tour of cali... oh, who cares anymore.

wow.

what a joke the tour of california has become in it's short existence.

first, it is sponsored by epo manufacturer, amgen.
odd, but we let it slide.

second, fraud landis wins.
okey dokey. american race, american winner. gets his name in the news a bit before we try our hand at finding a "new lance" in the pro tours tdf. everybodys happy. especially the uscf!

third, we find out they did zero drug testing for epo (title sponsors product, remember?) during the tour.
um, that's quite strange. the race may be lacking creditability...

fourth, with another american in the leader jersey this year, the rules change exponentially to accommodate him retaining that leaders jersey, no matter what may happen over the course of the race.


[a large chuck of the peloton manages not to hit the ground.]

i fail to see the difference between doping cyclists that have "stolen" prize money, fame, etc., and arbitrary rule changes to benefit certain cyclists, which essentially steals prize money, fame, etc., from the racers that raced the race and crossed the line in a decent position.

i thought changing the "crash rule" from 1 km from the line to 3 km was weak, but i accept it.
it's the rule.

how many cyclists racing this year that crashed at 4km, or 6km... or even 9 fucking km from the finish line are pissed right now?

to change an established rule, on a whim, is total bullshit.

"but dude, the crash affected half of the peloton... whine, whine". -uci/uscf
yeah? changing the rule affected the other half, dickheads.

it's day 2 of an 8 day race. those assholes will have a chance to make up the time.
thats what they get paid to do. 10km it plently of time to chase back a big chunk of that time.

well, thanks for ruining the race. i could care less who wins.
what a joke.


[the decimated scraps of the peloton line up for the sprint. funny, it still looks like a bike race...]

voices from the pro tour:

t mobile:
"to me, it doesn't matter who gains or who loses - the rules are clear," said t-Mobile general manager bob stapleton about the 3km-to-go uci rule and the crash that occurred well outside that cutoff point. "i don't know what their process was, but it looks a little like hometown favoritism."

csc:
"will this rule be applied every time there is a crash?" said team csc press manager brian nygaard. "people might crash tomorrow. will the results be neutralized? there is a reason why the rules exist as they are. no one should benefit from a crash, that's not what we are saying, but the rules should make sense to everyone."

levi:

"obviously the decision is good for me, but i think most of the riders would be happy with it," he said. "we come on to these circuits, there are metal blocks on the course, there's not much space, the sprinters are fighting, the gc guys have to stay at the front. they don't want me there and i don't want to be there. it's dangerous. you don't see these circuits at the tour de france, the tour of italy, and there is a reason for that."

for the record, there has never been a sketchy run in to the line at the tdf or giro, and gc riders have always been given a "free pass" to not even have to be there for the end of the stage. because there is "not much space", and it can be "dangerous".