Tour de France winner gives positive drugs test

[Captain Obvious]

I just cant understand how they think they wont get snapped - especially if you win.
even if the guy is a great cyclist - he is dumb as a post!

[Bungleau]

My understanding of the test is that they found a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (or vice versa), where the ratio is normally 1:1. So from that, they deduce that performance enhancers have been taked. They haven't determined a specific drug, so there's no way (yet) of knowing how long "it" took to affect him, assuming there was an "it".

So they're taking a symptom (or effect) and deducing a cause. It then falls on the cyclist to demonstrate another possible cause that could lead to that sympton... and apparently, he had clearance for a couple of medications.

If he did dope, he's just plain stupid... and don't forget that stupid and high-level athletes do sometimes go together. Witness head-butting an opponent, head-butting your horse, carrying a whizzinator on a plane... the list goes on.

It is interesting that it keeps popping up in the Tour de France. Perhaps there are some folks getting upset in the wrong way...

[Aelia Jusa]

Originally posted by Legolas: quote: Originally posted by johnny: You're misinformed, i hear that if you win the Tour once, you'll never have to work another day in your life. There's also good money to be made in the classics like Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Apparently the yellow jersey winner gets 450,000 euro, it's 25,000 euro for green, same for spotted, 20,000 for white, then there's a 20,000 euro combativity prize and a best by team time of 50,000 (to be split). Then there are other small prizes like 8,000 for winning a day's stage and 350 euro for winning the yellow jersey for one day.
Sure, it adds up to a bit more, but this is one of the worst paying professional sporting events you can think of. Arguably a good thing. There's more money in the concourses following the Tour, true, but you've to be a very good and active rider if you want to win enough to last you a lifetime. [/QUOTE]Like with most sports, the real money is in sponsorships. The better you do (and the better team you're on), the more money you get. Also, good performances have a large bearing on your financial viability when you retire - sponsorships, book deals, etc.

I think there is an overrepresentation of drug incidents in cycling, although I agree with Johnny that there are other sports that are similarly overrepresented, track and field being a major one. However, I think it's probably less surprising when you think about the nature of competitive road cycling. I think it is probably one of, if not the most difficult sport in terms of the toll on your body and the degree of fitness that is needed. I don't think it's that unusual that athletes in a sport requiring that level of strength, endurance, etc. find performance enhancing drugs more appealing than something like basketball or something where you play a match a week and a few hours of training a day. Like at the world cup - commentators were all, he played the FULL 90 minutes - like, whoopee