"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Astana - are they in, or are they out?

Velonews is reporting that there's rumors being floated in the French and Spanish press that they won't get a Tour invite.

http://velonews.com/race/int/articles/13954.0.html

Rubs chin. Ponders...

One of the cycling mags in Borders yesterday (Couldn't tell you which one, but it wasn't one of the major ones) had a list of who was in and who was a 'maybe' - there were several major teams still 'maybe.' Of course I don't remember any of them. Basically, the story went that all the French teams got the early nod, along with those that had well-developed anti-doping programmes.

I was pleased to see that Barloworld was under consideration - I thought it was pretty nifty how a Wildcard team actually did quite respectably. And at the Prologue their kit (vans and such) was obviously not nearly so fancy as the big-name teams.

If I recall, there was some suggestion that they might leave Astana in the cold until the very last moment - but take them while making it very obvious that they only wanted the team so as to have Contador in the race.

French drumming up interest/controversy. ...This is a first

^

How long before Cycle Sport runs a story about how shocked and dismayed they are by the new Astana's attitude towards doping?

You have to love a team that puts the Khazakstan National Railway in a big banner across everybody's ass.

http://uk.gizmodo.com/Borat-flag.jpg

A train wreck is good for ratings. They'll be in.

Velonews is reporting that there's rumors being floated in the French and Spanish press that they won't get a Tour invite.

http://velonews.com/race/int/articles/13954.0.html

Rubs chin. Ponders...

In the history of the Tour, has the immediate past winner (and his team) not been invited? Just curious if this would be some huge precedent-setting decision, were Astana to be excluded.

Maybe those Tour de France organizers want a team with more qualified and legit UCI pros than Astana.

seems like they're really be shooting themselves in the foot if they intentionally excluded last year's winner from the race. even their likely reasoning - the anti-doping mantra - wouldn't hold much water in my eyes because the riders who were caught are gone and there was no indication of a team level doping program.

Maybe those Tour de France organizers want a team with more qualified and legit UCI pros than Astana.

+1 or at least guys weve heard of :p

You guys have all heard of Pcad. I'll appear at the Tour de France for 1 million Euros - as long as Lance flies me there on his chartered Gulfstream (actually I think Sheryl was chartering all those Gulfstreams, Lance may be too cheap to do that).

seems like they're really be shooting themselves in the foot if they intentionally excluded last year's winner from the race. even their likely reasoning - the anti-doping mantra - wouldn't hold much water in my eyes because the riders who were caught are gone and there was no indication of a team level doping program.

Yes, other than Kessler, Vino, Kash, and Mazzolini doping last year and them hiring hiring Old School who hired Basso while he was under a cloud (and ran the team of the only guy who could keep up with EPO fueled poultry in the mountains and whose riders have confessed to doping) it certainly appears that they had/have an unwavering commitment to clean racing.

After watching Johan's boys ride off from everyone in the mountains in the last week of the Tour, this humble fan was impressed. That's covert ops worthy of a SEAL team.

If the TDF folks are truly serious about having a clean show, they'll exclude Astana. Because if they don't it will be a boring race where we'll be watching 175 pound Roulers ride off ahead of 120 pound Spaniards on Le Alpe to set up Contrador, and Levi using his new "position" to suddenly start channeling Indurain.

Again.

Yes, other than Kessler, Vino, Kash, and Mazzolini doping last year and them hiring hiring Old School who hired Basso while he was under a cloud (and ran the team of the only guy who could keep up with EPO fueled poultry in the mountains and whose riders have confessed to doping) it certainly appears that they had/have an unwavering commitment to clean racing.

After watching Johan's boys ride off from everyone in the mountains in the last week of the Tour, this humble fan was impressed. That's covert ops worthy of a SEAL team.

If the TDF folks are truly serious about having a clean show, they'll exclude Astana. Because if they don't it will be a boring race where we'll be watching 175 pound Roulers ride off ahead of 120 pound Spaniards on Le Alpe to set up Contrador, and Levi using his new "position" to suddenly start channeling Indurain.

Again.

Your troll-fu is weak today.

I'll appear at the Tour de France for 1 million Euros - as long as Lance flies me there on his chartered Gulfstream

I'll do it for 50,000 dollars and a rental car.

Yes, other than Kessler, Vino, Kash, and Mazzolini doping last year and them hiring hiring Old School who hired Basso while he was under a cloud (and ran the team of the only guy who could keep up with EPO fueled poultry in the mountains and whose riders have confessed to doping) it certainly appears that they had/have an unwavering commitment to clean racing.

After watching Johan's boys ride off from everyone in the mountains in the last week of the Tour, this humble fan was impressed. That's covert ops worthy of a SEAL team.

If the TDF folks are truly serious about having a clean show, they'll exclude Astana. Because if they don't it will be a boring race where we'll be watching 175 pound Roulers ride off ahead of 120 pound Spaniards on Le Alpe to set up Contrador, and Levi using his new "position" to suddenly start channeling Indurain.

