Tour de Farce...

[AustinBoston]

I know doping is widespread in a lot of sports, but things have gone just plain bizzare in this year's Tour de France.

One of the lesser known issues around Landis loosing his 2006 title is that the lab refused to allow anyone to observe the testing, so there's no way to know if it wasn't rigged.  

Now, entire teams are being thrown out.

It will be a decade or more before anybody believes the results of a TdF, or the results of their drug testing.

Austin

[ClarkPeters]

I know doping is widespread in a lot of sports, but things have gone just plain bizzare in this year's Tour de France.

Now, entire teams are being thrown out.

It will be a decade or more before anybody believes the results of a TdF, or the results of their drug testing.

Austin

The really sad part of this is that professional cycling has done more to combat doping than any of the major US sports, yet most of what we hear about this year's Tour are the doping issues. Guys are being accused of doping because they have a higher than normal level of testosterone. Considering what these cyclists are capable of doing, I'd be surprised if they WEREN'T higher than normal in almost everything.

Pete

[Gutpile]

Sad is a good word for it, and there is no end in sight.  I say cancel the event until technology reaches a point where riders can be tested with almost immediate results and infractions should be made criminal.  They are cheating.  Plan and simple.  Forget testosterone.

Steroids, gambling refs, electrocuting dogs, strip club shootings, ........ the purity of sports is gone forever.  Sometimes I am embarrassed to have my kids growing up in this culture.  The culture their kids will witness scares the hell out of me.

Hang on to camping.

[SkipP]

I don't understand the contradictions of the sport. Jan Ulrich waits on Armstrong in 2003 after Lance crashes because it's custom. No one races for the trophy on the final day because it's custom. But then these guy's, so rooted in custom, do things to their bodies for the soul purpose of getting a competitive edge. Seems odd to honor age-old customs in the sport but at the same time, perform acts that are banned in order to whip everyone else's butt.

[AustinBoston]

Steroids, gambling refs, electrocuting dogs, strip club shootings, ........ the purity of sports is gone forever.  Sometimes I am embarrassed to have my kids growing up in this culture.  The culture their kids will witness scares the hell out of me.

Remember when a "spotsmanlike manner" was something to encourage in children?  I don't think they would know what we were talking about today.

Austin