Gearing up for the Tour? I can't wait. Does anyone know what station is covering it this year? OLN usually does, but I'm not sure this year.

you mean Tour day France... Tour DAY France

you mean Tour day France... Tour DAY France

Yes "Tour DAY France". I wonder if he's going to be one of the announcers again this year? Can't remember his name. He bombs out in his pick of riders doesn't he.

bob roll

Is anyone.............

going to be left to ride?

Len

I can't wait. I love watching bike races on OLN (now versus). Now that I've got some road races under my belt it's a lot more interesting.

I'm a big Disco fan, if Basso rides he will probably win. It's a no brainer. He'll have Leipheimer, Hincapie, Popo, and company as domesdiques. !!!

Look forward to seeing disco more than I did last year. I kept waiting to see them make a move, but they never really did much.

I'm a big Disco fan, if Basso rides he will probably win. It's a no brainer. He'll have Leipheimer, Hincapie, Popo, and company as domesdiques. !!!

It's a no brainer that Basso will not ride. He's not on Disco anymore, either.

It's a no brainer that Basso will not ride. He's not on Disco anymore, either.


no guarantees on Popovych either, given that he's their Giro leader

I can't wait. I love watching bike races on OLN (now versus). Now that I've got some road races under my belt it's a lot more interesting.

I'm a big Disco fan, if Basso rides he will probably win. It's a no brainer. He'll have Leipheimer, Hincapie, Popo, and company as domesdiques. !!!

Look forward to seeing disco more than I did last year. I kept waiting to see them make a move, but they never really did much.


I don't think you heard the news but I don't think Basso will be riding for anyone for the next year or two......

but is Lance riding??

yes lance is making a comeback but hell be riding for a French team

when exactly is the Tour de France?

when exactly is the Tour de France?


when? where is it???

OLN isnt OLN anymore. It's Versus.

Come one folks, it's Giro time, not TdF time. Get with the program. We've got this nice forum here called Pro Cycling. Check it out.

yes lance is making a comeback but hell be riding for a French team

Lance is riding again! Are you sure?

Is anyone.............

going to be left to ride?

Len

This is going to be an interesting year, with so many of the familiar big guns out. It will be interesting to see how some of the relatively new riders do.

Is anyone.............

going to be left to ride?

Len

That would be my question....LOL

Operation Puerto could knock all the serious contenders out of the race, as well as most of the riders on the qualified teams. Maybe for the first time in years, we will actually see a clean race.......SMACK...What am I thinking? :mad2: That won't happen, but one can dream.

It could be a bunch of local club riders racing in the Tour by the time it comes around.

That would be my question....LOL

Operation Puerto could knock all the serious contenders out of the race, as well as most of the riders on the qualified teams. Maybe for the first time in years, we will actually see a clean race.......SMACK...What am I thinking? :mad2: That won't happen, but one can dream.

It could be a bunch of local club riders racing in the Tour by the time it comes around.

now a Frenchman can win it...........



Nah!

Len

Come one folks, it's Giro time, not TdF time. Get with the program. We've got this nice forum here called Pro Cycling. Check it out.


the helmet maker sponsors a race now???

After Puerto last year, I thought we would be watching a clean race. Something tells me it is going to take years and years to really clean up the sport, and it is going to take some tough rules and tough enforcement to clean it up. Even with LA, what would have happened to him if he got caught doping on his 7th Tour. Would he have lost all 6 of his titles from beforehand? The 2 year ban is also a joke. Yeah, we say that this is these guys livelihoods, but guess what, if I comingle my client's funds with mine, I will get disbarred and practicing law is my livelihood. Some things are serious enough to make is so that these guys need to find a different line of work. Athletes are people making a ton of money doing what kids love to do. The benefit to society is that we get to "entertain" ourselves watching them have a good time. I watched the Tour last year, but won't be watching it this year.

The start date for the Tour de France is usually July 4th.

Bob Roll (aka Tour Day France) actually raced in the Tour on the 7-11 Team back in the late 80's.

Okay, my rant is over for now. Now, I'll have to get back to work.

Wow. I had no idea Basso got banned :cryin: and lance was making a comeback :thumbsup: .

