NFR ....Tour de France supporters absolute disgrace

[nose]

The odd thing is that when Nibali does well, they don't seem concerned that five of his team were proven 'dopers'. There was even discussion about rebranding the team during the aftermath. If anyone should be cast a suspicious glance it's Nibali. The fact that Froome's British is the catalyst for these disgraceful actions. I agree with WW that all French should not be judged on the actions of a minority, but the equivalent of their Daily Mail-style reporting has stirred things up and manufactured 'facts'.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/11559836/UCI-in-firing-line-as-Astana-avoid-further-doping-sanctions.html
The UCI, cycling's world governing body, was facing a backlash from fans on Thursday night after its licence commission decided against throwing Astana off the WorldTour.
The Kazakh-funded team, for whom reigning Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali rides, had a spate of positive drug tests last year; two from within their senior squad and three at their continental-ranked feeder team.
That led the UCI to put them "on probation" while an independent audit was carried out by the Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL).
The results of that audit have not yet been made public but were sufficient for UCI president Brian Cookson to recommend that the licence commission strip Astana of their WorldTour status.
After a further meeting between all parties on Thursday, it was announced that that would not now happen.

IMO
Nibali clearly has taken stuff on the tour this time and valverde looks a canndidate too. I have the same suspicion I did about these two as i did about landis and armstrong..their performances are unexplainable any other way.
froome is brillaint and i think is clean because he actually struggles, quintana I think is probably clean he is just good at climbing and wil probably win one day.

the crowd has been wound up by the french media because sky are just sucha great team.... the actual incidents are unfortunate and horrible because literally millions cheer these boys on... i prefer to think of the good bits and hope the french authorities find the bad ones and ban them like we have done to the chelsea rascist scum..... we have our own problems with un pleasant people!

the crowd

[Forever Fulham]

I wonder how hard it must  be for American cyclists, today, after all the cheating by former Americans like Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong.  Are they treated worse, with more hostility and suspicion, than any other nationality competing in France?  I suspect that's the case, but I haven't read of such disparate treatment.  Anyone know?  These days, I only get on my bike to ride around the neighborhood now and then.

[nose]

I wonder how hard it must  be for American cyclists, today, after all the cheating by former Americans like Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong.  Are they treated worse, with more hostility and suspicion, than any other nationality competing in France?  I suspect that's the case, but I haven't read of such disparate treatment.  Anyone know?  These days, I only get on my bike to ride around the neighborhood now and then.

the problem this year was the french media attacks on team sky and froome and the idiots will respond... i believe the US riders are not being picked on.
It is not the french themselves I think they are generally decent towards all the riders but it with so many millions on the road watching there is always a chance a few idiots will spoil things.

[Blanco]

Bloody foreigners!!

Taking our jobs!  :005:

[YankeeJim]

If a little spittle and a bag of pee are a problem, I'd suggest that you never play on the road in CONCACAF.

[HatterDon]

If a little spittle and a bag of pee are a problem, I'd suggest that you never play on the road in CONCACAF.

word

[Logicalman]

Agree they are very bad losers, but doesn't mean they all lack decency or are ignorant.

Nobody has, My twin brother lives in France and I do a lot of work over there,I have a place over there I find once clear of the coastal ports for the French to be on the whole very nice people but you cannot excuse the way Broome was treated and the lethargy of the Authorities, one thing I have found there they will always take a nationals side against an English one, shame we don't do the same here

I guess the yardstick is whether, having witnessed such scenes, there is the same sentiment of disgust as shown by us to this incident being expressed by fair-minded French persons. Unfortunately, our impression of them is probably a mirror of theirs is of us.