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Jim Caple of ESPN said exactly what I feel regarding the 2008 Tour De France in his piece today. It seems that Jim and I both are avid fans who also understand the true nature of cycling and doping in comparison with other sports. Mr. Caple’s only mistake is including David Zabriskie on the 2008 Garmin Chipoltle TDF team as Zabriskie is still sidelined from his Giro crash. Bottom line, Jim and I both know that the roads of France in July are filled with great athletes not cheats.

In his piece, Jim makes the same point I have made for a long time - that major US sports could not and would not survive as they are if they same doping rules were applied to them as cycling. Cycling is considered dirty by many simply because it works so hard to be clean. You catch more when you look more. Anyway I will be on my trainer watching EVERY SECOND of the 2008 Tour and loving the fact that the French will NOT win their race yet again.

(story here). Jim as I climb Alpe De Huez from the comfort of my air conditioned home on my trainer I will think of you - my brother on two stabilized wheels and a good saddle.

Floyd Landis lost his last appeal to regain his 2006 TDF Yellow Jersey. The CAS decision also requires Landis to pay a 100K in legal bills for the USADA having to defend their case against him. Full story & full details at Velo News here

Reuters story here, ESPN story here, & Cycling Weekly’s story here

Floyd’s Landis’s last and final - probably - appeal is suppose to come down tomorrow. Wonder if Landis could get a ride by Saturday if his yellow is restored…I doubt it but hey it would add more drama to a already drama filled race. Velonews story here

Heck with Astana out (which means #1 & #3 from the 2007 TDF are not racing), and green jersey 2007 Boonen not in the race Landis could only add a bit more drama and excitement. Of course if it was 13 offensive Brits, 12 drunk Irishmen, 10 angry Scots, 25 snobby Frenchmen, 8 insame Americans, 22 arrogant Spaniards, 30 elitist Italians, 15 doped up Russians, and 54 misc riders from the rest of the world all on 1963 Schwinn Varsity’s on French roads in July for the Yellow Jersey I would watch it. Of course any time there is not a Frenchman in yellow I am happy.

Well Specialized is rolling out Tom Boonen’s Paris Roubaix ride. The straighter carbon - greater stiffness - and resized bottom bracket / tubes sound like it will be a great ride. It will not be out until 2009 for the average riders, but Velonews has a story on it here.

On a personal note I hope that Boom Boom Tom takes his current suspension for out of competition drug use - specifically cocaine - and keeps himself clean for the rest of his career.

CBS Sports has a nice little chart up about how Americans have done in the Tour De France (or as Bob Roll says The Tour DAY France). It was a surprise to me that the 1986 Tour was the one with the most Americans in it, but I guess with Lemond, a 7-11 full of Americans, and a few other around that makes since. It was also interesting to see that both Chris Carmicheal (coach to Armstrong, Landis, and others) and Jonathan Vaughters (head of Garmin-Chipolte and coach to many up & coming American riders) neither one finished the TDF. Of course Vaughters bee sting (and swollen eye), and the refusal of the ASO to let him get a cortizone shot, while on Crédit Agricole has a lot to do with that. CBS’s story / chart here

John Wilcoxson of Velonews had a excellent piece back on June 19th, 2008 that discusses the ongoing situation between the UCI / Pro Tour and the ASO and how two (2) cycling leagues -both with some major races - could result. The 2009 (and later) cycling season could look like the old battle between the AFL and the NFL before they merged. I personally hope it does not go that way, but there really does need to be some order found in this current mess. Story here

Well the greatest three weeks in sports is about to start next weekend. That is right it is time for the Tour De France circa 2008. Versus once again has the coverage, and they recently retained the rights through 2013 or something so it looks like my Tour addiction due to Versus will not end soon. It also means the wife had better clear off all those Days Of Our Lives episodes on the DVR ASAP.

Garmin Chipolte (formerly Slipstream Chipolte) named their team, but have yet to show their Tour gear. I hope they keep the argyle as I like it. CSC-Saxo named their Tour team a week or so back - no surprise Bobby Jullich (one time 3rd place TDF finisher) was not on it as this is his last year but I still would have liked to see Jullich do the Tour the year he retired. Highroad named their team - of course George Hincapie (in his 12th Tour) is on it - and they are going to roll out Columbia’s new cycling line in the Tour. That could be interesting to see, I hope it is more lycra then wool (even if it is super Italian wicking wool like that $250 cycling jerseys I see in mag’s) though. A nice plaid to contrast with Chipolte’s argyle would be classic though.

