Here we go again... another scandal on TDF

[Eden]

Well, this is sort of good news on other riders:

Five Astaná riders who were forced out of the 2006 Tour de France because of alleged links to a blood doping investigation have been formally cleared by Spanish courts.

Joseba Beloki, Isidro Nozal, Sergio Paulinho, Allan Davis and Alberto Contador have all received a written document officially clearing them of any links to the ongoing "Operación Puerto," the Spanish newspaper El Diario Vasco reported Wednesday.

Bummer for those guys that they had to miss the Tour, though.

Bigger bummer for Vino who had a real chance at a podium place in this years TDF - but was excluded because too many of his teammates (now cleared - just several days after the tour is over) were implicated.

[Aggie_Ama]

As my July Secret Sister knows, there is a popular bumper sticker here that says "Texas is Bigger than France". Hehe, I guess the anomosity is on both sides of the ocean.....


I hope Floyd is cleared. I too wonder if there is some correlation with the cortizone? Just say it isn't so!!

[Denise223]

Amanda:

I was hoping that exact thing -- perhaps if Floyd has been receiving cortisone injections in his hip for pain....?

I refuse to believe it until all the facts are in and we know for sure.

Can't Floyd's "B sample" be tampered with??

Denise

[Selkie]

[QUOTE=Aggie_Ama]As my July Secret Sister knows, there is a popular bumper sticker here that says "Texas is Bigger than France". Hehe, I guess the anomosity is on both sides of the ocean.....

QUOTE]
Aggie - Where can I get myself one of those bumper stickers? I've got no beef with the French, but I love Texas bumper stickers!

[Aggie_Ama]

Suzanne-

I found it online here: http://www.texasterritories.com/texastshirts.asp

I don't know how much the shipping is, another place I found wanted to ship it UPS. That was $7.03.

I bought it at a place called "The Texas Store" in our local mall. I have found some places will just do a phone order and send it by mail. Their number is (512) 250-0356. If the first place wants an arm and a leg for shipping (and you really want one) I could pick one up and mail it like a letter, it is a $2.00 sticker and I am the type who thinks the shipping shouldn't be more than the product!

Some sites claim it is a pro-war/pro-Bush sticker. I didn't realize that, I just thought it was darn funny. Lance is rumored to have the shirt.

Back to Floyd talk....

[oroight]

Bigger bummer for Vino who had a real chance at a podium place in this years TDF - but was excluded because too many of his teammates (now cleared - just several days after the tour is over) were implicated.

Quote from another forum;
"Cleared" of anything illegal under Spanish law -- but blood doping
isn't illegal, and in Spain neither is other doping. That just means
they won't face criminal prosecution; they still face sanctions.

[Eden]

Quote from another forum;
"Cleared" of anything illegal under Spanish law -- but blood doping
isn't illegal, and in Spain neither is other doping. That just means
they won't face criminal prosecution; they still face sanctions.

My comment was based on this

Joseba Beloki, Isidro Nozal, Sergio Paulinho, Allan Davis and Alberto Contador have all received a written document officially clearing them of any links to the ongoing "Operación Puerto," the Spanish newspaper El Diario Vasco reported Wednesday.

The five riders received a legal document signed by Manuel Sánchez MartÃ*n, secretary for the Spanish court heading up the "Operación Puerto" investigation, stating, "there are not any type of charges against them nor have there been adopted any type of legal action against them."

As they were cleared of any links to Puerto I would assume that means there is no evidence that they did blood dope, even if it is not illegal in Spain, therefore no reason to sanction them. It could be a quirk of the translation and the statement certainly did not go into much depth, so it is possible that they are still under suspicion by WADA and the UCI. In any case its still ashame that Vinokurov had to miss the tour as he was never implicated in any wrong doing.