Ulrich and Basso are out

If you are into cycling like I am (I like to watch road racing and race mountain bikes) this is a big deal. For the next three weeks I will be waking up early so I can watch the Tour De France. This morning came a major shock. The 2007 tour will start without the top five riders from the 2005 Tour, with 13 in all evicted from the race., all without any real “proof” of doping. Basically they are all guilty by association. They were all on a list of riders who had visited Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Tour organizers had a meeting and the team managers agreed that anyone on the list was immediately pulled from the tour. This means that the two biggest riders picked to win this years tour are out. With Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich out the Tour is literally wide open. This really gives guys like Floyd Landis, David Zabriskie (a local Utahan), Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, and my favorite to win George Hincapie. I like nothing more than to see the American Boys with the Tour. This is bitter sweet. I have a ton of respect for Ullrich and Basso, and a win by one of the American boys will always be cast under the doping shadow.

Today’s time trial in Strasburg France (a beautiful French city built in medieval style) was a blast to watch and came down to the wire. When it came time for Floyd Landis to start he was no where to be found. His name and start were called and the timer started. A full six seconds were lost. Because if this he finished in 9th. Without this he would have been in third. George Hincapie looked poised to win the Time Trial but petered out in the last 100 yards to finish 2nd, only 73 tenths of a second off Thor Hushovd’s 8:17:00. Coming in third was local boy wonder Dave Zabiskie.

All in all it was an exciting start to the Tour. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of the doping scandal. I personally feel like the cycling world are a bit like Nazi’s when it comes to their anti-doping regulations, but then again I want my riders to be au-natural, and if this is what it takes…