What the hell is wrong with Nibali? I know he's done some work today, but not even able to keep up with the journeyman riders? Odd.
The Pro Cycling Thread (Part 2)
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Originally Posted by walterwhite:
“Why Hmmm?
It is possible Sky have found a drug that is undetectable or a way of beating drug tests that no other team in the entire Tour has found. It's also possible they are just better. It happens in all sports, why should cycling be any different?”
“Why Hmmm?
It is possible Sky have found a drug that is undetectable or a way of beating drug tests that no other team in the entire Tour has found. It's also possible they are just better. It happens in all sports, why should cycling be any different?”
If you'd watched Panorama a few weeks ago you'd have seen how easy it is to dope with good old fashioned EPO and still beat all the tests, including the Passport. The myriad of undetectable synthetic drugs also increases by the day. Cycling's track record hardly inspires confidence that any of the front runners are competing without chemical assistance.
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“If you'd watched Panorama a few weeks ago you'd have seen how easy it is to dope with good old fashioned EPO and still beat all the tests, including the Passport. The myriad of undetectable synthetic drugs also increases by the day. Cycling's track record hardly inspires confidence that any of the front runners are competing without chemical assistance.”
“If you'd watched Panorama a few weeks ago you'd have seen how easy it is to dope with good old fashioned EPO and still beat all the tests, including the Passport. The myriad of undetectable synthetic drugs also increases by the day. Cycling's track record hardly inspires confidence that any of the front runners are competing without chemical assistance.”
If it's that easy why do people still keep testing positive for EPO?
Originally Posted by Marti S:
“If it's that easy why do people still keep testing positive for EPO?”
“If it's that easy why do people still keep testing positive for EPO?”
That's a good point. There certainly are enough of them still testing positive, missing tests etc. I guess due to lack of discipline, pushing things a little too far etc. If you saw the Panorama programme the reporter, an amateur triathlete, microdosed with EPO for a very short period and got a 7% performance increase very quickly. Now if you know you can achieve that without testing positive, who isn't going to do it? And this guy didn't have the medical and pharmaceutical support teams of the top pros, so imagine what they can achieve.
The cut-off point for today's stage (based on the winner's elapsed time and average speed) was a shade over 45 minutes. Even for a difficult high-mountain stage, that seems generous - but it still forced a rider out of the race by almost 30 seconds.
Looks like a humdinger of a stage today.....
Live pictures already on ES but they'll probably leave the race soon to bring us an hour of waffle, Greg Lemond, recipes, Flecha, pre-recorded interviews in Polish......the usual stuff that they think we're interested in
Live pictures already on ES but they'll probably leave the race soon to bring us an hour of waffle, Greg Lemond, recipes, Flecha, pre-recorded interviews in Polish......the usual stuff that they think we're interested in
Intermediate sprint early in the stage ........Griepel wins, Cav only 4th
Quite strange to see the sprint trains leading out from the start of the race.........but as soon as they went through the line they all eased up and the guys started to try and get a breakaway going
Still 172K to go
Quite strange to see the sprint trains leading out from the start of the race.........but as soon as they went through the line they all eased up and the guys started to try and get a breakaway going
Still 172K to go
Going past the Casertelli memorial shortly and ES have just shown the crash where he was killed.......bit poor taste !
Originally Posted by John259:
“Believe what you want to believe. A lot of people believed Lance Armstrong for a long time.”
“Believe what you want to believe. A lot of people believed Lance Armstrong for a long time.”
They did, but the difference is that Lance won everything at a time when we knew everyone else was doped off their face. He also had lots of dodgy things in his background such as the 'saddle sore cream' incident. Don't see anything in Froomes or Sky's background like that.
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“That's a good point. There certainly are enough of them still testing positive, missing tests etc. I guess due to lack of discipline, pushing things a little too far etc. If you saw the Panorama programme the reporter, an amateur triathlete, microdosed with EPO for a very short period and got a 7% performance increase very quickly. Now if you know you can achieve that without testing positive, who isn't going to do it? And this guy didn't have the medical and pharmaceutical support teams of the top pros, so imagine what they can achieve.”
“That's a good point. There certainly are enough of them still testing positive, missing tests etc. I guess due to lack of discipline, pushing things a little too far etc. If you saw the Panorama programme the reporter, an amateur triathlete, microdosed with EPO for a very short period and got a 7% performance increase very quickly. Now if you know you can achieve that without testing positive, who isn't going to do it? And this guy didn't have the medical and pharmaceutical support teams of the top pros, so imagine what they can achieve.”
Did the 7% increase take into account the psychological effect?
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“If you'd watched Panorama a few weeks ago you'd have seen how easy it is to dope with good old fashioned EPO and still beat all the tests, including the Passport. The myriad of undetectable synthetic drugs also increases by the day. Cycling's track record hardly inspires confidence that any of the front runners are competing without chemical assistance.”
