RadioShack

On May 30 this year, Andy Schleck was awarded the yellow jersey for his inherited victory in the 2010 Tour de France following the disqualification of Alberto Contador for doping during the race.

The ceremony, which took place in Schleck’s home town of Mondorf in Luxembourg, was a small and quiet affair with cycling and government dignitaries in attendance.

It was a world away from the adulation that should have been his on the Champs Elysees.

Schleck expressed his disappointment to CyclingNews.com, “It’s nice to accept this jersey, but for me it doesn’t change anything – it’s not like a win. It’s not the same sensation as climbing on the podium.”

To The Guardian, he put it into clearer perspective, "It is not the same as to take the jersey on a podium in the tour, you don't have the podium girls, everything around is different."

Ah, so the podium girls are the key and not the hundreds of thousands of fans lining the famous avenue.

Schleck joins Oscar Pereiro—who inherited his yellow jersey from serial doper and liar turned snitch, Floyd Landis—in suffering the disappointment of a low-key acknowledgement of their victories.

While Schleck still has the opportunity to win on the road—although not this year—Pereiro will never know the feeling of riding that final stage in yellow, gaining the congratulations of his peers, sipping the champagne while riding and hearing the roar of acknowledgement from that massive crowd.

It’s monumentally unfair and it's something that can never be replaced by a private ceremony with has-beens and stuffed shirts.

With news that Lance Armstrong’s doping charges could see him stripped of his seven Tour de France victories, we could be faced with four new riders joining that club (Jan Ullrich, who finished second to Armstrong on three occasions, at least won the 1997 race in his own right).

Alex Zulle (1999), Joseba Beloki (2002), Andreas Kloden (2004) and Ivan Basso (2005) will have missed their chance for that moment in the spotlight.

Despite that, it is something the TdF director Christian Prudhomme could easily rectify. Where the new winner is still competing, they could be given a special jersey for the final stage to participate in the informal celebrations that take place early in the stage, and they could be presented with their official yellow jersey on the podium prior to the current year’s presentations.

Where the rider has since retired, as would be the case with those potentially inheriting Armstrong’s jerseys, they could be given a celebratory victory lap and still have their presentation on the podium.

Then again, it opens another can of worms.

Jan Ullrich, who could potentially become a four-time winner of the race (potentially a five-time winner if Bjarne Riis ever gets stripped of his title), has himself been disqualified for involvement in doping.

Does it really make sense to punish one wrong-doer by rewarding another?

Some would argue that no matter who ends up in the yellow jersey, they have probably doped at some stage in their career. That’s probably unfair on some riders, but it’s easy to understand where the sentiment comes from.

Of course, this is all theoretical. Armstrong has yet to be found guilty of anything and even if he is, it’s difficult to see how the reportedly positive results from 2009 and 2010 could lead to stripping of results from 1999-2005, unless they can build a compelling case around witness testimony.

Bjarne Riis wasn’t stripped of his 1996 title despite openly admitting to using performance enhancing drugs, and whilst Tour organizers have taken Riis off their winners list, the UCI has refused to officially strip him of the title.

And they wonder why cycling has a bad reputation.

Former Lance Armstrong teammate, Chris Horner doesn’t believe the 7-time Tour de France winner doped during his career. 

Horner recently spoke out in defense of his fellow American teammate and cycling veteran, who is currently under fire after the US Anti-Doping Agency launched new legal attacks against him.

Here is what Horner had to say to Cyclingnews:

“I read the news like everyone else but you look at it with Lance and it’s the same stories that have been going around for years, forever, and it’s been relived and recycled many times. Lance has always come out clean from it.”

He continued to say, “I don’t believe Armstrong has cheated in any way to win those victories and he’s gone through an insane amount of testing. Do we have pictures of it? Video or testing? Because without that you really don’t have anything.”

The USADA has still kept their evidence relatively tight-lipped, but did mention testimony from ten riders speaking about doping within the team. 

The cycling world was turned upside down after the allegations and I’m curious to hear what happens in the coming weeks.  Many MMA fans are speaking out against the expected USADA witch hunt targeting specifically Armstrong–and there is a lot at stake, with seven TdF titles up for grabs. 

Armstrong is no longer eligible to race in any triathlon events, despite winning two half Ironman 70.3 events.

