Tour de France 2009

No, he climbed like a natural climber. He climbed like Sastre last year. Its a talent that has been known in the sport for years doping or not. The ability to dance on the pedals at a high cadence to inject bursts of speed is characteristic of great, small, thin, light climbers. This sport has been damaged enough without more rumours without basis. I think (hope) that biological passports and testing have turned the tide. I guess im saying STFU!

I note youre not accusing Cav of doping despite being blatantly faster than all others.

I never accused anyone of doping, I was merely pointing out how unaffected contador was at the end of the stage and that it seemed a little suspicious. I love the sport but its hard to have faith in any one any more, Rasmussen was my favourite rider for years but then got banned. Conatdor looked like ricardo ricco did last year, and that wasnt natural. Just my opinion so I guess I'm just saying STFU to you too.

Didn't you see the slow motion replay of the short section leading up to the last bend? Contador was fucking hurting. And I think Schleck was quicker over that section too. Making things look easy doesn't mean they are easy.

Unless you go into oxygen debt, recovering from very intense efforts (sprint/climb/TT/whatever) doesn't take long, at least in the sense of being able to have a chat and raise a smile.

Okay, I don't want to seem like a hater, I love cycling but can you blame anyone for not having much faith anymore and don't get me wrong, this is an amazing tour.

Okay, I don't want to seem like a hater, I love cycling but can you blame anyone for not having much faith anymore and don't get me wrong, this is an amazing tour.

My faith in the quasi-religious experience of bike racing hasn't altered one bit. I'm still in awe of the feats of physiological and psychological heroism, which includes the workmanlike performance of so many amateurs and pros as much as the jaw-dropping moments that occur once in a blue moon.

Doping is a moot point for me.

You shouldn't readily dismissed a cyclist if he/she been found using drug, after all some of the best cyclists we've seen are likely to be under the inlfuence.

but of course there are limit.

as tommy simpson found out

Beryl Burton was doing rhubard on a daily basis.

Has no-one noticed Haussler's apparent penchant for mascara yet?

It's not mascara. It's a special 'no tear' vectran skin.

I can't say I have but with that earing.. you never know what he's into..

i thought earring + bleached hair was standard Aussie issue?

"Ich Bin Shane Warne, mate. aw yeh."

He does look at bit Warneyish.. less about 40kg...

My hair isn't bleached and my earing is in my nipple but then I'm very much non-standard Aussie.

you're an honorary Pom, mate.

People keep mentioning the doping to me when I mention that I'm following the Tour and it hasn't put me off one bit. Even if people are doped up they're still incredible athletes. I still don't know what to believe about the doping because if they wanted to keep it quiet they could and easily stop info getting out about certain riders. It's all a bit dodgy right down to the doctors and the people testing the riders. I say get on with it and be in ignorant bliss like me!

fixed.

He looks like a Pertwee.

Mainly Jon:

Hipster Doctor.

yeah, eurosport could at least cover andyp climbing ventoux today - what's wrong with them

i'm going up ventoux on friday.

attempting it, at least ;)

People keep mentioning the doping to me when I mention that I'm following the Tour and it hasn't put me off one bit. Even if people are doped up they're still incredible athletes. I still don't know what to believe about the doping because if they wanted to keep it quiet they could and easily stop info getting out about certain riders. It's all a bit dodgy right down to the doctors and the people testing the riders. I say get on with it and be in ignorant bliss like me!

+1

Read John Hotten - Muscle ... Will totally change your perceptions of Pro Body Building and most relevantly for this discussion Doping. Almost all pro body builders dope ... however they still have 100% commitment to their discipline ... eating bland food (and lots of it), lifting big weights, and then starving themselves weeks before competition (going down to over 300lbs in weight to 230 - 250lbs). Doping on its own didn't get them at the top of the game it was commitment. Same with those who have been in the tour.

is bodybuilding a sport? i thought it was an exercise in narcissism

Something I don't quite understand is why EPO and doping are particularly 'wrong' things to do.

Essentially taking EPO gives you more red blood cells. So does living/training at altitude or sleeping in an altitude chamber. Why is one cheating and not the other?

is bodybuilding a sport?

No, it's gay porn from the days of heavy censorship

Something I don't quite understand is why EPO and doping are particularly 'wrong' things to do.
Essentially taking EPO gives you more red blood cells. So does living/training at altitude or sleeping in an altitude chamber. Why is one cheating and not the other?

Last time I checked, people weren't dying in their sleep from living at altitude.

is bodybuilding a sport? i thought it was an exercise in narcissism

Well it isn't a sport, it is a basically a modelling contest. It isn't something I would go and see, I just though the book sounded interesting when browsing through waterstones. However there is a huge amount of dedication and hard work and I think it is comparable on that front to any pro sport, whether others jeer at it or not, there dedication to it cannot be ignored.