“If you'd watched Panorama a few weeks ago you'd have seen how easy it is to dope with good old fashioned EPO and still beat all the tests, including the Passport. The myriad of undetectable synthetic drugs also increases by the day. Cycling's track record hardly inspires confidence that any of the front runners are competing without chemical assistance.”
There is still zero evidence that Sky are doing anything like that, that's my point.
And even if they are, are we to believe that no other teams are doing it? Because the alternative to Sky being better naturally is that they are taking better drugs.
Wet road descent off the penultimate climb
Will anyone have a go at Sky and Froome ?
Froome isn't a brilliant descender and on a wet road someone could take some time back if they're brave enough !
Will anyone have a go at Sky and Froome ?
Froome isn't a brilliant descender and on a wet road someone could take some time back if they're brave enough !
Froome didn't look dominant, but no one attacked on the descent, only a series of small attacks on the last part of the final climb.
Froome with the help of another excellent performance from Thomas staved off a few potential attacks.
Weather was a bit of a nightmare at times.
Weather was a bit of a nightmare at times.
Originally Posted by walterwhite:
“There is still zero evidence that Sky are doing anything like that, that's my point.
And even if they are, are we to believe that no other teams are doing it? Because the alternative to Sky being better naturally is that they are taking better drugs.”
“There is still zero evidence that Sky are doing anything like that, that's my point.
And even if they are, are we to believe that no other teams are doing it? Because the alternative to Sky being better naturally is that they are taking better drugs.”
My personal opinion is that, because the performance gains are so great, it is impossible to compete successfully at the pinnacle of cycling without doping (here's an article that illustrates just how great the potential gains are:
http://sportsscientists.com/2007/11/...n-performance/). Even the UCI commissioned report earlier this year acknowledged doping is still widespread in pro cycling (http://road.cc/content/news/145048-d...ys-circ-report). I've been following pro cycling for over 30 years and I've lost count of the number of times those involved in the sport have told us that it was dirty but that it's cleaned up its act, only for the next doping scandal to hit the headlines soon afterwards.
In the current Tour you have a highly suspect team such as Astana (and plenty of others btw, particularly Europcar) run by a former doper which I don't believe should nave been allowed to compete in this year's Tour. Yet Sky are making even these teams look very ordinary. Marginal gains (just a modern soundbite for attention to detail) can only get you so far.
So, as the old adage goes, if you're beating the dopers, well, I'm sure you know the rest.
Chapeau Rodrigues !
On the wet descent they all seemed to be taking it easy.......I guess that they figured a stage victory had already gone by then which lessened the enthusiasm for taking any risk which someone might have done if the stage victory carrot had still been there.......so nobody tried to break up the peloton
they pretty much stuck together at a moderate but safe pace.
I think they were all equally knackered by the last few kilometres so only some token efforts to break away
On the wet descent they all seemed to be taking it easy.......I guess that they figured a stage victory had already gone by then which lessened the enthusiasm for taking any risk which someone might have done if the stage victory carrot had still been there.......so nobody tried to break up the peloton
they pretty much stuck together at a moderate but safe pace.
I think they were all equally knackered by the last few kilometres so only some token efforts to break away
It would be naïve to think there is no doping, but if you compare the way Rasmussen and Contador launched repeated and sustained attacks 7 or 8 years ago and what happens on the big climbs now there's a significant difference.
Originally Posted by apaul:
“It would be naïve to think there is no doping, but if you compare the way Rasmussen and Contador launched repeated and sustained attacks 7 or 8 years ago and what happens on the big climbs now there's a significant difference.”
“It would be naïve to think there is no doping, but if you compare the way Rasmussen and Contador launched repeated and sustained attacks 7 or 8 years ago and what happens on the big climbs now there's a significant difference.”
Plateau de Beille times -
Quote:
“'02 Armstrong 45.55.
'04 Armstrong and Basso 45.31.
Classics specialist Thomas, chasing down attacks as a domestique, 45.38. And today was a headwind.”
“'02 Armstrong 45.55.
'04 Armstrong and Basso 45.31.
Classics specialist Thomas, chasing down attacks as a domestique, 45.38. And today was a headwind.”
Borrowed from the Clinic.
Originally Posted by Joan_Ferguson:
“Plateau de Beille times -
Borrowed from the Clinic.”
“Plateau de Beille times -
Borrowed from the Clinic.”
Top 100 times from Twitter: https://ammattipyoraily.wordpress.co...e-top100-list/
Name the riders in the top twenty who weren't popped at some point.
Ross Tucker on Irish radio last night: https://soundcloud.com/offtheball/ro...n-chris-fromme
In what sense is Geraint Thomas a "classics" specialist? He has had as many big results in hilly tour races as he has in classics.
You are doing your credibility no good with obvious propaganda like that.
You are doing your credibility no good with obvious propaganda like that.
Sprint finish today|?
Fancy Sagan to take the win as it an uphill finish and a couple of his rivals are struggling.
Fancy Sagan to take the win as it an uphill finish and a couple of his rivals are struggling.
Second for Sagan yet again after his team did lots of work. At least it will help him in the green jersey competition.
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