of doped cyclists.'

 

[laziali]

From the interview with Gregory James Lemond in CN:

"He is very strong," the American said. "He can still have
a bad day, but I don't believe he will. In 1986, during my
first victory on the Tour I never had bad days..."

"You can't forget this is a team competition and this is a
great team," he said.

Now anyone who feels he knows more about professional
cycling and/or the Tour de France than Mr. Greg LeMond,
please feel free to discredit him if it will make you feel
more important. Anyone who wants to spin or twist the
words of Mr. LeMond please do so, but the truth is there
in black and white for the open minded to see.

Surely no-one is that thick???

Here's the full text of the relevant comments unlike your redacted version http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lemond-there-can-be-spectacular-performances-without-doping "There is a difference between a climber like Hinault for example, and Froome speeding away like that," the 52-year-old explained. "People look at technology now, wattage, VO2max and nobody is equal physically. You can't compare it to before. I don't like it when people ask me questions like that and I want to believe in what I'm seeing. There can be spectacular performances without doping." [Hint: he's talking about Hinault and, by extension, himself here, not Froome]

Sky's apparent fragility, with the team now relying on six teammates for Froome for the remainder of the Tour with Edvald Boasson Hagen out with a broken scapula on stage 12 and Vasili Kiryienka lost due to the time cut on stage 10, was quashed on Sunday with Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte putting the hammer down on the climb to Ventoux. For LeMond, it was a performance that was reminiscent of the Renault-Elf team that he rode with between 1981 and 1984.

"You can't forget this is a team competition and this is a great team," he said. "On the Tour in 1984, with Cyrille Guimard who was for me the best athletic director at the time, the team won 10 stages. Laurent Fignon won the Tour and I finished third. Sky reminds me of my old Renault-Elf team."

 

[Cycle Chic]

He's been far from quiet on Froome. You just have to hear him the last couple of times on Newstalk this last week to know he has serious reservations about Froome

I,d forgotten about Kimmage doing Newstalk...yeh he's doing that rather than writing in the Independent.

http://www.newstalk.ie/player/podca...l_Highlights/26760/2/paul_kimmage_tour_report

He certainly lays into Froome and Porte.

 

[Cycle Chic]

what ??

Dr Hutch from CYCING WEEKLY - and this is what UK club cyclists are being fed by 1 if not the top cycling magazine.

Michael Hutchinson ‏@Doctor_Hutch 22m

I wish people would stop going on about teams releasing power data to prove the riders are clean. It would prove exactly nothing.

Michael Hutchinson ‏@Doctor_Hutch 16m

@flammecast trust would need to go both ways, and the teams know that whatever the data people wd use it to 'prove' whatever they wanted.

 

[Benotti69]

Yes. The other rider was Chris Froome. I think Froomey
said that was the first time he had ever needed oxygen
after a stage. Not surprising after such an epic ride.

That trick dates back to 1987 to Stephen Roche, now there was a clean rider so clean he cant acutally think anyone dopes
or is he cant think?

 

[gooner]

That trick dates back to 1987 to Stephen Roche, now there was a clean rider so clean he cant acutally think anyone dopes
or is he cant think?

And come on now. He was at the front of the peloton and the doping went on at the back where Kimmage was.

 

[Benotti69]

And come on now. He was at the front of the peloton and the doping went on at the back where Kimmage was.

Wouldn't be surprised to hear that repeated by Sky.

Walsh has been told that Team Telekom had journalists 'embedded' during their TdF and his response has been, "I know what I've seen in Sky, the conversations about doping I've had, the weeks around the hotel." Why not go and talk to those journalists who now have hindsight to see what they would've done differently now if they had the chance again.

It is appears Walsh doesn't want to see.

Jeremy Whittle better position

Jeremy Whittle ‏@jeremycwhittle

impassioned defence this morning from Froome and Brailsford, imploring media to keep an open mind. Uphill task though, given the damage done

 

[gooner]

Wouldn't be surprised to hear that repeated by Sky.

Walsh has been told that Team Telekom had journalists 'embedded' during their TdF and his response has been, "I know what I've seen in Sky, the conversations about doping I've had, the weeks around the hotel." Why not go and talk to those journalists who now have hindsight to see what they would've done differently now if they had the chance again.

It is appears Walsh doesn't want to see.

I'll be interested to read his column this Sunday on all this.

Jeremy Whittle better position

He's defending Froome now just after saying that.

 

[Benotti69]

I'll be interested to read his column this Sunday on all this.

It will be interesting if he even casts doubt about how anyone can beat dopers times and how a rider so skinny can be the best climber by far and equal best TTer.

Will he question the hypocrisy coming out of Sky about how these so called attacks on mountains were supposedly not possible or will he accept their excuses?

He's defending Froome now just after saying that.

Yep another defender who doesn't want to see. Not surprised really.

I like this

Paul Kimmage ‏@PaulKimmage 2h

Froome on Ventoux? Call me Dumbo: "I saw a peanut stand, heard a rubber band, I saw a needle that winked its eye. But I think I will have..

...seen everything when I see an elephant fly."

 

[murali]

how much of the media is owned by the sky team?

