I saw this a car last night. 😉
More Drama At The Tour.
Just when you think it is as bad as it can get… It gets worse.
Three days ago cycling hit another all time low. The Danish tour leader Rasmussen, was thrown off his team and the race, by his own team. The decision was made after it was discovered that he lied about his whereabouts earlier this year. The sport of cycling runs random drug tests throughout the year and leading up to the Tour de France. Rasmussen missed two such tests on May 8 and June 28. He claimed that he was in Mexico with his wife, when in fact he was training in Italy. Was he trying to avoid being testing because of doping? We may never know. Reports that the Danish national team suspended him surfaced earlier in the race, but seemingly as soon as the story was fully understood, Team Rabobank acted as well. The whole story is another shock to the sport of cycling. But the tour rolls on…
The action has made it a very interesting race for Team Discovery. They now have two riders that could win the tour and definitely will end up on the podium; veteran and team leader Leipheimer and the young Contador
Astana Withdraws, Vino Suspended
It’s a sad day for the sport of cycling. After all the respect that was given to him for his courage for continuing while being injured. Vino has tested positive for intoducing “homologous blood” into his system. Below is an article from versus.com. Also a link to an article from BBC:
Astana Withdraws, Vino Suspended
By Phil Liggett
July 24, 2007Alexandre Vinokourov’s positive blood test announced Tuesday has stunned everyone from riders to organizers. Since his crash, he has been portrayed as a limping hero of what, so far, has been a marvellous Tour. Now, he seems to have been caught introducing homologous blood into his system just before the time trial he won in demonstrative fashion.
His Astana team has withdrawn at the invitation of the organizers and Vinokourov was suspended by Astana pending the confirmation of his positive test in his B analysis. It is very unusual for the second test not to confirm the first. In short, Vinokourov, one of the most respected riders in the peloton, will now leave the sport in disgrace.
British rider David Millar, himself a reformed drug taker, has been leading the campaign to clean up the sport. His comment during his own Saunier Duval team’s press conference in Pau, sums up the feelings of most: “I just feel like crying right now.”
Paul, Bob and I are, for once, speechless. We are all very upset with such a stupid action at a time the sport looked to be putting its own house in order. It is incomprehensible that Vinokourov could do such a thing when he must have known he was under suspicion because of his dealing with disgraced doctor Michele Ferrari in Italy. He must have known he would be tested at every opportunity and the time trial was the perfect occasion.
Tomorrow we will know more.
What is your Mexican name?
My Mexican Name Is… |
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Don Elbanco (Does this mean I’m ‘money’?) 😉 |
This guy never gives up!
Vino continues to amaze everyone and comes back to win stage 15, gaining back more than 5 minutes on the tour leader. This doesn’t put him back in the running to win the tour, but shows just how much heart this guy has.
The story on versus.com