2011 Tour de Pharmacy [Archive]

EDwardo

07-02-11, 07:59 AM

Starts today.

Contador begins Tour de France defense

LA BARRE-DE-MONTS, France (AP) — Defending champion Alberto Contador and last year's runner-up Andy Schleck renewed their rivalry as riders started the Tour de France on Saturday.

The mostly flat first stage takes riders over 119 miles from La Barre-de-Monts to Mont des Alouettes in the Vendee region of western France.

Many fans and riders have questioned Contador's presence in this year's race following his positive test for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour.

Contador could be stripped of all of his titles dating to July 2010 if the Court of Arbitration for Sport rules against him in August.

http://news.yahoo.com/contador-begins-tour-france-defense-113959231.html;_ylt=AoEf8niuqoW9okTJaBJLOYxEobF_;_ ylu=X3oDMTM5ZnNyMmdxBHBrZwM2N2U0YmRkZC01MjczLTM3Mj gtYjcyNS02Mzk3N2UyN2UyZWQEcG9zAzEEc2VjA01lZGlhVG9w U3RvcnkEdmVyAzI5NzZkMDkwLWE0YTAtMTFlMC1hYWYzLTA1NG NmYzFlMDZlMg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFzOWI3cDI3BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzcG9ydHN8Y3ljbGluZwRwdANzZWN0aW 9ucw--;_ylv=3

cameraman

07-02-11, 06:06 PM

Idiot spectator causes a massive crash that stops 3/4 of the field. Contador is now down 1:20 to the rest of the leaders. The surviving 1/4 was cut down to the top 1/10th by a second crash but it was with 3 km so the times were equalized. The top 49 are within 6 seconds. Then it drops to 1:20 back:eek:

No serious injuries today despite all the crashes.

cameraman

07-04-11, 01:31 PM

Looks like the TdF race stewards have been taking lessons from F1:shakehead

Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish dq'd from the intermediate sprint for, well for no apparent reason:saywhat:

opinionated ow

07-04-11, 04:10 PM

Looks like the TdF race stewards have been taking lessons from F1:shakehead

Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish dq'd from the intermediate sprint for, well for no apparent reason:saywhat:

They were headbutting like Renshaw did last year...at least the commissars were consistent.

cameraman

07-04-11, 08:06 PM

That wasn't a headbutt, Thor was drifting into Mark and he leaned back. Thor has 35kg on Cavendish, Mark has to bend quite a bit to resist that kind of mass. Thor admitted it was his fault but the judges didn't much care. It was a no harm situation and should have been a no call or at best a warning. Pulling their points could have a huge effect on the overall standings in three weeks.

cameraman

07-06-11, 08:22 PM

Absolutely insane day. There were over ten crashes with RadioShack getting the worst of it.

Jani Brajkovic - Massive pile-up in the peloton. Has a concussion, but the scan on his brain is ok. He has 7 stitches on his forehead and a broken collarbone. Out of the race.

Levi Leipheimer - Crashed earlier on in the race (before Jani's crash). Don't know who rode over him. Bruises, sore wrist, but luckily no fractures.

Chris Horner - Two crashes, one on a roundabout. Markel Irizar and Sergio Paulinho did a good job in bringing him back (was not easy). Has some bruises.

Yaroslav Popovych - Came back from the hospital after having x rays on his wrist. Luckily nothing broken. Popo gave his wheel to Horner after Horner crashed. Popo was making his way back through the caravan, but got sandwiched between an ambulance and car. He must have been going over 70 km/h and went right over the handle bars. Bike broken. He then later crashed again on a roundabout. Sergio Paulinho brought him home in a group of crash victims 4:29 behind the field. Also in that group was Nicki Sorensen who tangled with a photo motorcycle and was tossed off the road into a ditch. His bicycle was snagged on the motorcycle and was dragged for a couple hundred yards down the road.:eek:

And you can add Sylvain Chavanel with a dislocated shoulder, Ivan Velasco with a broken collarbone, Tom Boonen who limped to the finish with a probable concussion and shoulder & hip injuries and at a minimum twenty other riders crashed. Even Contador crashed, twice.

