The Chicken gets plucked!

[BikeMomma]

We interrupt this program for the evil lurker..

Fingers crossed for Cadel Evans..C'mon Cadel, make Australia proud!! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIEEEEEE OI OI OI..

From a non tour watcher..

Back to irregular programming..

C

Quite simply, Cadel rocks.

[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"

[jeannierides]

Yeah, that was Christian Prudhomme on the phone...
he says everybody from TE on line now gets a free ticket to Paris and he will pick us up from Charles de Gaulle and will everyone e-mail him with details of their dream bike which will be waiting at the start of tomorrow's Stage...

I'll meet you gals there! Even with my current dis- abilities, I can do this!

[jeannierides]

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.

Me too, VB!

[IFjane]

Me three!

[Eden]

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"

Hah! so on OLN this morning they said that the way poor chicken was "busted" was that a reporter said he saw him in the Dolomites a few days before the tour. Like I said, these days if anyone even says something then you get kicked out. It's sad and I think its a witch hunt. If this is the case I am on the side of Rasmussen. Gasp a guy who looks like Ras, riding around in a black kit in Italy - some proof! There's a guy around here who makes people double take he looks so much like Lance Armstrong....... (oh and he always races in a plain black kit)

[bikerchick68]

Do you think Rabobank is really that dumb? that they would take some reporters word without questioning Rasmussen further and trying to decide for themselves where he was based on that new information?

I have a hard time believing they're so stupid they based firing the guy on nothing more than that... but then, I'm getting more and more cynical about the pros in the sport as time goes on.

[Number 7]

New York Times

This article says that when questioned, Ras confessed to being in Italy and not Mexico.


Go Contador!

[SadieKate]

What I am hoping for:

-- An absolutely clean finish to the tour - no more failed tests and lies but I won't be naive if that doesn't happen

-- A very close and competitive time trial showdown between Alberto, Levi and Cadel. I think that would be really exciting.

-- A TT win by George because he could win on this course without jeopardizing the podium standings but I want him to win just cuz.

Who I'm really happy for: Mauricio Soler. He legitimately took the polka dot jersey off Rasmussen's back. He didn't get it by default and he just exudes the love of the sport and the competition. The Big Red Rooster was bobbin' 'n weaving yesterday.*

*Anyone remember the old California Cheese commercials with the silly rooster voiced by Bob Goldthwait?

[Grog]

I have a hard time believing they're so stupid they based firing the guy on nothing more than that... but then, I'm getting more and more cynical about the pros in the sport as time goes on.

There has been four missed controls over the past little while (one year?), two by the Danish authorities and two by the UCI. Rules say you miss three and you're out, however it doesn't say three by WHOM so that was a bit of a tough call, but Danish authorities kicked him out of the Danish national team (Olympics etc.), and commented about how he did not collaborate with them. I'm surprised Robobank kept him for so long, it's not really good for the sponsors' name to have one of your team's racers being excluded from his national team.

ETA: Actually the EXCELLENT NYT article linked above states that the rules say that it's three missed controls by the same organization. Supposedly the rule has been or is going to be changed for "three controls" period.

[li10up]

Men in black is not to be taken literally. It was another rider that saw MR in the Dolomites - not a reporter. Looks like he's told so many lies he himself can't keep track of them all.

[Geonz]

THe question in my mind is how deeply adn widely the corruption flows. If somebody could be stupid enough to keep a-dopin', then somebody else might be clever enough to bribe the right folks to plant the right stuff.
Now, egos being what they are it may be more likely an athlete will want that thrill and taste and feel of victory, as in crossing that line first with that euphoric (if pain-laden) thrill - badly enough to figure "I won't be caught... I'm doing x, y, and z" or "they're all doing it so they can't bust us all!" ... or any of the things we put together to rationalize irrational behavior. I don't know. I don't think the testers are necessarily *anything* like "clean" either, though.

I think too many people take competition just too seriously...

[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?