Tour de France 2009 [LIVE THREAD]

[CharlesWayneCT]

Yes, and I went over 2000 posts yesterday.... :-)

[leilani]

Lololol.

Well, congratulations are in order then. Go ahead & have a cigar, kid. You deserve it! There aren't many people around here who get that honor. ;-)

[CharlesWayneCT]

I don’t know how much of an honor it is when my thread was hijacked by the undead, but given the alternatives, I guess I’ll take what I can get......

[iopscusa]

Great thread CWCT...cannot believe I missed this on FR, it would have been a great addition to the TeeVee coverage...leilani sounds like a true enthusiast, good to see avid cyclist from the female persuasion weighing in....you go girl!

[CharlesWayneCT]

Well, it wasn’t my thread, it was Mom Md. And they’ve had threads every year apparently, although I think this is the first year I participated much in the thread.

[Mom MD]

Hi

I happened to start the thread, but I certanly didn’t own it. Baynative and Ready4Freddy did a great job hosting. They both have ping lists, so if you would like to be added for next year, we would love to have you!

[Mom MD]

We did our best to keep you and Mon MD up to speed, luvvy

And you did a great job. I didn’t even feel I had to rush home and watch the stage, your running commentary was almost as good as being there! Thanks again for the updates and the great job hosting the thread.

[Mr. Blonde]

And so it begins....

"Spaniard Mikel Astarloza, who finished 11th in the Tour de France, has been provisionally suspended following a positive out-of-competition test for the banned blood booster EPO, the International Cycling Union said on Friday."

Hopefully the top ten was clean at least.

ESPN article

[Ready4Freddy]

Thanks, Mr. Blonde! How goeth Tulsannati?

Spanish nutritional regimen? Super paella?

'Out-of-competition", 5 days after the end of the TdF. Topping off for the Vuelta, I guess.

Ixnay on Adio Rackshay?

[Ready4Freddy]

'Out-of-competition", 5 days after the end of the TdF.

Strike that, test was administered Jun 26, 2009.

More Basque terrorism.

[RighteousMomma]

I did see the finale! Seeing “my statue” in h.d. was quite a treat.

Merci et
“À bientôt—2010!

[Mr. Blonde]

Things are going good here. Unfortunately I think the unseasonably cool weather is about to end.

I’m wondering what this means for all of the tests during the Tour. Have they not tested any of those yet? Surely they put a rush on those and are going back to get the ones in the few weeks right before.

[lainie]

I saw that Bob Roll tweeted:

astarloza: A-sample positive

and he said "i would have falsified my location had i been doping"really?that is your disclaimer?

Seems to me a bad translation of 'if I'd been cheating I'd have finished higher than 11th.'

Either way, what kind of bizarre testing shenanigans have we got going this time? Take a test out of competition and get the results 6 weeks later, and strip a guy of everything won in the interim? WTF? Does he have to give the dog back, too? (Didn't he win a St. Bernard after the stage win?)