AndrewGT wrote: wait a sec, is he out of the whole tour or just stage 17.

SlackBoy wrote: As I see it, I don't ahve a problem with the mexico side of things. Sure he coulda def made sure and told everyone. but the Italy thing and flat out lying about the country he was in, dang straight, can the skinny runt

Joel wrote:
I am happy to enjoy a well earned victory untill proven otherwise that he has cheated. Sure missing is a mistake on his behalf, but he will be tested, tested and tested again during this tour so if nothing is caught by drug controls will you continue to hang onto this?

Joel wrote:

SlackBoy wrote: As I see it, I don't ahve a problem with the mexico side of things. Sure he coulda def made sure and told everyone. but the Italy thing and flat out lying about the country he was in, dang straight, can the skinny runt

same way i see it

schlek1 wrote:

I dont think your confused your just STUPID !

ryda wrote:

schlek1 wrote:

I dont think your confused your just STUPID !

I'll explian it to the really stupid one

joel said " I am happy to enjoy a well earned victory untill proven otherwise that he has cheated" then agreed to "I see it, I don't ahve a problem with the mexico side of things. Sure he coulda def made sure and told everyone. but the Italy thing and flat out lying about the country he was in, dang straight, can the skinny runt"

I'm confussed as to which statment he (Joel)actually believes

schlek1 wrote: I'm confussed ?
missing in mexico or italy I don't really see the difference

the only thing I see he has done wrong it being not were he said he was ?
He has not yet been tested positive for drugs, transfusions or the like

oh dear its only a roadie scum event anyway , with way to much money involved
When there large amounts of money involved in sport, there is always going to problems

It's going to become like the Americas Cup often won and lost in the court rooms

The difference between Mexico and Italy is irrelevant but he was known to be with an unnamed Dr in Italy. So work it out would you Ryda........

The Hassle Of Being Clean
By Chris Carmichael


Whenever I hear about another Hollywood celebrity complaining about their lack of privacy, I wonder how they'd feel about being an elite athlete. Celebrities have their share of hassles, but at least they're allowed to disappear and not tell anyone where they're going. If you're an elite athlete, you don't have that privilege.

If you have the ability, and choose to be an elite athlete in any sport within the Olympic movement, you are required to notify anti-doping officials of your whereabouts every day of the year. When Lance Armstrong was racing, you can only imagine how difficult it was to keep up with the paperwork. His travel schedule was packed all year long, and many of his trips were quick, last-minute flights here or there for speaking engagements or activities and meetings for his foundation. While you're in the middle of it, it gets to be a hassle and sometimes it's very frustrating. However, Lance and everyone around him supported the anti-doping regulations and understood that complete transparency was an essential part of making the system work.

Anti-doping officials need to know your whereabouts at all times so they can administer unannounced, out-of-competition tests. And they have a habit of showing up at inconvenient times, but when they show up you can't really ask them to go away and come back later. Once they've made contact with you, they have to stay with you until the test is complete.

I've spoken with a lot of athletes in Colorado Springs who have returned from long training rides to find the US Anti-Doping Agency sitting on their front porches. They need a urine sample, which isn't always an easy thing to provide right after five hours on a bicycle. And so, you get to sit around drinking water with the anti-doping officials for a while until you can produce a sufficient sample. Sound like fun? It gets better.

Unlike giving a urine sample at the doctor's office, anti-doping officials can�t just hand you a cup and let you go to the bathroom by yourself. They have to observe the entire process to ensure that you're not giving them a sample of someone else's urine. They follow you into the bathroom, make you raise your shirt to your chest and lower your pants to below your knees, and watch as you fill the sample cup. Fortunately, they are respectful enough to have women observe women and men observe men.

And your exposure is not limited to the urine tests. Every medication you consume, including simple over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and Pepto Bismol, must be documented and submitted to anti-doping officials. If you eat a bad tuna sandwich, they get to know about it. This regulation is meant to be for the athlete�s own protection, ensuring that chemicals that show up in a urine sample can be traced back to legitimate medications. If you have to take prescription medications -- whether they could lead to a positive doping test or not -- additional forms are necessary to show that there is a real medical need for the medication. This includes anti-depressants and other medications used to treat emotional issues, meaning you have to be willing to make your entire life available to anti-doping officials. The records are confidential, but it can still be a very personal and uncomfortable experience for athletes.

Do you think Lindsay Lohan would accept these regulations to maintain her eligibility to star in movies?

Even with these policies in place, athletes manage to find ways to cheat and they're decisions reflect poorly on all the athletes who are clean and vigilant about keeping their anti-doping forms updated. Sometimes you'll hear athletes complain about the hassle and invasion of privacy, but the most part they're just frustrated by the inconvenience of the process and the fact that it's necessary in the first place. Given a moment to step back and put the anti-doping policies in perspective, every elite athlete I know sees the out-of-competition tests and medical forms as essential parts of catching cheaters and demonstrating their commitment to training and competing without performance-enhancing drugs.

thekiwi wrote: So why did he lie about where he was. Its not that he didnt tell them where he was, he told the where he actually wasnt.

Tugboat wrote:

thekiwi wrote: So why did he lie about where he was. Its not that he didnt tell them where he was, he told the where he actually wasnt.

And then tried to stick to the story of being in Mexico until it came to light that he wasn't.

velonews wrote:Rasmussen was dropped after Cassani claimed on Italian television station RAI that he'd seen the cyclist in June in the Italian Dolomites at a time when he'd told his team he was preparing for the Tour de France in Mexico.