Boonen out of the Tour de France

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Comments

  • JC.152
    JC.152 Posts: 645
    I reckon its the Tour organisiers way of showing their power compared to the UCI.

    The UCI said no action is going to be taken and then the tour banned from racing.

    Another win for ASO over UCI
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,821
    neeb wrote:
    Not condoning what he has done or the bad example he is setting, but this should have nothing to do with his eligibility to compete as far as I am concerned. If quickstep, as his employers, wanted to sack or sanction him that would be their call, but the TdF should be a test of sporting prowess on an equal footing, not of lifestyle or morality outside of the sport. What next, ban people with piercings or dodgy political views? What if Pantani had been banned from the 1998 TdF if they had tested him for cocaine and got a positive??

    That's exactly the point. Nobody is saying that what he did was the right thing to do, and is a bad example for such a high profile person to set. However, if there is no sporting sanction, his team have no problem with his actions, and the police have spoken to him and not brought charges, then what right do the organisers of a bike race have to decide whether or not he can race? Would they turn around to Frank Vandenbrouke and say "Oooh, you've had a it of a dodgy past, so sorry, you're not racing" ? Or tell Cipolini he couldn't ride because they didn;t like the way he dressed?

    This is a perfect example of my major problem with ASO. They have far too much power for there own good and think that they can dictate to people what they will or won't do because they know riders want to ride in their races. this is why I think it is a catastrophe they have been allowed to buy 49% of the Vuelta, because they're going to flex their muscles and dictate who takes part in that race.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    banning him from the tour is the best way to make him open his eyes and see what a bloody fool hes been
    Maybe, but that's not the point. Just because it might be good for him or for the image of the tour doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. What value is victory in a race from which others that may have fairly beaten you have been barred? You become not the best in the world, but the best compromise between ability and acceptability. Many of the most able and interesting cyclists have been weird people with difficult personal lives, more like artists than typical sportsmen.

    It's analogous to this newly introduced 42 day rule for holding suspected terrorists without charging them - you might catch a few more terrorists that way, but at the expense of the values you are trying to protect.
  • ermintrude
    ermintrude Posts: 514
    With all the debacle at the TDF the past 2 years and teams desperate to find sponsors it was absolutely right to bar him. I don't care if it's fair or if he's a role model or whether others would rather race against him, it makes no business sense to keep him in. He's a complete idiot, and now is he trying to say his drink was 'spiked' oh please !!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    it makes no business sense to keep him in.
    Call me an idealist, but I don't think eligibility to compete in a major sporting event with the historical and cultural significance of the TdF should depend on business sense. Doubtless it would make good business sense to restrict the race to physically attractive people who are extrovert and media savvy, but I don't think this would be a good idea either... :wink:
    With all the debacle at the TDF the past 2 years and teams desperate to find sponsors
    This is the problem - in the current desperate atmosphere anything goes if it is seen to be good for the image of the sport.

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