Tour de France 2009

the bike will have to pass scrutineering and will have bore diameter, stroke, inlet and exhaust dimensions, wheelbase, weight etc all within set limits by the governing body.
the fuel will also be tested before and after the race.

100% Correct.

But use the analogy a well known BC mechanic told me after bejing, you don't run an F1 Ferrari on supermarket unleaded.

Going to bed, got training in the morning *

Poor show, I've still got half a bag of Butterkist left. Now what am I supposed to do?

Talk to the Butterkist; you'll get more sense out of it.

the bike will have to pass scrutineering...the fuel will also be tested before and after the race.

But the injection mapping is secret...

Cyclists have to give blood/urine on demand at any time, in or out of competition. That's like scrutineering vehicle fuelling by measuring exhaust gases, but the alternative would be to place riders in permanent quarantine so that you could have total regulatory control over inputs. The cost of that, both material and moral, would far exceed the benefit.

Really who gives a shit?

Personally any doping does not make you a great athlete .... hard work and effort does and the doping "helps". That is why I don't really give a fucking monkeys about it. You don't dope and suddenly become amazing ... that is just a fucking myth.

Just read "muscle" by John Hotton and you will see why this doping stuff isn't even worth worrying about, because a little doping helps with loads of training and a lots doesn't work without the right training.

Really who gives a shit?

Athletes who want to have a sporting chance without excessive danger to their health.

Sporting chance eh? Maybe anyone caught should donate their stash to a 'nominated fatty'.. :)

Really who gives a shit?

Personally any doping does not make you a great athlete .... hard work and effort does and the doping "helps". That is why I don't really give a fucking monkeys about it. You don't dope and suddenly become amazing ... that is just a fucking myth.

Just read "muscle" by John Hotton and you will see why this doping stuff isn't even worth worrying about, because a little doping helps with loads of training and a lots doesn't work without the right training.

That's such bullshit. Armstrong trained as hard as many of his peers when he first turned pro yet he was an also ran when it came to the Tour. Then he starts working with Dr Michele Ferrari and suddenly he's the best time triallist and climber in the race. To those who believe the myth this is due to weight loss post cancer and hard training. Not drugs. To those who see through the myth this is due to the wholesale doping program he's on, evidenced by the positive test for EPO on his 1999 urine samples in 2005.

He's a fraud, like many of his peers.

Doping aside for a second- what position would Thor have to finish in with Cavendish in first for Cavendish to win the Green Jersey?

Really who gives a shit?

Personally any doping does not make you a great athlete .... hard work and effort does and the doping "helps". That is why I don't really give a fucking monkeys about it. You don't dope and suddenly become amazing ... that is just a fucking myth.

Just read "muscle" by John Hotton and you will see why this doping stuff isn't even worth worrying about, because a little doping helps with loads of training and a lots doesn't work without the right training.

To a large extent I agree with you.

Ben Johnson's body still ran that time, those various cyclists still climbed those mountains quicker than everyone else, they might have cheated to get their bodies into that condition, but in the end their muscles were still stronger or faster than the others.

I honestly don't care if Armstrong was doped or not, I'd still respect him for what he did.

The problem comes if you accept doping, you legitimise it, and then everyone is suddenly forced to take them, like it or not. That means young sportspeople are forced into making a choice of damaging their bodies or not competing. That's not ok.

He's 25 points down
Placings award thus: 35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
So Thor would need to come in more than err 7th or back I think.

He's 25 points down
Placings award thus: 35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
So Thor would need to come in more than err 17th or back I think.

Fixed.

Not going to happen, is it?

Yeah.. 17th ie. earn less than 10 points, assuming Cav wins . Even 7th is unlikely for Thor. Pity.

Not going to be holding my breath then! A mathematical possibility, but not going to happen.

Who am I going to shout at the TV for now?