Meanwhile, Horner is still wondering if he might be able to slip onto the Tour de France squad, especially with team leader Andy Schleck forced out of the race due to injury.

Well guys, it’s happened. Lance Armstrong will officially be tried in court, according to ABC News, on the allegation that he did use performance-enhancing drugs during his illustrious career. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is dropping a bomb on the barely relevant sport with these charges, and the biggest question out of this story only has three letters: why?

Why on earth do these charges need to be brought upon a man that is heralded a hero by literally millions?

Why is the USADA trying to screw over the only possible good story to come out of a sport that has more juice than my fridge?

It makes no sense, and anyone that knows the name "Lance Armstrong" knows this is a fallacy on somebody’s part. Let’s just take a look at what this man has done in his career by the numbers.

He won seven Tour de France titles, and before and after that streak, the race has been as relevant to sports as Paris Hilton is to the singing industry. He captivated people because he only had a 50 percent chance at surviving through cancer that spread to four areas of his body.

The funny part is those aren’t even half of the staggering numbers. You remember those yellow bracelets that every living being wanted to get their hands on earlier this century? Well ever since 1997, those little rubber bracelets with “Livestrong” labeled on them have raised over $245 million for cancer research.

That’s right, so without those seven yellow jerseys, who knows where the Livestrong organization would be today?

I would have to say not anywhere in the same neighborhood as the $400 million organization it is today. The group wouldn’t even in the same time zone.

So if Armstrong hypothetically does get charged, would this be the first time that a person gets booked for doing more good than harm? Without Armstrong winning those races, hundreds of thousands of cancer-stricken families lives’ would be changed, but don’t tell the USADA that.

They will stick to the story and have the 10 bitter cyclists testify that they witnessed Armstrong use performance-enhancing drugs, but to be honest, who cares anymore?

First, it’s been over six years since his last Tour de France victory.

Secondly, who got robbed in those races that he supposedly doped in? I’m going to take a wild shot that the people that placed No. 2-137 in the race were barely racing with their own blood, too. The sport is dirtier than Yugoslavian mud wrestling, and anyone with a cable and internet connection knows it.

If anything, the bitter cyclists that want Armstrong rung up should be thankful he made their sport relevant for over half a decade, not upset about his accomplishments. Right now, cycling is hardly recognized as a sport by anyone, and if it wasn’t for Armstrong, I could see myself going the rest of my life without even thinking of bike racing once.

That’s the kind of impact Armstrong had on the sport, and that doesn’t even compare to the light he shined on cancer to so many people. So why are people even bothering with this? To put federal charges on an idol that has indirectly saved lives?

Have people really stooped this low? I’m afraid so, but its okay, Armstrong has been through and won some bigger battles in his life.

While Lance Armstrong again steals the headlines, a story of real significance has emerged that has implications for this year’s Tour de France.

In the shadow of yet more doping allegations against Armstrong, Tour contender Andy Schleck has announced on the team Radioshack-Nissan-Trek website that he will not be competing in this year’s race courtesy of a fractured pelvis sustained in the Stage 4 time trial of last week’s Criterium du Dauphine.

While the injury led to Schleck withdrawing from the race on Stage 6, the true magnitude of the injury wasn’t apparent, and it was assumed that he would recover it time for the Tour.

Initially, it was reported that he had aggravated his pre-existing knee injury; the sacral bone injury to the pelvis came to light earlier this week. ABC news (Aus) reports that according to Schleck’s doctor, Torsten Gerich, the injury normally takes four to six weeks to heal, and during that time, Schleck can’t get on a bike.

Brother Frank Schleck is expected to step up to lead the team, but the Schlecks are a double act—formidable together, but individually vulnerable.

There is little interest in the cycling community in more doping allegations against Armstrong—we’ve been there too many times before; it’ll be a story if they convict him—but the loss of Schleck has effectively reduced this year’s Tour to a two-horse race.

And that’s a big story.

Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans are now—in betting circles, at least—the only possible contenders for a Tour victory.

In a race that has 24 teams and over 200 riders, bookmakers have installed Sky rider Wiggins as an almost even-money favourite and have Evans at 2/1 odds.

It’s ridiculous.

Team Sky has divided loyalties, with Wiggins and Manx Missile Mark Cavendish both strong contenders for the Yellow and Green Jerseys respectively.

BMC, on the other hand, is built to support Evans to win the Tour de France.

