Team Discovery to disband

[j6ppc]

Sad times when the team that has won 8 of the last 9 TDFs can't find a sponsor.

One has to wonder if there is some more ominous news to come as this simply does not compute.

clicky

[FlyerFanX]

Originally Posted by j6ppc

Sad times when the team that has won 8 of the last 9 TDFs can't find a sponsor.

One has to wonder if there is some more ominous news to come as this simply does not compute.

clicky

Can we scrape together $45 million and have a Team Club Stogie?

[Alpedhuez55]

It would be nice for Nike and Trek to step up to the plate. Or maybe Balco Labs!!!

I guess we can thank the likes of all the former Disco/USPS riders like Floyd, Tyler, Vino, Basso & Heras for this. Though personally, I do not hink Disco was any cleaner than the other teams, but they were just better at not getting caught.

[j6ppc]

I'd like to think that Discovery was clean but I'm beginning to wonder about that as well...

More from VeloNews.

[SIZE=-1]Tailwind spokesman PJ Rabice told VeloNews Friday morning that the decision was not based on "a failure to find a new sponsor."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Rabice did not elaborate, but said the company would offer further information during a conference call later in the day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Armstrong said Friday that the disbanding of an otherwise-successful ProTour team might be indicative of systemic problems in the sport.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"I do not think you have seen the last of this organization in the sport, but clearly things need to improve on many levels, with a more unified front, before you would see us venture back into cycling," Armstrong said in the team's release.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]

[SIZE=-1]Bruyneel confirmed Friday that he plans to leave cycling entirely at the end of the year.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"I've achieved everything that I could in the sport," the 43-year-old Bruyneel told AFP in Madrid. "I've always said that I wanted to stop on top and I think it's the right time."[/SIZE]

[/SIZE]

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by j6ppc

I'd like to think that Discovery was clean but I'm beginning to wonder about that as well...

Well, I wonder if something is up with Contador? He was implicated in OP.

If they had a sponser and decided to disband, something is up.

[mosesbotbol]

As sad as it is for Discover to disband, I think the time is right for them to end on a high note. They could just as well win the Vuelta again. I wonder where everyone will end up?

I don't think they were cleaner than any other team. There's an underhanded side of cycling, and it's too easy to tarnish even the cleanest team. Cycling is a tough business to be in if you’re dedicated to playing clean. I think many riders have been framed.

Kloden has referred to cycling's sinister side recently in interviews to the point that it may not be worth continuing cycling. It is too easy for someone to alter your food or drink and then you test positive- losing a year's salary, etc...

Heck, we still don't know who won last year's Tour...

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

As sad as it is for Discover to disband, I think the time is right for them to end on a high note. They could just as well win the Vuelta again. I wonder where everyone will end up?...

George will probably end up with SlipStream. He is already a sponsor there. It will be interesting to see what teams are still around next year.

Edit: I was wrong. It looks like Georgie is going to wear Pink next year for T-Mobile according to VeloNews.

I don't think they were cleaner than any other team. There's an underhanded side of cycling, and it's too easy to tarnish even the cleanest team. Cycling is a tough business to be in if you’re dedicated to playing clean. I think many riders have been framed.

I do not know if many riders have been framed. Though all it would take is a sip out of a water bottle.

Kloden has referred to cycling's sinister side recently in interviews to the point that it may not be worth continuing cycling. It is too easy for someone to alter your food or drink and then you test positive- losing a year's salary, etc...

Kloden rode for T-Mobile, one of the dirtiest team in the business. Look at his results:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Kl%C3%B6den

Nothing for about 4 years then al the sudden he almost out of nowhere he is on the Podim at the TDF? My guess is he is dirty. Kind of like Raimondo Rumsas.

[mosesbotbol]

Even Merckx said he was framed when he tested positive in the early 70's and was asked not to come ride the Tour (most likely if he did something bad would happen to him was the implication). LeMond had to photograph & document every blood sample, as well as carry his own food all the time. Coppi was poisoned... There's a lot of shady dealings in cycling. Bookmakers, mafia... Pressure to perform. It's not as pure a sport as it is to the casual rider. Either way, I love cycling and will watch the races.

[Bigwaved]

Originally Posted by Alpedhuez55

Well, I wonder if something is up with Contador? He was implicated in OP.

If they had a sponser and decided to disband, something is up.

All I read was that his initals are on paperwork that is from the place where the bad stuff was being administered. Has anything new been uncovered?

[tedski]

I still think CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens are more appropriate sponsors of bicycle racing.

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Either way, I love cycling and will watch the races.

Come downt to Greenville in three weeks. THe US Championships are starting on 9/1!!!

It is sad. Contador looks like he has something to hide. I am wondering if there is something more about to come out. He pulled out of the Vuelta and was asked not to race in the Hamburg Classic.

Who knows what it will take to get things clean. People say it keeps getting worse, but I do not think whe have as many pro riders dropping dead like they were in the 90s.

Maybe they need to do what F1 did in the 80s when they had Turbo and Normally Aspirated engines. We can have clean and drugged divisions with purses for both groups.

Oh well. Ivan Basso may be a doper, but I would still bang his hot Sister!!!

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Alpedhuez55

It is sad. Contador looks like he has something to hide. I am wondering if there is something more about to come out. He pulled out of the Vuelta and was asked not to race in the Hamburg Classic.

I'll go with whatever Lemond says, and he has a strong suspicion about Contador.

You can't trust the riders, the team managers, the organizations testing the riders; it's a vicious circle. Things are getting better for sure. Better or worse, all the doping and soap opera drama makes for good reading.

Oddly enough, cycling is the one non-US born sport, the US is actually one of the best at. This is both in terms of manufacturers and riders. We, as a country can't say that about many other sports. Cycling as a spectator sport is also catching on quite well here too; the crowds that show up for races are large, and the average sports follower can name several pro riders.

[j6ppc]

Originally Posted by Alpedhuez55

If they had a sponser and decided to disband, something is up.

That is my worry as well.

[BigVito]

I think more are dirty then some think. they are better at covering it.

[Alpedhuez55]

How did we miss this one:

The Astana cycling team announced Wednesday that Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin tested positive for homologous blood doping following an out-of-competition test in Belek, Turkey on August 1.

Kashechkin was suspended by the team pending the outcome of his B sample, should he request that the follow-up test be conducted. Kashechkin's teammate, Alexander Vinokourov was suspended following his own positive for homologous blood doping - the use of a donor's red blood cells to enhance endurance - during the Tour de France.

"The positive test by Kasheckin is another blow to the credibility of this team," said an Astana spokesperson. "This new blow will only embolden us to impose even more draconian measures for a clean sport."

Vino and now Kashechkin. No wonder Kloden is talk9ing about retiring before they catch him