Will Tour de France 2011 be a farce?

[ManInFull]

If wada was to take over all testing and protocol, then no farce'


i am ready for the circus come July..............prediction - Cunego in yellow

You are kidding about Cunego, right? I have a good a chance as he does and I'm not even in the event.

 

[pmcg76]

One????

It's been a parade of filthy dopers for years now. I think that's what's turning people away.

Well, that is my point. The sport has been like this since 1998 so why the sudden whining this year. I dont remember people whining like this the last few years on here. What has changed since 09, is the Giro/Tour somehow dirtier than 2008/09/10.

I understand people being annoyed at Contador still riding, the same as Valverde a lot of people felt he should not have been riding when he was. However back them people were angry at Valverde/UCI as opposed to saying they were not watching certain races he participated in.

If its a case of people finding GTs less interesting in general or due to one rider dominating, fine by me, I get that also. One day races are more exciting but are hardly dope free either.

But to suggest that the Tour and the Giro is a farce becasue a load of dopers are riding is plain ridiculous. That has been the case for years. I just dont get why it suddenly has become an issue.

 

[forty four]

With the doubts looming over AC's legitimacy to be racing will this year's Tour be a joke?

I didn't bother watching the Giro and now I feel I won't be bothered with the Tour either

I also wondered will any fans feel angry enough about the situation to physically attack AC on the climbs and cause him to loose some time? What are the regulations in such a case? Would Andy S be a gent and wait for Bertie?

a farce????? when you ride 2000+ miles drugs or not in just a few days at 25+?. go away we dont need you in this sport and we dont want you.

childish mental states regarding real life and competition get old real fast. i swear its like a bunch of bitter mental children who were bullied when young on here. do any of you really think you would have any chance to even compete with the gifted guys drugs or not??
your just stupid simply and enjoy thinking delusional thoughts regarding ability. do you even race not likely or if so you lose again and again.... as your weak where it counts mind/soul/body. yeah dont watch dont post goodbye watch nfl.

 

[Benotti69]

a farce????? when you ride 2000+ miles drugs or not in just a few days at 25+?. go away we dont need you in this sport and we dont want you.

childish mental states regarding real life and competition get old real fast. i swear its like a bunch of bitter mental children who were bullied when young on here. do any of you really think you would have any chance to even compete with the gifted guys drugs or not??
your just stupid simply and enjoy thinking delusional thoughts regarding ability. do you even race not likely or if so you lose again and again.... as your weak where it counts mind/soul/body. yeah dont watch dont post goodbye watch nfl.

so if someone doesn't want to watch a pharmaceutically enhanced 3 weeks on 2 wheels it is because they have been bullied and are losers with the mentality of bitter children?

The flip side of that statement is that those who do want to watch are bullies who are winners with the mental attitude of pensioners!

Hmmm, that small yella band is for your wrist not your forehead!

 

[Trey Peloton]

Hmmm, that small yella band is for your wrist not your forehead!

LOL! Well put, mate.

 

[AussieGoddess]

AC riding it is quite honestly less of a farce than George Hicappie riding it.

 

[Basecase]

The Tour is the pinnacle of the sport and the bookmakers have Contador as red hot favourite yet his name is clearly tainted.

I'd say anyone here that says drugs is part of the sport so just enjoy it must have never raced clean themselves against dopers.

For me Valverde and Hincapie are not direct comparisons, neither had the potential to totally dominate the Tour like AC

I actually used to be an AC fan but find the pending situation disappointing.

 

[thirteen]

The Tour is the pinnacle of the sport and the bookmakers have Contador as red hot favourite yet his name is clearly tainted.

I'd say anyone here that says drugs is part of the sport so just enjoy it must have never raced clean themselves against dopers.

For me Valverde and Hincapie are not direct comparisons, neither had the potential to totally dominate the Tour like AC

I actually used to be an AC fan but find the pending situation disappointing.

whether the Tour is the pinnacle is debatable...

so, let me see if i understand you correctly. you are only against dopers if they have the talent and ability to dominate a race AND suffered the misfortune of having gotten caught?

seems fair to me. let a rider race doped as long as he can't win. hell, let anyone ride as long as they don't get caught

progressive thinking.

 

[movingtarget]

You are kidding about Cunego, right? I have a good a chance as he does and I'm not even in the event.