Again.

+1

I'd love to believe but real world experience shows when the stakes are high some players will take any edge to get the win.

Your troll-fu is weak today.

My training bike is not finished yet. All is not right with the universe.

I'll do it for 50,000 dollars and a rental car.

= 12 euros and an opel..........hmmm

Perhaps it has little to do with drugs, hmmm? Any chance that the French may perceive Astana as, well, basically an American team?

A train wreck is good for ratings. They'll be in.

What wold Le Tour be without a scandal, or at the very least something to gossip about?

What wold Le Tour be without a scandal, or at the very least something to gossip about?
A bike race, like it always has been.

Perhaps it has little to do with drugs, hmmm? Any chance that the French may perceive Astana as, well, basically an American team?

Kazakh sponsors, Luxembourg registry, Belgian Director, Spanish GC leader. Doubt it.

Yes, other than Kessler, Vino, Kash, and Mazzolini doping last year and them hiring hiring Old School who hired Basso while he was under a cloud (and ran the team of the only guy who could keep up with EPO fueled poultry in the mountains and whose riders have confessed to doping) it certainly appears that they had/have an unwavering commitment to clean racing.

After watching Johan's boys ride off from everyone in the mountains in the last week of the Tour, this humble fan was impressed. That's covert ops worthy of a SEAL team.


point well taken. call me old school, innocent until proven guilty. (=

point well taken. call me old school, innocent until proven guilty. (=

Agreed. And it's not like people haven't tried.

In the history of the Tour, has the immediate past winner (and his team) not been invited? Just curious if this would be some huge precedent-setting decision, were Astana to be excluded.

I can't remember a past Tour winner, but I do remember them excluding Cippo the year he was World Champion. He made quite the fuss as I recall.

Perhaps it has little to do with drugs, hmmm? Any chance that the French may perceive Astana as, well, basically an American team?

I miss DocRay…

Too bad the censors had to off him. They couldn’t risk him damaging the American propaganda machine.

“Like a shaved monkey ready to be shot into space...”

Yes, other than Kessler, Vino, Kash, and Mazzolini doping last year and them hiring hiring Old School who hired Basso while he was under a cloud (and ran the team of the only guy who could keep up with EPO fueled poultry in the mountains and whose riders have confessed to doping) it certainly appears that they had/have an unwavering commitment to clean racing.

After watching Johan's boys ride off from everyone in the mountains in the last week of the Tour, this humble fan was impressed. That's covert ops worthy of a SEAL team.

If the TDF folks are truly serious about having a clean show, they'll exclude Astana. Because if they don't it will be a boring race where we'll be watching 175 pound Roulers ride off ahead of 120 pound Spaniards on Le Alpe to set up Contrador, and Levi using his new "position" to suddenly start channeling Indurain.

Again.

:lol:

You have to love a team that puts the Khazakstan National Railway in a big banner across everybody's ass.

http://uk.gizmodo.com/Borat-flag.jpg

That's how PBK is advertising it -
http://www.probikekit.com/_img_200x256/C1261.jpg
Somehow I imagine either Sacha Baron Cohen or Astana wouldn't be too pleased at the use of Borat to advertise Astana kit.

(though it's pretty inevitable as an association, even without the picture)

point well taken. call me old school, innocent until proven guilty. (=
Agreed. And it's not like people haven't tried.

Two letters: O J

Let's talk systematic: you're staying at the team hotel with your teammates, DS, medical staff, and PR guys and pop off for an hour or two and get a blood transfusion without anyone knowing, especially if you're a low profile guy like Vino?

NO ONE sees massive improvements in their TT ability as they near the end of their career, or easily match drug fueled poultry au natural.

Gotta have that healthy dose of skepticism though.

So you come home to a house smelling of cheap cologne, find used prophylactics and Budweiser cans lying around, and your wife asleep naked on the sofa with some guys BVDs on her head, you're going to wait to catch her in the act? Or would the YouTube video suffice?

Pro Cycling needs to stop with the schizo dichotomy of testing more than anyone else while giving a wink and a nod to the dopers. One or the other please.

And on another note: Watching an MMA thing last night, where one of the guys is making a "comeback" after testing positive. The announcers were all pity-like about the poor guys enforced 6 month layoff.

Boo.

Who?

Two letters: O J

ok wait, are you accusing Lance of doping? Because that's who my "innocent until proven guilty" comment was about. I am unwilling to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he doped "just because X". Whether X be that those who couldn't beat him doped, or others on his team doped, or any number other claims. Do I know that he didn't dope? No, but nobody has been able to convince me that he did.

If you're not talking about Lance, well then ignore this.

And don't get me started on OJ. That was some Nifong-esque prosecutorial failure right there.

Is Contador Astana's lead rider? I thought Liepheimer was better and was actually ahead of Contador if it wasn't for some penalties and a crash during last tour.