Tour De france Suspensions

Jimmy C · Jun 30, 2006

Jan Ulrich and Ivan Basso - two of the favorites to win the Tour have been suspended by their teams according to an article in todays new york times

"Top-ranked cyclists Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso will not compete in the Tour de France after being suspended by their team managers today amid an explosive doping scandal that has upended the sport on the eve of its most important race."

they of course maintain their innocence, and it appears from the artilce may be able to compete if they submit to further testing.

Lance last year said that he thought Basso would win this years tour.

DHK · Jul 24, 2006

Instead of "Lance Armstrong" it is "Floyd Landlis," another American with another remarkable story of determination, pain, overcoming all but insurrmountable obstacles, this young man won the Tours de France this year. He is a devout Mennonite, and gives credit to his faith in God.
Some of his earlier bio reads:

Landis learned discipline at an early age.
His devout Mennonite parents, Paul and Arlene, shunned organized sports and were all about hard work. That, in turn, was passed onto their six children. Landis didn't have much idle time, helping his dad at the car wash, fixing washing machines and mowing the lawn.
Though the family had a car and electricity in the house, they adhered to a simple life with no television or radio.
As he grew up, Landis wanted something more - and biking provided the escape.
"Riding my bike wasn't the problem, it was just that I got obsessed with it," Landis recalled during an interview with The Associated Press last week. "I don't blame them for thinking that it was absurd that you want to ride your bike that much."
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Riding a bicycle is just second nature for a Mennonite, is it not?
But what did he have to overcome?

PARIS (AP) - The craziest Tour de France in memory ended Sunday the same way the last seven had: with an American wearing the yellow jersey, this time with a Landis instead of a Lance.
After stunning feats of willpower and woeful cracks of concentration, Floyd Landis' arthritic hip held up and he held on for the ceremonial ride over the cobblestones of the Champs-ElysDees.
"I kept fighting, never stopped believing," Landis said after leaving the winner's podium with his daughter, Ryan.
But plenty of race fans surely had their doubts, especially after his wild ride in the Alps last week.
Landis had tried to apply Armstrong's meticulous strategy for winning, but that went awry when he flat out cracked in the final climb of Stage 16 on Wednesday, giving up a lead and falling eight minutes eight seconds behind Spain's Oscar Pereiro.
All but written off, he managed a stunning rebound the very next day in the last mountain stage, pedalling like a mad man and closing the gap to 30 seconds.
So astounding was the turnaround that race director Jean-Marie Leblanc, who has overseen this event 18 years, called it "the best performance in the modern history of the Tour."
The comeback was read by many as a master stroke, instantly enshrining Landis in cycling's pantheon alongside greats like five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx of Belgium for his show of both human frailty and superhuman courage in the span of 24 hours.
The 30 seconds put Landis, who hails from eastern Pennsylvania's Dutch country, in position to win by outpacing Pereiro in the final time trial Saturday.
And by the time he was done, the race was reborn - injected with the drama and swashbuckling flavour of years past, something that was lacking for nearly all of Armstrong's seven victories.
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http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/Sports/SportsNewsArticle.htm?src=s072393A.xml

A fascinating story!
DHK

Jimmy C · Jul 27, 2006

Word today is that Landis failed a drug test after his dramatic win - the Phonak web site is reporting it - sad, sad day for cycling and floyd landis. Evidently he gives two samples, sample a tested positive, now they need the results from sample b

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