Wiggins established his lead in the Criterium du Dauphine in the individual time trial, but Evans took time out of Wiggins on two of the final three stages through the mountains. Evans should have the power and the support to do so again through the Alps and Pyrenees.

Whether that will be sufficient to overcome any gains out of the two ITTs in this year’s Tour will be interesting to see, although Evans may not have been at the peak of his form during the Criterium, choosing instead to focus his preparation on the Tour.

Regardless, the race is 3,500km long (~2,200mi), and a lot can happen. Getting caught in a crash, having one bad day in the saddle or even the loss of key teammates can leave the best laid plans in absolute tatters.

I’ll feel confident predicting the winner of the Tour de France as the Yellow Jersey heads down the Champs Elysees on July 22.

Whoever that may be.

The 99th Tour De France is set to embark this July as the most skilled bikers in the world gather in France to distinguish the best of the best.

This year’s tour will be short of some of the big names in biking though, such as Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, but the competition will still be there nonetheless.

Since Lance Armstrong’s second retirement two years ago, interest in the Tour has dropped considerably.

Many people missed out on a very exciting Tour de France finish last year; they lost interest without a common household name to follow. Even the avid sports fans most likely have no recollection of the winner from last year’s Tour since his name was not Lance Armstrong.

From doping scandals to the lack of a dominant biker, people are not paying attention to the Tour De France.

Unknown to most people, Cadel Evans became the oldest biker at 34 and first Australian ever to win the Tour after closely beating runner-up Andy Schleck. Evans took his first lead in the race during the competition’s last individual time trial, and his overall win is considered to be one of Australia’s greatest sporting achievements.

The reigning winner will be looking for more glory in this year’s edition of the Tour, but some of his competitors will be left off the list of bikers because of their indulgence in performance-enhancing drugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDOZOzE6Ek

Most notably, three time “champ” and last year’s fifth place finisher, Alberto Contador, will not be participating because he was on a positive test list in September 2010. The ruling for his punishment was that he was to be stripped of his 2010 title and suspended for the next two Tours. Contador blames the incident on contaminated meat that he ate.

After pleading for several years that he was innocent, 2006 Tour winner Floyd Landis finally admitted in 2010 that he had taken multiple illegal substances that boosted his performance. On top of that, he accused Lance Armstrong of doping when they were teammates in 2002 and 2003. Further investigations by the United States Doping Agency are going on about these allegations.

Although the 2012 Tour has rid the bikers who have taken illegal substances, riders who we may know as innocent now may later turn out to have scandals of their own. In a sport whose top athlete list keeps getting thinner and thinner, biking cannot afford for their riders to continue getting caught doping. 

Nobody likes assuming that a sport’s greatest athletes could be cheating.

If the Tour de France wants to improve its ratings, they need to find a way to make the sport more interesting to follow.

Gaining interest in the Tour starts with making sure their athletes are likable people that display high amounts of integrity. If viewers know that they are watching fair competition, they will be inclined to invest more attention.

Biking’s lack of viewing ability, unlike many popular sports, keeps its interest at the minimal for average sports fans.

That being said, the 2012 Tour de France is sure to be at the same level of excitement as a year ago, and it would be a bad decision for sports fans to miss watching biking at its highest stage. Hopefully, biking will once again return to its popularity from the Armstrong years so that the clean bikers still out there such as Cadel Evans can be truly appreciated.

Follow on Twitter @ZLess1995

It has been announced today that 2010 Tour De France champion Andy Schleck will not be able to ride in this year's race after suffering a broken pelvis.

The Luxembourg-born rider suffered the fracture while riding in last week's Criterium du Dauphine. Schleck crashed on the roads of the individual time trial. He managed to grit his way through the following stage before abandoning the following day.

The news was announced by Schleck in a press conference in Luxembourg earlier today, where the dejected cyclist told of how he heard the news:

Yesterday, when I came out of the MRI scan and they told me the news, my world fell apart... I won't win the 2012 Tour de France, I won't even be in it.

His doctor, Torsten Gerich, said the fracture Schleck has would usually take "four to six weeks" to heal, and cycling in the Tour was not an option.

Schleck told reporters that he hoped he would be back in the saddle for the Olympic road race which takes place on July 28.

The announcement leaves only two favourites for the Tour which starts at the end of the month. Britain's Bradley Wiggins, who was victorious in the Dauphine, and reigning champion Cadel Evans now appear to be the two strongest contenders for a win in Paris.

