Lance Armstrong comeback

[Tale]

Big rumour ... http://www.velonews.com/article/82892/sources-lance-armstrong-coming-back

He's 37 and the comeback would be with Team Astana and include racing the Tour de France, publishing constant blood tests online for everyone to see (FYI he was constantly blood tested during his earlier career and always came up clean, despite French newspaper reports).

[Evildrider]

The French just couldn't take getting pwned on their own big race.

[Azaroth]

Fire up the lab.




Because blood tests tell all.   

Weren't the Olympics under scrutiny of the most advanced anti-doping screening in the world?

How many Olympians were caught doping?

Oh, right.... but I'm sure none of THEM would use any kind of drugs. When someone like Marian Jones dopes during the Olympics, SHE GETS CAUGHT BY DEM DERE BLOOD TESTS.

[Trippy]

It's better to do what Dana Torres and Michael Phelps did which is to bank a certain amount of their blood and urine periodically during competition so it could be tested in the future. Except don't let the French anti-doping agency store it cause they always seem to fuck up their secondary blood samples (how convenient for them).

[Tale]

Oh, right.... but I'm sure none of THEM would use any kind of drugs. When someone like Marian Jones dopes during the Olympics, SHE GETS CAUGHT BY DEM DERE BLOOD TESTS.

Blood tests for doping have advanced a lot in the last couple of years and Marian Jones would have been caught by today's tests. Also, the drug of choice for cyclists, EPO, is detectable in its first and second generations. The third and latest generation is deliberately manufactured with a molecule that can be detected.

That's what happened to Ricardo Ricco in the Tour de France - he came second in the Giro d'Italia (precursor to TdF), won two stages of Le Tour, was being talked about as the next big thing in cycling, and now he's facing jail time in France because he was on a third gen EPO. They don't fuck around anymore, doping in cycling is a criminal offence on French soil.

[Trippy]

Astana team: No plans for Lance to ride with us

[Tale]

And 24 hours later ...

Astana team boss Bruyneel courts Armstrong

[Trippy]

Armstrong to join Astana

as expected. It'll be interesting to see if Contador stays on setting up a Hinault/LeMond style conflict in next year's Tour de France.

[Tale]

Armstrong's first race for Astana will be the Tour Down Under in South Australia in January. It's gruelling stuff in the Aussie summer heat - I'm planning to join the spectators.

[Teleku]

Well, hope for the best for him, always liked him.  However, I do sort of wish athletes who retire would stay retired.  Seems more and more big name athletes who go out on top keep coming out of retirement, and it almost never ends well.  Good luck to him though.