Le Tour

**v3d4** · 07-24-2007, 04:27 PM

anybody out there digging it? i wouldnt normally pay any attention except for last year's madness and so thins year i have sorta been watching since one of the guys where i live is a huge fan so i got somewhat interested. im heartbroken over my boy valverde.

sput·nik · 07-24-2007, 06:23 PM

Of COURSE i am.

i dare not even bring it up here though, for shame. The only other person who might get in on the word is Cloudy, but since he has no americans to chase, he's likely lost interest. Levi never had a chance, and he's never been involved in any pacemaking for Contador.. hardly been worth much of anything for the team other than respectably just being a face towards the front.

Wasn't surprised to see Valverde fail...
after the Alps I thought Cadel had it for sure, but the first day in the Pyrenees shows it all to be quite different.

Rasmussen & particularly Contador are genuinely exciting to watch, Conto dancing away spinning his high gears, in and out of the saddle and Rasmussens attacks on the front9 in stage14to 'Beille were inspired & made him seem far more deserving of the Yellow than I had thought before. But it makes for a bit of a disappointment for some people that both he & Rasmussen will likely finish outside of the top 5 in the TimeTrial on Saturday and yet still win the GC (although personally I loved it when Pantani won.. pure climbers are much fun to watch.)

but now Vino just got tapped for homologous blood doping today, from a test that was administered after his TimeTrialwin on Saturday... Kloden pulls out as well along with the whole Astana squad......

sad news to a beautiful 2+weeks thus far.

Mango · 07-24-2007, 06:28 PM

Well, I normally watch it every year, and nah I'm not an american chaser. I didn't want any americans to win last tour with the expection of George, however I knew that wasn't likely. This year I had my hopes on Thomas Vockler, and Andreas Klodin.

However, I haven't been able to watch much of the tour this year sadely because I planned my 2 week vacation right on top of it. Then when I got back I had work, so I have to try and catch the end of it.

Mango · 07-24-2007, 06:30 PM

Shit well I didn't hear about the blood doping. I wasn't gonna watch the race till later tonight.

sput·nik · 07-24-2007, 06:40 PM

photos gratuitously borrowed from the glorious www.cyclingnews.com - the first WWW cycling results and news service ...shame on me but they're the best!

Cheers ANyways Vino! Everyone else is still doin it!

sput·nik · 07-24-2007, 06:42 PM

and p.s.s. tomorrow is going to be fucking amazing! finish up the Aubisque!

notepad · 07-24-2007, 06:46 PM

I stopped watching this a few years ago when most of those guys were doping..

but did I see a dog get hit by some rider a few days ago? (/me calls peta)

sput·nik · 07-24-2007, 08:08 PM

got to understand that doping is part of the sport culture, particularly in some sports more than others.

the word throughout cycling, if you've paid attention in recent years, is that more advanced doping has been rampant through the sport in the majority of the last 2 decades, beginning with EPO in the 90s. Blood transfusions have probably been common for some of the top riders off & on for years as other methods have been more scrutinized by testing... steroids like Cortisone (injectable, not just the topical creams for inflammation) and Amphetamine/Painkilling combinations have been popular since the 70s and 80s.

It's a beautiful 3 weeks every year, and the stateside TV coverage has grown from miniscule bits & pieces on weekends to daily stage coverage ever since Armstrong ran the race for 7 years straight and finally drew some more American interest to the sport, or atleast the TdF itself.

and speaking of, Armstrong may once again have a fear of his glory crashing down after years of fighting allegations, because Vinokourov is one of the select riders who has worked with the scandalous italian Dr. Michelle Ferrari, a longtime Armstrong partner, and consistently been subjected to scrutiny because of it although nothing has ever come completely into the light. Well who knows..
I feel like the top riders are still riding on enhanced blood, but I don't care.

tis all a great spectacle regardless, with massive history behind it, through the green hills & huge mountains of France, Spain, Italy,

a beautiful antithesis to thuggish american urban commercial sports.

Mango · 07-24-2007, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sput·nik

and p.s.s. tomorrow is going to be fucking amazing! finish up the Aubisque!

ah, that should make for quite a day

Cerebro · 07-25-2007, 02:46 AM

Pretty exciting.
The Aussies have had a bit of a bad tour.
McEwen's win was awesome, I thought Roger's was looking good until he popped his shoulder.
Rasmussen and Contador fighting it out after a rest day should keep me awake until about 2am. Maybe Cadel can stay close enough to murder them in the time trial.

Christoffer · 07-25-2007, 04:00 AM

fucking hell I watch it

Rasmussen! Rasmussen!

The Chicken from Denmark

What a race

sput·nik · 07-25-2007, 03:00 PM

to the very top of the Aubisque, what a looooong last kilometer.

A fight it is/was, a strong team race once again, mechanics & strategy.

