For those of you that care...

http://www.procycling.com/

Ullrich, Basso and Mancebo out of this years TdF.

This years tour is totally gonna suck now.

6/30/2006 8:16:17 AM

in an attempt not to be a complete ass

i dont know who they are, and dont know who really cares about the Tour w/o Lance in it

6/30/2006 8:22:36 AM

no worries... most people don't know who they are, or any other cyclists outside of Lance and/or Tyler Hamilton.

Ullrich and Basso were the top 2 contenders this year. Basso has finished 2nd to Lance the last couple of years and Ullrich has won the Tour before but perpetually finished behind Lance.

I still care about the Tour (and some others on here will as well), even with Lance not in it. It's a fantastic sport to watch.

6/30/2006 8:30:25 AM

I think I remember Ullrich being a big challenger the first few years of Lance's dominance, but he has kind of fallen off the last couple years. Am I right on that one??

6/30/2006 8:49:49 AM

Tyler Hamilton is also been banned from this year according to espn

6/30/2006 9:13:55 AM

^^ Sorta, he was either 2nd or 3rd for 5 of Lance's victories (i think that's right). Barring any major crashes, it was going to most likely come down to Ullrich or Basso this year, with me leaning towards Basso.

If it's true that Basso and Ullrich doped, I don't personally see how Lance could have been so dominant without it. To think that one human can not only overcome another human + drugs, but to just demolish them, is just beyond reasonable to me.

[Edited on June 30, 2006 at 9:29 AM. Reason : dsfgf]

6/30/2006 9:22:26 AM

Tyler Hamilton was suspended last year and is in year 2 of his 2 year suspension.

Ullrich fell off last year (for him) but the year before that he was 3rd even with the crash before the tour started (where he cut his neck) and the crash on the last time trial.

I was leaning towards Basso as well primarily due to team strength. Now? I have no idea. Maybe Leipheimer or Landis. I'd much prefer to see Leipheimer win it. In any event, whomever wins will get the old "you didn't REALLY win it, because the competition was absent" excuse.

6/30/2006 9:40:38 AM

Maybe Lance will make a comeback, on the



team.

6/30/2006 9:43:21 AM

I seriously fucking hate cheaters. I was all excited about this year's tour because I wanted to see Ullrich take charge once again. If all this crap we're reading about is true, i've lost almost all respect for him, among many other professional athletes. and yes, I realize there are tons of cheaters out there and that this has been going on for quite some time. It's hard to find someone to look up to these days.

6/30/2006 10:50:54 AM

Floyd Landis will be the man this year.

6/30/2006 12:04:45 PM

I say we let them all go at it, drugs, whatever. Let's level the playing field for everyone. If they start pushing the envelope on drugs, and one of em dies trying to get an edge, fuck him. If one loses their nuts, dies of cancer, oh well, hope the money and fame was good while it lasted.

Baseball is meant to entertain me, let em swell the fuck up and launch bombs out of the stadium - more entertaining. The purity of the game died (all pro levels) when we elevated these guys to hero/superstar status and the lot of them started giving a fuck less about the game and more about the paycheck.

I think it's quite clever to extract your own blood and have it put back in you for race day. How is this different than protein shakes, sleeping with an altitude tent, etc.

6/30/2006 12:14:35 PM

do yall think Lance would've had as much success in the Tour if he did more than one race a year

6/30/2006 12:15:57 PM

^I don't know. I mean, he trained so much on each stage (especially the mountains) for months before the tour. I think that knowing every curve, angle, surface, etc. may have been his best advantage. However, I think your point helped as well. He did race in other events, like the Tour de Georgia. However, he knew everything about the Tour de France, and that always helps.

Quote :

"Floyd Landis will be the man this year."

I'm personally hoping for Hincapie to win. I've known him since I was 10, so I hope he has success. I'm wondering if Vinokourov will step up in this Tour. With Basso and Ullrich out, it seems like this is a golden opportunity for him to win.

As for Ullrich, it looks like he can't even win it w/o Armstrong being in the race (except for 1998).

6/30/2006 2:31:12 PM

i'm packin my bags now..on my way to France....with all these suspensions, teams will be tripping over themselves to let me ride for them

6/30/2006 2:44:31 PM

vino may be out also

i sure as fuck hope so, he has always seemed like a bitch

6/30/2006 2:50:33 PM

Don't forget Levi. American chances this year just skyrocketed.

6/30/2006 2:59:26 PM

Why don't we just sweep the podium.

6/30/2006 3:00:33 PM

Oh, if only Cadel Evans was American.

6/30/2006 5:30:40 PM

tour de LANC... o wait...

[Edited on June 30, 2006 at 5:47 PM. Reason : tags]

6/30/2006 5:46:53 PM

In America, we have the Tour de Georgia. In France, Hincapie presents the Tour de Georgie.

7/1/2006 1:32:24 AM