"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - No Cipo in the TDf

Well I was just on the cyclingnews.com site, and they had a newsflash about the decision that the ASO made about the selection of teams for the TDF coming up in july...And sure enough they excluded Cipo and team, and thusly no world RR champion will be there for the centenary tour! That is really a shame! .....I knew it was a small chance that he would get in, but somehow I was hoping he would...Any body else have any feelings one way or the other on this??..

Maybe this will bring change in the future, but then again maybe it won't, guess time can only tell that eh??

Benjamin

I saw that too. I think it's a shame. I know Cipo doesn't have the best record in the Tour but how can you have the "World's Greatest Race" w/o the Rainbow Jersey? FWIW (apparently not much) Lance Armstrong agrees as well.

I didn't expect LeBlanc to change but I really hoped that he would. In his efforts to help French teams he risks degrading the Tour itself. If Armstrong is on form the GC competition is, frankly, a bore. Cipo would at least make McEwen work to keep the Green jersey and if Cipo had managed to finish, which he had promised to do, he probably would have taken the jersey from McEwen. That would have pleased me for a number of reasons.

It really is a shame. NO cipo, no zulle ,no casagrande, no frigo! However, Garzelli's team will be there so with him, and simoni, and even Ullrich, there will be some more challengers than last year. Unfortunately, Cadel evans is probably out, and maybe Sevilla. I think the mountains will be interesting at least. But it's a shame about Cipo, in what would probably be his last tour.

Originally posted by Walter
I didn't expect LeBlanc to change but I really hoped that he would.

I think that you feel the way a bunch of us do ...

-Surely, this time he'll make a good decision. Right?

-How can he deny the rainbow jersey. Right?

-This may be Chipo's final shot. Right?

-This time, he won't make a decision based purely on nationalism. Right?

Surely, he'll take the fan's objections into account. Right?

-Surely, this time he'll make a good decision .... http://216.40.249.192/s/contrib/edoom/let_it_all_out.gif ... WRONG!!!!

And I was looking forward to seeing him abandon in the mountains and let his team go to Paris without him. Darn! ;)

Shame on Leblanc !
Where is the veto of the UCI ???

Yeah it would be nice if the UCI could/would veto Leblanc's decision, but I'm not sure that, that is doable/legal....Earlier this year there was this drug case with some rider, I think it was one of ONCE's riders, who was banned from the TDF because of a case from years ago, were the rulling body in france had more athority than the UCI did..The UCI said he should ride, but the french body said he can't..It's really a shame, that we have this huge governing body for cycling, and in certian cases the arn't the final word on things, that's bad also!!..

Yeah on paper with the people that appear to be coming, the mountains look pretty exciting, but I really have trouble believing that both Simoni and Garzelli, can make an impact on Armstrong, given that both of them have raced this 3 week race, have about a month to recover and get back to top form and challange Lance, when he hasent' raced, is very focused and has a great team..Now I'm not saying that Saeco and Vini caldrilo are bad teams, that is not the case, but I'm just wondering if they can bounce back that fast??...I really don't think Ullrich will be there this year, maybe a stage win or something, but nothing huge...But then again that's why we have the race to see what actually happens...

But I agree with the people that have posted, it would have been nice to see Cipo and team provide some sprint competition during the flat stages, and it just seems correct for the best tour in the world to have the best riders present at it, but apparently Mr. Leblanc dosen't think so.....

I just really hope that this dosen't damage the tour in major ways, cycling really needs to continue on, and the tour really should continue to be the biggest stage race in the world with the best riders at it..

Thanks for all your thoughts and opinions here,

Benjamin

Although a shame that the World Champion is excluded, his record in the Tour is horrible (mind you, I would LOVE to have such a bad record).

It would seem hard to justify giving him that spot when they know he won't make it through the mountains. He has crafted this perception with his previous efforts and unfortunately it has come back to bite him.

Yeah I can see your point about him carving out this reptutation in previous tour's, but he does make it thru the complete giro, obviously not this year, but certianly in previous years...And it's not like all the rest of the sprinters that enter the tour, complete it themselvs??....I also would think that this year Cipo would certianly give it his best effort at completeing the whole thing, because it get's more publicity for the world champion and all the sponsors he has on it, so I would think Leblanc would want to invite him over a team like Jean Delatour, I mean honestly, and I don't mean to de-mean them, but do we really think that they are going to make an impact in the tour??

Benjamin

Yeah, there are a host of French teams that are questionable, but because it's the centenial TDF Leblanc decided to have a bunch of French representation (not that it will do them any good when these teams start dropping like flies). What can you say? Doesn't make a whole bunch of sense, but it is their race.

I guess having Cippo would bring some suspense to the early part of the race along with Zabel and McEwin (sp?) for the sprinters title, But you know that he will be a week+ into refining his golf game when the riders reach Paris. ;)

Well yeah I guess that's what we have to remember, that it's Their race, and they can choose the teams that participate in it.......I just don't get it, why the TDF get's sooo much attention with it's non selection of teams, when both italy and spain have their national tours, the they don't seem to generate or cause that much controversy in who they don't choose, versus the TDF....Something seems strange here.

Benjamin

I think that the other races don't generate the controversy because the TdF is THE race of the year. It's the only bike race that everyone in America has probably heard of. It has the most glory, so therefore, the spots are more coveted.

I think that it's a shame that Cippo won't be there. The rainbow jersey should be allowed to represent. However, look at the struggles that Cippo had in the climbs of the Giro. He didn't exactly help his cause. It was great to see him get the stage wins though, especially since the first one came the day after the initial snub from the TdF.

It seems that Cipo maybe would lastd through the race.

Its looking like this year's Vuelta will be much tougher (In terms of profile/stage difficulties) than the TDF will be.

Cipollini has never gone close to completing a Tour de France. Just completing the Tour is a fantasy for most of us and an ambition realised for any other professional. Cipo is like a prologue specialist, whose sole aim is to garner publicity then go home before conditions get adverse....only his prologue lasts for 6 or 7 stages.

Leblanc is using the same criteria as his counterparts in Spain and Italy in selecting teams, i.e., as directeur, he exercises a lot of power as he thinks fit! In this case he is perhaps sending a message to a guy he thinks doesn't respect his race.