Giro d'Italia / Tour de France

[Paddingtonwolf]

Anyway, putting doping to one side, I am looking forward to today's stage. Just starting the Aspin.

 

[Donegal Wolf]

That is fair enough Donegal. Cycling has been a filthy sport for years and so the questions are always going to be asked. I for one hope that this is clean. The innuendo without anything concrete to back it up is unfortunate. Cheers for that Lance.

I see Lance was dropping a few bits of innuendo about Froome last night and then back peddled (no pun intended) about them.

( Don't get me wrong I hope for the sake of the sport he is clean).

Will be interesting today, I think Sky will be expecting the attacks from the opposition today, Roche in his column this morning said that Froome told him to take it handy on the last climb and save himself for today.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Bardet looks in trouble already on the Aspin.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Pleased to see Tommy Voeckler and Dan Martin in the breakaway. Those two might have a chance to stay away to the finish. I can't see Sky trying to chase them down as they are no threat and they will be saving themselves to protect Froome on the final climb.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Bardet had heatstroke and just threw up in the medical car (I hear). He is going to be in real trouble on the Tourmalet.

 

[Johnny75]

Bardet had heatstroke and just threw up in the medical car (I hear). He is going to be in real trouble on the Tourmalet.

You'd hope his team pull him from the tour as that's pretty dangerous. Looks like SKY are letting the breakaway go.

 

[thehistorymakers]

Beautiful countryside.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It will be impossible for him to re-hydrate so I would hope they keep a very close eye on him. Started the Tourmalet.

 

[thehistorymakers]

Konig looked like his bike wasn't moving, then.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Peloton splattered all over the Tourmalet. The big favourites are all together.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Rafal Majka is going for a solo win I think. Must have a good chance of staying away.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Bloody hell! Charging down the road at 60 ks and a herd of cows decide to walk out in front of a rider!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Cracking stage win by Majka, although a superb effort by Dan Martin to try and catch him. Nibali dropped from the yellow jersey group, again.

 

[Wombat del combate]

With regards to Froome I nailed by colours to the mast a couple of years ago and debated it to death on here at the time (with Paddy I think), personally I think their is something definateley dodgy about him and nothing since then has convinced me different.

I don't remember this. Could you reprise it for me please?

 

[darlowolf64]

But why is he good? What he did today and last Saturday were exceptional, there is nothing wring with being exceptional, Usain Bolt is, but he was exceptional when he was 14years old.

Questions are being asked about Froome because of the facts.

He wasn't outstanding as a junior or an amateur and didn't turn professional until he was 22. In his first tour in 2008 he finished 84th, he now excels in two disciplines climbing and time trials, in that first tour he finished 11minutes behind the winner in the Alpe D'Huez stage and 3 minutes behind the winner in the final time trial.
2009 he finished 36th in the Giro
2010 he signed a contract with Sky
2010 he got disqualified in the Giro for hanging onto the back of a motorcycle going up the side of a mountain.
end of 2010 he was in limbo as Sky hadn't renewed his contract.

Question is, how from the end of 2010 does a journeyman cyclist convicted of cheating turn within 18 months (as Toon said he had Wiggins number last year) into a potential tour winner?

The reason given is that he suffered from a waterborne parasite Bilhazia which held him back, now they have gotten on top of it and that is why he improved. No doubt he had Bilhazia but how much you would improve after being treated? how long did he have it? are questions that cant be answered one way or the other.

You cant compare him to Quintana today, Quintana attacked before the bunch had reached full speed, a standard manourve. Froome had the speed turned up to max, then found an additional gear. The last person to do that on the tour was good old Lance.

I hope he is genuine and he is winning because the tour is now cleaner, but as I watched it the first thing that came into my head was that this is not normal.

Here's the start of it Wombat...
http://www.wolvesforum.co.uk/showthread.php?21295-Giro-d-Italia-Tour-de-France/page6

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

And a lot of people share that viewpoint. Hopefully they are wrong and Chris is clean. My problem now is that the Armstrong affair has so polluted the sport that every excellent performance is immediately doping. Before that, it wasn't quite so bad although plenty of drugtaking was going on. For instance, Indurain was always considered to have physical attributes to assist him (incredibly low heartbeat being one that he has apparently in common with Froome). Therefore there was little questioning of his achievements. Obviously in hindsight, you might query him now.

And that is the legacy of Lance Armstrong. Saddening really.

 

[Wombat del combate]

I see that Froome is going to undertake independent tests - the parameters of which he will have no say in, apparently - after the TdF and before the Vuelta which, he says, will prove that he's clean. I head on ITV that he's also going to release his power data which Sky are not exactly jumping for joy about. Does sound a lot like some posturing in the Armstrong mould but we shall see. For a start, how do you ensure and verify that the tester is completely neutral and how will the results themselves be verified? Why not have testers?

 

[thehistorymakers]

I understand why people are having a go a Froome, but with no evidence, ( which there isn't) i think it unfair to blemish him with accusations of doping.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Of course it is. Especially as it is almost impossible to prove a negative. However, we are where we are. All courtesy of Lance and co.

 

[nimrod]

could always go further back and read the Armstrong threads :run: