Foo - Who WON'T be watching the TdF this year?

Not sure where to post this, but haven't seen it posted elsewhere, but

TEAM ASTANA not invited to this years TdF...http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news;_ylt=AkzPR5MNLJikAKXfIeq_AYx.grcF?slug=ap-tourofcalifornia&prov=ap&type=lgns

Right...lets make it so that two of the top three finishers of the previous year can't participate, along with another great cyclist or two. The TdF just went down the toilet if you ask me.

No way. This is a step in the right direction. Astana is shady, shady, shady. Levi and co. should never have signed with them in the first place.

as much as i enjoy watching Le Tour (and and racing in general), the cruddy coverage kills it for me. regardless of who's racing.

heck, i'd rather watch a bunch of nobodies, anyway. it's more exciting.

Not because of any politics surrounding it, but just because I'm not all that interested in watching racing. What little interest I may have is vastly overshadowed by the competitors being billboards, and possibly drugged-out billboards, at that.

*shrug*

maybe, maybe not. Depends on how Ifeel at the time.

I personally care nothing about the doping and am so far removed that I don't care about the politics.

Well from my understanding Astana got rid of those shady characters during the offseason and implemented new/improved drug testing or something. Still, the politics are killing the race even so.

Bicycle racing is a lot like porn.


The beginning is sorta interesting, but if you aren't participating in some way, you really want to fast forward to the finish.

Bicycle racing is a lot like porn.


The beginning is sorta interesting, but if you aren't participating in some way, you really want to fast forward to the finish.

Agreed. Bicycle racing, porn and watching somebody else do tractor work.

All are cool to watch...for about ten minutes, then my fun meter is pegged.

Rather than watch past TdFs, I just follow the standings in the newspaper. The only thing I wished I'd seen is when Armstrong blew away Ullrich in the 2005 TT, even with a less than perfect start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOQflZqzn_U

I've been watching the Tour every summer for over 20 years. I don't agree 100% with the Tour organizers banning Astana, but I can understand their reasoning. After the recent debacles of Operacion Puerto hitting the fan at the start of the 2006 Tour, thus eliminating Basso and Ullrich before the race even began; the Floyd Landis fiasco; Vinokourov (and the rest of Astana), Rasmussen, Moreni (and the rest of Cofidis), and Sinkowitz getting booted or voluntarily leaving the Tour last year due to doping controversies... The Tour organizers are desperately eager to avoid yet another scandalous year. However, given the new management and their new anti-doping program, it seems like the Tour organizers should have given the new Astana a chance. Then again, that's what they did in 2007 and they still got burned...

But the Tour has had many controversies since I began watching: the team politics of La Vie Claire during the Hinault vs. LeMond battles; Pedro Delgado's "positive" test for probenecid; the Festina Affair of 1998 and the resulting team protests; questions about Armstrong and the Postal / Discovery team; etc. etc. When you have a sports competition with lots of money at stake, you will never make everyone happy. I'm still going to enjoy the sights of the countryside, the flow of the peloton, the suffering in the mountains, the modern day version of chariot racing called a "field sprint"...

Yeah, I will still watch it. Bike racing is interesting if you give it a chance.

You can bittorrent the entirety of the stage or just the abbreviated, 1hr coverage.

The Tour organizers are desperately eager to avoid yet another scandalous year. However, given the new management and their new anti-doping program, it seems like the Tour organizers should have given the new Astana a chance. Then again, that's what they did in 2007 and they still got burned...

I agree with this part of what you said. These teams have put the organizers in such a difficult position that they have no other choice than to give these teams / riders the boot.

I'll be riding RAGBRAI, so won't have TV except the occasional peek. Prior to that week, I'll be riding, packing and driving out there.

Never have watched it and I probably won't ever watch it.

I haven't watched it in a few years...but then again, I haven't had TV service in a few years...

I plan to watch as much cycling coverage as possible. Forget the drama, forget that some of the players aren't going to be in the peloton...I'm watching and enjoying.

Not because of any politics surrounding it, but just because I'm not all that interested in watching racing. What little interest I may have is vastly overshadowed by the competitors being billboards, and possibly drugged-out billboards, at that.
I would watch the TdF if the drugs were the fun kind. :)

No Astana and Levi! No watch!

I would watch the TdF if the drugs were the fun kind. :)Now that would be something. I can see the tye-dyed disc wheels now...

Cooperative hippy race!

We're all winners, maaan!

No Astana and Levi! No watch!

He's an outstanding talent, but Levi + stage race = boring.

