Giro Stage 18 Cancelled!

[RainmanP]

Check this out:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2...livecomp.shtml

What a load of c--p! I was really looking forward to this stage.

Raymond

[Joe Pozer]

Another black eye for the sport. Even if they do continue the Giro, it won't be the same and every stage winner will be under suspicion.

I guess I'll be watching the NBA finals instead.

[RainmanP]

Here is another perspective.

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/660.0.html

[dirtsqueezer]

Good article. Cancellation of the stage has to be crushing for those folks.

We enjoyed watching one of the earlier stages where some of the guys would roll ahead into their home towns to meet friends and family. When the Pelaton caught up with him he had a grocery bag of ice cream treats he passed around to his fellow riders. The whole business about the villages raising cash for primes is awesome. That is what I dream of when I think international cycling, not desperate riders tossing their syringes in the trash as the police march up the stairs.

[Stan]

How big a difference do these {performance enhancing** drugs make? I'm not very informed on this. It is my understanding they boost hemocrit levels there by allowing more available oxygen per deciletre? Also, is it a ego thing with the riders or is there allot of pressure to perform and win. I suspect a combination of both? just wondering. stan

[roadbuzz]

Originally posted by Joe Pozer
Another black eye for the sport

:cool: Note sunglasses to cover black eye.

I know John Q. Public will have a different read, but I think it's commendable. Cycling is cracking down on the druggies. If they're caught, they're out. The leaders of every stage are tested. Ever hear of anything like that in (US) football, or soccer?
The midnight raids seem draconian, especially since, as Cipollini pointed out, they could have been carried out prior to the rest day.