Poll: 4 Days to go. Should Boonen ride? yes/no

[Bala Verde]

I wonder where ASO draws the line with this 'protecting the image of cycling' argument, (and even more how strict and impartially they are going to apply it...)

If a cyclist turns out to be a racist, is that enough reason to exclude him from participation?

If a cyclist openly admits he is gay, could that perhaps taint the image of cycling?

If a cyclist votes Vlaams Blok/Democrat/Partido Popular, could they make a call on that as well?

If a cyclist is an alcoholic/gambling addict, will ASO assist in getting him into rehab instead of letting him compete for the Polka Dot Jersey?

What if we have a Maddof-style cyclist who embezzles money, but somehow evades jail time. Can they exclude him for that...

I think they need to start defining what the "image of cycling" really is.

 

[ambrose]

If it was his first time, then yes, but third?
These people are role models, and cyclists don't do coke, that should be left for footballers and the like, not real athletes.

 

[atolfree]

Cocaine doesn't really enhance your performance at all and he's the only one that could really compete with Cavendish so I'd say YES!

Boonen is not even close to Cavendish as an outright sprinter! Maybe its just the C that dulls the pain when he rides the pave as he does so well?

 

[Anonymous]

Just read an article on how little it takes to test positive for steroids from nutritional supplements. Could it be the same for other drugs.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Training/General_Physiology/How_Much_is_Enough__893.html

This is about precursors.

There are no precursors to cocaine.

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder where ASO draws the line with this 'protecting the image of cycling' argument, (and even more how strict and impartially they are going to apply it...)

If a cyclist turns out to be a racist, is that enough reason to exclude him from participation?

If a cyclist openly admits he is gay, could that perhaps taint the image of cycling?

If a cyclist votes Vlaams Blok/Democrat/Partido Popular, could they make a call on that as well?

If a cyclist is an alcoholic/gambling addict, will ASO assist in getting him into rehab instead of letting him compete for the Polka Dot Jersey?

What if we have a Maddof-style cyclist who embezzles money, but somehow evades jail time. Can they exclude him for that...

I think they need to start defining what the "image of cycling" really is.

I can not even believe you said that.

What world do you live in where being gay would taint an image?

Please rethink this comment so that I don't have to remember it every time I see your name.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think Boonen would be great to have at the tour because he would be the 2nd challenger other than Freire to Cavendish. But i wouldn't like to see him their because he will take the place of an australian Allan Davis. Jackhammer, Bala verde didn't make a bad point about being gay. As i look at the world knowing somebody who is gay you are treated differently. If a cyclist came out of the closet, he would be known as the "Phoof on wheels". How did the gay topic come about anyway. I don' think a gay cyclist could taint the image of cycling. LMFAO

 

[Anonymous]

I can not even believe you said that.

What world do you live in where being gay would taint an image?

Please rethink this comment so that I don't have to remember it every time I see your name.

I think that was his point.

 

[krebs303]

This is about precursors.

There are no precursors to cocaine.

What I was trying convey was how little of an amount it takes to provide a positive result.Which in this case was 2.5/1000 of a milligram. A grain of sand weighs about 1mg. Divide this grain of sand by 400 and what you have is a very, very small amount of substance.

 

[subzro]

I don't really care whether he's there or not to be honest. He can count himself lucky that he didn't get a formal ban and that he still has a team to ride for.

 

[elapid]

I don't really care whether he's there or not to be honest. He can count himself lucky that he didn't get a formal ban and that he still has a team to ride for.

Really? That's just BS. He would not be formally banned because he cannot be for an out-of-competition test. No luck involved, just the rules. Lucky not to be fired from QS? There is no way that QS would fire the best Classics rider in the business, particularly as they are the Classics team. Even if they were foolhardy enough to consider the prospect of firing Boonen, it would be all of a nanosecond before another team would offer him a big juicy contract.

 

[Bala Verde]

I can not even believe you said that.

What world do you live in where being gay would taint an image?

Please rethink this comment so that I don't have to remember it every time I see your name.

I know you are trying really, really hard. But please, try again, and if possible, a little harder. Don't let me down, I know you can do it. Just do it...

Reading pen, also acts as your personal reading assistant

 

[Christian]

I say yes too, but he isn't the only one that can beat Cav. What about Freire, Farrar, and Thor?

Eh, I guess they probably could too, but I think Boonen is the best sprinter in the peloton next to Cavendish. Used to be Thor, but he hasn't taken so many big wins this season. Maybe he'll be good too.

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder where ASO draws the line with this 'protecting the image of cycling' argument, (and even more how strict and impartially they are going to apply it...)

If a cyclist turns out to be a racist, is that enough reason to exclude him from participation?

If a cyclist openly admits he is gay, could that perhaps taint the image of cycling?

If a cyclist votes Vlaams Blok/Democrat/Partido Popular, could they make a call on that as well?

If a cyclist is an alcoholic/gambling addict, will ASO assist in getting him into rehab instead of letting him compete for the Polka Dot Jersey?

What if we have a Maddof-style cyclist who embezzles money, but somehow evades jail time. Can they exclude him for that...

I think they need to start defining what the "image of cycling" really is.

in the context of several other things you mention that do rightfully have negative connotation you seem to infer that being gay has the same built in negative.

