Aaaaaaaand……. Pinot pops.

But if you were suspended from work, couldn’t complete a major project, lost any chance of bonuses and it had a huge effect on your future career. Then the investigation showed you’d done nothing wrong, would that be right ??

Whereas when you win a bike race while under investigation you deprive other riders of glory, winnings, potentially lucrative contracts, etc.

Would Yates have blown up quite so badly yesterday if Sky hadn’t exploded the race, followed by Froome doing a Landis? We’ll never know. If – a big if – Froome is later DQ’d we do know that he had a massive effect on a race that he shouldn’t be involved in. The fault may not be with Froome, but with the length of time the investigation is allowed to continue.

Ooh, Pinot

Hard to watch Pinot at the moment ☹☹ God this is a tough sport !@@

Go on Nieve!

But if you were suspended from work, couldn’t complete a major project, lost any chance of bonuses and it had a huge effect on your future career. Then the investigation showed you’d done nothing wrong, would that be right ??

But the investigation does show that he’s done something wrong.

“But if you were suspended from work, couldn’t complete a major project, lost any chance of bonuses and it had a huge effect on your future career. Then the investigation showed you’d done nothing wrong, would that be right ??

But the investigation does show that he’s done something wrong.”

considerably easier to strip him of his titles and prize money to hand to second place than it is to rerun the races he missed while being proven innocent surely …. .

considerably easier to strip him of his titles and prize money to hand to second place than it is to rerun the races he missed while being proven innocent surely …. .

And once again turn those races into a farce.

call a truce, race is on…… buckle up.

TD on the gas and half the remaining peloton goes boom!

This is fantastic racing!

Froome’s case is an Adverse Analytical Finding not a positive test – there’s plenty of evidence out their that casts doubt on both the WADA Salbutamol test, plus whether it provides any performance benefits anyway and it’s likely that lawyers will be able to demolish the UCI/WADA in court. From someone whose been following cycling since the early 80s and having to watch the impact of doping all through the 90s and early 00’s where we saw reasonable 1-day riders turned into GT contenders.

come on Wout Poels….

Watching the GC battle it’s easy to forget the Nieve is up the front and on course for a great stage win. Thrilling stuff.

Just as I was thinking it was detente, TD has hit the gas again.

Froome kicks TD in the balls…….

Too many efforts too soon from TD…

He’s great at just hanging in there though, clawing his way back.

….. and TD gets back up and comes again…….

seconds out, round 6. Ding!

Yep, good effort. It’s not the first time TD has done this throughout the climbs.

Hats off to Nieve, great ride.

I think the rest are running out of road to do anything now.

“And once again turn those races into a farce.”

No more a farce than banning someone not yet proven guilty of anything.

You start playing that game then you’ll have allegations flying round from. All angles from people who don’t want people in the race for what ever reason.

Anyway

Back to the race. Gonna be a good one

Go go Froodog!

So first British winner of the Giro.

Has anyone ever held all three Grand Tour jerseys at the same time before? Maybe it was done before the Vuelta moved to its September date?

Such a shame the Froome’s legitimacy is the main topic of this part of a thread about a brilliant sporting event. Where it has gone wrong for me is that the issue involves a test carried out in early September and it has not been cleared up 8 months later. It’s not fair on Froome, his competitors or cycling fans. If his innocence is to be proved with a test/simulation why could this not have been carried out before now? Is it Froome and his team or the UCI/Wada that has delayed things? I don’t know.

Never really warmed to Froome and I don’t quite know why. It might be that he is ‘marketed’ as a Brit but has never lived in the UK (I’m not particularly Britcentric with my support of athletes but don’t really warm to any flag of convenience sport person irrespective of nationalities involved), is it that he came along too soon after Wiggins and his gawky looks and low key off bike personality looked tame after the ‘rock star’ image of Wiggins; was it his wife’s social media bitching when he burst onto the scene or is it some sort of subconscious distrust of his performances. Is it just that he just looks like a bag of spanners on a bike and I can’t see him as someone to aspire to be like. Not sure.

No more a farce than banning someone not yet proven guilty of anything.

I disagree.

Worlds best GC rider wins GC…world stunned.

The online comments section over on cycling news is currently melting into a large pool of vitriol ( the section on the motor doping tests at the Giro yesterday is particularly hilarious)

Nieve!

Classy ride from one of my most favoured (ex) teams Euskadi Euskatel

Lovely.

No more a farce than banning someone not yet proven guilty of anything.

Like Pantani?

Edit : and let’s be honest, if Froome was Italian or Spanish then this thread would read very differently.

“No more a farce than banning someone not yet proven guilty of anything.

I disagree”

Ah well in future races may well be won by trial at the kangaroo court.

Edit : and let’s be honest, if Froome was Italian or Spanish then this thread would read very differently

No. It’s not a nationalistic thing its the rules. AAF is not a ban. We don’t know who else has one at the moment – TD may have one himself, you never know – because there are confidential. Until leaked by hackers.

But again and it’s been said this before, there is no evidence for any physiological benefit to high doses of salbutamol. Any potential Beta agonist effect (and that would be potential) would be completely compromised by the adverse overdose effects – cardiac arrhythmia with potential cardiac arrest. So its a totally pointless drug to abuse in this way.

Ah well in future races may well be won by trial at the kangaroo court.

Do grow up. Froome has an AAS. It is for him to establish his innocence and it is perfectly valid to believe that he should not be competing unless he does so.

It’s valid for you to think what you want, but it’s not what the rules say.

The UCI said in a statement relating to Froome’s AAF: “Pursuant to Article 7.9.1 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the presence of a Specified Substance such as Salbutamol in a sample does not result in the imposition of such mandatory provisional suspension against the rider.”

Is this still about the race or as usual two people bitching at each other repeating the same old crap (like doping flat earthers?)?

Bloody tv has decided to tune out quest so cant get the 1hr highlight show, anywhere else to get highlights?

It’s valid for you to think what you want, but it’s not what the rules say.

I’m aware of that. I haven’t at any point suggested otherwise.

Bloody good racing, and I can’t help but admire Froome. days earlier he proclaimed that the race was not yet over even as he expressed his respect for Yates. And he was right.

Fantastic!

“Has anyone ever held all three Grand Tour jerseys at the same time before?”

Merckx and Hinault

Merckx and Hinault when the Vuelta was held in the spring. Froome’s the only one who will hold them all in the modern era

Bloody tv has decided to tune out quest so cant get the 1hr highlight show, anywhere else to get highlights?

Whoever posted the link to £2 Eurosport subscriptions at Christmas is a hero. That’s how I’ve been watching. I presume you can sign up for a month or something.

Is it just that he just looks like a bag of spanners on a bike and I can’t see him as someone to aspire to be like. Not sure.

I’m full of admiration for his efforts To hold all three jerseys concurrently in the modern era, and it just shows what an amazing cyclist he is…But, I agree with convert, he’s just not some-one for whom I can cheer, (in fact I’ll cheer pretty much anyone who takes him on, quite frankly) He seems too robotic for my taste (perhaps it’s a Sky thing), and he clearly can’t ride in the rain. or on cobbles, or without looking like his elbows are attached to his shoulders by bits of loose string…

Regardless; Chapeau

Aru.

Delivers the best TT of his life, up there with specialists like Tony Martin. Then climbs off, citing an ‘abnormal’ period of his career.

Hmmmm. Odora di pesce…