:saywhat: And, to add to the story, the ambulance driver came to the team after the race yesterday demanding that Team RadioShack pay for the dent Popo put into the ambulance in the crash. :saywhat:

Tifosi24

07-08-11, 11:24 AM

Another crazy day so far on the Tour. Boonen retired from his injuries a couple hours back, and now there has been a large crash that has taken Wiggins out of the Tour with a broken collarbone and Radioshack continues to take a pounding in these accidents.

cameraman

07-08-11, 03:46 PM

Chris Horner lost twelve minutes with a severe concussion & broken nose with a massive calf bruise. He is doubtful to start tomorrow. Leipheimer is now 5' back and the team will ride for Andreas Klöden.

Geraint Thomas got caught up in the crash and lost the white jersey. He tweeted the following... "All this talk of rider safety... It comes down to us riders!! There are some right muppets in the peloton..."

Jeebus, here is news video of them loading Horner into the ambulance after he finished the race. He doesn't have a clue where he is, what happened or where he is going. He must have just rode on pure instinct because there was no cognitive thought going on. :shakehead

video after the ad... Nothing is free at NBC:irked: (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43689047#43689047)

Turns out the race doctor was suspicious of Horner's condition but Horner was insisting that he keep riding so the medical team let him ride but had a medical crew and ambulance follow him the entire way. He's had an MRI and it looks clear. He is just resting at the hospital and they'll scan him again in the morning. He wants to keep going...

emjaya

07-09-11, 12:41 AM

There is no real leader of the peloton this year, such as an Armstrong, to control the pace and settle things down.

Contador losing so much time early in the tour, and the rule changes for this year, has a lot of riders thinking they have a chance at doing well.

cameraman

07-09-11, 03:28 AM

So far the entire race has been focused on the green jersey and the sprinters. The GC race is won and lost in the mountains and the GC contenders are only worried about survival and not losing time to each other. They have been crowding the front of the peloton in deathly fear of a wind driven split in the peloton that could lose them several minutes. The irony being that is causing many of the crashes that are splitting the peloton or losing people minutes.

It usually does not take this long to get into the mountains and there have been an abnormal number of crashes this year. How often has the race gone into the ninth day with the polka dot jersey leader having a grand total of two points? This whole thing will settle down once they hit the climbs and half the peloton gets dropped in the first mile of the first hill each day. Soon we will have Contador, Schleck and friends marking each other's every move up and over all manner of mountains.

Although those single sprint points in each stage are going to cause some interesting strategies as teams go hell for leather for the first half of a race.

The Doctor

07-10-11, 12:08 PM

Another crazy day. Contador apparently taken down by another rider, big crashes with big injuries for some major riders, French car takes out a few other riders... This Tour has just been insane. Voeckler takes the yellow in a breakaway.

opinionated ow

07-10-11, 12:12 PM

Unbelievable...Johnny Hoogerland is amazing and so excited to see him get the jersey he so deserved. It took balls to get to the end after that

tWT8yeHGA0U

cameraman

07-11-11, 01:41 AM

Voeckler would have been caught if it were not for the crash that took out Vinokourov, Van den Broeck, Zabriskie and Willems. The breakaway gained close to 5 minutes when the peloton went neutral.

RadioShack's trials continue with their only healthy rider, Andy Kloden, losing time due to his back injury in the same crash.

Quite a few folks really need that rest day tomorrow just to heal.

Vinokourov is out of surgery for a badly broken femur. His pelvis was not broken as earlier reported. He was forced off the road by the crash in front of him and went down a very deep ditch. He said that going into the ditch wasn't so bad, the problem was being stopped by a tree...

cameraman

07-11-11, 03:38 PM

Say what you will about Mark Cavendish, his tweets give a unique view of being a professional cyclist.

http://twitpic.com/5oodua

chop456

07-12-11, 05:44 AM

Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev has become the first rider to fail a doping test during this year's Tour de France. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cycling/14116083.stm)

Step right up! :tony:

emjaya

07-12-11, 08:32 AM

Russia's Alexandr Kolobnev has become the first rider to fail a doping test during this year's Tour de France. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cycling/14116083.stm)

Step right up! :tony:

...who has twice won world road race silver and an Olympic bronze in 2008

Kolobnev was 69th in the overall standings after nine stages, 22 minutes and 15 seconds behind leader Thomas Voeckler.

