Be Excellent To Each Other

Quick quiz! What's the conenction between some of thses riders?

Nobody has gone quite so fast for a few years.

They all ride bicycles

In Millar's book, he recounts how he'd been taking a banned substance as he'd "hurt his ankle" so had a doctor's note to explain it at drugs testing. At the dope check, the tester, on Millar's exit, remarked "So,how is the ankle?" with a look which Millar said "I know that you know that i know but there's nothing I can do".

I feel sad over all this.

What's even more astonishing is that in 2004 that stage was an individual time trial. Look at number two on the list.

-edit- although I suppose it doesn't make that much difference in a climb.

Based on that table, they're all really, really tall.

Or not quite at right angles.

for us cycling tifosi this actualdoesn't change that much.. we're knew this, and gave it its place in that era of cycling.... taking of his victories is quite ridiculous IMO

I like to live in perpetual denial, then get upset when it rears its head again.

Quite, I mean who are they going to give those victories to?

I suspect no one.

That guardien piece has thrown up lots of interesting lnks. Like this one.

Wow...just read up to the part about Armstrong's sample results, that's pretty damning stuff.

Fucking hell.

no real surprise is it? Even bloody amateur roadies dope.

The encouraging thing in all this, though, is that over time it is possible to clean up sports, mainly because they keep your samples from previous years. Sure, you might dope knowing you could get away with it this year, but knowing that in 4 years time they'd catch you and devalue your entire achievement? Much less likely. Great swathes* of throwers dropped out of the olympics just before they started, on the announcement that their 2004 samples were due to be tested. Surely no different for cycling, but the big problem there seems to have been that more or less everyone was at it, so competing without was almost impossible. That atmosphere has shifted, and the sport's much the better for it.

*(may be exagerrated from "a few", but definitely the world leaders)

I can't believe I just read 13,000 words about something I thought I didn't give a shit about. That was fascinating.

I know, right?

This is why we don't have heroes. They're only human and have human failings.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wristband to melt.

Death threats and Hamilton says some more stuff.

Cycling has a long way to go. If Bradley Wiggins tested positive and had his title stripped, would anyone be surprised? Even with all the gum flapping that he's done about being clean, no. I wouldn't be surprised. That's what cycling has to fight against for the next 20 years or so.

Right. Well. Hmm.



is the only positive thing to get out of this report.

Jesus.

Only need to get to the bottom of why SKY has employed a certain doctor as well, now, haven't we?

I'd recommend reading the report on the Armstrong affair. It's quite incredible. What an absolute cunt.

Team SKY should have kept their mouth shut.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... rty_Truth/

EDIT: Podcast link, if yies want to listen to it elsewhere. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/5li ... -2155a.mp3

All Tour titles gone, and now people want their money back. Oh my.

Oops! Silly cheaty Lance!

That's more like it. Stripping him of titles ain't shit if he still has his squillions of dollars in ill-gotten gains.

2013 route looks tough.

I'd put money on Alberto to win it, Froome comes in second after losing time on the antepenultimate day. Cavendish loses interest about halfway through and Wiggins is in 10-20th.

I'm touched by your faith but I wouldn't be too hasty with your money until I've fully recovered from the cottage cold at least.

Superb! Gap is only a fourteen and a half hour drive from me! and I can take in Annecy on the way home!

That's a long way to drive for a sweater.

Shush, you. I'm planning on how to sell this idea to MrsA. A pitch that isn't "We'll drive for 16 hours, sleep in the car, the cyclists go past, we all shout "hurrah" and go the 16 hours home".

Romantic weekend away?

Thanks, but I'd rather go with MrsA.

Very interesting. Very long though, make sure you have an hour or so free when you start reading!

I stopped after: "I scanned his arms and legs and the crack of his ass"

Splinters in your arse if you continue doing that, sir.

Armstrong to go on Oprah. probably to complain about everyone that isn't him and how he is a good person now. The twat.

Even if he went on there and said sorry I wouldn't believe that he meant it. By all accounts he seems like a manipulative, bullying twat who hides behind his illness and his charity work.

He hasn't for this long, why now?

OTOH, I still think a lot of Virenque, Millar, Pantani, Riis, Simeoni, Zabel, Moreau, Zuelle, Hamilton, Basso, Landis, Ullrich, Vinokourov, Mayo, Moreni, Petacchi....

$250,000 was offered to USADA in 2004.

Dirty roadie drugs in MTB now. Surprised they've not thrown the fucking book at the anonymous cunt. Off season ban? GTFF!
http://wideopenmag.co.uk/news/17368/dop ... bike-scene

Did you read this inteview with Landis? http://nyvelocity.com/content/interview ... diskimmage
Just astonishing. Honestly don't know what to make of the guy now.

Yeah, that was really, really, interesting.

Cooke's retirement statement is interesting reading.

Rumours abound that Armstrong has admitted to doping in the Oprah interview to be aired later this week.

The arse is bound to try and make himself look the victim though. Grrrr.

Yes. The cunt.

If anyone's mental enough to give that much of a fuck about what a cheat has to say then...