I think you made an error in doing so.

I don't presume that you meant to do so.

I just wanted you to admit it doesn't belong there.

 

[lostintime]

They can't let Boonen into the tour because they've they have no choice. To do so would be Hippocratic.

If you take a anti-drug stand, you can't let someone race who takes cocaine.

Myself, I'd let them all race, let the best dope win . . . but I don't have millions at stake in sponsorship. It's really a no win situation for the organizers anymore. They let doping go for so long they'll never get the genie back in the bottle. To a large extent they created their own monsters, now they punish them. It's a mad mad world.

 

[TrapperJohn]

No, he shouldn't be at the Tour.

He was given more than adequate warning that his hard partying ways would endanger his future. Even if he didn't snort, maybe just picked up the wrong drink, kissed the wrong girl, the fact is - he was hanging out with people he shouldn't have been with, in places he shouldn't have been. I've done my fair share of partying, and you always know what's being consumed at a party. The behavior of the people at the party is a dead giveaway. He should have known better.

Is there anyone associated with cycling that doesn't know that any drug consumption, even recreational, makes the sport look bad? Does anyone not know that the heat is on? That random drug tests are being conducted, and recreational drug use will end up being detected and publicized? That drug consumption by a cyclist is Not A Good Thing?

I'm leery of ASO arbitrarily excluding riders, but in this case, they're justified. If you're going to make millions from a sport, you have an obligation not to damage the reputation of the sport in the process. No, recreational drugs don't enhance performance, but they make the sport look bad. For a few million a year, you should be able to comprehend that.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Mart Smeets reported on Dutch tv tonight that Boonen had arrived in Monaco.

Just in case.

 

[lostintime]

He's in Monaco . .. . hmm. Lot's of parties to go to in Monaco!

-Just in case he's not invited to the Tour.

Cruel . . I know. . . . but who knows how addicted he is.

 

[boalio]

They can't let Boonen into the tour because they've they have no choice. To do so would be Hippocratic.

If you take a anti-drug stand, ...

But isn't it an anti-doping stance not anti-drugs stance. They are different things.

 

[boalio]

I can not even believe you said that.

What world do you live in where being gay would taint an image?

Please rethink this comment so that I don't have to remember it every time I see your name.

What world do you live in that doesn't have people who think it's bad to be gay? I am by no means agreeing, but there are peopel who think that.

I think that's the whole point. Why should they get to be the moral gatekeepers. What if the UCI decided that red heads taint the image of the sport? Sure it's a stupid and extreme example to make, but where do they draw the line?

 

[lostintime]

But isn't it an anti-doping stance not anti-drugs stance. They are different things.

I know what your saying. But, that would be a very slippery message to send though wouldn't it, since doping is taking drugs. I could see a kid asking his dad . . . Why can Boonen ride when he did drugs, I thought cycling was against them?

Would you like to explain the difference to the child between the two drugs, and how one illegal substance would be allowed and the other not?

I wouldn't.

 

[auscyclefan94]

What world do you live in that doesn't have people who think it's bad to be gay? I am by no means agreeing, but there are peopel who think that.

I think that's the whole point. Why should they get to be the moral gatekeepers. What if the UCI decided that red heads taint the image of the sport? Sure it's a stupid and extreme example to make, but where do they draw the line?

i agree. gays no matter what are percepted as outcasts and have prejudice against them. I sometimes have prejudice against them. Anyway isn't this a cycling site and a thread about boonen? Do you guys believe boonen's gay?

 

[The GCW]

Should boonen be able to race the tour?

With out a doubt,

YES.

I didn't see how to vote... so this is it...

 

[Vanderaerden's perm]

Of course he should be allowed to ride the tour. He's done nothing to contravene the laws of cycling. I know it's the "image" of the Tour that ASO want to protect but I wouldn't see the Green Jersey as being tainted if Boonen won it.

Anyhoo, Tom should have used the "Gilberto Simoni Defence" and protested that his wife's Auntie had bought some cough sweets back from darkest Peru which happened to contain traces of cocaine! It worked for him.

 

[Amsterhammer]

"Tom Boonen zal pas vrijdag, een dag voor de start, weten of hij mag deelnemen aan de Tour de France. De Franse arbitragerechtbank CAS buigt zich pas vrijdagmorgen over de zaak en niet donderdag, zoals advocaat Johnny Maeschalck eerder had gemeld."

http://www.gva.be/nieuws/sport/wielrennen/aid844618/tom-boonen-weet-lot-pas-vrijdagmorgen.aspx

The judges of the French Olympic Committee's court of arbitration will deliver their verdict Friday morning immediately after hearing arguments from both parties, and not as had previously been thought, on Thursday.

edit at 15:20 CET - I wish they'd make their bloody minds up....the Gazet van Antwerpen says that the hearing has started now and not tomorrow morning in Paris.....the court says a verdict can be announced anytime before Friday evening.

 

[Anonymous]

He's in Monaco . .. . hmm. Lot's of parties to go to in Monaco!

-Just in case he's not invited to the Tour.

Cruel . . I know. . . . but who knows how addicted he is.

I'm not in favor of letting him in but his hair sample does prove he doesn't have a huge coke problem.

But he can't dabble with a line every or two every once in a while.

Unless he wan't to change jobs.