F**k the Tour de France

No loss.

The presence of Armstrong in the 09 Tour will ensure many millions more viewers who wouldn’t normally watch that event.

That’s assuming, by then, that the world hasn’t sunk to the level of penury that sport is the last thing on the public’s mind while wondering where the next meal is coming from.

So...what sport are you going to watch?

Curling might be an option.

Yes, stick to a clean sport like running. They were testing for CERA at the Olympics and Berlin marathon I presume...

Cycling without drugs wouldn't be cycling. Bike Racing has always been doped, its just part of the culture, at this point they should just stop testing and let them run wild.

Perhaps the only solution is to bring it out into the open and encourage big pharmaceutical companies to sponsor and supply teams in the TDF with drugs. Optimistically open competition might act as a spur to the development of new drugs in the same way F1 drives development in the motor industry. Downside is there'd probably be a few more Tommy Simpsons.

I agree. Test em all or let them run wild. Either way it would be interesting to watch.

RM wrote:

Cycling without drugs wouldn't be cycling. Bike Racing has always been doped, its just part of the culture, at this point they should just stop testing and let them run wild.

Or pretend that it's not happening at the top level just like distance running.

At least the UCI is very proactive about catching dopers, unlike many other sports, among them track and field and road racing.

I have a funny feeling Haile wasn't tested after Berlin. I'm not saying he was on anything, but i just find it funny that some athletes do poorly at the olympics then 2 weeks later have amazing results where there is little or no testing.

plumper wrote:

but i just find it funny that some athletes do poorly at the olympics then 2 weeks later have amazing results where there is little or no testing.

When did Haile do poorly at the Olympics?

Oh yeah...T & F is sooooo much cleaner. I'm sure Haile ran 2:03 on just some good clean livin'.

plumper wrote:

I have a funny feeling Haile wasn't tested after Berlin.

Well if you have a funny feeling, that undoubtedly makes it so.

I'm not saying he was on anything,

No, that is exactly what you are saying. Only you are too much of a passive-agressive coward to come out and say the specific words.

I'm not saying track and field isn't clean, I'm just saying Haile didn't run poorly at the Olympics.

Long Run wrote:

So...what sport are you going to watch?

I’ve always watched the Tour.

Magnificent spectacle and theatre.

Years before all this drug business was creating such publicity and bad press - I always assumed, quite naturally, that the cyclists must be ‘on something.’

I simply couldn’t see how it was possible to cycle up and down those massive Alpine mountainous roads for six hours or so - and then turn out to do the same thing the following day - and the next and so on.

I didn’t especially bother me - I assumed if they were all at it, it was a level playing field and the best rider would win anyway.

I was a runner, not a cyclist, so I didn’t give a damn if they had a culture of taking drugs.

But if some my fellow competitors in running races were taking performance enhancers - now that was something completely different.

That’s what I would call cheating.

I remember when I lost my Tour innocence. The turning point was 1987 when Stephen Roche had that "amazing" recovery after he looked like he might not live. Everyone was incredulous that he could have possibly come back so strong the next day, almost as if he possessed recovery qualities not yet known to mankind. Kind of embarrassing when you look back at it but I suppose the same can be said for losing one’s virginity.Shortly after that, every time I saw those guys "suffering" in the mountains, I was certain that they were on some good shit and just faking it for the camera. The biggest camera hog was Riis.I didn't know what it was at the time (remember those little brown bottles?) but I knew that it had to be better than the Bee Pollen I was popping.I'm the opposite of the OP. I did not watch the Tour last year (first one I've missed since the days of Hinault and LeMond and La Vie Claire) but with Lance back in the mix I will definitely tune in this year. I will admit that the Tour has become something more like a soap opera rather than an athletic event though but it sure as heck beats out all these crappy reality shows.

RM wrote:

Cycling without drugs wouldn't be cycling...

A nice history. Since the beginning.

Le Tour de Dope. Dont let the dope hit you on the way out.

to have a world record ratified in cycling it must involve a dope test. i hope the iaaf is the same attitude?