2011 Cycling Thread

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Mmmmm Tour Down Under is starting on Sunday 16th, kicking off the season. Aside from the cyclists all riding for the victims of the flood (Sunday's prize money will all be donated to the flood victims) the big news is either that it's Lance Armstrong's last international race ever (meh) or it's......

VS

Greipel, after spending the last couple of years in Cavendish's shadow at HTC: Columbia has moved to Omega-Pharma Lotto team. He's won the last couple of Tour Down Unders but this year Cavendish is there. These two guys don't like eachother. Cavendish's autobiography was very interesting in that he clearly was happy to give Greipel the benefit of the doubt but ultimately believes that he's a bit of an arsehole. Also a few of their teammates tell stories of how Greipel can't keep up in the sprints.

Greipel is a winner of "sh*t-small races" as Cavendish amusingly said last year. Greipel won MORE races last year than Cavendish, but Cavendish won 8 stages in the major races and also won the best sprinter jersey in Spain.

If both men are at their best I have no doubt that Cavendish is better but this is going to make an AMAZING story this year in cycling - especially at the Tour de France. I wouldn't be surprised if Cavendish isn't fully fit yet, and Greipel is apparently looking too skinny (tell-tale signs of training TOO hard, he'll probably get injured early this year).

Yet alongside Cavendish and Greipel the sprint line-up for the Tour Down Under is astonishing - Tyler Farrar (the most likely man to challenge Cav this year), Robbie McEwen, Graeme Brown, Greg Henderson, Allan Davis, Gerald Ciolek, J.J.Rojas....It's like a Grand Tour line-up. VERY exciting.

HTC: Highroad have the best line-up though - it's terrifying for such a flat race - Cavendish, Goss, Renshaw, Eisel, Grabsch, Pate, Roulston...Four of those guys could win sprints here.

However as much as I love Cavendish, my team this year will continue to be Garmin, or Garmin-Cervelo as they are this year after Cervelo team merged with them.

I want this.

[Lineker]

Contador apparently banned for a year, according to the Spanish media.

[Adam]

Seems harsh if his story is to be believed.

I have a passing interest in cycling but I don't really watch it until the Tour de France comes on. I mainly just follow it on news sites otherwise.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I don't think his story IS to be believed. To be honest he was lucky to escape the Operation Puerto thing a few years back as his initials were on one of the blood bags, it's just it couldn't be pinned to him. Also, someone else has been banned before with a smaller amount found. But then I'm cynical, I'm also pretty sure Lance will finally be found out this year but every cyclist that is found is GREAT.

These guys have drug tests maybe 20 times a year and Rio Ferdinand doesn't bother going in for his ONE test.

There are more teams in cycling now who are being REALLY strict on drugs cheats and on testing - Garmin being the main one. It serve Bjarne Riis right. (Contador had just signed for his Saxo Bank team) Bjarne was a drugs cheat in the past and he's just handed a year's salary to a man who now can't ride for him.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Ahhh excellent. French team AG2R has stated that they're going to be behind "absolute leader" Nicholas Roche this season to get him to the highest possible position in the big big races.

This is good news for one of my favourite riders in pro cycling.

In fact, for myself more than anyone else, I think my top ten riders to cheer for this year will be....

Mark Cavendish

David Millar

Nicholas Roche

Jens Voigt

George Hincapie

Damiano Cunego

Matti Breschel

Bernie Eisel

Andreas Kloden

...and I quite like Tom Boonen, or maybe someone upcoming like Simon Spilak.

It's impossible not to like Jens Voigt.

[GoN_]

Seems harsh if his story is to be believed.

I have a passing interest in cycling but I don't really watch it until the Tour de France comes on. I mainly just follow it on news sites otherwise.

Harsh? The minimum ban is 2 years.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

One of the most hated riders in Pro Cycling is Riccardo Ricco who recently returned after a 2 year doping ban - totally unapologetic but telling people that he was back and ready to change....

....he's just been rushed to hospital after GIVING HIMSELF A BLOOD TRANSFUSION using his own stored blood. He'll be banned for life and he's also a total moron.

Hope he survives but apart from that, I'm one of those who hate him anyway, so good riddance.

[Adam]

That may just be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. He tried to give himself a blood transfusion? There's one tool the sport will not miss.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Bwahaha. Some good Twitter stuff on Ricco from some of the Pro Riders I follow (like Garmin's Vandevelde).

Officially though the usual comments like "hope he recovers but he deserves never to race again".

Mark Cavendish said it best though: "I hope he recovers...and then becomes someone's bitch in prison".

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/video-cavendish-aldag-and-kelly-react-to-ricco-doping-news

[Adam]

Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has been cleared to compete after winning his appeal against a one-year doping ban.

More to follow obviously but that's the breaking story at the moment. Pretty glad if his story of it being an accident is to be believed. Plus it might prevent us watching Andy Schleck just decimate everybody else in the Tour de France this year. Part of me still wants that to happen though.

[maninblack]

Didn't political pressure from the Spanish government play a hand in Contador getting cleared?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

He's got major previous clouds of suspicion hanging over him from the Operation Puerto back in the day. He's been tainted whatever the new "official line" is. Spanish government has history of dragging their feet over dopers - see Valverde for example whose ban was delayed for a couple of YEARS in which he kept winning...It's only since last summer that he was finally banned, and not for the full 2 years either.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Jerseys revealed for the Giro d'Italia this year.

MOUNTAIN - BEST YOUNG RIDER - POINTS

All very sexy and simple new stylings for this year.

Then for the overall....

The Maglia Rosa gets an overhaul.

In semi-related news Mark Cavendish will rider in the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France AND Vuelta Espania this year. Last year he got a couple of stages in Italy, some in Spain (with the sprint jersey) AND all his wins in France. So bad news for the other sprinters then...

[maninblack]

The International Cycling Union is appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to have Contador banned for doping.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/9434749.stm

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Good. Any suspicion should end in a ban. I think it was crazy that he "kind of" got a year originally (when it should have been two) and then it was overturned.... The Spanish federation have history of defending their riders (like Valverde who was banned in Italy for a year before Spain actually backed down and he got a full 2 year - or a bit short of two years...)

Basically the body doesn't produce clenbuterol so the fact Contador had ANY in his body is bad. Even if he said that it comes from contaminated meat then TOUGH. Makes no difference. His fault for not being careful enough. That British skiier Alain Baxter got stripped of his Olympic medal because the nasal spray he used contained a banned drug (the version he used in the UK didn't have it but when he was at the Olympics and bought one, the US version DOES contain the steroid). It was his sloppy mistake for assuming - terribly unlucky but thems the rules.

[DJ Ice]

Are you watching the Tour de Romandie, CSAMH? It's been pretty good so far, really enjoyed today's race

[MDK]

Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt dead

[Animal]

Yeah that's pretty horrible, they showed him on live tv after the fall and I'm still sick to my stomach about it. Seems like he fell 20 metres flat on his face, ugh. Thoughts go out to his family and friends.

[gunnar hendershow]

Horrible news, I was very young when the guy (forget his name) died in the Tour de France. Seeing it happen now just brings back some bad memories of that realization about the humanity of sports.

[Locke]

Horrible news, I was very young when the guy (forget his name) died in the Tour de France. Seeing it happen now just brings back some bad memories of that realization about the humanity of sports.

His name was Fabio Casartelli, he was Italian.