Tour de Farce... again?

farce, noun - foolish show; mockery; a ridiculous sham

News broke last night... ""The anti-doping control on Alexandre Vinokourov, which was carried out on July 21 after the time trial in Albi, has tested positive. According to the ethical code of the Astana Cycling Team, Alexandre Vinokourov has been suspended from the team with immediate effect. The rider has asked nevertheless for a B-sample analysis."

Not again!

I don't have Supersport at home, so I've been watching parts of the Tour stages at gym (on the treadmill with my earphones plugged in to listen to the commentary) and online (following text-updates on Le Tour website and Eurosport). Over the weekend I watched the Stage 13 individual time trial and Stage 14 mountain stage at friends' houses. I have been absolutely captivated. Every morning I scour websites for news and post-stage commentary.

On Saturday I was thrilled with Vino's fabulous time trial victory. I like the guy and to see him come up from 19th to 9th... after a week of limping through the stages after his early crashes... He rode himself back into the race with that one.

Sunday's ride was disappointing for Vino, while Rasmussen* and Contador were spectacular. Vino rode himself out of contention and essentially his Tour was over, in the competitive sense.

* A cloud also hangs over Tour leader Rasmussen's head as he didn't notify officials of his training locations; thus avoiding out-of-season doping tests. Had Tour organisers known of Rasmussen's "avoidance" prior to the start of the the Tour, he would not have been allowed to compete "because he is not a good role model for the others in the peloton". Riders have to notify officials of their location at all times so that testing can be carried out anytime, anywhere - in season and out.

Then Monday rolls around; another mammoth stage with BIG climbs. I was following online.

Vino blitzed the field in a performance that left us all feeling a little "Landis '06" de ja vu. And then...

News breaks on Tuesday evening that Vino has tested positive. It is important to note that the postive test (evidence that he received a transfusion) was for Saturday's TT stage, not for Monday's mountain stage. So, even though he had a "miraculous" recovery on Monday, the positive is for Saturday, not Monday.

When thinking about Le Tour there are a couple of things to consider...

• In the top ranks competition is high; a lot of money, prestige, places on teams, career/salary. The riders are all good and any advantage (even just a little one) would put one rider just that little bit ahead of another.
• Tour de France is tough; there is no doubt about that. 3-weeks of long distances, endless hours in the saddles and hill climbs so steep that we'd have a tough time walking up! Doping has been happening since 1903 (riders took substances to dull the pain); dulling senses is almost equivalent to performance enhancing - if you can't feel the pain you can keep pushing.
• I think that there is little doubt that every rider takes something to assist recovery. The race puts such strain on your body that without fancy protein and carbo shakes, massages and other interventions a body just won't make it through. It's probably a fine line between therapeutic and doping... like a couple extra puffs from an asthma pump (think Alessandro Petacchi).
• When you consider that "interventions" have been used since 1903, can we put "blame" on TdF for its length and difficulty; it is a race that actually tries to break the riders. He who survives, wins. Lance said in past years that the rider who can handle the most pain is the one who wins the Tour. Why must this be necessary? In past years we've had it in adventure racing too; the organisers try to break the teams. I don't think it is right. When questioned on this point, Tour race director Christian Prudhomme commented, "You do not cheat because it is too hard, you cheat because you want to be first. If there were sack races in the Olympics, with money and TV, people would cheat."

There are doping stories that surround Giro and others, but none to the extent of TdF. There was the whole Lance thing too - although he never proved positive. So why TdF? Big media, World's biggest, most gruelling cycle race; it's the Oscars of cycling.

What I question is why Vino did it? He knows the deal. They all know that they'll be tested. Techniques have improved and the chance that the won't get caught is now minimal.

I'd be interested to know just how much difference doping makes. Looking at Vino's performance on Saturday... 1'14" evidently... As for his performance on Monday? Nothing has yet come out about doping results from Monday. Shouldn't the performance benefits from Saturday's transfusion spill over to Sunday and Monday too? Then why did he blow on Sunday if that was so? One theory is that Vino was chilling out on Sunday to recover from Saturday so he'd have the power for Monday's intense mountain stage.

