The Tour Day 9

“What am I on? I’m on the bike.” Lance Armstrong

The most recent doping allegation against Lance Armstrong came just before the start of this year’s Tour, in a book released by David Walsh and Pierre Ballister. He is alleged to have used the performance enchancing drug EPO (erythropoietin) during the 1998 racing season. EPO helps endurance athletes by boosting concentrations of red blood cells. Armstrong not only denied this latest allegation, but is also pursuing lawsuits against the two authors.

I’ve read both books authored by Lance Armstrong. In his first, “It’s Not About the Bike”, he speaks frankly about his cancer and the procedures he endured to survive. In that book and in his second book “Every Second Counts”, he tells about all the tests conducted by the authorities over the years on him and every member of his cycling team. Often times members of the testing authority would show up at this door without notice to draw blood and collect a urine sample. Never, not once, was any illegal substance found.

I’ve known people who have both survived and succumbed to cancer. The treatment schedule is relentless. In “It’s Not About the Bike”, Armstrong tells how he began to dread the needles used in treatment. After reading that, I cannot imagine him voluntarily putting a needle in his arm.

What is Lance on? He’s on the bike.

Other riders in this sport do not share the same anti-doping convictions as Armstrong and the US Postal team. On Saturday, Christian Brandt of Team Lotto-Domo was withdrawn and suspended after he failed a routine drug test given after Monday’s race finish. His urine showed traces of Methadone, used as a pain-killer. If then is confirmed he will certainly be fired by his team. There are now 176 riders left in this race. So far, Lotto Domo, Domina Vacanze, Fassa Bortolo and Gerolsteiner have lost two riders each; Cofidis, RAGT, FDjeux and BLB one rider each.

Stage Eight of the Tour de France looked much like Stage Seven, Stage Six and Stage Five. An early breakaway of three riders, one of whom was, you guessed it, Jakob Piil, survived with an average five minute lead over the peloton until they were swept up around the, yup, you guessed it, ten kilometer kite. The rain came pouring down at the thirty kilometer mark and kept up harder than the past few days has been. One small crash at the back of the peleton held up an AG2R rider, but it was not reported whether he retired or continued on to the finish.

No change in the GC today, with Voeckler still wearing yellow. McEwen took the green points jersey back from Stuart O’Grady. Bettini holds the King of the Mountian for now. Thor Hushovd of Credit Agricole outsprinted Kim Kirchen of Fassa Bortolo and Eric Zabel of T Mobile for the stage win.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the riders. The teams will fly to southcentral France to begin the race in the mountains. What do the riders do on a rest day? They ride their bikes. Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s coach describes a “typical” tour rest day. “For riders who are accustomed to spending four hours or more on their bikes every day, a complete day off the bike right now would be very disruptive. As a result, the US Postal Service, as well as every other team in the Tour de France, will go out for about a three-hour ride tomorrow.

Riding on the rest day serves several purposes. Not only does it help racers stay limber, it helps them maintain some consistency with their eating and hydration habits. The team will come down to breakfast, eat a meal very similar to what they would eat before a stage, and then go and relax for a few hours. Once on the bike, they’ll ride at an intensity that is probably two-thirds of race pace, basically hard enough to simulate an easy day of racing.”

Today’s Tune to the Tour contest word is “Drafting”.

The CKS/bl Tridiot Rating has been suspended for the duration of the Tour Blog when today’s result was discovered drafting CKS’s Tridiot Rating during transmission.