:) Now when the favourite bows out because of alledged drug use and the current yellow jersey leader is sacked by his team for dodging drugs tests..and everyone else is being plucked off for drugs.....

I can only think of one thing.... a death knell....

It is about time , they actually allowed everyone to dope :blink: freely ...maybe just then this farce might turn out to be a tour.... shame for the young upcoming riders who wanted to prove something...!!

You know what....then I guess the one who can buy the better combination of drugs or doctors might just win.... :blink:

definately one of the all-time worst :o :o

yep, it's a pretty depressing time to be a cycling fan at the moment. :( it's such a shame that after such an amazing prologue, the tour has ended up like this :(

However, i do believe that there are a few positives that can be taken out of this (the pun's not intentional.....) Firstly, the fact that people are getting caught is actually a good thing. For so long no one got caught doing these drugs - especially EPO and blood doping - that it's actually a bit of a revelation that they are now. Hopefully this will put others off doing the drugs.

Secondly, it's also become more obvious, for me at least, the signs of someone who is doping. Look at Vino - it was unbeliveably obvious to me that he was taking something, and that probably the whole Astana team was, straight after the first time trial. Any team that can get 3 out of the top 4 places in a time trial - with the leader over a minute ahead - is probably doping. I actually cheered when i found out that Vino had been found positive, 'cos it was have been totally unjust if he wasn't. My point is, that if i can spot this, hopefully the organisers will as well and will more rigourously test such riders and teams.

Thirdly, in the last couple of years they have started expelling teams and riders if there's even any suspicion of them having doped - last year numerous teams (including Vino's team) were refused entry to the tour after they were linked with the operation puerto in Spain. This year, Rasmussen gets sacked by his team for missing random drug tests and lying about his whereabouts. i think this is a step in the right direction.

Finally, if you look at the reaction to these drug tests compared to the infamous tour of 1998 (when the Tour de Farce headlines first became popular :P ), the reactions from the riders and teams themselves have been better. In 1998 there was a protest against the police raids on hotel rooms trying to find PEDS, this year there was a protest (and it is rumoured that something big will happen today) against drugs in cycling. In 1998, there was general outrage when the Festina team were excluded, this year the Cofidis team pulled out of the tour in shame after one of their riders tested positive.

I do believe that there is a gradual changing of attitudes amongst pro-cyclists towards doping - Bradley Wiggins suggests that there is a generation gap between older cyclists who think doping is normal, and the young idealistic cyclists who want a clean tour. There are still problems - i could rant for a long time about the decision to allow the Astana team to ride the the Tour of Spain :ban:, or about allowing certain riders exemptions from the 50% haematocrit test :chainsaw: but i firmly believe that cycling is moving in the right direction. it won't happen overnight, but i honestly believe that all these scandal will help ensure that cycling becomes drug free.

perhaps they should allow doping in every sport.

The players/riders will still have drug tests, but positives will be massively handicapped to such an extent that it doesn't give them any advantage?

:shrug:

Just a suggestion

The problem with that is the same that they have now - detecting it, and especially detecting new drugs. it took them years to discover EPO and another few to find a test for it. Also, with something like blood doping, how do you detect that and then handicap it correctly?