11/21/24
July 27, 2008
Carlos Sastre wins Tour de France:
posted by Ying Yang Mafia to other at 04:29 PM - 13 comments
...and yet another winner of the TdF will quickly fall into obscurity because the story could not be told without mentioning cheating and doping.
posted by knowsalittle at 06:34 PM on July 27, 2008
If you're going to spend 5 to 6 hours a day racing your bicycle over 100 miles a day, you should be able to take whatever drugs you can get your hands on.
posted by MGDADDYO at 06:53 PM on July 27, 2008
CSC Saxo Bank is one of three teams that rode in the tour with the strictest anti-doping programs in cycling. In fact the doctor in charge of the program has recently criticised WADA for not punishing more dopers based on the test results they have. He's also in charge of Astana's anti-doping program and they just kicked someone for having abnormal values that didn't indicate doping, but where outside of the teams acceptable parameters. Sastre won clean.
posted by apoch at 07:48 PM on July 27, 2008
Which is good. With all the doping and doping allegations in the sport another Tour de France winner under the suspicion of doping would be a crushing blow.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:59 PM on July 27, 2008
Sastre won clean. I did not intend to imply otherwise if that was your perception of my comment. What I was talking about were headlines and stories like this one: Sastre wins doping-scarred Tour Much like the Brickyard 400 today, the story was barely about the winner.
posted by knowsalittle at 08:06 PM on July 27, 2008
Scarred? More like 'lightly scratched'. Ricco's expulsion was the headliner, but compared to the last couple of years, it was a very different Tour. Sure, people will point to Riis's past and ask questions about CSC's strength, but the full disclosure model with long-term blood profiling sets the right kind of precedent. As apoch mentioned, the Olympics will begin with an EPO testing regime that passes samples that look highly suspicious to those now overseeing professional cycling.
posted by etagloh at 09:36 PM on July 27, 2008
Lets see, they busted* what four riders out of 180 that started? I think 'lightly scratched' is much more accurate, no matter what those yahoos in the news think. Garmin-Chipolte, CSC Saxo, and Team Columbia were some of the best performing teams. It was a great tour. *had four positive A samples, afaik, B results that might condemn or clear the riders haven't been announced.
posted by apoch at 10:50 PM on July 27, 2008
Everytime I saw a Garmin-Chipotle rider I had to chuckle. Maybe the Chipotle riders didn't dope, but if their sponsor also provided their food, they likely were afforded extra propulsion.
posted by Chargdres at 09:56 AM on July 28, 2008
I'd like to hear from someone on the medical side of things. Could some of these guys be getting false positive readings? Is it possible their bodies have a completely different chemistry from your average Joe that allows them to race at top speed every day for 100 miles, thus giving false positives when they are tested? Just wondering.
posted by MGDADDYO at 10:02 AM on July 28, 2008
Despite the multiple doping incidents I liked this Tour.There was drama,excitement and many changes in who wore the yellow jersey.Often,when Lance won,it was a little dull because you knew he'd win yet another one.
posted by sickleguy at 04:48 PM on July 29, 2008
Not a medical person... but I do know the samples are compared to a pre-established base line... and they take lots and lots of data before the race starts... thus deviations pop out. Ya gotta be especially dumb to try with the testing sensitivity they have today.
posted by Fly_Piscator at 06:50 PM on July 29, 2008
posted by Amateur at 10:12 AM on July 30, 2008
At least until he tests positive...