Cycling Thread

[wildspoke 2]

Well to be fair, I think the more casual fans (I guess I'm included in that bracket) tend to be Americans and only correlate the TDF to Lance Armstrong. I'll admit I still have hopes that Lance will have a huge day on the mountains and win one last stage, I mean he's the sole reason I started watching the sport.I just really hope Schleck wins this tour, it's a shame he doesn't have his brother with him, this tour could be over by now if he had Frank.

Today was Armstrong's best chance to win a stage. He might try again but I'm not so sure. He needed the break to be smaller than it was. Too many guys is not what they needed. Fredrico was in the best position. Three teams had 2 riders so they were playing off each other. Plus, Fredrico has won a stage before. So he knows how to win. Armstrong is not a sprinter and he gave up when he wasn't going to win.Today was a rest day for the rest of the field. This was the big players saying - ok Lance today is your chance to win a stage, after that it's game on and you're not invited.Lance like LeMond before him will cause other Americans to win the Tour De France. There are a number of riders who are in their early 20s that will be very good in 4 or 5 years. Next year will be a changing of the guard in American cycling as all the guys in their 30s will be hanging it up - Lance, Levi, George, VDV, Horner.

[Mercury69 3]

Great Tour for Hesjedal. If they make him a feature biker, he just might have a podium finish, which would do Steve Bauer one better.Nice job, Ryder!

[wildspoke 2]

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) defended his title in the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday.This bodes well for the Tour of Spain and ultimately the World Championships in Australia. The course is not a 'pure sprinters' course. He might be the only high sprinter left to take the rainbow jersey.

[wildspoke 2]

This shit never ends. The whole sport is ****ed. Contador tests positive for clenbuterolBy Charles Pelkey • Updated: Sep 29th 2010 8:30 PM EDTTour de France champion Alberto Contador has scheduled a news conference for Thursday to address reports of an apparent positive test for the bronchodilator clenbuterol.Contador, a three-time winner of the French national tour, apparently tested positive for the drug in tests conducted on the final day of this year’s race and was notified of the result on August 24.According to a release issued by his publicist, Contador is scheduled to hold a press conference at noon Thursday at the Hotel Las Artes in his hometown of Pinto, Spain. Contador has assembled a group of experts who will contend that the positive test is the result of “food contamination.”“The experts consulted so far have agreed also that this is a food contamination case, especially considering the number of tests passed by Alberto Contador during the Tour de France,” the release asserted.Contador said that a review of data supplied by the UCI makes it “possible to define precisely both the time of the emergence of the substance as well as the tiny amount detected, ruling out any other source or intentionality.”Clenbuterol is a synthetic bronchodilator often prescribed to asthma sufferers. It is also regarded as a stimulant and has recently been used in off-label prescriptions as a weight-loss drug akin to ephedrine. The drug is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substances list and is specifically banned under Article 21 of the UCI’s anti-doping rules.RadioShack’s Fuyu Li recently was suspended after testing positive for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour of Flanders.While Contador appears to be challenging the result of his A sample, he has the option of requesting and overseeing the testing of a second sample. Failing that, he risks becoming only the second rider in the history of the Tour de France to be stripped of his title because of a doping violation. American Floyd Landis was found guilty of a doping violation following the 2006 Tour.

[Mercury69 3]

Yeah, clenbuterol is so common in food substances, I don't know why this is an issue. <sw>Seriously, **** all these guys for doping.

[wildspoke 2]

Yeah, clenbuterol is so common in food substances, I don't know why this is an issue. <sw>Seriously, **** all these guys for doping.

It really is a farce. There will always be doping in cycling and other sports because results = fame and money. I'm so jaded. I think everyone in professional sports cheats.Contador at least admitted that the clenbuterol was in his system. His excuse was super lame. Plus, they interviewed the team chef during those exact days and he said nothing about cooking meat that came from Spain. He should get banned for 2 years.