I think he means Cunego could be in yellow which is possible if he gets in the right break. I can't imagine Contador being too concerned if he gave a few minutes or more to Cunego. We all know Cunego could not retain the yellow jersey.

I love a good farce and I will be watching as usual. What happens subsequently never surprises me so I will enjoy the racing and not concern myself with the legal, medical, ethical, doping fallout. Those problems seemed to have been thrown in the "too hard basket," long ago.

 

[Basecase]

whether the Tour is the pinnacle is debatable...

so, let me see if i understand you correctly. you are only against dopers if they have the talent and ability to dominate a race AND suffered the misfortune of having gotten caught?

seems fair to me. let a rider race doped as long as he can't win. hell, let anyone ride as long as they don't get caught

progressive thinking.

Yeah just imagine the thought - focus on the winners first to purge doping from cycling

 

[Escarabajo]

Oh yeah, we're all waiting on the edge of our seats.

You know you are delusional when your opinion gets adulterated by your own prejudices.

You know that he is probably right. The french are not as forgiving as the Italian. It has not been like that for a while.

Actually I don't care if he wins, like somebody said; it is being a fan in the new century. Something inside of me is excited about the Giro-Tour double. In fact people have said that there is no merit because he is doped to the gills, but so are the other ones (IMHO). In fact there have been discussions in this forum about the Giro-Tour double being more difficult to do now than before because of different reasons such as more competition, more specialized targeting by the riders, more specific doping programs for certain events, etc. That's why I have not minded for Contador to race.

After all is done, if he is found guilty by CAS I'll laugh hard at our sport. Sadly.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

AC should not be allowed to race, it's so messed up that they are letting him. Why bother watching a race when the winner might not even be the real winner in a couple months? I know that's how it always is, but this time the main favorite is actually awaiting his sentence, wtf!! It does however have the potential to be very good, if AC is tired or not on best form, and someone can beat him, it would be fun to watch that happen because the margin would probably be small. So it's a gamble.. however, without AC, the race would be soooo much more exciting anyways.

I do hope angry fans lay down in the road on a climb in front of AC, and forces him to dismount and lose enough time to lose the race.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

when you ride 2000+ miles drugs or not in just a few days at 25+?.

you ever ridden in a big pack of riders? the flats are effortless going that fast when you are in a huge draft. the drugs just help putting out those E.T. performances up the mountains.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Why when it suddenly comes to Contador that everyone is whining.

You glossed over the posts that came before yours because there was a very thorough screed pointing out the grand scale of farce surrounding Pharmador's positive processing.

How can someone watch the classics but not the GTs, are the classics somehow cleaner than the GTs. That is just rubbish.

The crackpot theory goes that doping does not doom a clean rider in a one-day race like it does at a grand tour. IMHO, if doping was meaningfully restrained, then the crackpot theory is possible.

I am not looking forward to the negative racing that happened last year. The cobbles were raced negative, the hills were too. The TdF is the most well known race, but I would never call it the best racing all year.

If there really are a bunch of angry fans, then they should just turn their backs to Pharmador and be silent. That image will be awful for ASO. When Pharmador passes, go back to the usual cheering.

 

[Deagol]

I am no fan of Contador, but I don't think he should be attacked or even blocked physically. It sets a bad precident.

Booed on the stage, perhaps....

 

[DISTRICT 9]

a farce????? when you ride 2000+ miles drugs or not in just a few days at 25+?. go away we dont need you in this sport and we dont want you.

childish mental states regarding real life and competition get old real fast. i swear its like a bunch of bitter mental children who were bullied when young on here. do any of you really think you would have any chance to even compete with the gifted guys drugs or not??
your just stupid simply and enjoy thinking delusional thoughts regarding ability. do you even race not likely or if so you lose again and again.... as your weak where it counts mind/soul/body. yeah dont watch dont post goodbye watch nfl.

A perfect example are individuals who go on forums and talk about how they blew by Horner on a climb and then apologize to him on a forum.

 

[veganrob]

you ever ridden in a big pack of riders? the flats are effortless going that fast when you are in a huge draft. the drugs just help putting out those E.T. performances up the mountains.

So fill us in on your illustrious pro career. Did you just not want to do the drugs so you too could put in those ET performances in the mountains?
Kuddos to you dude.