I can completely understand why the Tour did this. Astana had several riders test positive for things last year, and although it's too bad for the riders they have who may be clean, I agree that the team shouldn't escape punishment by brining in half the old Discovery team. The 2009 Tour is going to be very interesting if Astana can keep things clean this year.

I'm going to watch anyway - at least as much as I can. I'll be on vacation for a big chunk of it though - oh well.

I can't help it t-o-c has lots of great riders and some really sweet stages, it makes me both jealous and envious of those cali riders. Texas is big and beautiful, but those seaside rides look great.

He's an outstanding talent, but Levi + stage race = boring.

I can completely understand why the Tour did this. Astana had several riders test positive for things last year, and although it's too bad for the riders they have who may be clean, I agree that the team shouldn't escape punishment by brining in half the old Discovery team. The 2009 Tour is going to be very interesting if Astana can keep things clean this year.

I'm going to watch anyway - at least as much as I can. I'll be on vacation for a big chunk of it though - oh well.

But Levi wil not be there! Ahhhhhh! Phooey on the Tour. I am getting sick of all this doping crap and tossing riders and teams. I think I'll just go riding and forget about all of it!

I've never seen more than highlights of it because I've never had cable and apparantly it doesn't air on network tv (from what I could tell). Of course, now I don't watch tv at all so I guess I won't even see highlights. :p

I'll most definitely be watching it. Plenty of great riders in it so who really cares if a team doesn't make it. Many others don't.

One of the Pubs here in Kyoto has a Le Tour party everynight for the three weeks it's on. Got to love the tour. :D A few years ago I even met one of *Lance's best friends there. I thought he was speaking sh1t so he emailed me a few pics of him and Lance, along with pics of him with Lance's kids, and old wife.

* a guy who won the tour for several years, a little while back.

I'll most definitely be watching it. Plenty of great riders in it so who really cares if a team doesn't make it. Many others don't.

One of the Pubs here in Kyoto has a Le Tour party everynight for the three weeks it's on. Got to love the tour. :D A few years ago I even met one of *Lance's best friends there. I thought he was speaking sh1t so he emailed me a few pics of him and Lance, along with pics of him with Lance's kids, and old wife.

* a guy who won the tour for several years, a little while back.

Awesome! I wish I could find a good pub in Melbourne who would let me piss my money up against a brick wall all night during da-turr.

Right...lets make it so that two of the top three finishers of the previous year can't participate, along with another great cyclist or two. The TdF just went down the toilet if you ask me.

While it's unfortunate that Astana and several other teams will not be invited, it hardly means the tour is down the toilet. There are plenty of talented racers out there and I will still watch. My favorite stages are when a "relatively unknown" racer pulls off the stage win. If cycling is on TV...I watch. :D

Awesome! I wish I could find a good pub in Melbourne who would let me piss my money up against a brick wall all night during da-turr.

I have a fine collecting of "borrowed" Le Tour flags from the Pub too.
(out the front of the pub a few years back)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y214/giantcfr1/BIKES%20Mates%20Bikes/thehubnightletour.jpg

holey! you ride to the pub? last time i was on the piss and around bikes i tried to convince everyone we needed to ride our bikes down to portsea from the city at 3am. what a w@nker!

holey! you ride to the pub? last time i was on the piss and around bikes i tried to convince everyone we needed to ride our bikes down to portsea from the city at 3am. what a w@nker!



The ride home is great.
There is a set of traffic lights just near the Pub...the Kyoto version of Le Tour starts here. The race / ride home goes north about 300 metres, then a hard left into a six lane straight road with next to no traffic at that time of night. This resembles the Champs-Élysées to 20 odd tanked cyclists (w@nkers)

BTW. I miss SBS

BTW. I miss SBS

they dont play as many late night pornos as they used to. Thats what you were talking about right? :)

they dont play as many late night pornos as they used to. Thats what you were talking about right? :)

You know it!! :D
I miss "The Weather Woman" I and II and the Chinese movie with the three naughty sisters who were ghosts.

You know it!! :D
I miss "The Weather Woman" I and II and the Chinese movie with the three naughty sisters who were ghosts.

Most of my early sex education came via SBS. God bless them. I was convinced I was ready to star in my own porno at age 13-14. Sadly the girls I was getting with at the time disagreed. Somehow they didn't approve of many of my 'SBS inspired' moves. :D

...and watching somebody else do tractor work.

All are cool to watch...for about ten minutes, then my fun meter is pegged.

Well, that's about 10 times as long as actually driving the tractor is fun for...err that period might have gotten shorter in my memory over the years I spent doing it.

The Tour? It was fun to watch a couple years ago when there was something to talk about besides drugs. Maybe someday it will return to that...maybe