No Team Astana for 2008 TDF

[Koke]

"Amaury Sport Organization, the company that owns the Tour de France announced Wednesday that the Astana team of defending champion Alberto Contador will not be invited to compete in that race or in any other event it organizes in 2008."

Full VeloNews story here.

[allison]

Nice. It starts again!

I hope at least Slipstream gets in. Or are they past the invitations already?

[RidetheRAAM4]

They had good team spirit, too bad for the doping and now ban from the TDF

[ericfoltz]

That puts them out of the Giro and TDF. That won't make the sponsors too happy.

[Wrecker]

Wonder when the senate hearings start....

[Endo Verendo]

Originally Posted by allison

Nice. It starts again!

Why the smiley face? This really sucks!

[S54MCoupe]

What a bunch of bullshit!

[allison]

Originally Posted by Endo Verendo

Why the smiley face? This really sucks!

It's all just a circus now anyway.

[dirtmistress]

Bruyneel brought this on himself when he hired Basso in '06 (I think that was the year) while Basso was under investigation for doping in the operation Puerco affair. When other team managers chastised him for it, he stormed out of the meeting and said he'll hire whomever he damn well wants! Well, that sure backfired in his arrogant face! Back when ASO and the other grand tours were bound by the Pro Tour rules, they had to let these teams in, now that they are not connected (and I agree with that) they can allow in whomever they damn well please! I feel it's a personal slap towards Johan.
Allison, I love the Tour and the spring classics and the races leading up to the grand Tours. I used to have Prologue parties at 6 a.m. with all the french croissants and baguettes and real french butter and piping hot coffee and Gerolsteiner water. It was so fun.
If you can get past the politics, the crap and the political games that we will never truely know the inside scoop on and focus on the racing and the sprint for the line and the crashing and attacks and all the tactics, the chess game of racing,try to keep it at a fun, simple sporting level, it can still be really great! I heard Slipstream is making great inroads at getting into the Tour. It's gonna be a good year I think! I hope it pours rain at Paris-Roubaix!!

[Pickettt]

Here is where ASO and the pro tour is making a mistake and shooting itself in the foot. As in any other sporting event, advertising is everything. Period. ASO is going to kill any interest in cycling, and advertising dollars will soon follow. No interest in cycling=no advertising=no ASO or pro tour. Besides, it's just another case of the French crying because they haven't won their own race in twenty some odd years. I guess if no one but the French are there, they stand a chance.

[Jman]

I agree with much of what has been said. I think 'punishments' are important but it is a shame that decisions like these could really affect the overall good of the sport. I personally am bummed as there are some big names not being allowed to race.

My only real question is how will banning Astana really 'teach' anyone anything? Why are the riders being punished? It would be like punishing the Yankees for Clemens issues or the Giants for Bonds issues. So as I said above, punishments are important but shouldn't they be aimed at the individual and not the team especially when many members of the current team weren't on the old team.

It's really a pickle of a situation as there are no right or wrong answers.

[dirtmistress]

If ASO is, in fact, being spiteful to Bruyneel then anyone he is associated with must pay. I feel ASO doesn't like many of the people associated with him. Contador has a shady past in regards to doping as does Leipheimer. Stuff gets around that we don't always hear about. They caught Vino because fellow riders ratted on him because they witnessed suspicious behavior. Same with Katcheskin (however you spell his name). Anyway, basically, the Tour can takes it's balls and go home and invite whomever they want. They've been going strong for 100 plus years and they would continue as strong as ever with or without the Americans! Given the opportunity, I would go again in a heartbeat to watch a stage. Nowadays though, we have some excellent stage races on our own home turf!