Whatever it is he's taking, it's not working very well.

cameraman

07-12-11, 10:16 AM

Interesting to see that he will be fined five times his total contract value by the team. That little penalty clause is in the contract he signed with the team.

Rogue Leader

07-12-11, 12:44 PM

Interesting to see that he will be fined five times his total contract value by the team. That little penalty clause is in the contract he signed with the team.

All I can say to that is good job a-hole.

Tifosi24

07-12-11, 01:47 PM

Interesting to see that he will be fined five times his total contract value by the team. That little penalty clause is in the contract he signed with the team.

One would think the prospect of being fined five times what you make would be enough disincentive not to dope. This is further proof that many athletes are not the brightest bulbs in the pack.

cameraman

07-16-11, 12:17 AM

One of the major complaints you hear from participants in the TdF is terrible hotels that get assigned to the teams & crews by the race organizers. (Yes they don't get to choose their own, they get assigned) Check out this amazing suite a couple of the Versus producers are sharing tonight:saywhat:

http://twitpic.com/5qoyc4

cameraman

07-16-11, 12:30 AM

Ever wonder what would happen if you got tossed off your bike by a car and landed on a barbed wire fence? Well wonder no more...

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/Barbedwire.jpg

cameraman

07-16-11, 06:21 PM

The TdF is beginning to wear on some of the riders.

Andy Schleck is rather annoyed that one hour after giving the fine UCI folks a urine sample at the hotel after the race a second group of UCI people interrupted his dinner at a restaurant and demanded another sample. He was less than impressed with both 2 urine samples within one hour (good thing those riders stay well hydrated:eek:) and in having to carry his 2nd urine sample through a crowded restaurant and fill out all the paperwork as everyone in the restaurant watched.

Because of all the doping scandals the UCI now haunts the riders every move. The major players get tested routinely at random year round. Always by surprise and they have no right to refuse. 5am knocks at the door are not uncommon.

Team RadioShack is having a nice restful night with hotel rooms overlooking the stage of an outdoor concert venue with some metal band playing a late night show:shakehead

cameraman

07-16-11, 06:33 PM

But the racing really doesn't get much better than yesterday...

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/Thor.jpg

cameraman

07-16-11, 06:52 PM

Laurens ten Dam may not be the most handsome rider in the peloton but he surely did himself no favors in today's race.

last week:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/tenDam.jpg

after going off the road at >40mph and over the handlebars today

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/tenDamv2.jpg

No broken bones at least...

Tifosi24

07-17-11, 10:07 AM

That is a grizzly photo. The win by Husvold on Friday was really something and shows the quality of rider he is. No one would ever expect Farrar or Cavendish, or most other sprinters for that matter, to go ahead and win solo on a pure mountain stage. It reminded me a lot of the time a few years back when he attacked in the mountains to get green jersey points which, at the end of the day, were the reason he won the green jersey.

Gnam

07-18-11, 01:12 PM

Watched Stage 15 yesterday. I knew roundabouts were dumb, but now I have a whole new reason to dislike them. They wreck the TdF. :p

Seeing the wind stretch them out was cool and the speed of the peleton really showed as they rode through city streets and the freeway section. :thumbup:

cameraman

07-18-11, 05:52 PM

For a little while yesterday the peloton caught a tailwind and the entire group was cruising at 50 MPH on a flat/slightly uphill section of road.:eek:

They also ended up going through some of the larger roundabouts backwards:saywhat: due to road construction.

cameraman

07-26-11, 05:06 PM

This is a really well done photograph.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/bp10.jpg

NismoZ

07-27-11, 11:01 AM

Look at the arms on that guy. He reminds me of...ME!:D

opinionated ow

07-27-11, 11:21 AM

This is a really well done photograph.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/bp10.jpg

That's fantastic...

