Excellent. Another Monday night, another boot in the bo!!ocks for cycling.

Meet you back here same time next week, then.

not long now till they get some real big riders...............

Hmmm, wonder who's next...

To be honest it's actually quite exciting :)

who's next?....I hope they check Contador's Angliru samples....not knowing is worse

It was only about 3 months ago that cycling was still giving itself a big pat on the back about the modern, clean, post-EPO era. Haven't heard anyone mention that for a few weeks now.

Le Parisien, July 2007: "Cycling resembles a field of ruins but, thanks to the Tour and the public, this is not a swan song. The hour of reconstruction has come at last."

L'Equipe, July 2007, "a turn is taken... We are waiting for the 2008 edition to mark a definite break."

First offence: lifetime ban

It is actually great news ! Cheaters are found and exposed... not like before... what amazes me is that the guys know they will be tested, and they still cheat ! So either cyclists are dumber that other athletes... or other sports are not testing as seriously as cycling... who said footballers are dumb ? ;-)

not exciting, this is pathetic. what the heck is goin on? i wish the cheats would give up already, if they like the drugs so much they could pay to take part in medical research studies. & drop the 2yr ban and change it lifetime ban like it is for athletics.

Idiots - they spoil the sport for everyone else. Hit them hard and no exceptions.

Cycling has always had cheats. Tom Simpson even has a monument. Dont you think you are being all a little bit perfect? Ever steal something, ever cheat on your girlfriend, ever do something wrong and hide it. Ever tell a lie? NO?? Then Shut it you hypocrits!

greg68 - oh so by your measure since nobody is perfect its OK to rob a bank, murder etc. Ever think that some some things are more serious than others. This is not a "little" issue. If it was why do people get banned?

No I think you have missed the point. It's not oaky to take drugs to enhance your performance, its certainly not okay, thats what bans are for, and I totally agree with bans. Personally I get very dissapointed when these athletes are caught, but I dont hate them or despise them and I certainly dont take pleasure in them being caught. I think they have done the wrong thing, but honestly the way some of you talk sounds like you have never done anything wrong in your life. Drop the lynch mob mentality and stop hating. Im glad you mentioned robbing banks and murdering because these guys are not murders and if you think they are then you take things way too seriously. Catch them ban them and move on.

greg68 - "Catch them ban them and move on" - well I think that is what people are saying.

I sense its more than that at times. People want to add in personal messages of hate regarding the riders themselves. I think if we are going to address the issues we need to look at the bigger problem. People cheat all the time, as you mentioned in ways that are much worse than stcking a needle in your arm. If society can't stop crime how can we stop cyclists from cheating; sad as that is. You can't cheer people one day and then hate them the next. We are all in someways to blame. Society expects results it praises winners, it pays them money it gives them glory, some people with questionable morals will be seduced by that. We dont hate a person for becoming an alcoholic, and nor should we hate a rider you very obviously has made a big error. Just like the alcoholic I feel sorry for them, but sadly they must go. Can you see the difference...lastly Im not a religous person but we could all do a lot better in life (not just cycling) if we followed "he who is without sin cast the first stone" not he who has some sin can cast a stone.

I think it's a good idea to edit updated results of last Tour de France. Now, I cannot figure out who's won stages, jerseys and what are final standings...

Greg 68 - your 4am post - had you been driniking the cough mixture again/

You are confusing peronal life with professional life. This guy calls himself a professional. He isn't. He is cheat, just as Ben Johnson, Neil Campbell and anyone else who elected to stick a needle in their arm and deny someone clean of a win, a contract the year after and a livelhood.

He could sleep with his own sister so far as I am concerned, that is his business in his own homw, but he failed to do his job properly. I have a professional career and it is akin to me taking backhanders to secure lending or contracts. The guy is bent.

All the rest of your ranting is just one big straw man.

We should not be surprised at this. It is endemic in our societies, which seem to be inherently corrupt. New York's finest bankers should also get a life time ban after their latest shenanigans...but no, they get a 700M $ bail out! No wonder cyclists cheat.

Forget KOM... Kohl is now KOC 'King of the cheats'.

Maybe it was something in Gerolsteiners water!?

2 words "pure scum"

Where do you get this stuff. These guys are not concocting it in their hotel rooms whilst on tour!