I was wondering about Cav's chances for points today too. I'm not mega fanatical of the whinging manc but why are the media pundits all writing off the intermediate sprints?
Fair enough cycling, traditional, champagne etc but it's a race that ends in Paris, not Mont Ventoux. I'd be trying to get that green jersey if I had a chance if I were in Cav's shoes. Not that Thor's team would make it easy but I bet it's possible if you through "etiquette" out of the window.
Stupid frog race! ;)

Cav will still be going for the win so it should be an exciting finish. I wonder if he'll go for the intermediates too?

I don't understand why dopers wouldnt be subject to blackmail/grassing. Fair enough if you can dope in training and compete "clean" but if you are doing stuff like doping during the race like Vino there must be a whole load of paraphernalia - bags of blood etc which are hard to hide - like the operation puerto truck. re. comments a few posts back - i thought that they could now detect autologous blood doping due to high hematocrit and also by analysing the ratio of old rbcs to new ones (doping giving too many old ones?)

anyway - im happy to believe the sport is predominanlty clean - innocent until proven guilty and all that. Contador could just have a remarkable body like Usain Bolt clearly has (ignoring that 5 Jamaicans have just been done, and Usain would be a nob to dope considering his legs are longer than everyone elses).

There is an article in cycling weekly a few weeks back which explains how the biological passports are working - there are 5 riders who are raising suspicion and then wada or who ever get after them. sounds like its starting to be quite effective.

And all you slating lance and contador...rememebr, Brad is not far behind.

I was wondering about Cav's chances for points today too. I'm not mega fanatical of the whinging manc but why are the media pundits all writing off the intermediate sprints?

The two sprints are worth a maximum of 12 points, even if Cavendish won both and Thor came nowhere. As both are on the Champs Elysees, Cavendish would then have to recover in short order to win the final, and Thor still only has to come 4th to retain green. That's without the traditional small breakaways which always form on the Champs as teams and riders who have done nothing for three weeks try to show their face for a few minutes.

What time will they be hitting Paris this afternoon? I need to know when to duck inside from a family BBQ.

That's such bullshit. Armstrong trained as hard as many of his peers when he first turned pro yet he was an also ran when it came to the Tour. Then he starts working with Dr Michele Ferrari and suddenly he's the best time triallist and climber in the race. To those who believe the myth this is due to weight loss post cancer and hard training. Not drugs. To those who see through the myth this is due to the wholesale doping program he's on, evidenced by the positive test for EPO on his 1999 urine samples in 2005.

He's a fraud, like many of his peers.

So how does an athlete systematically avoid being caught doping? Armstrong on tweeter stated that he had been spot tested eleven times during this tour - that is pretty much every other day - and aren't they checked in the off season as well?

He's 25 points down
Placings award thus: 35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
So Thor would need to come in more than err 17th or back I think.

Actually even if he gets 16th, Cav wins on countback of more wins.

And if Cav can win both sprints, and Thor isn't in the top 3 that's 12 more points, which means Hushovd could be 5th and still lose.

Still unlikely though.

commentator is annoying me with his mispronunciations and inane waffle. i appreciate that very little is happening on this the last stage but still. bring back phil liggett and paul sherwen please.

sorry if i missed something.

Live coverage has turned into a pun thread...

Again - no.

I felt fucking drained by the end, just watching it. You do realise they were cycling up a mountain that's claimed lives, don't you? No-one's going to break from the group at 30mph, and then hold tempo for 20mins @ 10%. Even if the drugs existed to facilitate it, the flesh remains too weak.

There were constant attacks throughout the field.

of course i realise that, but the organisers have made no secret of the fact that the race was' to be won on ventoux'.
well, in a sense it was, of course, but i'm pretty sure they were hoping for at least a change in the GC podium placings on the day - as it was, everyone held onto their positions. it wasn't a dull day, i'm not saying that, but i think the race had already been decided, contrary to what ASO planned.

hoping for at least a change in the GC podium placings on the day - as it was, everyone held onto their positions.

That was the outcome, but it wasn't for want of effort. A bad day by any one of the top three would have seen the podium placings change. I was literally on the edge of my seat for the last hour, so I think the idea of keeping it interesting to the last was achieved.