Here we go again -Tour rider goes positive
Saturday, 12 July 2008
It only took seven stages until the Tour went positive.
Manuel Beltran tested positive for the banned blood booster erythropoeitin following the first stage which ended in Plumelec last Saturday. Now this is just his A sample and of course you would assume the B sample should be the same as it was taken from the same cup so to speak. I'm a little tired of hearing that he was a former team mate of Lance Armstrong. That is an irrelevant connection and a little mischievous. Yes I know he was a team mate but in this case where is the relevance?
That said it is another horrible chapter in the recent history of the Tour de France. Beltran's positive test is not a H bomb on the sport of professional cycling. It is another clear indication that the dopers will eventually get caught. While I think that the end of Beltran's career as he knows it is a good thing, it's also a positive repercussion and a demonstration of a consistent approach by the powes that be. No excuses, no innocent until proven guilty just pack your bags. The other really god thing is that the French police have got involved which will also be an additional deterrent.
In Australia and the rest of the world there will be he usual folks getting around calling for an end to the sport and that it is all filled with performance enhancing drug users. Any logical person will tell you that their argument is founded on a small percentage of positive tests out of the thousands that they perform each year. The UCI and ASO etc are all trying to bring this to an end and the more they test and expel and eventually charge the less this number will be that will attempt this practice.
written by phil (author) , July 14, 2008
written by Darren , July 12, 2008