NismoZ

07-27-11, 01:22 PM

What? My arms?:gomer:And an AUSSIE wins the thing! That a first?:thumbup:

opinionated ow

07-27-11, 05:29 PM

This is a really well done photograph.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/bp10.jpg

Is there a larger size version of that photo? I'd love to print it for my office

cameraman

07-27-11, 07:32 PM

Maybe.

The photographer is Laurent Cipriani out of Lyon, France.
Ask him at hisfirstname.hislastname@gmail.com

Use his name from the first line, I don't like feeding the spambots.

emjaya

07-27-11, 07:50 PM

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/354461138.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1311811046&Signature=V3MTVIPBpyMdFMobcNUvj44jsGQ%3D

cameraman

11-22-11, 03:22 PM

And so it begins. The first of >20 witnesses will be testifying over the next four days in Lausanne as Alberto Contador’s clenbuterol case is heard before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They were supposed to do this 9 months ago.

If you follow the hearing closely you will learn more than you would ever want to know about the finer points of European beef production...

cameraman

12-02-11, 07:24 AM

Un-****ing-believable. After a four day hearing the panel will now deliberate for about 8 weeks before coming back with a decision:shakehead

Tifosi24

02-06-12, 12:46 PM

Un-****ing-believable. After a four day hearing the panel will now deliberate for about 8 weeks before coming back with a decision:shakehead

It took them long enough, but they have finally released their decision, Alberto receives a backdated ban for doping thus forfeiting his 2010 Tour de France and 2011 Giro wins. I guess the bright side for Contador is that he will be able to compete in the Vuelta this year since his suspension is up on August 5th. Andy Schleck is a true sportsman in his response. He remains committed to his opinion that Contador did not knowingly commit the offense and he is not happy to accept the title of TdF champ from 2010. I am still not convinced of Schleck's form as a GC contender, mainly his TT performances, but you can't deny his likeability as a rider and competitor (unless of course you don't like him).

TrueBrit

02-06-12, 01:56 PM

Andy Schleck is a true sportsman in his response. He remains committed to his opinion that Contador did not knowingly commit the offense and he is not happy to accept the title of TdF champ from 2010. I am still not convinced of Schleck's form as a GC contender, mainly his TT performances, but you can't deny his likeability as a rider and competitor (unless of course you don't like him).

Andy would've won in 2010 if not for the mechanical issue he had that Contador used to his advantage. A lot was made at the time of the lack of ethics that move showed, and to be honest with you, that stuck in my craw more than his juicing. To me Andy was the winner of that Tour all along, and this latest move just confirms it.

His TT performances need to improve if he is to stand a chance against the likes of Cadell Evans, who is a pretty decent all-rounder (but weakest in the mountains) no doubt, but in 2010 Andy did everything he had to (including keeping pace with Contador in the TT) in order to win it, and lost because of the chain slipping off his bike...

In the grand scheme of things though it is another black eye for the sport, and Le Tour especially, as the appearance is that you have to juice to win...

(Congrats to Lance btw for having the latest witch hunt end in failure...)

Methanolandbrats

02-06-12, 01:59 PM

Why don't they just them do whatever the hell they want when it comes to blood doping, drugs, etc...

chop456

02-07-12, 06:45 AM

Contador stripped of 2010 Tour title for use of PEDs

An appeals court ruled yesterday that Alberto Contador, a three-time winner of the Tour de France, used a performance-enhancing drug when he won the race in 2010, the latest black mark on a sport that has been tarnished by doping scandals over the past several years.

The decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, which overturns an earlier ruling by the Spanish cycling federation, means Contador will be banned from racing for two years.

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/cycling/articles/2012/02/07/contador_stripped_of_2010_tour_title_for_use_of_pe ds/