Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Charlottesville, VA, USA. more »
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9 replies on “Without Ullrich and Basso, why watch?”
All American podium, here we come! Landis, Leipheimer, Hincapie – wouldn’t that be cool (then the French would REALLY hate us)?
Now this is really interesting. I wonder how long they have been doing this. If this has been going on for a few years, and Lance has not used illegal performance enhancers as is believed, then the 7-year run he produced only becomes that much more impressive.
I should mention that I’m glad to see ’em kicked out if they were doping (and as the process shows they were). It’s just a shame, since they’re two of my very few frames of reference for the race. I know very little about anybody on our team.
Holy cow. Ullrich was clearly the favorite after his recent win in Switzerland. Basso was up at the top of my list as well. I would love to see Landis , Leipheimer, or Hincapie (especially Hincapie) win but with other favorites and contenders on the way out (Mancebo), I am not sure that this tour will be anywhere as good as it should have been. This is a terrible blow for the sport as a whole. I will still be watching but it won’t be the same.
If the race actually goes on, I think it will be a great race – possibly better than it would have been with Basso & Ullich (I would have liked to see that battle though). Unfortunately, whom ever wins will always be second guessed as to whether they won because the other favorites were kicked out or because they were the best.
While I hope the allegations are not true, I fear that they are and that this will cast a dark cloud over cycling for some time. However, there are more than just cyclists involved in this probe; I wonder what other sports and high profile (at least in Europe) athletes are involved and if the reaction when those names are released will be similar.
This is 1998 (Festina affair) all over again, it would seem. I’ve been an Ullrich fan for over a decade, but this year I’m putting my bets on Vinokourov. He was amazing last year. He has been a little quiet in the early season, which makes me all the more eager to see him throw it down at the tour.
Cycling is unique in the sporting world with respect to its hard stance on doping. The top stars, like Ullrich and Basso, have not tested positive for any drugs but their teams are following a tradition (started after 1998) of withdrawing any rider under reasonable suspicion. There are some losers in this strict scenario but hopefully it raises standards for acceptable conduct.
This is worse than the Festina affair, so many teams and riders are implicated. I am seriously questioning the process here. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity to see other great riders compete; route for Discovery since their team is still intact and they have the discipline and experience to make it happen.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Vinokourov is going to be able to ride as all but three of the Anasta-Wurth tour riders have been named (not to mention ASO not wanting Anasta-Wurth to take part at all) and, according to UCI rules, you have to have 6 riders to be able to start. He would have really animated the tour and I was pulling for him to not have a bad day in the mountains as he has the previous few years.
I too believe that, unless the team managers and tour officials have some pretty damning evidence, the process needs to be tweaked as you’ve got so many top names being barred from the starting before they’ve even been charged with any doping offense. Either way it turns out – whether they were in fact doping (I hope not) and were rightfully ejected or they were not and were wrongfully barred from a race they had sacrificed so much to be at the top of their game for – I hope there’s sufficient momentum to address the problem in a managable & effective manner.
I’m actually looking forward to seeing how big George rides this year. First year as Discovery team leader with a team experienced in protecting the yellow jersey.
All American podium, here we come! Landis, Leipheimer, Hincapie – wouldn’t that be cool (then the French would REALLY hate us)?
Now this is really interesting. I wonder how long they have been doing this. If this has been going on for a few years, and Lance has not used illegal performance enhancers as is believed, then the 7-year run he produced only becomes that much more impressive.
I should mention that I’m glad to see ’em kicked out if they were doping (and as the process shows they were). It’s just a shame, since they’re two of my very few frames of reference for the race. I know very little about anybody on our team.
Holy cow. Ullrich was clearly the favorite after his recent win in Switzerland. Basso was up at the top of my list as well. I would love to see Landis , Leipheimer, or Hincapie (especially Hincapie) win but with other favorites and contenders on the way out (Mancebo), I am not sure that this tour will be anywhere as good as it should have been. This is a terrible blow for the sport as a whole. I will still be watching but it won’t be the same.
If the race actually goes on, I think it will be a great race – possibly better than it would have been with Basso & Ullich (I would have liked to see that battle though). Unfortunately, whom ever wins will always be second guessed as to whether they won because the other favorites were kicked out or because they were the best.
While I hope the allegations are not true, I fear that they are and that this will cast a dark cloud over cycling for some time. However, there are more than just cyclists involved in this probe; I wonder what other sports and high profile (at least in Europe) athletes are involved and if the reaction when those names are released will be similar.
This is 1998 (Festina affair) all over again, it would seem. I’ve been an Ullrich fan for over a decade, but this year I’m putting my bets on Vinokourov. He was amazing last year. He has been a little quiet in the early season, which makes me all the more eager to see him throw it down at the tour.
Cycling is unique in the sporting world with respect to its hard stance on doping. The top stars, like Ullrich and Basso, have not tested positive for any drugs but their teams are following a tradition (started after 1998) of withdrawing any rider under reasonable suspicion. There are some losers in this strict scenario but hopefully it raises standards for acceptable conduct.
This is worse than the Festina affair, so many teams and riders are implicated. I am seriously questioning the process here. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity to see other great riders compete; route for Discovery since their team is still intact and they have the discipline and experience to make it happen.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Vinokourov is going to be able to ride as all but three of the Anasta-Wurth tour riders have been named (not to mention ASO not wanting Anasta-Wurth to take part at all) and, according to UCI rules, you have to have 6 riders to be able to start. He would have really animated the tour and I was pulling for him to not have a bad day in the mountains as he has the previous few years.
I too believe that, unless the team managers and tour officials have some pretty damning evidence, the process needs to be tweaked as you’ve got so many top names being barred from the starting before they’ve even been charged with any doping offense. Either way it turns out – whether they were in fact doping (I hope not) and were rightfully ejected or they were not and were wrongfully barred from a race they had sacrificed so much to be at the top of their game for – I hope there’s sufficient momentum to address the problem in a managable & effective manner.
I’m actually looking forward to seeing how big George rides this year. First year as Discovery team leader with a team experienced in protecting the yellow jersey.