More Of The Same BS

Is it just me, or is professional cycling not getting any better whatsoever? And it’s not that I expected all the top riders to just stop what they were doing--meaning the drugs--because I realize there’s a ton of money on the line, but come on. Reading through the stories on Velonews.com, the scenario is simply growing bleaker and bleaker with every passing stage.

First, Vinokourov tests positive for blood doping. People still do that? Wasn’t blood doping the big thing in the Olympics in the 80s? Then again, the guy’s Russian. Yes, I realize he’s technically from Kazakhstan (and I know I didn’t spell that right, but so what?), yet when you really think about it, they all sound Russian when they talk, so what’s the difference? My point is, Russians are crazy, so why would Vinokourov give a rat’s ass about infusing blood that isn’t his into his vein in the middle of the race? He wouldn’t. Wasn’t there another crazy professional racer from Russia who, after winning a few races, took his money and opened up a Mercedes dealership as selling Mercedes had always been his dream? See what I mean about crazy?

(Then again, selling top-shelf cars compared to racing bicycles with a needle hanging out of your ass? Maybe that guy wasn’t so crazy after all.)

Anyway, too bad for Andreas Kloden. Dude was in fifth place when Astana pulled from the Tour.

Then Cristian Moreni of the Cofidis team tested positive for testosterone, so Cofidis has pulled from the Tour. So much for that.

And Sinkewitz from T-Mobile also tested positive for testosterone. Didn’t T-Mobile force their riders to sign the UCI anti-doping agreement? Does this mean Sinkewitz is going to have to pay UCI a year’s worth of his salary? If he does, that sucks for him. Big time. Then again, if you cheat . . .

Finally, there’s Rasmussen. When I logged online last night to check the latest Tour news, there was the headline staring me in the face: Rasmussen Pulled Out of Tour, Fired by Rabobank.

That’s even more big time than Sinkewitz. Here’s a guy who’s a few days away from most likely winning one of the biggest sporting events in the world and Rabobank tosses his skinny ass not because he actually tested positive, but because they learned he had lied about his whereabouts to allegedly dodge off-season blood and urine tests.

Regardless of whether Rasmussen is innocent or guilty, put yourself in that chump’s shoes. Can you even begin to imagine how utterly enraged he must feel at being canned after more than a week in the yellow jersey and only a few days away from the finale in Paris?

Not that I blame Rabobank, either. They must have been rather convinced that Rasmussen had done something wrong considering how close they were to winning the Tour. If not, if there was even a shred of evidence pointing to Rasmussen being clean, they never in a million years would have done what they did: too much to lose in terms of sponsorship and media exposure.

In my opinion, the best part is the response from the other riders, specifically David Millar. There’s a great interview clip with him on Velonews.com where you definitely get a good sense of the guy’s frustration via his candid comments. You can check it out by CLICKING HERE.