Can't be surprised by the winner.. a final dominating display of strength in the mountains, but I needn't say who incase yall haven't watched it yet.

timetrial will of course be interesting..

sput·nik · 07-25-2007, 04:57 PM

update: sadface.

www.cyclingnews.com presents even more terrible news from the 94th Tour de France

Christoffer · 07-26-2007, 12:11 AM

aye sadface in deed

Cerebro · 07-26-2007, 12:24 AM

Holy shit!
What's it going to take to get drugs out?
Is it like trying to get guns out of America?
Cadel, Cadel, Cadel. One man's loss is another man's gain.

Cerebro · 07-28-2007, 08:24 AM

About to go see if Cadel can get 1:50 back.
I'm very nervous.

Cerebro · 07-28-2007, 09:35 AM

Contador leads Evans by 23sec, who is only 8sec in front of Levi who went ape-shit.

Mango · 07-28-2007, 10:33 AM

I'm curious to see if Evens will try anything tomorrow. I'm leaning towards he wont, but we'll see. Levi already said he isn't going to try anything.

sput·nik · 07-28-2007, 11:55 AM

meh, it's paris mang.

the sprinters teams, let alone disco, would never let a break get away with anything more than 5 seconds like when Vino snuck out 2 years back. george hincapie will go with anydangerous breakaways, and would kill evans in a sprint finish.

tough to watch it finish this way... hoping these "rumors" that are swirling about positive tests at D'Beille last sunday don't turn into anything.

sput·nik · 07-28-2007, 04:50 PM

well as a followup, seems that Prudhomme quashed the speculation that was mostly targeted at Soler, the columbian King of Mountains.

I ran into a danish guy last night and we were yukkin it up, and he thought he heard rumors about Contador and Boonen, of all people, but that was tough to swallow given Tom's usual anti-dopin rhetoric.

but yeah... weather reports indicate heavy rain all day.
the Champs-Elyssee is regarded as one of the most dangerous roads to ride&sprint on... probably gonna be a mess.

07-24-2007, 04:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
v3d4 queen of the gypsies Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Terrapin Station Posts: 5,330 Thanks: 76 Thanked 452 Times in 280 Posts	Le Tour anybody out there digging it? i wouldnt normally pay any attention except for last year's madness and so thins year i have sorta been watching since one of the guys where i live is a huge fan so i got somewhat interested. im heartbroken over my boy valverde. __________________ remember our Governor Ken Gorman

07-24-2007, 06:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	Of COURSE i am. i dare not even bring it up here though, for shame. The only other person who might get in on the word is Cloudy, but since he has no americans to chase, he's likely lost interest. Levi never had a chance, and he's never been involved in any pacemaking for Contador.. hardly been worth much of anything for the team other than respectably just being a face towards the front. Wasn't surprised to see Valverde fail... after the Alps I thought Cadel had it for sure, but the first day in the Pyrenees shows it all to be quite different. Rasmussen & particularly Contador are genuinely exciting to watch, Conto dancing away spinning his high gears, in and out of the saddle and Rasmussens attacks on the front9 in stage14to 'Beille were inspired & made him seem far more deserving of the Yellow than I had thought before. But it makes for a bit of a disappointment for some people that both he & Rasmussen will likely finish outside of the top 5 in the TimeTrial on Saturday and yet still win the GC (although personally I loved it when Pantani won.. pure climbers are much fun to watch.) but now Vino just got tapped for homologous blood doping today, from a test that was administered after his TimeTrialwin on Saturday... Kloden pulls out as well along with the whole Astana squad...... sad news to a beautiful 2+weeks thus far. __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-24-2007, 06:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	photos gratuitously borrowed from the glorious www.cyclingnews.com - the first WWW cycling results and news service ...shame on me but they're the best! Cheers ANyways Vino! Everyone else is still doin it! __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-24-2007, 06:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	and p.s.s. tomorrow is going to be fucking amazing! finish up the Aubisque! __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-24-2007, 06:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
notepad dick 'slyde' hyde Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: above the clouds Posts: 1,814 Thanks: 241 Thanked 203 Times in 97 Posts	I stopped watching this a few years ago when most of those guys were doping.. but did I see a dog get hit by some rider a few days ago? (/me calls peta) __________________

07-24-2007, 06:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
Mango pompous pecker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Burma and eastern India Posts: 2,308 Thanks: 169 Thanked 71 Times in 32 Posts	Well, I normally watch it every year, and nah I'm not an american chaser. I didn't want any americans to win last tour with the expection of George, however I knew that wasn't likely. This year I had my hopes on Thomas Vockler, and Andreas Klodin. However, I haven't been able to watch much of the tour this year sadely because I planned my 2 week vacation right on top of it. Then when I got back I had work, so I have to try and catch the end of it.

07-24-2007, 06:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mango pompous pecker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Burma and eastern India Posts: 2,308 Thanks: 169 Thanked 71 Times in 32 Posts	Shit well I didn't hear about the blood doping. I wasn't gonna watch the race till later tonight.

