Le Tour De Lols

[moosed]

Yesterday Team SKY crushed the climbing times set during the height of the EPO age when doping controls were prehistoric, and this with a headwind

For Froome to drop everyone else in the GC by 58 sec is mind boggling. I'm pretty sure every other team in the pelaton has a climber who went through the same training and has the same body type as Froome. So for him to say he's just put in the time is a joke.

as the commentators said "'This is unbelievable. Meaning literally not believable"

Such a joke of a sport, especially as we will have to wait 6 or 7 years until the inevitable truth comes out. When something is too good to be true...

Best quote of the day: Froome saying that we must accuse whoever won 10 years ago because he couldn't have won then as those people were clearly doping.

Someone should point out to him that he rode the climb faster than the winner of 10 years ago.

Im sure some brits with their head stuck in the sand will be along shortly to try and claim their isn't anything suspicious (im a brit btw)

 

[Julian Carax]

They should just allow them to dope, or make the tour a bit easier.

 

[Tubey]

My head isn't in the sand, and yes I'll say there's suspicion - there always will be because the sport has been so dirty for so long - however just because he's riding that fast doesn't mean he's doping.

Usain Bolt beat world records set by people doping in the 1990s, and the same thing applies - suspicion yes, but by no means impossible.

 

[moosed]

Obviously it can't be proven at this moment in time as doping etc is always a few years ahead of the drug testing methods but generally most knowledgable cycling fans and jounos are fairly certain the sport is still rife with it including team sky.

You just have to look at froome. Almost overnight he went from being a guy who couldn't win a ****ty race to a guy who absolutely dominates the sport. This happened just after he started using a proven doping doctor and also coincided with a new drug enterting the sport called AICAR which is a cyclists dream come true, it makes you lose fat and gain muscle ! The use of it is obvious for all to see. As soon as this drug came into the sport reports were rife of tons of riders all of a sudden looking ridiculously skinny relative to before.

I'll use Wiggins as an example (could use tons of other riders including froom)

Wiggins legs late 2008 (Pre AICAR)

Wiggins legs April 2009 (Post AICAR)

Give it 6 or so years and the truth will be out, i guess its kind of pointless debating it until then...

 

[heatmeiser]

I thought they just had proper fancy bikes?

 

[Fensta]

There will always be someone who is better than the last man before him. Athletes are fitter and faster than ever before and will keep improving like a sped up version of evolution.
On a a side note Miguel Indurain was the best i've seen ( now that i can happily disregard Lance Armstrong's wins ). Indurain had a racing heartbeat slower than most people sitting on their couch. Eventually there will be someone who makes him look slow in comparison.

 

[moosed]

There will always be someone who is better than the last man before him. Athletes are fitter and faster than ever before and will keep improving like a sped up version of evolution.

In 10 years you don't evolve to the point where you can be completely clean and smash times set during the height of EPO testing... Just not possible. You could tell watching the coverage that the commentators were basically insinuating that what he had done was impossible (there way of saying what everyone in the sport already knows deep down)

and before you say "well bolt smashed ben johnsons time in 100m", sprinting is MASSIVELY different to endurance racing.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

It was certainly a dominant performance. Given the people behind it though, why are people not making the same accusations against Hoy, Pendleton et al?

 

[bluejock]

Accusations of doping? Check
Picture of Wiggins with skinny legs? Check
Reference to Usain Bolt? Check
Bruce Wayne? Check

Yep, It's a GOT Tour de France thread alright.

 

[moosed]

Accusations of doping? Check
Picture of Wiggins with skinny legs? Check
Reference to Usain Bolt? Check
Bruce Wayne? Check

Yep, It's a GOT Tour de France thread alright.

Hehe

It's like this in just about every tour de france thread on teh internets

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Porte must have left his magic beans behind today. Horrid day for the Aussie, losing any hope of a podium finish. Sky as a team didn't look so strong today either. Could it be that they put a whole lot of effort into yesterday and paid for it today?

 

[chicoazul]

lol @ doped up tour de lols

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Accusations of doping? Check
Picture of Wiggins with skinny legs? Check
Reference to Usain Bolt? Check
Bruce Wayne? Check

Yep, It's a GOT Tour de France thread alright.

Chico with a doping comment? Check

 

[tsubaki]

There was a good post on the sports science fb about this:

Three quick thoughts on ‎#Froome's performance in the ‎#TDF today:

1. It was fast, very fast. The 23:14 ascent of Ax-3-Domaines puts Froome in third on the all-time list for the climb, behind only Laiseka and Armstrong in 2001. The VAM of 1715 m/h converts to a power output of 6.3 W/kg (Ferrari method) and about 6.5 W/kg with other models (CPL, rst). Very fast.

2. Before today's performance is instantly condemned as proof of nefarious pharmacology in the sport, keep in mind what I've tried to emphasize many times over the last few years, which is the context of the climb and variability around performance. For example, this climb was done in Stage 12, 13 and 14 of the 2001, 2003 and 2005 Tours, respectively. The earlier placement in week 1 as the first climb of the Tour may affect performance. Also, variability in conditions (particularly wind and heat) make it impossible to make 'guilt by performance' proclamations. Let's wait to analyze the entire Tour, the collection of climbs, and then compare to history's known dopers. The problem when you get too close in is a kind of "performance pixelation", so step back and see the whole screen. That will happen in time.

3. Having said that, what was noteworthy today were the enormous gaps created on the final climb. That's because with the exception of Froome and perhaps Porte, the rest of the peloton performed in a manner that is typical of cycling over the last few years. Their performances were consistent with post-biological passport levels, and matched or even fell short of the prediction models. It was only Froome and Sky who exceeded them. Therefore, skepticism is normal, and failing to appreciate that will come only from extreme naivety or patriotism. History has taught us the value of some healthy cynicism, and if this level continues for three weeks, it makes for an uncomfortable Tour, of that there is no doubt.

Either it is one exceptional individual, or...well, we know the rest, we have seen this movie too often in the sport.

But, this is something only time will tell, as it always does.

If people are found to have doped from now on then there really isnt any alternative but to ban them for life, its not as if they havent had ample warning and these little ****ty bans are blatantly not cleaning up the sport.

 

[EvertruvianMan]

Froome rocketed away from Wiggins on a couple of climbs last year - he is a more natural climber than Wiggins by comparrison, yet Wiggins got the win. What will be telling is how far from the top Froome is in the individual time trial - because he is not the best time trialer in the world.
And that Columbian rider, shades of Riccardo Ricco much.