Sports Blog

All of us may have missed Lance Armstrong but it seems that we can see something of Lance in climbing the pyrenees from the riders. Michael Rasmussen of resembles the courage and endurance of Lance as Rasmussen continues to hold the yellow jersey.

A new revelation of this year’s Tour de France is Alberto Contador. He masterfully climbed Plateau De Beille as he captured the stage. Contador’s climbing ability reminds us of Lance Armstrong’s speedy acceleration. Only Rasmussen can match him today.

The Discovery Channel has two cards to play in the hands of Contador

In individual time trial we expect that there will always be major changes in the overall standing. All cyclying analysts today predicted that Michael Rasmussen would not retain his yellow jersey because time trial is his weakness. But Rasmussen proved them wrong. He still wears yellow after the stage.

A heroic performance was displayed by Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakstan. Despite all the pain he had sufferred in the past weeks, he manuevered himself with full determination to get back into contention.

Cadel Evans now is the second overall while Contador of the Discovery Channel elevated to third place. Levi Leipheimer is on the fifth place.

The next days are the pyreenes.  

Juan Mauricio Soler, a Colombian and at his first Tour de France, won the ninth stage of the summer spectacle. Outpedalling the favorites of the Tour in last climb going down to the finish.

Michael Rasmussen kept the yellow jersey while the tour favorite, Alexander Vinoukorov lost more time again. The 24-year-old soler was the first to reach the Col de Galibier’s peak.

Alejandro Valverde’s attacke created havoc that Vinokourov couldn’t keep up.

It’s Fabian Cancellara who captured the prologue stage in the 2007 Tour de France. Considered to be one of the best time trialists in the field, he pedalled through the finished at 8:50 minutes besting Andreas Kloden at 9:03. George Hincapie finished third at 9:13.

Cancellara defeated Lance Armtrong in the past and again he proved to be the fastest. David Zabriskie who is expected to win didn’t come close.

It is being advertised in Versus.com, the website of Versus Television which will cover the Tour De France, that they will stream the opening day of this greatest summer spectacle. I like this feature for it provides the Tour de France fans around the world to watch it at their computer.

With the soundbites of Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin,  Tour de France 2007 will be momentous.

Without Ivan Basso, Jan Ulrich, and Lance Armstrong, it is easy to pick the favorites in this year’s Tour de France. Even with Floyd Landis, and this may not happen, clearly Alexandre Vinokourov is on top.

Vinokourov’s experience and power in the mountains are his assets. I remember the 2004 Tour that he went toe to toe with Ulrich and Armstrong. This is the moment for him to get the coveted jersey.

Who’s behind Vinokourov? Alejandro Valverde flashes into my mind when he beat Armtrong in one of the Alps. He has been a perennial contenter, probably won last year if he could had turned luck into his side. He needs it this year, a luck that he will stay healthy by avoiding crashes.

The Discovery Channel team was confused last year of who was there leader. Levi Leipheimer is now back with the Discovery Channel and he will be ready to battle. With the teamwork and tactics of Discovery, we might see another American winning the tour.

With all the fiasco that occured in last year’s Tour De France, are we expecting an admirable race this time?

Again the big names that we always hear in the news will not be around. All of us really had missed Lance Armstrong and we are dreaming of his return. But he is not Michael Jordan. And the sports of cycling differs greatly from basketball.

What’s happening to the big names.

Floyd Landis Book
In his upcoming book, Tour de France champion Floyd Landis claims the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency spent so much money in an obsessed mission to nail him for drug violations that it passed on prosecuting other cases. AZCENTRAL.COM

Jan Ulrich Snubbed
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has turned down a request to meet with disgraced cyclist Jan Ullrich, who retired from the sport earlier this year after being implicated in the Spanish doping scandal. TheStar.com

Ivan Basso Suspended
Ivan Basso, the 2006 Giro d’Italia champion, was given a two-year doping ban by the Italian cycling federation on Friday.The 29-year-old Basso won’t be eligible to go back to competitive cycling until October 24, 2008, according to a press release from the organization.

You can read Truth and Verify for more news on cycling.

The Drama in the Floyd Landis doping hearing took a major twist when three-time Tour de France champion Greg Lemond revealed he was sexually abused as a child and said that someone tried to use that to intimidate him.

This is what I don’t understand. LeMond was a witness  by the Anti-Doping Agency which is prosecuting the case against Flyod Landis.

Greg LaMond had a conversation with Landis last August 2006 advising him to tell the truth either way.

LeMond said that as a warning against the corrosive power of keeping such a secret, he shared with Landis the fact that he (LeMond) had been sexually abused in his youth and that keeping that secret “nearly destroyed me”.

We all know that LeMond  accused Armstrong of doping to improve his(Armstrong) performance in 2004. I just can’t read LeMond’s mind but he is willing to do everything to get to Lance Armstrong. And the easiest way to Armstrong is through Floyd Landis who was Armstrong’s friend and teammate.

Discrediting the triumph of your contrymen by degrading them through unfiltered words of accusations without proof is nonsense.

Greg LeMond doesn’t want to share the glory of being a Tour de France champ. He wants all the accolade. He felt that attentions were all bestowed to the seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and that he(LeMond) is forgotten.

Whether Landis will be suspended in cycling world or not, I just don’t like LeMond’s act of cowardice.

Cycling fans around the world are still divided if Floyd Landis really cheated or not. Again the credibility of the French lab who conducted the test of his backup urine samples is questionable. We should not forget that the French lab had accused Lance Armstrong right after he retires.

When Floyd Landis was on the podium accepting his yellow jersey and trophy as the 2006 Tour de France winner, I asked myself, “Did he really do it?”. (more…)

Follow-up tests on backup urine samples by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis found traces of synthetic testosterone, the French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported Monday.The tests on seven “B” samples clearly showed traces of the banned substance, the paper said on its Web site. Landis had insisted the follow-up tests weren’t necessary because the primary “A” samples tested negative for banned substances during the Tour.(AP)

Floyd Landis tries to clean himself up but it has proven in a laboratory that he is guilty. The further he pushes himself the darker the cloud will be around him. (more…)