What I think is really sad is that now Kloden's race is compromised because of Vino; the entire Astana team has withdrawn. It's one thing for Vino to destroy his own race and career, but it is not fair for him to ruin Kloden's race too.

Chris Carmichael, Lance's coach and coach to many in the Discovery team, says, "Clean riders can and do win races. I've coached them, my coaches coach them, and countless other coaches and team directors have guided clean athletes to victories in the world's biggest sporting events. Doping scandals like this one hurt the credibility of the entire peloton, and it's the clean riders who bear the heaviest burden. They're struggling to win races against juiced competitors, fighting for fans' trust and respect, and hoping that someone else's poor decision doesn't end up costing them their jobs."

Another thing... the B sample has not yet been tested (well, the results are not yet out)... what happens if it is negative? The team has withdrawn, Vino and Kloden are out, and he may well be not guilty? Why don't they just wait until all the results are in?

It's a good thing that the authorities are clamping down - doping has really tarnished the image of this sport. As for the future? They guys will take chances - that won't go away. But, as long as money is on the table, they'll do it.

Unfortunately Vino's career is over. Consider Basso, Landis, Ulrich... they have been shunned and they're out.

As for Vino... he is a powerful talented cyclist, without additives. He certainly has the natural ability to win the Tour without assistance.

I think it is sad that this "carrot" is so tempting; to the detriment of the sport and the riders. Sponsors are pulling out, some German TV channels are no longer broadcasting Le Tour following Ulrich's positive last year and many other companies and organisations are distancing themselves from this event, whose tarnished image has repercussions on the sport of cycling.

The jury is still out because the results of the B-sample are not yet in. If it is negative, then the testing authorities deserve a whipping; they should wait for results from both samples before creating a storm. If it is positive; then the proof will be irrefutable. But, you know what? Either way, the damage is done and I remain disappointed.

UPDATE [Thursday, 07h45]: Rasmussen has been fired from Rabobank and he too, the race leader and pretty certain winnrer, is out of the Tour. The reason for firing Rasmussen? Avoidance of testing. News from Supersport...

"The Dane will not start Thursday's 17th stage after his team said the rider had lied about his training whereabouts in June. "He has violated the team's rules," a Rabobank spokesman said.
Fellow team members gathered late on Wednesday to decide whether to continue the Tour but the meeting broke up without any statement.

Rasmussen's dismissal is the latest and possibly biggest hammer-blow to the Tour's credibility following hard on the heels of positive dope tests on pre-race favourite Alexander Vinokourov and Italy's Cristian Moreni [this must be the rider who tested positive after Stage 11].

Rasmussen, 33, had already received two warnings from the UCI for failing to provide the sport's governing body with his personal schedule.

UCI president Pat McQuaid told Reuters by phone: "I wonder why they did not make the decision when they had all the information in June. However, it is a zero tolerance policy and I can only applaud it."

Rabobank director Theo de Rooy was quoted on Dutch TV as saying: "Several times he said where he was training and it proved to be wrong. The management of the team received that information several times and today we received new information."

UPDATE [16h10]: And... another one... "Just a day after the revelation that Alexandre Vinokourov had tested positive for blood doping, L'Equipe report that a senior French doping official has revealed to them that an unnamed rider tested positive for testosterone on stage 11.
The French sports newspaper added that the UCI, cycling's governing body, would announce the latest test result shortly."

UPDATE [11h30]: "Disgraced Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov, thrown off the Tour de France for blood doping, has failed two drug tests during this year's race, according to a report in Wednesday's L'Equipe. The Astana team leader, one of the favourites to win the 2007 Tour, supplied a positive A sample to a test taken after his victory in Saturday's 13th stage, a time trial in Albi. And L'Equipe claim the 33-year-old was tested again after winning Monday's 15th stage in the Pyrenees and that too came back positive."