 

[mikehammer67]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/kimmage/questions-all-the-way-home-29418540.html

KIMMAGE article which I think is extremely lame and overdue. He's been very quiet on the Froome front.

he's been calling out sky on the radio

 

[Red Lobster]

VeloNews trying to be at least a little skeptical: http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/07/news/commentary-is-chris-froome-just-too-good-to-be-true_295224

 

[TourOfSardinia]

CdS oggi

I saw the two page spread in the Corriere dello Sport today - Faster than Armstrong - Froome Scares the world - are the obvious inuendos in the large type headlines.
Non e' credibile guys!

 

[Cycle Chic]

he's been calling out sky on the radio

If you had taken time to read the previous page (page 7) I did acknowledge that.

" I,d forgotten about Kimmage doing Newstalk...yeh he's doing that rather than writing in the Independent.

http://www.newstalk.ie/player/podcas...ge_tour_report

He certainly lays into Froome and Porte. "

 

[TrackCynic]

Living in the US, I unfortunately have to put up with the NBC coverage. There is zero mention of suspicious performances and zero mention of the history of dopers who are still allowed to ride the TdF (e.g. no one seems fit to mention it's interesting Contador is not the rider he was after being found out as a doper).

This is because it's viewed as ENTERTAINMENT and any slur on a rider is a slur on the sport, which is a slur on the sponsors, which hits NBC in the pocket.

Let's face it; TV coverage of sport (at least in the US) is about 1 thing: revenue for the TV companies and sponsors. Just look at the doping farces that are (American) football, UFC, swimming, baseball and athletics and how little doping is reported in the media. It's not in their interest.

BTW, just to who show cycling in the US has not moved on at all since the USPS fiasco, I overheard in my local bike store that George Hincapie was going to be the studio "expert" this year on NBC but pulled out last minute. The guy is still a hero to the weekend warriors despite being a proven doper. The fact that NBC were prepared to use him is just very sad.

 

[Northern rider]

BBC Sport's coverage of the stage is hardly controversial, not exactly unexpected however. Some hilarious comments though.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/23306438

 

[Cycle Chic]

Regarding Kimmage though. His Day 16 Video Diary and the previous few videos actually,.are a waste of space. I wasted 5 minutes watching the Day 16 video where he talks to 2 arbitrary riders on Alp d'Huez. His motive for this I can only summise is 'his Ego'. The 2 riders, it turns out, do not know who they have just been talking to. Oh how funny - its Paul 'up my own a**' Kimmage.

http://www.independent.ie/videos/sport/day-16-of-paul-kimmages-tour-de-france-diary-29420566.html

He should stop messin about wasting time filming this rubbish and do some proper investigative journalism

He's fast losing his credibility. And how come he isn't at press conferences asking awkward questions. Instead of asking arbitrary riders why they are still wearing a Livestrong yellow wristband....WTF !

 

[H2OUUP2]

Living in the US, I unfortunately have to put up with the NBC coverage. There is zero mention of suspicious performances and zero mention of the history of dopers who are still allowed to ride the TdF (e.g. no one seems fit to mention it's interesting Contador is not the rider he was after being found out as a doper).

This is because it's viewed as ENTERTAINMENT and any slur on a rider is a slur on the sport, which is a slur on the sponsors, which hits NBC in the pocket.

Let's face it; TV coverage of sport (at least in the US) is about 1 thing: revenue for the TV companies and sponsors. Just look at the doping farces that are (American) football, UFC, swimming, baseball and athletics and how little doping is reported in the media. It's not in their interest.

BTW, just to who show cycling in the US has not moved on at all since the USPS fiasco, I overheard in my local bike store that George Hincapie was going to be the studio "expert" this year on NBC but pulled out last minute. The guy is still a hero to the weekend warriors despite being a proven doper. The fact that NBC were prepared to use him is just very sad.

The NBC coverage is terrible. Phil and Paul get a boner every time Froome takes off on Contador. They are building the english speaking guy versus the Spanish doper feud very well....At the end of the Ventoux stage they had a split screen of when Froome Finished, and when Contador finished. USA TV knows how to build heroes and villains very well.....Add that to watching Froome ride his bike and I can barely watch anymore.... I barely want to even look at my bike. It's such a joke.

 

[oldcrank]

Regarding Kimmage though. His Day 16 Video Diary and the previous few videos actually,.are a waste of space. I wasted 5 minutes watching the Day 16 video where he talks to 2 arbitrary riders on Alp d'Huez. His motive for this I can only summise is 'his Ego'. The 2 riders, it turns out, do not know who they have just been talking to. Oh how funny - its Paul 'up my own a**' Kimmage.

http://www.independent.ie/videos/sport/day-16-of-paul-kimmages-tour-de-france-diary-29420566.html

He should stop messin about wasting time filming this rubbish and do some proper investigative journalism

He's fast losing his credibility. And how come he isn't at press conferences asking awkward questions. Instead of asking arbitrary riders why they are still wearing a Livestrong yellow wristband....WTF !

Excellent post, and I will not accuse you of praying at the feet
of the Texas Turd as happens most times someone calls out
Paul "me head's up me own @rse" Kimmage.