The Chicken gets plucked!

[Eden]

p.s. there's some comment by Vino about his positive for doping being a mistake because "he had so much blood in his thighs". Do these guys not know basic biology... 8 (oops, or is it 9) pints of blood in the human body. Except in cycling where they have extra (in little see-through bags in the luggage).

godness knows how badly this quote was mangled in its translation from Kazhak though.....
I've heard that some think the test shows new/vs old red blood cells and he was trying to make the point that he should have a lot of new cells since he lost a lot of blood from his injuries..., but the test for homologous blood doping actually does test for your cells v/s someone elses. The only way you can truely different types of red blood cells with totally different antigens is to be a true chimera, and that's not something that would only show in one test - ask Tyler how poor an argument that one is....

[Thorn]

Funny, I can believe Landis, I even believed Tyler....but Rasmussen? Naw...he didn't just miss one test, he missed 4 and then we find out he lied about what country he was in?!?!? Nope. Guilty. Signed.

As for Vino, I want to believe him, but it is tough...lab people, may I ask a dumb question? Is it possible to contaminate the sample to give the test results? That is, could the 'evil person' who wanted to see Vino tossed, contaminate his blood sample with a second person's blood? Or, is the blood treated when it is extracted, thus, making it impossible to contaminate?

[jusdooit]

As for Vino, I want to believe him, but it is tough...lab people, may I ask a dumb question? Is it possible to contaminate the sample to give the test results? That is, could the 'evil person' who wanted to see Vino tossed, contaminate his blood sample with a second person's blood? Or, is the blood treated when it is extracted, thus, making it impossible to contaminate?

Maybe possible, but very unlikely. There are several parameters on a regular ole CBC that indicate a dimorphic population. It is very common to see in patients receiving blood transfusions. It is unlikely that a sample can be contaminated homogeneously enough to show these same results. As for Vino's excuse about the young versus old thing, there are a couple of blood test that can indicate that his bone marrow is trying to catch up for blood loss, I doubt that he came near to the loss required to put his body into this type of "panic" mode (like about 2 pints).

As for trying to cover for the presence of two blood types shows he may have bigger problems on the horizon. Meaning he didn't bother to get a compatible blood type, which could cause life-threatening conditions to occur.
Maybe even years down the road. What if he has to have a transfusion because of say a car accident? He has set himself up to a likely transfusion reaction, which could then take his life.

Do I feel sorry for Ras and the diary keeping of the pros? Not at all. It's part of the job. Don't like it...find another job. I think you should be fired if you don't follow the rules. Rabobank should have dumped him before the Tour started.

[janetsplanet]

Why did they wait till the end of the tour and He was winning. The team knew this for some time..
What is up with that?

[margo49]

The Danish Cycling Federation knew, the UCI knew but the *team* dint.
They did ask questions and got answers that satisfied them until it became clearly a lie. They confronted him and he either admitted it or at least dint deny it.
I think this a perfectly reasonable chain of events given the countries involved.

I tell you who I feel sorriest for is the rest of the team and the behind-the-scenes mechanics, physiotherapists,etc who worked so hard for Rasmussen.

[amymisk]

I have to admit I have been saddened by this tour. I won't stop watching though, especially since I have been rooting for Contador and Levi. Mind you, Contador is not without his share of controversy.

I do find watching Soler exciting and was happy to see him earn that polka dot jersey.

I read that Rassmussen admitted to lying about his where abouts and that is why he was fired from the team. Ethics violation, funny huh? Now the team and managers are concerned about ethics. After Rabo let Rassmussen train alone for this tour, Chicken insisted on solitary training and they allowed it. Suspicious behaviour in my book. EPO is only detectable for 72 hours after the last dose, but the effects last for 4-5 weeks. So, the missed tests while training with no reported doping results during the tour is completely possible. All he had to do was stop a few days before heading to France!

I am holding out hopes for a clean 2008 tour!

[Eden]

If this is true (was posted on another board by a Brit) I can't see the TDF continuing this year.

Just reported on Sky news (TV) that most teams will leave the Tour and go home tomorrow..... T-Mobile, FDJ, CA, Gerostina amongst others plan to leave the Tour.... enough is enough..... they claim that until all teams play fair there is no point in racing races like the Tour........ well done UCI for withholding the information on Rasmussen before the Tour... what are they on ?

[spazzdog]

Man, oh, man... this would be a first!

If it continues, if I were Contador, I would refuse to wear the yellow jersey to start. Better to stay in the white one. It has less doo-doo on it this year.

spazz (who never liked yellow anyway )

p.s. I believed Tyler right up until he used the "chimera" defense. I walked away to go bury a bone at that point.

[Trekhawk]

If this is true (was posted on another board by a Brit) I can't see the TDF continuing this year.

Just reported on Sky news (TV) that most teams will leave the Tour and go home tomorrow..... T-Mobile, FDJ, CA, Gerostina amongst others plan to leave the Tour.... enough is enough..... they claim that until all teams play fair there is no point in racing races like the Tour........ well done UCI for withholding the information on Rasmussen before the Tour... what are they on ?

Oh I hope that is not true. For the clean riders that have trained so hard it would be one hell of a blow.

[mikki]

With all of these teams/riders pulling out/being sacked, the question arises: What happens to the standings? Does everyone just move up? What about KOM and green jersey? Do the points for each stage get reassigned to redistribute for the missing riders? Just curious

I'm sick of hearing about doping. It's sad that these athletes that we look to for inspiration in the sport we love are resorting to this sad tactic. What does it say when one has to dive to the level of having someone's blood transfused into them to get the burst they need to win? Perhaps that they should have trained at higher altitudes...

[spazzdog]

In the standings, everyone just moves up. I don't think they "redistribute" the points; they're just gone.


On a tangent to the doping thread; anyone know the stats on incidence of doping on the womens side of the fence? I know there must be some there, like in other sports.

[maillotpois]

[Trekhawk]

Ok its pretty clear tonight I cant read this forum and drink at the same time.
It really makes for a messy computer screen.

[Velobambina]

Maybe this will make the last few stages more exciting, as the riders will be more reluctant to dope? Or do it to a level where it might be detected.

I hate to say it but I was not pulling for the Chicken. I was hoping that Conti or Levi would win the stage yesterday.

[margo49]

Unattributed quote:
"If my wife thought I was in Mexico and it transpired I had been in italy, I would have more to worry about than getting expelled from the Tour de France"