Le Tour de France

[Wim]

What a great prologue in London yesterday ! The City at its best,what a day for
London and Le tour de France. And a lot of people on the streets watching. So today it' s going to Canterbury. After that, on Monday, the Tour-caravane will arrive here in Gent where I live. If we could have our Flemish hero Tom Boonen in the yellow shirt by then the crowd will really go mad Anyway we are ready, I hope he is as well ...I have the feeling we will have unexpected winner at end... and will he be 'clean'

[kellie-text]

Me and Statman were about 150 yards from the start line when they set off earlier.

I don't envy them though cycling round in todays heat!

[elvaago]

Do people still care about the Tour de Farce?

Everyone uses doping, but only a few people are banned.

I stopped following the whole cycling business since the grand Tour de Doping that Pantani 'won'.

What a shame that such a grand sport has gone to waste like this.

[April madness]

which sport is clean then? I guess snooker could be one, even in chess they are used to cheat (the 'toilet scandal' was a good one recently )

stopped to watch cycling after last year's tour, it really was a farce. and don't think they have made the sport cleaner.

[Wim]

Do people still care about the Tour de Farce?
What a shame that such a grand sport has gone to waste like this.

yeah what a shame for such a great sport ! And still, did you see the crowd in London yesterday and on the streets today? More than 2 million people in Britain on the streets to see the Tour. It won't be different here tomorrow - more then 1 million people expected from the Belgian/French frontier (Dunkerque ) till Gent. Anyway McEwen did it again and hoping that Tom(meke) Boonen who ended third will save the best for tomorrow...

[PaulTheSoave]

I used to love The Tour, and of course Alpe d'Huez but the sport has got some blows. I have completely abandoned it!!! Its really ashame it has come to the ultimate, he who wins has used illegal substances!!!

Well, I am throwing the gauntlet here! i dont think in tennis its any different!!!

[Wim]

So Gent is coloring yellow today I heard it costed 500.000 euro to get the Tour here. But therefore the city will be +- 15 min on tele and broadcasted in 185 countries. So rather cheap for being promoted like this. And if our Tom Boonen could win the day would be perfect.

http://www.vrtnieuws.net/cm/vrtnieuw...oruitblik_rit2

[Caroline]

I quit when Amstrong quit,
I am possibly the only person in the world who has trust in him.

[Wim]

I quit when Amstrong quit,
I am possibly the only person in the world who has trust in him.

No Caroline, I trust him too !

Very impressive yesterday how in the final kilometers the blue train of the team of Tom Boonen was bringing him to the finish at full speed. At little too fast as at the end he couldn't get over his team mate Steegmans . But 2 (Flemish) Belgians ending on the first 2 places, it couldn't be better. This great day for Gent ended in a good Belgian tradition of beer drinking remembering me I shouldn't have drunk that last Duvel yesterday late evening causing me some 'hairpain' this morning...

And the Tour is heading to France today.

http://www.vrtnieuws.net/cm/vrtnieuw...lagen/1.151568

[April madness]

good to see you back and posting on forum, Carol personally I watched Lance's last tours just because of him - and it was great.

[attilahun]

I don t want to give a verdict but it seems at least strange how a person who had, according to specialists, only 10 or 15% chances of staying alive to recover and then win Le Tour for 7 years in a row.
The first miracle was staying alive and the next, winning the Tour.
I saw a documentary on Discovery Channel about him and I saw images with him on a hospital bed, he looked like a living dead, and then ..... Le Tour

[April madness]

I think the miracle was recovering from his illness - but you can't consider that cheating, can you? Once he was fit again, why would that mean he's unable to compete?

[elvaago]

I am certain Armstrong used enhancing substances. I am certain everyone who finishes in the top 10 has used something or the other for the past 15 years now. Indurain? I'm sure he used. Riis has already been proven. Pantani? His heart exploded from it. Ulrich? Already banned for steroid use. Basso? Landis? Delgado? I think we have to go back to the early 80s to find clean winners. Zoetemelk was perhaps the last clean winner of the tour.

[Blondie]

What a great prologue in London yesterday ! The City at its best,what a day for
London and Le tour de France. And a lot of people on the streets watching. So today it' s going to Canterbury. After that, on Monday, the Tour-caravane will arrive here in Gent where I live. If we could have our Flemish hero Tom Boonen in the yellow shirt by then the crowd will really go mad Anyway we are ready, I hope he is as well ...I have the feeling we will have unexpected winner at end... and will he be 'clean'

Hey Wim,

..........and only just read your thread, and what a race it's been so far, full of surprises, and an amazing stage 1 win for the aussie, Robbie McEwen, especially when he thought he had broken his wrist after his crash.

And yesterday too with the 1 + 2 wins from Gert Steegman and Tom Boonen for stage 2, and no doubt great celebrations where you are....

And think the overall standings now after stage 2 have Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland leading, with Andreas Kloden of Germany 2nd, and nice to see as well David Millar, UK at 3, and Bradley Wiggins, UK at 5. [And interesting to see how these may change as the various stages progress. ]

And wonder who will win stage 3?.........

Lol......xx

[April madness]

I am certain Armstrong used enhancing substances. I am certain everyone who finishes in the top 10 has used something or the other for the past 15 years now. Indurain? I'm sure he used. Riis has already been proven. Pantani? His heart exploded from it. Ulrich? Already banned for steroid use. Basso? Landis? Delgado? I think we have to go back to the early 80s to find clean winners. Zoetemelk was perhaps the last clean winner of the tour.

actually I've read articles that doping in the TdF has been throughout all post-war years, so... can't be sure about anything (of course, the usage of banned substances have been to a different extent from now). Probably there are limits to the human's ability to endure such speeds for such long distances without using some medicine that helps your organism to recover faster.