Neither Wiggins or Evans are considered to be in the same league as Schleck when it comes to climbing, so his withdrawal will be a relief for both of them.

The move now leaves Schleck's RadioShack-Nissan team in disarray only weeks before the start of the race.

After preparing for months for a race in which they would be riding for the yellow jersey, there may be a temptation to replace Andy with another rider who has a chance of a high overall finish.

Andy Schleck's brother Frank would be the obvious replacement, but after a grueling ride in the Giro d'Italia in which Frank abandoned in the 15th stage after experiencing pain in his shoulder, it may be too long of a race for Andy's brother.

The team could get behind the aging legs of veteran German Andreas Klöden. However, it has been six years since the former T-Mobile rider has finished on the podium in Paris.

The team has other capable riders in its ranks including Yaroslav Popovych, Haimar Zubeldia and Jakob Fuglsang.

Of these riders, the most interesting prospect is 27-year-old Dane Jakob Fuglsang. Fuglsang was set to be the team leader for RadioShack-Nissan at the Giro earlier this year. Following an injury at the Tour de Romandie, Fuglsang had to pull out.

This could be the perfect opportunity for the Dane to break out onto the Grand Tour stage. He was victorious in the Tour of Luxembourg earlier this year, and has had success in stage races before.

This year's Tour has an emphasis on time trials and Fuglsang is solid against the clock, becoming the Danish Time Trial Champion in 2010.

Schleck's injury may mean that the team has to shift its expectations entirely and look for stage wins instead of a high overall position for its riders. They still possess an extremely strong squad, and if one of their climbers can get away in a big breakaway then the podium may be back on the cards.

Fabian Cancellara has crashed out of the Tour of Flanders with a heavy fall at a feed station some 60 kilometres from the finish line.

Teammates immediately stopped to provide assistance, as it quickly became obvious that the Swiss champion was not going to bounce up and resume the race.

Cancellara remained on the ground clutching at his collarbone as he received medical assistance before being taken away by ambulance. Television reports have broadcast that his collarbone was broken.

The crash changes the complexion of the race, as Cancellara started as favourite and has earned his reputation on the back of two consecutive podium finishes for the Tour of Flanders and the brutal Paris-Roubaix.

It didn’t finish there, either.

As the peloton traversed through a town at the 42nd kilometre, Green Edge lead rider Sebastian Langeveld clipped a spectator when he took to the footpath to try to gain places.

Such is the popularity of these one-day classics that it is expected that today's route will have more than a million spectators. It is perhaps inevitable that one of those spectators will try to occupy the same bit of space as a cyclist at some stage.

The collision dislodged Langeveld’s front wheel with predictable and sickening results. All indications are that he too suffered the quintessential cyclist's injury of a broken collarbone.

As the race heads toward its conclusion, it is Tom Boonen’s to lose with Cancellara gone.

Cycling is never that straightforward. This race didn’t become a one-day classic because it's predictable.

*After this was published, Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) eclipsed Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing) in a sprint to the line after the trio slipped away late in the race.

Boonen claimed his third victory at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, making him the fifth person to do so since the race began in 1913.

As the first race of the UCI WorldTour, January's Tour Down Under is the official beginning of the cycling year.

However it was Saturday's Strade Bianche, coming as it does on the eve of Paris-Nice and as the precursor to Tirreno-Adriatico later the following week, that felt more like the natural beginning of things.

It was an effect suitably enhanced by the late-winter glow warmly coloring Italy's romantic Tuscany region in the closing kilometres, the last whispers of a restful sleep before being sharply lurched into consciousness by the raucous enthusiasm of fans lining the historic streets of Siena.

The reality, of course, wasn't as poetically simple. By the time Fabian Cancellara was weaving his way to a solitary victory at Piazza Del Campo, he and his fellow riders had been going for over four hours.

Yet still, that transition from the quiet, picturesque surroundings to its sudden inhabiting by an anticipatory crowd feels as good a metaphor as any for a season that is about to get into full gear.

Cancellara was an apt victor from this perspective too. With the Swiss likely to feature prominently once more in the upcoming Spring Classics, his breakaway win was the first sign of his current form. It was a not too dissimilar replica of the style in which he won the 2010 Paris-Roubaix, the type of comprehensive performance he will be hopeful of repeating on a consistent basis in the coming months.