07-24-2007, 08:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	got to understand that doping is part of the sport culture, particularly in some sports more than others. the word throughout cycling, if you've paid attention in recent years, is that more advanced doping has been rampant through the sport in the majority of the last 2 decades, beginning with EPO in the 90s. Blood transfusions have probably been common for some of the top riders off & on for years as other methods have been more scrutinized by testing... steroids like Cortisone (injectable, not just the topical creams for inflammation) and Amphetamine/Painkilling combinations have been popular since the 70s and 80s. It's a beautiful 3 weeks every year, and the stateside TV coverage has grown from miniscule bits & pieces on weekends to daily stage coverage ever since Armstrong ran the race for 7 years straight and finally drew some more American interest to the sport, or atleast the TdF itself. and speaking of, Armstrong may once again have a fear of his glory crashing down after years of fighting allegations, because Vinokourov is one of the select riders who has worked with the scandalous italian Dr. Michelle Ferrari, a longtime Armstrong partner, and consistently been subjected to scrutiny because of it although nothing has ever come completely into the light. Well who knows.. I feel like the top riders are still riding on enhanced blood, but I don't care. tis all a great spectacle regardless, with massive history behind it, through the green hills & huge mountains of France, Spain, Italy, a beautiful antithesis to thuggish american urban commercial sports. __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-25-2007, 02:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
Cerebro Marine Biologist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: White Plume Mountain Posts: 3,382 Thanks: 287 Thanked 475 Times in 394 Posts	Pretty exciting. The Aussies have had a bit of a bad tour. McEwen's win was awesome, I thought Roger's was looking good until he popped his shoulder. Rasmussen and Contador fighting it out after a rest day should keep me awake until about 2am. Maybe Cadel can stay close enough to murder them in the time trial. __________________ The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

07-25-2007, 04:00 AM	#11 (permalink)
Christoffer Once Posted Here Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 10,180 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	fucking hell I watch it Rasmussen! Rasmussen! The Chicken from Denmark What a race __________________ Rise and Fall.

07-25-2007, 03:00 PM	#12 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	to the very top of the Aubisque, what a looooong last kilometer. A fight it is/was, a strong team race once again, mechanics & strategy. Can't be surprised by the winner.. a final dominating display of strength in the mountains, but I needn't say who incase yall haven't watched it yet. timetrial will of course be interesting.. __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-25-2007, 04:57 PM	#13 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	update: sadface. www.cyclingnews.com presents even more terrible news from the 94th Tour de France __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-26-2007, 12:11 AM	#14 (permalink)
Christoffer Once Posted Here Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 10,180 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	aye sadface in deed __________________ Rise and Fall.

07-26-2007, 12:24 AM	#15 (permalink)
Cerebro Marine Biologist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: White Plume Mountain Posts: 3,382 Thanks: 287 Thanked 475 Times in 394 Posts	Holy shit! What's it going to take to get drugs out? Is it like trying to get guns out of America? Cadel, Cadel, Cadel. One man's loss is another man's gain. __________________ The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

07-28-2007, 08:24 AM	#16 (permalink)
Cerebro Marine Biologist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: White Plume Mountain Posts: 3,382 Thanks: 287 Thanked 475 Times in 394 Posts	About to go see if Cadel can get 1:50 back. I'm very nervous. __________________ The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

07-28-2007, 09:35 AM	#17 (permalink)
Cerebro Marine Biologist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: White Plume Mountain Posts: 3,382 Thanks: 287 Thanked 475 Times in 394 Posts	Contador leads Evans by 23sec, who is only 8sec in front of Levi who went ape-shit. __________________ The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

07-28-2007, 10:33 AM	#18 (permalink)
Mango pompous pecker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Burma and eastern India Posts: 2,308 Thanks: 169 Thanked 71 Times in 32 Posts	I'm curious to see if Evens will try anything tomorrow. I'm leaning towards he wont, but we'll see. Levi already said he isn't going to try anything.

07-28-2007, 11:55 AM	#19 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	meh, it's paris mang. the sprinters teams, let alone disco, would never let a break get away with anything more than 5 seconds like when Vino snuck out 2 years back. george hincapie will go with anydangerous breakaways, and would kill evans in a sprint finish. tough to watch it finish this way... hoping these "rumors" that are swirling about positive tests at D'Beille last sunday don't turn into anything. __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

07-28-2007, 04:50 PM	#20 (permalink)
sput·nik denizen Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: the blackest lodge Posts: 3,728 Thanks: 142 Thanked 152 Times in 108 Posts	well as a followup, seems that Prudhomme quashed the speculation that was mostly targeted at Soler, the columbian King of Mountains. I ran into a danish guy last night and we were yukkin it up, and he thought he heard rumors about Contador and Boonen, of all people, but that was tough to swallow given Tom's usual anti-dopin rhetoric. but yeah... weather reports indicate heavy rain all day. the Champs-Elyssee is regarded as one of the most dangerous roads to ride&sprint on... probably gonna be a mess. __________________ and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music . . .

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