Get the dealers..............

Blimey!! Should've nipped down the bookies with this one. Have a look at the news forum "Stefan Schumacher tests positive for EPO" and you will see my predictions about a man in Polka Dots riding a bit too well. I could've been rich!!!

My only proper comment would be that when the average speed slows up and gets to the levels of pre EPO, (maybe late 1980's) then we will see the end of this blood enhancing drug. Only Steriods, HGH and all the rest to worry about then.

Don't fret though, drugs has been an issue in Cycling for well over 100 years now; as they say "there's nothing new underneath the sun".

-Jerry

with everyone else getting caught with cera, suddenly ricco isnt such a bad person after all.

No wonder Evans could not win.

Why is he using one hand to hold up his other in the picture. Is one arm weakness a side effect of injecting harcore drugs? Smack Head.

ralphkujawa.....good thoughts. The problem is in our society.

Nevis the cat....there are these things called time zones on the earth so no cough mixture involved....just an open mind and someone who is not ready to crucify others. Try to re read the message and stop being so full of your own moral superioty. Have you ever been a pro cyclist?? No.Llet the pro peleton give him a hard time...otherwise all we do forever is winge about cyclists testing positive..hate whinge hate whinge...get over it and let it go.

Nevis the Cat - good point on professionals.

I would add that with media coverage all the other "trappings" that go with being a professional, pro athletes cannot expect their private lives to be totally separate from their public ones. That places an even greater responsibility on them to be beyond reproach.

The public/fans are justified in demanding the highest standards from professional athletes - just as you would from a doctor, surgeon, lawyer etc. We pay professionals for professional service and advice.

We "pay" professional athletes with our support and likely by purchasing branded merchandise they endorse, as supporters and fans we expect and deserve the highest standards from them.

Johans....I understand what you are saying but your in for dissapointment big time if you think pro athletes can be any better or worse than the rest of us in society (private or public). They are not going to be history has shown that....does not mean we should not try though. I think the bans need to be longer to be honest, I just also think we can do without all the hate comments pariculary in the Media. It's the attention and focus given to drugs that is also helping to drown the sport.

So much about drugs, but then again football is the untouchable sport. I bet once they upon that can of worms its going to be ugly. Do people really care at all? Its just they make it so sinful if it is on cycling...

For me it looks cool, its their liver and thyroid gland, not mine, everyone must admit it was awesome when ricco passed by everyone like a bat from hell.

I will wait when everyone stops cheating, then I will become pro...

When it was announced that le Tour was going to be run outwith the auspices of the UCI I heard a few comments from cynics was that if it was run as what was effectively a national event then the drug testing would be less stringent. The cynics seemed to be suggesting that this was a deliberate move to avoid another doping scandal. Either the cynics were totally wrong or, if they were right, the plan backfired big time.

Oh and the idea that football will turn out to be doping central is probably a little wide of the mark. While I can imagine that many top flight footballers may like to partake of a few, ahem, recreational sunstances I can't imagine that it would be a sport where most performance enhancing drugs would achieve very much.

It's the performance sports that have very few big international events that probably hide the biggest secrets. In these sports some nations don't seem to try too hard when it comes to out of competition testing, so it's easy for competitors to train on drugs, but clean up before the rare big events. Swimming anybody?

Oi greg68. Professional sport is like politics in this respect. What people do in their private lives affects very few people. If a politician or professional sportsperson is corrupt then the effects can be far reaching indeed.

If you're going to make comparisons then compare like with like. Ever find a way of fixing the lottery so you scooped a few million? No? Neither did I. Ever manage to create a fraudulent CV so convincing that you landed a job with a six figure salary? These are the sort of things that are comparable with cheating in a sporting event of the ilk of le Tour. A rider who was nobody one day and a big, big cheese only three weeks later, now there's a big lottery win or a fake CV. Cheating on your girlfriend or stealing a Mars bar isn't in that league now is it?

Just a small note that FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have been mentioned in the Puerto Affair; not sure how it panned out. I guess it's been like Michael Jackson paying people off to keep them quiet. I am not suggesting an "Omerta" in Football of course.

Shhh...be quiet...won't mention it again...

-Jerry