http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/07/23/has-the-tour-de-france-turned-the-doping-corner/ now with extra source Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:48:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/07/23/has-the-tour-de-france-turned-the-doping-corner/#comment-9480 JamesK Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-9480 I am taking drugs to stay awake long enough to see the end of each stage (2am) and need similar 'starters' after sleeping later that morning also. It is a very exciting le tour this year. It is good to see a willingness to catch and punish the cheats. I am more confident in the fairness of le tour this year than any other in recent memory. Cadel deserves it and one of the great and noble endurance competitions and its fans deserve it as well. I am taking drugs to stay awake long enough to see the end of each stage (2am) and need similar ‘starters’ after sleeping later that morning also. It is a very exciting le tour this year. It is good to see a willingness to catch and punish the cheats. I am more confident in the fairness of le tour this year than any other in recent memory. Cadel deserves it and one of the great and noble endurance competitions and its fans deserve it as well.

]]> http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/07/23/has-the-tour-de-france-turned-the-doping-corner/#comment-9481 Dave Liberts Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-9481 I agree that the substantial number of positive tests and resultant punishments is evidence of the sport fighting and succeeding in the struggle against drug-cheats rather than evidence of the sport being rooted, as many seem to feel. The TdF is one of the toughest endurance events on the planet, and tonight's Alpe d'Huez stage will be the mother of them all. It's because the sport is so difficult that cheating becomes tempting, which is only human nature after all, but it's frustrating to fans who have to put up with media grizzling about the sport in general that the punishments handed out and the damage cheats do to their own reputations just somehow don't seem to be enough of a deterrant. It must be much more frustrating again to clean cycling professionals. I agree that the substantial number of positive tests and resultant punishments is evidence of the sport fighting and succeeding in the struggle against drug-cheats rather than evidence of the sport being rooted, as many seem to feel. The TdF is one of the toughest endurance events on the planet, and tonight’s Alpe d’Huez stage will be the mother of them all. It’s because the sport is so difficult that cheating becomes tempting, which is only human nature after all, but it’s frustrating to fans who have to put up with media grizzling about the sport in general that the punishments handed out and the damage cheats do to their own reputations just somehow don’t seem to be enough of a deterrant. It must be much more frustrating again to clean cycling professionals.

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