[Pickettt]

The Tour has only gone on for a hundred years because people wanted to see the big name riders. ASO believes that it's bigger than the sport itself. And that's stupidity. We're seeing the same thing first hand with NORBA. All of the best races seem to be non-NORBA. Why? Because NORBA does nothing at all for our sport (note the rhetoric "OUR") besides collect our $65/year

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by Pickettt

The Tour has only gone on for a hundred years because people wanted to see the big name riders. ASO believes that it's bigger than the sport itself. And that's stupidity. We're seeing the same thing first hand with NORBA. All of the best races seem to be non-NORBA. Why? Because NORBA does nothing at all for our sport (note the rhetoric "OUR") besides collect our $65/year

I see NORBA hasn't changed much since I raced in the 90's.
I disagree about the Tour. ASO owns most of the big races like Paris-Roubaix and Dauphene Libre and a bunch of others. Americans only came to the tour in the 80's. The first year an American appeared in the tour was 1981, Jonathon Boyer. 1985 was when LeMond started to make a name for himself.
We need them. I don't believe they need us. They want us but only on their terms.

[Jman]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

They want us but only on their terms.

As long as we're not winning, they'll have us every year! Nah, its obvious that you know way more about the TDF than I so from my rather novice view (I've watched the Tour for probably the last 10 years but only really got into the nuts and bolts of it towards the end of Lance's run) it does seem like they hate us Americans...especially when we're winning.

[allison]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

Allison, I love the Tour and the spring classics and the races leading up to the grand Tours. I used to have Prologue parties at 6 a.m. with all the french croissants and baguettes and real french butter and piping hot coffee and Gerolsteiner water. It was so fun.
If you can get past the politics, the crap and the political games that we will never truely know the inside scoop on and focus on the racing and the sprint for the line and the crashing and attacks and all the tactics, the chess game of racing,try to keep it at a fun, simple sporting level, it can still be really great!

If it hadn't been for Lance's last tour I wouldn't be riding bikes right now. I truly enjoyed watching all the road cycling. But the past 2 years the tour IMO has been a joke.

I haven't been too interested in the rest of the races either I guess. We always watch our Cyclism Sunday's though

[Rivet]

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

If ASO is, in fact, being spiteful to Bruyneel then anyone he is associated with must pay. I feel ASO doesn't like many of the people associated with him. Contador has a shady past in regards to doping as does Leipheimer. Stuff gets around that we don't always hear about. They caught Vino because fellow riders ratted on him because they witnessed suspicious behavior. Same with Katcheskin (however you spell his name). Anyway, basically, the Tour can takes it's balls and go home and invite whomever they want. They've been going strong for 100 plus years and they would continue as strong as ever with or without the Americans! Given the opportunity, I would go again in a heartbeat to watch a stage. Nowadays though, we have some excellent stage races on our own home turf!

You got the Levi bit wrong, he's NEVER even been mentioned in any doping stuff. This is actually the final result of the ASO vs UCI power play that started with Unibet last year. As a side benefit they are trying to make Bruyneel a pariah in the sport and much of it has to do with Armstrong winning 7 Tours, sure he was doped to the gills but so was everyone else. The tour is not bigger than the riders and if they keep screwing with them they'll find themselves hosting races with second rate French racers.

[Pain Freak]

The bottom line here is, this is all political bs, and don't look for the French to stop. They're ruining it too. Not saying some of the riders aren't the problem, but at a time when more people are interested then ever before they do whatever they can to ruin it. One very good thing though is more and more people are watching and getting involved in the domestic races. Pro level races are coming here and are legitimate with world class racers.

[Koke]

From Cycling News...

"That the happenings of last year in Tour de France prompted the Tour organizers to leave Astana out of the season's most important race sounds understandable," admitted Bruyneel. "However, Astana Cycling Team 2008 has nothing to do with the team of last year. We have done everything to change the dynamics of the team."

My question is this...

If they are going to ban the 2008 Astana team for having 2007 Astana team riders that doped, is the ASO going to ban ALL teams that had 2007 riders that doped? If they are, which teams did not have doping allegations in 2007?

[dirtmistress]

Originally Posted by Rivet

You got the Levi bit wrong, he's NEVER even been mentioned in any doping stuff. This is actually the final result of the ASO vs UCI power play that started with Unibet last year. As a side benefit they are trying to make Bruyneel a pariah in the sport and much of it has to do with Armstrong winning 7 Tours, sure he was doped to the gills but so was everyone else. The tour is not bigger than the riders and if they keep screwing with them they'll find themselves hosting races with second rate French racers.

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!