Tour de France favorites barred in drug scandal

[FitnessPhotos]

Tour de France favorites barred in drug scandal
Ex-winner Ullrich, Basso, dozens of others are out of cycling’s premier race

STRASBOURG, France - Favorites Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and dozens of other cyclists were barred Friday from the Tour de France in a doping scandal, causing a massive upheaval on the eve of cycling’s premier race.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme said team managers had agreed that riders implicated in a Spanish drug scandal would not be allowed in the race that starts Saturday.

Earlier, the T-Mobile team suspended Ullrich, fellow rider Oscar Sevilla and sporting director Rudi Pevenage because of the probe.

Basso and Ullrich — a five-time Tour runner-up who has spent most of his career in Lance Armstrong’s shadow — were among 56 cyclists named in a Spanish probe as having contact with a doctor charged in connection with alleged doping, a Spanish radio station reported Thursday.

Ullrich's sole Tour victory was in 1997.

Cadena SER said the Civil Guard had decoded the names from notes taken by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Other names included American Tyler Hamilton, Colombian Santiago Botero and Spaniards Francisco Mancebo, Joseba Beloki, Roberto Heras, Santi Perez and Jose Enrique Gutierrez, the station reported.

The radio station did not detail the kind of contact the cyclists had with Fuentes.

Two Spanish cycling teams — Astana-Wurth and Comunidad Valenciana — have been implicated. Comunidad Valenciana had its Tour invitation rescinded, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday that the Astana-Wurth team — which includes favorite Alexandre Vinokourov — could not be excluded from the race.

Spanish authorities say they have a list of riders suspected in a doping scandal, but have not released specific names.

Fulgencio Sanchez, the head of the Spanish Cycling Federation, confirmed that the federation received a Civil Guard report that named more than 50 professional cyclists from a Spanish court probe. The report, he said, has also been sent to the International Cycling Union.

“We’re going to look into it very carefully” to see if any action was required, Sanchez told The Associated Press. He declined to give more specific details from the report.

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T-Mobile received information implicating Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage from Tour de France organizers, including documents from the Spanish government, team spokesman Luuc Eisenga said.

“The only thing I can tell you is that the information is clear enough and didn’t leave any doubt,” he said.

[FitnessPhotos]

Wow, this is amazing. It's going to be a very different year this one....

[mudflap4874]

Originally Posted by FitnessPhotos

Wow, this is amazing. It's going to be a very different year this one....

You can say that again Lance must be smiling today. All those that doubted him for so long for his alleged use were looking at the wrong people.

[nicole weeks]

Originally Posted by FitnessPhotos

Wow, this is amazing. It's going to be a very different year this one....

I almost want to say that it won't be as exciting without Armstrong or Ullrich. The testing is getting better so the prior loopholes for best bio-chemists are now closing.

How the heck do they determine what level of red blood cells constitutes doping? Can't you take legal supplements that increase your red blood cell count and therefore increase your oxygen capacity?

Interesting......

-Nicole

[pigperson]

So who will it be now?

http://velonews.com/tour2006/news/articles/10182.0.html

[Gman1524]

What a shame.

[gg3]

Valaverde for sure. He won Leige and can climb like crazy, which I have personaly seen. Scary wattage there.

It's going to be him and Dennis Menchov in the mountains. Levi might make another US champoin. He time trails exceptionaly well and beat Menchov in the Delphine' Libre. A race I would give my right arm to win. But the Mountains in the 3rd week might be too much. Remember Dennis has last years polka dot jersey winner my boy Rasmussen to help him.

I say F___ all the dopers I'm excited for this year.

BTW this is the greatest cycling website on the planet cyclingnews.com
I go here for the real story. Check out the fanasty Tour game. The prizes are sick!!!

It will all work out besides I got in 283 miles last week, maybe I should enter...........

[airer2000]

Originally Posted by nicole weeks

How the heck do they determine what level of red blood cells constitutes doping? Can't you take legal supplements that increase your red blood cell count and therefore increase your oxygen capacity?

-Nicole

When the red blood cell level rises above 50% your are prohibited from compeding because your blood is so thick that dehydration trough cycling will increase your chance of strokes to dangerous levels. Only this or last year I believe there has been a test for EPO availible. Tyler Hamilton and Heras among others have been caught by this.

[Dial_tone]

Originally Posted by airer2000

When the red blood cell level rises above 50% your are prohibited from compeding because your blood is so thick that dehydration trough cycling will increase your chance of strokes to dangerous levels. Only this or last year I believe there has been a test for EPO availible. Tyler Hamilton and Heras among others have been caught by this.

No, there still is no test for EPO. Hematocrit levels is the best they can do although it's not a definite sign of doping. Tyler was not caught for EPO. He was caught for blood doping, especially hard to catch because the blood is supposed to be your own. Personally I believe Tyler was given someone else's blood and that resulted in the positive test.
If you think about it look how many guys are implicated in the Spanish drug scandal for blood doping, yet not one of those guys tested positive.