I did hear that Landis was getting a fair trial and he actually stands a pretty good chance. I believe him. In my eyes the winner of the TDF last year was the American Floyd Landis.

Maybe he'll be allowed to ride...

http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/francophone/Tour_de_france/TDF_lait_le_doping_naturel.jpg

Floyd...not doping...LOL

Len

http://www.whyweworry.com/content/wp-content/2006/08/landis06-08-01.jpg

Wow. I had no idea Basso got banned :cryin: and lance was making a comeback :thumbsup: .

I did hear that Landis was getting a fair trial and he actually stands a pretty good chance. I believe him. In my eyes the winner of the TDF last year was the American Floyd Landis.

Maybe he'll be allowed to ride...

I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

In all seriousness though, you should at least visit some sites that deal with pro cycling. You sound frightfully out of touch.

1. Basso has admitted to "attempted" doping. It's the biggest news in cycling this past week.

2. There is no Armstrong comeback.

3. Floyd Landis as zero chance of not getting banned. Even the retest from a couple weeks ago showed he is guilty as sin.

4. Tyler Hamilton is a cheat and a liar to boot, and he has been suspended AGAIN, though it didn't really matter.

Lance is riding again! Are you sure?

yea he is real close buddies to the french

Good for you Flyboy50. Maybe if we all paid as close attention to things like this, there wouldn't be as much money in sports and these guys wouldn't be that quick to potentially kill themselves with PED's (i.e., you don't follow pro cycling all that closely and are not glued to the TV and websites where advertisers are only interested in the number of viewers that see their ads). It is us sheeple that salivate on these things that allow the professional athletes to make the money they make.

Okay folks. Lance, basso, Landis, valverde, and all the names of the past several years can be erased from future considerations for success. Their probable guilt, is secondary to the poor system that bans and suspends the cheats.
Rico, schleck, voigt, popovych, levi, diluca, cunego, are some of the names that you will see in sporting headlines, not scandal headlines.

Rico, schleck, voigt, popovych, levi, diluca, cunego, are some of the names that you will see in sporting headlines, not scandal headlines.

and I don't think you can race at the level they have been racing without "assistance" of some kind. Not as hard as these guys ride (training & racing)...and as many days in a row.

The difference between the first group you mentioned and the above group is solely about getting caught.

Len

and I don't think you can race at the level they have been racing without "assistance" of some kind. Not as hard as these guys ride (training & racing)...and as many days in a row.

The difference between the first group you mentioned and the above group is solely about getting caught.

Len
I think they can.
They boast numbers around 370 watts for LT (ie Michael Creed).
Is that impossible? Not at all.

There's a guy on my team with that LT. An amateur racer, 30 years old. (Admittedly, he does train 20+ hours/week, and his job is a cycling coach).

Let's look at this forum for examples of what riders can maybe do.
Let's look at me.
16 years old, and 300 watt LT.

I have been seriously riding as a racer since January or so of 06. I have been training with a coach since August. In other words, I don't have a lot of mileage in my legs. But my LT's up there.

Let's think about this. If someone who's 16, trains 12 hours/week max, and is relatively inexperienced can hit 300 watts, why can't someone who's 28, trains 30 hours/week, and has been cycling since age 12 hit 370?

I don't think it's at all impossible to hit the levels the pros do. I think it's impossible for some people, and they have to dope. However, I believe the vast majority is clean.

I think they can.
They boast numbers around 370 watts for LT (ie Michael Creed).
Is that impossible? Not at all.

There's a guy on my team with that LT. An amateur racer, 30 years old. (Admittedly, he does train 20+ hours/week, and his job is a cycling coach).

Let's look at this forum for examples of what riders can maybe do.
Let's look at me.
16 years old, and 300 watt LT.

I have been seriously riding as a racer since January or so of 06. I have been training with a coach since August. In other words, I don't have a lot of mileage in my legs. But my LT's up there.

Let's think about this. If someone who's 16, trains 12 hours/week max, and is relatively inexperienced can hit 300 watts, why can't someone who's 28, trains 30 hours/week, and has been cycling since age 12 hit 370?

I don't think it's at all impossible to hit the levels the pros do. I think it's impossible for some people, and they have to dope. However, I believe the vast majority is clean.

