Contador and the TDF

Brian B

Is it right that Astana although it has different management and implemented CSC doping practices may not be allowed to ride the Tour? And what is the contingency plan that is meant to be for Contador if they do not get a place?

Surely last years winner should get a chance to defend his title? The tour has suffered enough embarassment and the media would have a field day with this and then cycling would get all the wrong attention it does not need right now.

top_bhoy

Its not different management though is it - different manager. Subtle but important differences I think.

If Astana don't get a place and Contador doesn't ride then he has only himself to blame. He must have been aware of the big possibility of Astana being refused an entry after their 2007 TdF antics. He had a choice and if the TdF management don't need a problematic Astana team, then its his own fault entirely.

Personally I'd make an example of Astana over last year and it would be a justifiable one at that given all what happened. Short term it would send out a strong PR message, especially to the French public and politicians.It wouldn't do much for the sport long term though as doping goes a lot deeper than banning individual riders and teams.

iainf72

If they don't invite Astana, they cannot invite High Horse or Cofidis. They also need to consider the importance of the US market to the Tour brand (+ its sponsors) and Astana have the only US rider who can perform to a top 5 level.

Plan b for Contador will be the Olympics.

phil s

iainf72 wrote:

If they don't invite Astana, they cannot invite High Horse or Cofidis.

Nonsense. It's fairly clear that Astana were dodgy as hell in 2007 and the top brass of the team didn't care - the top brass being the Kazakh conglomerate of sponsors, assembled by Vino himself, and also the Kazakh cycling federation which handed don that oh-so-tough 12 month ban to Vino. That hierarchy is still there, the only thing different is the manager and Ramsgard's tests. Yes it's a good thing they're doing the tests but the brand is so incredibly sullied.
Let's please not kid ourselves that the cases of Moreni (whose team withdrew on principle after he fessed up straight away) and High Road (Sinkewitz - pre-Tour, and the slimming pills fella) are in any way in the same league as Vino, Kash, Mazzoleni and Kessler.

iainf72

phil s wrote:

iainf72 wrote:

If they don't invite Astana, they cannot invite High Horse or Cofidis.

Nonsense. It's fairly clear that Astana were dodgy as hell in 2007 and the top brass of the team didn't care .

Of course they were. But they've made some changes. Okay, maybe you don't percieve it as much, but lets look at Rabobank. They've got rid of one guy but everything else remains in place and how dodgy were they? Or what of Silence.Lotto? Team doctor dishing out banned substances? Sacked him but what other changes?

phil s

Exactly so, the fact is that ASO can invite whoever it pleases now. Sure, it has to make some marketing decisions but are the Americans really going to get behind Astana? How many know where Kazakhstan is on the map? The other teams mentioned have had incidents (and Rabo's case will need greater scrutiny to decide how much the management knew) but none of those teams are really in the same league as Astana, where you have a combination of known fact (dodgy federation and sponsors, four very high profile riders busted last year and for arguably the worst infractions) and also very plausible circumstantial evidence surrounding the man hired as the new DS.