Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Tour De Francais

It seems this storied race is but a far cry from competitive anymore. All the good riders have dropped like flies for testing positive in the Tour De Francais (spit).

Seems the best way to win is just to NOT be a doper and hope enough of those who get snagged for doping drop out and leave you as the last man standing.

The Tour has become a joke almost at this point eh?

Ok, I understand why Rasmussen was sent home - he lied and missed mandatory drug testing.

I don't understand the whole blood transfusion thing with Vinokourov. How does a blood transfusion enchance his performance? I mean, even if they put 2 gallons of micheal jordon's blood in my butt, I still can't hit a free throw! How does it work?

I think it's more of a dilution thing for after taking steroids.

Doh!@! Now it makes sense! WTF is wrong with people?

there are probably a few different ways and means, blood doping (one form) involves having a supply of your own, fresh oxygenated blood. When the riders get too tired to recover naturally, their own blood oxy-depleted and filled with lactic acid, which makes their muscles tired and stiff and sore. Take out some old blood, transfuse some fresh stuff, and the next day you feel like a million bucks while the non dopers are tired and sore
enuff

That makes sense too.

I learn something here everyday!

The transfusions don't replace tired blood. The blood is taken and stored long before the event- long enough for your body to reproduce what was taken. Imediately before the event the blood is added back into the body increasing the the number of red blood cells in the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles, so adding red blood cells to your system before a race is a bit like opening up the air intake on our bikes. It provides the body's engines (i.e. muscles) with more oxygen.

As long as there's money to be made in sport, folks will cheat. If drug A gives you an extra second off the marathon, an extra inch in your jump, or the ability to hit the ball an extra foot to change an outfield fly into a home run, then someone somewhere will rationalize the risk. And so long as folks keep paying to see these events, it'll happen.

Siggy

Sadly this is true.

I still think Mr Bonds should have a GREAT BIG FAT ASTERISK next to his name when he officially breaks Hank's record.

That big ole asterisk should pointedly outline the years that Mr Bonds hit all those homers while under the influence of anabolic steroids.

Wait, the top riders are essentially surrendering their entries in a French event?

The jokes write themselves.

Tour De Francais didnt she play miss jones on rising damp

Ah who cares? Lance Armstrong is riding across Iowa this week

The Tour De Iowa....Now that has a nice All American sound to it.

Lotsa shoulder high corn country to ride through. No climbs like in the Tour de Francis but...

I like it.

I used to be a big cycling fan, watching anything they showed on OLN(called Versus now). Didn't matter if it was Paris-Roubaix or the TdF, I watched it. It bothered me when anybody tested positive, but cycling has always had the most aggressive drug testing out of any sport on the face of the earth, and I thought they were doing a good job unearthing the cheaters.

But last year when Operation Puerta was launched in Spain that uncovered 32 current riders, with high profile names like Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, that was it for me. No more watching cycling on TV. I had finally crossed the threshold when you say to yourself...unless proven otherwise, I believe they're all juiced. So it didn't suprise me to hear what has happened in this year's TdF.

Cycling isn't the only sport though that's having problems. The NBA has a referee under investigation for possibly throwing games. Michael Vick from the NFL is just the latest in a long string of players on the wrong side of the law. Baseball has it's own performance drug problem. I wonder what would happen if the 3 major North American sports had the same kind of extensive testing that cycling has had for years. How many players could pass that kind of scrutiny? What woukld happen if everytime a player hit a home run he had to pee in a cup, like the TdF stage winners do? I wonder how many more cheaters they'd catch in the other sports?

Derek,

Your right on, but you left out one thing the players unions prevent the sports from aggressive drug testing.

I'm not a big cycling fan, but I do not think they have a union to stop the sport from drug testing.

Ehh!!! I've been telling people for YEARS...all ya gotta do is put a nice little vertical-twin motor in the frame of any two-wheeler, and you can go a heck a lot faster and a heck of a lot farther, AND sweat a heck of a lot less while you're getting whereever the heck ya wanna go!!!

But will they LISTEN???!!!