20 days in a row.......
or 5 months of 6 hours a day on the bike at a high intensity without breaking down.....
Or racing, really racing........60+ days a year or more......for several years in a row.

From talking to Div 1 Pros who went from US to Europe, US racers have no idea how hard it is racing in Europe...the demands, the number of days racing, the training expected.

I don't doubt that you can do that...I do doubt you could do it for the length of time these guys do it at the intensity they do it.

Go do Paris Robuix course some time at high intensity, after doing similar 1 day races once or twice a week for the previous 2 months.......take a racing break for 3 weeks while still training and then do the Giro for 20 days.

Len

^^^ doesnt sound all too hard, hehe... seriously though... yall will hear about me in a couple years...

As said before it will be years before cycling can be considered a "clean" sport again (not that there wasn't drug use in the past, it was accepted before the governing bodies stepped in), the first thing you will see is the speed of the races decrease. I'm not knocking anyone who trains and sacrifices to be a racer at the elite level in Europe or for that matter here in the U.S. I'll still watch it and follow it closely, but won't be suprised if this year's winner of the TdF is a virtual unknown from a team that seldom wins. It will make for some interesting racing.

Guys, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure that you still concentrate on your education. Just like other pro sports, how many cyclists actually make it pro, how much does the average pro make, and how long does the average pro career last. Make sure you have a fall back plan that involves education instead of sports. One good wreck can end a career. Train hard, race hard, but have a back up plan and study hard.

The worst thing about pro sports is that it is almost mandatory to take some type of PED's to be great at the sport and be one of the top paid athletes. Question is what will those PED's do to you long term. Lying on your death bed at age 50 isn't the time to think about what those PED's did to you. I used to be a big fan of pro sports, but with the rampant use of PED's in almost every pro sport, I wouldn't want my children going that route. Better to be a brain surgeon, attorney, pharmacist, engineer, etc. versus a pro athlete. If you are really good at whatever you do, you will be famous. Look at Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the top surgeons, etc.

I'm pretty sure Bill Gates used BEDs - Brain Enhancing Drugs.

heh.

I'm pretty sure Bill Gates used BEDs - Brain Enhancing Drugs.


No, just WEDs. Wallet enhancing drugs. :eek:

I'm mean...give me a break. How can anyone not be frustrated and cynical of this whole doping thing...Puerto Affair that is really going nowhere but dragging on...NO clear resolution on the Landis thing except there seems to be a clear lack of fairness of due process (whether Floyd is truly guilty or not). Now Valverde has been implicated in the Puerto thing. And Basso saying he admits to "attempted doping". I'm boycotting the Tour and everyting else pro-cycling.

I'm mean...give me a break. How can anyone not be frustrated and cynical of this whole doping thing...Puerto Affair that is really going nowhere but dragging on...NO clear resolution on the Landis thing except there seems to be a clear lack of fairness of due process (whether Floyd is truly guilty or not). Now Valverde has been implicated in the Puerto thing. And Basso saying he admits to "attempted doping". I'm boycotting the Tour and everyting else pro-cycling.

but another way to look at it is as entertainment. It's a show....and, since they are all doping (or seem to be) it's a level playing feild and the best do win.

why take it so personal?

Len

There are a lot of reasons to take it personally, especially if you are a guy that doesn't break the rules, or even try to bend them. If you are that type of guy, why wouldn't you feel sorry for the poor guys that aren't doping. How about the poor guy that cannot make the pro peleton after years and years of trying, just because he will not dope.

Kind of like hearing about people abusing the tax system when you pay your taxes like you are supposed to. Most people who are not cheaters despise cheaters, whether they be in sports or elsewhere. At least that is how I feel about the entire thing.

Just heard on ESPN today that the USADA was willing to give Landis a deal if he could give them anything on LA that would lead to a conviction. Landis came back with it was dispicable of USADA to ask such a thing of him since he, Landis, is innocent anyway. Trust me, if Landis had anything that implicated LA that would significantly decrease his suspension, he would be singing like a canary, pun intended. How many times has a person caught doping actually admitted to it. Shawn Merriman was even going to fight his suspension from the NFL this past year for steroid use. One thing that I can say is that the NFL is at least cracking down on players that get into criminal trouble.