It certainly was a fine ride by the RadioShack-Nissan man. With about 10km to go, Cancellara made his move and sped away from a group consisting of Greg Van Avermaet and Alessandro Ballan (both BMC), Farnese Vini's Oscar Gatto and Astana's Maxim Iglinsky, followed by teammate Roman Kreuziger.

The pursuers restored the gap to just 20 seconds at one point, but a comical wrong turn by Ballan saw the group's momentum dissipate, and Cancellara powered home unchallenged.

Cancellara's attentions now turn to the seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico, beginning Wednesday. Joining him there will be big names like 2011 Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, reigning World Champion Mark Cavendish and Philippe Gilbert.

Short and long-term objectives for the race will vary for these and the rest of the cyclists making up the peleton, but Gilbert will be of similar mindset to Cancellara in attempting to enjoy the best preparation possible for the several prestigious races looming ever closer in the distance.

The Belgian enjoyed a tremendous Spring last year, winning the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. It was the kind of success that eluded Cancellara in the same period, where despite going in as favourite for several races, he was unable to translate that into any victories for his then-new Leopard Trek outfit.

Running almost parallel to Tirreno-Adriatico this week is Paris-Nice, beginning Sunday with the first of eight stages.

The "Race to the Sun" boasts 10 of the top 15 in last year's Tour de France, including the newly crowned winner of the latter's 2010 edition, Andy Schleck.

Joining him are the likes of brother Fränk Schleck, Ivan Basso, Thomas Voeckler, Bradley Wiggins, Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen.

These are only a selection of the bigger names taking part and just a small indicator of the several interesting, prospective stories they and many others may be about to write in this race and across Europe in Italy.

The cycling season for 2012 is about to turn into full motion, and you would be smart to come along for the ride...

After two years of leaks, rumours and relentless probing, the US federal grand jury investigation into Lance Armstrong has been closed down without comment or charges being laid against the seven-time Tour de France champion.

The investigation was looking into whether Armstrong was guilty of any crimes, including drug trafficking and fraud.

These are charges more frequently leveled at mafia bosses or outlaw motorcycle clubs than skinny, bicycle-riding cancer crusaders.

Although the reasons behind the investigation being dropped have not been given, it is easy to assume that there was a distinct lack of evidence—not surprising, really, if you look closely at where the evidence was coming from.

The two star witnesses—Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton—have little credibility.

Landis lied about his own doping for four years after being caught out at the 2006 Tour. This is nothing new, but he also fleeced his supporters of a rumoured $1 million in cash to fund his defence and produce “Positively False,” a work of fantasy more elaborate than anything J.K. Rowling has ever produced.

His eventual confession in 2010 destroyed any shred of credibility that he once may have had.

The other jewel in the prosecutor’s crown was Tyler Hamilton, a guy who is extremely familiar with doping through his own exploits, having been caught out at the Olympics, the Vuelta a Espana and out-of-competition testing.

Like most cheats, he denied wrongdoing but, like Landis, developed a conscience when the opportunity arose to take a swipe at Armstrong.

Of course, having a federal investigation dropped will mean nothing to those who insist on Armstrong’s guilt, and to be fair, they have a point.

The main focus of the investigation was not as to whether Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs during his career—although that would have been necessary to prove the fraud case—but rather to see whether he had broken the law.

The point is, however, if they had uncovered any real evidence, then we would have heard about it through any one of the numerous leaks.

The Armstrong legacy makes for a compelling story.

The cancer survivor who recovered from death’s door to go on to win one of the world’s toughest sporting contests—the Tour de France—is the stuff of feel-good movies.

But Armstrong’s complete dominance of the Tour over a long period, in a sport notorious for its doping culture, raised suspicions. It seems implausible that a clean rider can so comprehensively beat competitors juiced up on PEDs.

And that’s the problem that Armstrong faces.

He claims to be the most tested athlete on earth. That’s almost certainly a bit of hyperbole from Armstrong’s spin doctors, but there’s little doubt that he has been tested a huge number of times without testing positive in an officially sanctioned test (except the corticosteroid that was approved for his use).

That leaves us with two possible conclusions.

Either Armstrong really is clean, or he’s one of the smartest dope cheats that we have ever seen. Chances are, you’ve already got your own opinion.