No Team Astana for 2008 TDF

[Pickettt]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

Levi was under suspicion in 2006. It was reported in the European press. He refused to come out of the team bus and discuss the charges..or rumors and the following day he had his worst ever time trial and lost,what was it, 6 minutes? More? That says to me,his worst TT ever, that he did not dope that day because they were watching him. This is a guy that time trialed faster than Indurain last year. I don't buy it! I also don't believe they all dope. Just most of them.
Well maybe not! I agree about Bruyneel being a pariah but that guy is just pushing it. He's no different than Mike Ball hiring all these ex and implicated dopers on to Rock racing. The 'I'll do as I damn well please' attitude. In spite of how it makes the sport look.
Anyway, I enjoy the debate! But I still believe that the Tour will go on and on and on because for most pro cyclists it's the ultimate goal and dream. It'll lose some sponsors but others will jump on. It's too big over there!

When I say "our", I mean cyclists. And ASO needs cyclists more than cyclists need ASO

[lkn2ryd]

Two classifications - Pro-D and Pro-C. (D for Dope Driven, C for Clean) Race is same day dopers go first. Bigger $ pot to the C race winners. This lets us watch the spectical of super-human efforts then the sufferfest of well trained drug free racers. If the D's try to race in the C's they will be thrown off a cliff and hopefully sprout wings. Poor fookars just wanted to race their bicycles..

[dirtmistress]

ASO owns most of the classic races in Europe. Not all, but most. At least the ones that count!
Tour de France
Tour of Qatar
Paris-Nice
Criterium International
Paris-Roubaix Fleche Wallonne
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Tour of Picardie
Tour of l’Avenir
Paris-Tours
Tour of Faso
Plus I heard they are purchasing the Tour of Germany.
So yeah, I guess they do need cyclists to fill all these races on the calender. My point is, they don't need American cyclists. They have plenty of European cyclists to fill the slots. It's going to still be big over there even if it piddles away over here. Which I hope it doesn't. If it wasn't for these classic races, American cyclists that thrill us would still be doing the Sunday crit around the park! Cyclists do need them and they need cyclists!
Thank goodness for that! I can't wait for the season to start!!

[Koke]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

My point is, they don't need American cyclists. They have plenty of European cyclists to fill the slots.

Team Astana is 90% European riders (although Levi & Horner are two of Americas best):

[kdog4130]

I'm boycotting the TDF. Amgen Tour of California is where it's at.

[Rivet]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

ASO owns most of the classic races in Europe. Not all, but most. At least the ones that count!
Tour de France
Tour of Qatar
Paris-Nice
Criterium International
Paris-Roubaix Fleche Wallonne
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Tour of Picardie
Tour of l’Avenir
Paris-Tours
Tour of Faso
Plus I heard they are purchasing the Tour of Germany.
So yeah, I guess they do need cyclists to fill all these races on the calender. My point is, they don't need American cyclists. They have plenty of European cyclists to fill the slots. It's going to still be big over there even if it piddles away over here. Which I hope it doesn't. If it wasn't for these classic races, American cyclists that thrill us would still be doing the Sunday crit around the park! Cyclists do need them and they need cyclists!
Thank goodness for that! I can't wait for the season to start!!

Actually they are trying to purchase the Vuelta A Espana.

[lkn2ryd]

Ok it is high time someone calls Teddy-baby Turner and tells him to buy all those races from the ASO. I guess if we all call him he wll probably jump on the idea - just got to remind him of all they real estate available over there. If Ted says no - Oprah?

Dirtmistress you really know a ton about road racing, I've learned more on this thread than anywhere else (and I subscribe to a couple road specific mags.) Thanks for the education

[Koke]

From Pez Cycling News (full story link):

"- Now for the Crap -
Skip ahead to the Giro and Tour in what some will call an effort to “take the high road” by ignoring arguably the sport’s strongest team on “principle”, while allowing others with arguably more or equally dubious history to participate.

My point isn’t that Danilo Di Luca should be allowed in the Giro even though he’ll be the star with the most recently dope-related suspension. My point isn’t that CSC has a great image with the “defrocked” Bjarne Riis at the helm (regardless of the rest of the podium that year). My point isn’t that Cofidis is recently squeaky clean or that Rabobank are righteous because they say they didn’t know where the Chicken was training...

My point is that Astana isn’t really any more tainted than these teams."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cadel Evans should be the favorite to win the TDF now. His team, Predictor-Lotto had a doping scandal in 2007 so by ASO logic his team should be denied entry to the 2008 TDF.

[Koke]

Some pissed-off Pro roadies in this article in support of Team Astana.

[Koke]

Another point of view from Cyclingnews.com..

"Astana was not alone in their disgrace of last year's Tour. Therefore I assume Cofidis and Rabobank will not be receiving invites either. Or did they just not cheat as bad?

Slipstream should not be there because Millar is a cheat, or was. I guess he can't change. Leukemans was banned for two years, so that mean no Silence-Lotto. CSC is run by a cheat, they better not come. Cunego allegedly missed a testing time, count Lampre out. Bettini will not sign the UCI letter; I guess Quick-Step is a no show. Petacchi is in hot water, no Milram. Valverde is still not cleared in Puerto, there goes Caisse d'Epargne. Shall we go on or can we stop the madness.

It seems that the goal of ASO and Le' Equipe is to kill the sport. Who would want to sponsor a cycling team now? Pretty soon professional cycling will be a thing of the past and we will see small national teams roaming around looking for races."

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by Koke

Another point of view from Cyclingnews.com..

"Astana was not alone in their disgrace of last year's Tour. Therefore I assume Cofidis and Rabobank will not be receiving invites either. Or did they just not cheat as bad?

Slipstream should not be there because Millar is a cheat, or was. I guess he can't change. Leukemans was banned for two years, so that mean no Silence-Lotto. CSC is run by a cheat, they better not come. Cunego allegedly missed a testing time, count Lampre out. Bettini will not sign the UCI letter; I guess Quick-Step is a no show. Petacchi is in hot water, no Milram. Valverde is still not cleared in Puerto, there goes Caisse d'Epargne. Shall we go on or can we stop the madness.

It seems that the goal of ASO and Le' Equipe is to kill the sport. Who would want to sponsor a cycling team now? Pretty soon professional cycling will be a thing of the past and we will see small national teams roaming around looking for races."

So don't you think because all those other teams will be allowed in, at least most of them, that it is a personal affront against Bruyneel? I have no proof except what I read and how some things make no sense and his history with ASO and UCI is sketchy at best. Oh, and L'Equipe is the National Enquirer of sport paper! They are surely in the pockets of UCI and ASO!

[Koke]

From Cycling News:

Quote from former, UCI president Pat McQuaid.

"Looking at this latest situation with Astana, there is absolutely no justification for the decision that was made," he told Cyclingnews this week. "This was a decision made in France by a French organisation purely for the French public. When you see the reaction in France, the reaction to this decision is positive there. For example, if you look at the Internet sites and the blogs of the French media, you will see that they are largely supportive of the decision. But outside France it is completely the opposite. Outside France, the international cycling public have a completely different view. They cannot understand why Astana should be singled out as the team who did so much damage to the Tour de France...everybody knows that there were four or five other teams who badly damaged the Tour last year."