Tour de France 2011

Status
Not open for further replies.
BigBlueBalls said:
If Contador was doped up out of his eyelids how did Schleck stick it out toe to toe with him.

The sport is on its knees as it is, I hope the Brits do well in the Olympics and put a bit of shine back on cycling.
Click to expand...

Well that's what drugs do: give people the means to compete, not necessarily to totally dominate.
 
Having read the article linked above it seems this is the key to the ban:

On that rest day there is no doubt that Contador ate a beef steak that had been bought just over the border in Spain by the Astana Team chef. A random blood test that day subsequently revealed a minute dose – 50 picograms per millilitre – of the controversial performance enhancing drug clenbuterol an amount which was 40 times below the minimum requirement of detection capability required by WADA.
Click to expand...

Am I miss-reading this? Cos to me it seems he has been banned unfairly?? Or am I missing something?
 
Philw said:
Having read the article linked above it seems this is the key to the ban:



Am I miss-reading this? Cos to me it seems he has been banned unfairly?? Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

His backstory wasn't bought: that he ingested contaminated meat brought from Spain. The minimum is to rule out honest mistakes, in this case they ruled he'd got that into his system conscious of the fact.

The drug in question can increase aerobic capacity.
 
Philw said:
Having read the article linked above it seems this is the key to the ban:



Am I miss-reading this? Cos to me it seems he has been banned unfairly?? Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Cycling is way harder on this than any other sport.

As for cuddles, I'd be amazed if he was doping. He's finished 2nd in the Tour a few times so has pedigree, not to mention he's a former World Champion. His style isn't to drop people in the mountains, he's a grinder with a good engine. Not that much different to Wiggins. Schleck would have won last year if he could descend properly and his time trialling was better. I suspect Contador would have challenged much more if he hadn't ridden the Giro already. That race is harder than the Tour now and it's impossible to race them back to back and expect to challenge. Lets not forget that Voeckler stayed in yellow for a long time. It was probably the cleanest tour for a long time.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
Cycling is way harder on this than any other sport.

As for cuddles, I'd be amazed if he was doping. He's finished 2nd in the Tour a few times so has pedigree, not to mention he's a former World Champion. His style isn't to drop people in the mountains, he's a grinder with a good engine. Not that much different to Wiggins. Schleck would have won last year if he could descend properly and his time trialling was better. I suspect Contador would have challenged much more if he hadn't ridden the Giro already. That race is harder than the Tour now and it's impossible to race them back to back and expect to challenge. Lets not forget that Voeckler stayed in yellow for a long time. It was probably the cleanest tour for a long time.
Click to expand...

He just upped his dosage that's all.

Just kidding there.
 
Now Ullrich has been convicted of doping and handed a two-year ban and lost all of his results since May 2005. Of course he retired ages ago, so I don't think the ban will affect his day-to-day life too much...

Anyways, the last 16 Tours have been won by 8 different men. 5 of these (Riis, Pantani, Ullrich, Landis and Contador) are now convicted dopers.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
Cycling is way harder on this than any other sport.

As for cuddles, I'd be amazed if he was doping. He's finished 2nd in the Tour a few times so has pedigree, not to mention he's a former World Champion. His style isn't to drop people in the mountains, he's a grinder with a good engine. Not that much different to Wiggins. Schleck would have won last year if he could descend properly and his time trialling was better. I suspect Contador would have challenged much more if he hadn't ridden the Giro already. That race is harder than the Tour now and it's impossible to race them back to back and expect to challenge. Lets not forget that Voeckler stayed in yellow for a long time. It was probably the cleanest tour for a long time.
Click to expand...

I got the impression he was riding within himself on that Tour knowing all eyes were on him. Maybe he thought if he was seen to be fallible the UCI would leave him alone over the 2010 Tour?
 
Wiggins just added the Tour of Romandie to his earlier Paris Nice win. He's got to be the favourite for the Tour now. The route favours him, and with Sky having a strong squad I just can't see Schleck putting enough time into him in the mountains to compensate for his awful time trialling. Evans is the biggest threat and he's had an awful year so far.
 
Good stuff,Wiggins still has to improve in the mountains to have a real chance to win the tour.
Hopefully he will,and thus become a real contender for the coveted yellow jersey.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
Think he climbs ok to be honest. He's never going to be a Contador or Schleck but he showed in the Vuelta he's ok in the steep stuff, certainly no worse than Evans.
Click to expand...

A couple of days in the moutains maybe...day after day iin the Pyrenees after earlier doing the Alps (or vice versa) will get to him, I reckon.

Look what happened in the Vuelta last September: climbing well for a few days and then the hammer comes down again on Angliru and it was left to Chris Froome to carry on the fight.

Cant see past Schleck for 2012.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Welcome

Join the Everton conversation today.
Fewer ads, full access, completely free.

→ Log in 🔑 Register
🛒 Visit Shop

Support Grand Old Team by checking out our latest Everton gear!
Back
Top