Le Tour

M

mwerner

Joined
Apr 23, 2002
Messages
5,354
I know we always have a few Tour de France fans on the board. This year, we have not one but two US-based teams; Columbia and Garmin-Chipotle.

(Garmin-Chipotle? I know...Sounds wierd.)

Anyway, the lads are doing well, the young rider for Columbia, Kim Kirchen, presently wears the yellow, and another teammate, Lokvist, holds down 6th.

Veteran Hincape is just 1:45 behind, in good position as they enter the mountains.
 
In the US, it's being carried by the "VS" channel, the new name for the Outdoor channel.
You can get daily updates and video from a variety of sources.
 
Its sad how the whole doping scandal has messed up this race. I for one was in favor of postponing a year to reconfig the rules.

maybe two tours..one for doping one for no doping..

I hope there is no drug drama on this years race.

Ren
 
I used to love the Tour de France. I was in awe of the guys that pound up those mountains and ride hundreds of miles. It seemed to be a feat of superhuman proportions. Then the drug scandals really came to the fore and I don't care about it at all.

I am confused by why I don't really care about steroids in baseball but have lost interest in bicycle racing because of similar problems. I don't know if its because in baseball I root for a team, not an individual player or what. I think maybe its because in baseball the essence of the game isn't changed when its a juiced pitcher facing a juiced batter but I looked at the Tour de France as man against the mountains\course more than against other riders.
 
No scandals as yet. As an indication of the "no nonsense" policy one of the top sprinters was barred from Le Tour because of an off-season "recreational" cocaine incident.

Of course, this is old news too; a quote from one of the early winners was to the effect "Le Tour is not won on mineral water." That was back in the 30s...

After a big doping scandal in the 70s in which that year's race was dubbed "Le Tour de Pharmacie", the next year's supposedly cleaned-up competition was termed "Le Tour de Good Health."

Goes on and on...
 
The Tour de France suffered its first doping scandal this week with veteran cyclist Manuel Bertran (Spanish/Liquigas) testing positive for EPO (same thing Lance Armstrong is believed to have taken) and being summarily kicked out of the race and being held by French police. He faces jail time, being dropped by his team, returning a year's salary to his team, and being banned from professional cycling altogether.

While it is disappointing to see the Tour marred yet again by doping, the swift and serious punishments that are now handed down to those that choose to dope should begin to have a cumulative effect of being a deterrent to those who are considering performance enhancement drugs.

That being said, the Tour de France is such a monster... such a physically difficult race that goes on for 2 weeks. Just one good showing on one day's stage can make a riders prestige and visibility and value rise astronomically. There is a ton of pressure on these guys...

I put my 5 bucks on Cadel Evans!
 
Evans has been doing well, and finished well last year also. The Columbia team scored another victory today, with their sprinter Cavendish winning the stage and the team retaining the Yellow Jersey.
Into the mountains proper....
 
I used to watch, but I haven't for several years. I would say my biggest reason is the lack of good competition. Maybe the 90s spoiled me....Indurain, Rominger, Pantani, Bugno, Chiappucci....it just seemed to me that there were more possible winners then. And yes, I know about the doping scandals from back then. Doping has been around cycling for a long time....look at Tom Simpson.

This year might actually produce some good racing since there is no one dominant rider.

I'd much rather watch the single day classics....Paris-Roubaix, Het Volk, Gent-Wevelgem, the Ronde, etc.
 
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