Ricco not so sauve

I always thought he was an arrogant jerk, and now we have confirmation. It takes a real special kind of d-bag to talk that much trash while cheating the entire time.

Tour de France thoughts

I could really care less about this year's Tour. The doping scandals were bad enough, but when you exclude the best riders and arguably the strongest team (Astana), what are we left to watch? The French haven't had a winner since Hinault and the Tour organizers have gone out of their way the past few years to stack the deck in hopes of dumbing down the race enough to give themselves a chance. They've eliminated the Team Time Trial (arguably one of the most entertaining and exciting days of the Tour) because they've had their asses handed to them. When Lance and the Disco squad dominated the mountains, they changed the route year after year to try to take away the advantage. Cancellara grabbed the Maillot Jaune in the Prologue last year and held it for far too long for French liking, so this year, no Prologue for the first time in decades. Oh yeah, no time bonuses this year either. They should rename this the Tour de Lowest Hanging Fruit.

Adding to the lack of quality on the road is the further decline of broadcasting standards by Versus. Al Troutwig used to annoy the bejeezus out of me because he clearly knew nothing about cycling but had the American sportscaster vibe, so they brought him in, presumably to appeal to Joe Sixpack sports guy. Craig Hummer is so terrible that I've become president of the Al Troutwig fan club. At least Troutwig was a broadcasting professional who knew how to speak in something other than a whiny, droning monotone for 3 hours. Hummer was barely tolerable when he was doing 3-minute interviews, how the hell did he get this gig? Next year will it be Frankie Andreu and Craig Hummer? That would be a freaking Dream Team. Secondly, I'm all for the American teams and riders, but I don't need to see the same pieces on Garmin-Chipotle and Columbia everyday. Considering there are only 4 American riders in the tour, that is a very disproportionate amount of coverage for a European event. Is there nothing interesting going on with any of the other teams? Apparently not. The most exciting thing so far in this year's Tour was Jonathan Vaughters dropping an F-Bomb on live TV while driving the team car in the TT. Finally, the media buyer at Versus must have the greatest job on the planet. All you need to do is buy one ad for Bacardi, another for Saab, slap together a Tour promo spot and your work is done for the year. It makes me want to "do the Mojito" in a Saab "that recycles exhaust into energy" right over the edge of L'Alpe d'Huez, while singing, "I'm gonna get my head straight".

I think I just took the Black Jersey for points leader in ranting.

Let Levi Ride

I think the ASO and Tour organizers are sick of American podium dominance since 1999, and figured one way to keep it from happening again is to not invite the American with the best shot at winning. To ban Astana and not ban Cofidis, Rabobank or any of the other teams with past doping scandals is nothing short of hypocritical. But, in a country where Richard Virenque and Christophe Moreau are heroes, what else would you expect? Bob Roll has a great article on this here.

TDF: Here we go again...

Already banned from the Giro d'Italia, Astanta and others may be watching the Tour instead of racing in it. Is it a case of the sins of the father being visited upon the son? Or is it a sign that promotors are serious about cleaning house?

Disco is Dead

If the most dominant team in cycling for the past 9 years can't find a sponsor, who will be next? I'm hoping this trend doesn't trickle down to the local club level. But right now, who can blame anyone for not wanting to be associated with the embarrassment that was the Tour this summer?

Todays Doper Update

TDF winner Alberto Contador has announced he will be giving a press conference on Friday. Will it be Floyd Landis all over again? Story on VeloNews. Andrey Kashechkin tested positive for homologous blood doping and was suspended from Astana. Astana is making T-Mobile look like choir boys. I'm still waiting for Kloden to get busted.

Doping

"Doctor" Ferrari must have it all figured out. He's got the magic potion that guarantees victory and evades WADA's doping control like a stealth bomber. I'm sure it makes it easier for "athletes" to stare straight into the camera and declare to the world that they are clean. After all, they have never tested positive, have they? Easy to say when you're using a banned substance that hasn't been banned yet because there is no test for it and nobody knows it exists. It's a bit like being a money launderer for the Cali cartel in the 1970's and 80's before money laundering was written onto the books as a crime. They weren't doing anything wrong either, were they? It wasn't illegal.

Pretty good racket "il dottore" has going on. He can handpick the rider to win the Tour, commanding a pricetag of Bill Gates proportions from the highly-gifted but ethically-challenged cyclist who can't win on his own, in exchange for exclusive access to his bloodstream. I wonder how much money Ferrari has bet on cycling over the years?

A 2-year suspensions means nothing to these guys, especially those in the last years of their careers. If you can make a few million dollars, get busted and the worst that happens is that you can't race again for 2 years, or even ever again, the money will win every time. How about prison time for fraud, for starters. A fine of at least double the riders earnings from winnings and endorsements. What about the teams that were passed over for inclusion in the Tour in favor of these doper teams? They should be compensated for being fraudulently denied entry, missing out on lucrative exposure. What a mess.

Vino

http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/details/articles/12910.0.html

So the entire Astana team is gone, what a shock that former T-Mobile riders would get busted. I hope every team loses their sponsors and all the advertisers pull their commercials off the air. It'll never happen, so instead I'll just stop watching. There, I'm done. I now have an extra 3 hours of time for 3 weeks in July.

Lance, I still want to believe you. In 1999 as my mom was in the hospital, slowly and painfully dying of cancer, I turned on the Tour and explained your story to her. She had no idea who you were, but she was as proud of you as if you were her own son. She was dying and she started writing you a letter to give YOU encouragement. While she only lived long enough to see that first victory, I know it gave her hope. Maybe not as much for her as for others, as she would tell other cancer survivors and patients your story, despite her own condition, showing what was possible.

So, Lance, I want to believe you. I want that memory of my mom to remain positive, untainted. I want that hope to be real for all people affected by cancer. I still want to hold back tears whenever I think of that first tour victory, just as I did all 7 times you crossed the finish line on the Champs Elysees. Please don't take away one of the last really good memories I have of my mom. People always ask me if I think you doped or not, and when I say you didn't, it's not because I want to believe it, I have to believe it.

Robbie McEwen Rules

I love this guy. You never see him in the peloton until about 200 meters from the line and then , somehow, some way, he squeezes through an army of elbows at 40mph and wins. Yesterday he got caught in a crash, was sent over the bars and got banged up. He was completely off the back, and even with his entire team just totally drilling it, it didn't seem like he would even reach the peloton, let alone make his way back to the front. So, final kilometer to the line and Quick Step has the perfect lead-out in place for Tom Boonen. He can't lose, right? Then, about 100 meters from the line, from out of freaking nowhere comes McEwen, completely smoking everyone for the win. It wasn't even close. That was awesome. That is why I watch the TDF. That is why you NEVER give up in a race, no matter how dismal things look.
Photo from VeloNews.

Floyd

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/12271.0.html

Could it be more obvious that Floyd is guilty? After spewing out a new excuse every day after the Tour for why he failed a doping control, he now pulls this crap. If by some miracle he was actually innocent, I could care less. What a prick. Please, just shut up and go away. Better yet, be a man, admit you're a cheater and let the rest of us enjoy this year's Tour without having to endure your dog and pony show.