 

[movingtarget]

AC should not be allowed to race, it's so messed up that they are letting him. Why bother watching a race when the winner might not even be the real winner in a couple months? I know that's how it always is, but this time the main favorite is actually awaiting his sentence, wtf!! It does however have the potential to be very good, if AC is tired or not on best form, and someone can beat him, it would be fun to watch that happen because the margin would probably be small. So it's a gamble.. however, without AC, the race would be soooo much more exciting anyways.

I do hope angry fans lay down in the road on a climb in front of AC, and forces him to dismount and lose enough time to lose the race.

A new sport ? Mountain cyclocross.........you just don't know what could be on the road in front of you.

 

[Benotti69]

AC should not be allowed to race, it's so messed up that they are letting him. Why bother watching a race when the winner might not even be the real winner in a couple months? I know that's how it always is, but this time the main favorite is actually awaiting his sentence, wtf!! It does however have the potential to be very good, if AC is tired or not on best form, and someone can beat him, it would be fun to watch that happen because the margin would probably be small. So it's a gamble.. however, without AC, the race would be soooo much more exciting anyways.

I do hope angry fans lay down in the road on a climb in front of AC, and forces him to dismount and lose enough time to lose the race.

wait for the roid rage on that one

 

[Cloxxki]

We all know the French hate the idea of non-French riders cheating in their race.
Makes me wonder, will AC even DARE to ride? We saw what happened to LA with all of the world wondering about his diet. He only managed to start strong, and just faded. Used his team to drag him to the finish rather than launch him to victory.
How many tests can AC look forward to, preparing for, and participating in the Tour? Can he be targeted in-competition, even when not wearing a lead jersey? Gendarmes in his hotel hallway, routine raids every morning before breakfast, and every evening before him entering his room, that will get to him for sure.
Enough scrutiny, and he will just not win it.

And now they even have these sensitive growth hormone tests....

 

[Boeing]

I don't know which is more difficult; trying to explain why this Tour will be a farce or trying to explain to my non riding friends and family why I like watching bikes go UP hills>?

 

[Angliru]

AC should not be allowed to race, it's so messed up that they are letting him. Why bother watching a race when the winner might not even be the real winner in a couple months? I know that's how it always is, but this time the main favorite is actually awaiting his sentence, wtf!! It does however have the potential to be very good, if AC is tired or not on best form, and someone can beat him, it would be fun to watch that happen because the margin would probably be small. So it's a gamble.. however, without AC, the race would be soooo much more exciting anyways.

I do hope angry fans lay down in the road on a climb in front of AC, and forces him to dismount and lose enough time to lose the race.

Why shouldn't he be allowed to race? He's been cleared to race by his federation the same as Frank Schleck was cleared by his.

 

[Angliru]

We all know the French hate the idea of non-French riders cheating in their race.
Makes me wonder, will AC even DARE to ride? We saw what happened to LA with all of the world wondering about his diet. He only managed to start strong, and just faded. Used his team to drag him to the finish rather than launch him to victory.
How many tests can AC look forward to, preparing for, and participating in the Tour? Can he be targeted in-competition, even when not wearing a lead jersey? Gendarmes in his hotel hallway, routine raids every morning before breakfast, and every evening before him entering his room, that will get to him for sure.
Enough scrutiny, and he will just not win it.

And now they even have these sensitive growth hormone tests....

...and you think since Puerto that he hasn't been under scrutiny? Since his streak of consecutive grand tour wins and all the stage race victories, do you think they've been testing him if he's just when he's won a stage or wearing the leader's jersey? If it was his strategy to avoid testing I doubt he would be making such an effort to win every event he enters.

 

[webvan]

With the attempted clen coverup by the UCI last year and Puerto that magically went away, you have to wonder if there have been other positives that were deemed "suspicious" and we never heard of...

 

[gatete]

Couldn't watch the Giro because the guy in pink should be serving a ban. The reason I prefer the classics is because they are more exciting and unpredictable. Not because I think they might be clean!!!!

People on here don't like AC for one reason. It's the same reason folk don't care too much for LA or Vino, Scarponi, Basso, Ricco, Millar, Riis, DiLucca, Rebellin, Landis, Hamilton. They race their bikes using PEDs.

Plenty of us don't.

Would you mind giving a list of who should people like?