Le Tour carnage update...

[seshomoru]

We're still in the long boring lead up to the mountains, which start Thursday.? But, there has been some pretty awesome crashes, so just think of it as really slow NASCAR for the time being.

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Thursday is when things really get going, with an HC summit finish.? Contador is 1:30 back of Schleck, so it should be good.? Cadel Evans is actually the best placed serious GC contender, but I don't see him riding with Andy or Bertie in the mountains.

 

[DavidKellumNicknameGenerator]

is the sprinters who are all jacked and weigh a lot dragging in a good 25 minutes behind the leaders in one huge pack.

You know the sprinters wake up on those days and say, "Today is going to 17ing suck."

 

[bulldogbaja]

Austria, D.C., now the Tour.

 

[seshomoru]

It sounds like one long 3rd and 2 at Davis Wade.

 

[MemphisMaroonClubDog]

I have to say that this has been just about the most exciting first week ever.... Cannot wait for the next two weeks though. The mountains are going to be nuts. I would give anything to be at one of those mountaintop finishes with my bell one day...

 

[YellowFeverDawg]

There are at least two Starkville residents following the Tour. Not
sure that they brought cowbells, but that would have been a great way
to let the folks at home know that they were there.

First week was brutal. Thought we were going to have to put Phil and
Paul on suicide watch when Wiggins crashed and Thomas lost the white
jersey while waiting to see if Bradly would be able to get back on the
bike.

 

[RebelBruiser]

Think of all the wasted doping agents that leaked out of those riders' bodies when they crashed and bled all over the course.

Question...is it really tainted if you win while doping when everyone else is doping too?

 

[YellowFeverDawg]

you shouldn't consider those athletes in any discussion involving "best there ever was" at their sport. Reason is simply that you don't have a valid comparison versus those that established previous records.

I feel the same way about baseball. In the steroid era compare the players against each other. Give them credit in that time, but put an asterisk by their all time numbers.

I'm sure that many disagree, and this certainly shouldn't be read as an endorsement of doping. Just an after the fact observation.

 

[seshomoru]

Cyclists are fantastic dopers. Want to know what the next scandal in other sports is going to be? Look at what cyclists got busted for 10 years ago. The greatest cyclist of all time is Eddy Merckx. He got busted three times.

Honestly, you just have to take it for what it is in cycling.

 

[RebelBruiser]

That's my point and I agree with you to some extent on both on cycling and baseball. It's the everybody's doing it argument, and I agree that there hasn't been a clean era in cycling.

If you are the best, you are the best.

Lance Armstrong doped, whether he's tested positive or not. That doesn't change his greatness to me, because he was beating a bunch of other dopers at the same time, level playing field.

That said, I do feel like baseball had a decent amount of players that weren't using steroids or other growth hormones when McGwire, Giambi, Bonds, Sosa, etc. were tearing it up, so I do think it's somewhat unfair, though all of those players were still very good players.

 

[YellowFeverDawg]

The closest thing to your baseball example in cycling would be when the French clamped down on doping and most of the professionals moved to Italy or Spain. There was an immediate selection the next season. In fact you could really argue that French cycling is only now recovering with Voeckler, Kern and a few others. Some would argue that this is a sign that French winners equals cleaner peloton. Others would say that the French have gotten better at cheating. Either way going back to the initial event, French riders that had been competitive were clearly behind the rest of the professionals.

Whether you believe Armstrong cheated or not, one thing that has been proven is that all of his primary competitors did. Also going back to his amatuer career he was clearly better than his competition at an age where it would be preposterous to think that any of the athletes were doping. In the end I agree with you that the everybody was doing it arguement applies.