The bad (utterly stupid and moronic) thing is that Team Astana (with the winner and 3rd placed riders of the 2007 TDF on it -oh yeah Contador also WON THE 2008 Giro and Levi rode solid in the 2008 Giro and looked good in the Dauphine) is NOT in the 2008 Tour because the ASO is run by idiots. That is right I said I D O I T S. To ban a team that resembles the 2007 Astana in name only - as the management and most of the riders of the 2008 Astana team came from the 2007 Discovery team which had no drug violations - because of the “damage” done by Astana in 2007 is foolish. I think it is because they are tired of seeing riders trained and managed by Johan Burneel OWN the TDF for almost a decade. Heck even Landis was a former Burneel rider before leaving for BMC. So, regardless of who wins the 2008 Tour it is a hollow win as two of the best riders are not in the race, much like the journalist at the time said of Lance Armstrong’s first TDF win when both Ullrich and Pantani were not in the race.

I have some friends that are refusing to watch the Tour this year due to the ASO’s decision out of protest. I am watching though, and I will gladly admit it, as I am not going to let the I D I O T S at the ASO take my joy of watching MOST of the greatest athletes in the world ride the GREATEST bike race in the world. Heck I want to see if the boys in argyle can get home too. Something tells me Jonathan V may have a few good days with his riders. It will be interesting to see how High Road in Columbia gear does as well. I also look forward to seeing Jens Voight - my favorite rider in the world - attack and charge DAY after DAY after DAY.

In Paris though I think it will be Cadel Evans of Silence Lotto or Frank / Andy Schleck of CSC -Saxo on the top step though. When Astana returns to the Tour in 2009 it will be a great race to see if Contador or Lepiheimer have a answer to whoever wins. The interesting thing will be if Contador wins the 2008 Vuelta (which he is riding) and takes 2 of 3 Grand Tours in a year he was not allowed into the third grand tour.

I think Robbie McEwen wins a few sprint stages, and Eric Zabel may get a stage win too, but I think a younger sprinter takes the green jersey this year.

First of all let it be known that this blog originates from Knoxville, TN - home of the University of Tennesse which is the University that Justin Gatlin attended. That needs to be noted before you read the following as Mr. Gatlin was Volunteer that many in the community respected, reviered, and bragged about.

Moving on, Justin Gatlin lost his appeal yesterday to compete in the Olympic trials due to his positive drug test in 2006. The court, in my opinion correctly, ruled that participation in the Olympics is at the sole discretion of the US Olympic Committee (USOC) which banned Gatlin after his 2006 positive test for 4 years. The court did find that Gatlin’s first positive test (in 2001) due to a over use of his ADD drug should not have weighed into the ban, but again differed to the USOC’s right to determine Olympic eligibility.

I think this is one time the court got it 100% right. The ban should stand because of the USOC’s call and because it is the USOC’s call. IF Gatlin had / could prove the 2006 positive faulty different story, but he has / can not so the ban should stand.

With that said, and Gatlin’s 2006 test proven valid and with Mayron Jones recent conviction and prison sentence, I am now calling for Nike, Adidas, Puma, Coke, Bubba’s Spikes and Turf, Bob’s House Sports, etc to remove themselves - including their financial support - from the tainted sport of track and field.

You ask why I am making this call ..well I am applying the rule that the press and public love to apply to cycling to track and field. If one or two athletes are doping / dirty then the whole sport is and we need to let the sport wither on the vine. Understand I am JOKING when I call for track and field to be abandoned by fans, supporters and companies , but I am also trying to prove a point that many times the press and the public let the actions of a few (Gatlin, Jones, Landis, Raasmusen) sway / destroy the reputation of 1000’s of clean athletes in very competitive and difficult sports..

I also find it interesting that sports like cycling and track get tainted pillar to post by the actions of a few, yet regular and consistent charges, and proof, of performance enhancing drug use by professional athletes in sports like baseball and football are not connected to the entire sport and the other athletes in the sport they participate in. In my opinion that is simply the result of sports being mainstream vs minor or popular vs fringe.

Note that I intentionally left out charges for recreational drug use as this post is regarding PERFORMANCE drugs, i.e. ones that get you banned from competition or that make you loose your victories, not ones that get you sent to jail for possession, use, etc.