Tour de Farce

[Skybird]

Several teams now have sanctioned their own drivers. Now even the tour leader in the yellow shirt has been stopped - by his own team. The organizers of the tour still are hesitant to be consequent, obviously the show is more important for them than consequent anti-doping policies. Meanwhile, outside the field of active drivers, former idols have their heads in the sling (Ulrich), are about to find a rope around their neck (Armstrong), some even already died from side-effects of their doping, or try to arrange deals with the state attorneys (several active or planned drivers of the current tour).

How serious could an anti-dope policy have been , if the control of the system was left for the most to those criminal figures who previously had made a system of doping? Did anyone really believe that people who used needles and blood conserves all of a sudden would say "Okay, let's clean it up", and immediately would make a 180° turnout and stick to their words? That assumptions was naive, and ridiculous.

The bike sports stinks to heaven. Sport doctors can - and have - calculate for you that the energy the human body is burning during one day at the tour with that kind of speed that we see amongst professionals would mean an equivalent of eating 10-15 packages of pasta/noodles per day. Anyone believing bikers eat that much - every day???

Also, what worth have anti doping policies - if you follow them, and the others not? The competition still is distorted, and unfair. I just imagine what will happening duzring the Olymoics in China. China will make sure at all cost that the Olympics on it's own soild bring golden times to comepnsate for the financial investement, and to raise the prestige. Protection of the health of individual athletes is not really necessary for acchieving that. Of course, other nations will send massively doped athletes as well.

It's not just the Tour, the Tour just seem to be the tip of the iceberg, imo. And that'S why I say: stop the hypocricy around sports. I would like to see doping not only being legalised, but to make it obligatory for every professional athelete. Be honest to the audience, and let every young talent know from the very beginning what he is heading into. at least, that way equal chances will be brought back that way, even if through the backdoor. Since the Olympic spirit is as dead as that mouse I just rolled over with my tank anyway, and sporting events could not survive withoiut being turned into massive sponsoring events and economical showcases, let's be at least honest about the nature of things. Those who feel an obligation to the ideals of free, fair, equal-chanced sporting competition, should stay away from the world championships, Olympics, tours, and whatever there is. Leave the stage to the showactors. Whatever the tour today is: sport in the wider context of certain ideals and a certain spirit has little to do with it. Stop wasting public money into promoting a show for cheating egos, that gives the young ones nothing but false idols.

Becasue if you have not understood that sporting spirit is more than just about winning at all cost, even at the cost of betraying and lying, than you still have something important to learn. Fame is superficial and will fade sooner or later, often it is a question of days only. - The quality of mind and attitude you realized in yourself in the moment of victory or defeat is what will last, and stay with you. and if you see honesty in that exoerience, and the lack of cheating, then it was worth it, no matter how it went. some long time ago there was a marathon event, and short before the line, inside the stadium, one man or woman was stumbling and fell down, exhausted, the one before him/her, in medal ranks, stopped, turned around, grabed the person and helped him/her over the line. I do not remeber the rankling. but for me this was the winner of the race - for he had defeated his own ego. No greater victory and triumph there can be.

[mbthegreat]

by driver do you mean "rider"

[Heibges]

Just look at Lyle Alzado.

[Reaves]

Originally Posted by Skybird

some long time ago there was a marathon event, and short before the line, inside the stadium, one man or woman was stumbling and fell down, exhausted, the one before him/her, in medal ranks, stopped, turned around, grabed the person and helped him/her over the line. I do not remeber the rankling. but for me this was the winner of the race - for he had defeated his own ego. No greater victory and triumph there can be.

That could be John Landy, a truly great Australian.

In Australia, Landy is perhaps most famously remembered for his performance in the 1500 metres final at the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games. In the race, Landy stopped and doubled backed to check on fellow runner Ron Clarke after another runner clipped Clarke's heel, causing him to fall early in the third lap of the race. Clarke, the then-junior 1500 m world champion, who had been leading the race, got back to his feet and started running again; Landy followed. Incredibly, in the final two laps Landy made up a large deficit to win the race, something considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history. Said the National Centre for History and Education in Australia, "It was a spontaneous gesture of sportsmanship and it has never been forgotten."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Landy

[Skybird]

No, I do not mean Landy, I mean a marathon race, a wordchampionship or olympics somwhere between the 1988 games in Seoul, and probably 2000. It was dry, very hot, and a clear sunny day. The ladies (I think it were female runners) also were threatened to be disqualified, for helping each other over the line was considered to be against the rules. Don't know if that was made true and they lost their ranking. I think they nevertheless ranked both amongst the top three.

[Skybird]

Update: new tour leader and owner of the yellow shirt is Alberto Contador from team Discovery channel. He is a known customer of the doping doctor Fuentes and therefore even shouldn't have been given permission to start at the tour at all.

If a last bomb was needed to bring the whole tour concept down to shatters - this is it.

[Konovalov]

I think that the title of your topic is perfect. These riders are ruining their own sport. What a nice way to repay the sport that allows them to earn a living not to mention possible fame.

[Smaragdadler]

Allways the same. Remember the "great sport nation" GDR, who was "on first level with US and USSR at Olympics" at the 80's?
All systematicly doped by SED-goverment order...

[Takeda Shingen]

You are absolutely correct, Sky. Cycling has failed to reconcile it's substance abuse policy with reality. Doping exists in every major sport, but cycling seems to be the worst when it comes to frequency and publicity.

[Heibges]

I think in the United States there is still the perception it is just a few bad apples.

Read..Barry Bonds.

But I think it was 1992 or 1993 and they had like 20 or 30 guys who hit 50 homeruns. The fans loved it, and baseball said nothing.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Update: new tour leader and owner of the yellow shirt is Alberto Contador from team Discovery channel. He is a known customer of the doping doctor Fuentes and therefore even shouldn't have been given permission to start at the tour at all.

.

Not the truth Skybird, your slandering the guy.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Fish

Not the truth Skybird, your slandering the guy.

No, his name is black on white on a list of customers by Fuentes. It has been reported repeatedly in the media these days, and there was a full articvle in a German biker magazoine as well. but it is not only us Germans saying so. In the main, it is the Spanish examiners.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Skybird

No, his name is black on white on a list of customers by Fuentes. It has been reported repeatedly in the media these days, and there was a full articvle in a German biker magazoine as well. but it is not only us Germans saying so. In the main, it is the Spanish examiners.

He was on a list yes, not from Fuentes however, but from the UCI, they cleared him later.

As I am told.

[TteFAboB]

Yes, let them dope themselves but keep track of collateral effects: any athlete who dies before some life expectancy mark looses all medals, victories and throphies. So does any athlete that starts requiring dialysis at any age. Anything else? Liver failure too perhaps? And any hormonal therapy I guess.

Now we're back into competition: to see who has the body that can take the greatest amount of trash and survive long enough AND win some events.

[Heibges]

I think the sporting press is doing a pretty fine job of keeping us appraised of these events.

We know more about BALCO than we do about Scooter Libby's treasonous behavior.