by 
From: Leadmoto
Subject: Astana
Jonny,
You need to throw back a brew and relax. Making comments like “Everyone associated with Astana is bullshit.” Some good people on the team that deserve a shot at the overall or stage win in the tour.
Along the same lines:
Join the Campaign to Let Levi Ride
Help put Levi’s dreams back on track by signing the petition to Let Levi Ride. Petitions will be sent directly to Christian Prudhomme, Director of the ASO, as well as to VS, the official US media partner of the Tour de France.
letleviride.com
by 
Let Levi sit and spin. He knowingly went to a team, that even in its current incarnation, can’t escape the malodorous fume surrounding its organizational mastermind backed by some Kazakh oligarchs who’d inject the riders themselves if that’s what it took to pull out a few W’s.
I’m not saying Levi’s a doper. To my knowledge he’s never been under real suspicion. I’m saying that Astana’s organization isn’t exactly composed of the “new guard.” The ASO can exclude anyone they care to. They were burned badly last year. I hope they stick by their guns, keep Astana out of the Tour, and give an up-and-coming team a shot at making history (or at least racing its ass off).
Exactly, and its not like Discovery is the spotless, ‘all American’, squeeky clean crew that won all those races cause they where ‘more dedicated’ or some lame ass, PR speak like that. Basso? Contador? You think Byuneel and LA didnt know exactly what was going on? What a bunch of whining phonies. I feel for guys like Levi and Horner, who deserve their shot and don’t have people whispering about them and their ‘tactics’, but, c’mon, how can anyone be surprised at this? One day the whole Postal / Dicso thing is gonna come down, maybe Lance writes a book or something on his death bed….
This sport is currently too fucked up for me to believe that anyone is unjustly excluded from anything right now. I just can’t see caring as long as “clean” and “haven’t been caught yet” are synonymous for practical purposes.
What a trip to see the mix of freak show, county fair, and a little bit of bike race. It had everything but funnelcake.
The only booth that wasn’t jam packed was….the anti-doping booth.
They had plenty of schwag left.
High road had the most supporters, Bissel had the best attitude.
The crowds were larger, staff had a hard time clearing a path in the staging area.
Anti doping tshirts, posters, and overheard conversation was abundant.
In horse racing, the jockey carries weight to make it fair.
Why not simply mandate that for every failed blood/pee test a rider gets, they carry a ten pound weight?
Only if it’s a suppository.
Fuck that, the guy deserves to race as much as anyone on any team. And it’s bullshit that they pulled Tyler and crew from the Tour of California yesterday.
Cycling’s war on drugs is just as fucked up as anyone else’s war on drugs.
How many of you have ever raced drunk or stoned? You should be banned from ever racing again.
dig a little deeper K-ro….Levi was on the island of Tenirife at a “training camp” the same time as the infamous Dr. Ferrari was checked in at the same hotel a few years back. Johan Bru- haha rode for ONCE under Manolo Saiz….the same douche that got busted in Puerto…then Johan reels off 8 straight??? I want to believe in Levi, Lance, Floyd, and the whole crew. But birds of a feather dude… Ever wonder why Lance quit the ’98 Paris-Nice to play golf for a a few months….maybe after being on the deathbed he had second thoughts about doing what it would take to win….??? Well, boo if you want, you know I am right..
Tour Of Cal. Astana in?? Tyler Hamilton Out?? WTF. Who makes up the rules is the question? I still think the biggest SCAM is last year was granting Levi equal time even though they finish over a minute back because of a crash over 10k out, WTF. Rules should not change as you go along. And this hear say crap is a waste of everyones time including congress’s. Clemens is a liar as so are the others, but the way to the truth is validity of testing. BTW Cancellara is a bad mutha fucka, and Dave Z wins the mustache contest. Also lots of riders got no coverage from VS. East coast needs a better Outdoors network anyone in the business please help…
Pro Road cycling is dead.
It’s not dead, but the zealots are trying to kill it.
At least he could have credited the quote he used to Edmund Burke.
Wow. There are some pretty high and mighty people out there on this comment board. Wonder if you apply this same level of scrutiny to your every day life. Buy music from bands that take drugs? Taking money out of the hands of non drug taking musicians? aren’t they? Hard to get that creative “clean”. I’m not saying Discovery was or wasn’t clean, but I bet they did what everyone else did or didn’t do. The best guys still probably won. Shit does need to change, but not just Astana or whoever. Get some rules, enforce them EVENLY and get on with it. This arbitrary stuff is just bullshit.
All I have to say is I hate cheaters, but I love crack.
what a risky career move, to sign on with astana. nobody should be surprized, really.
the mere thought of drinking booze during a bike race strikes fear into most, but if you raise the prospect of performance ENHANCING drugs to them you won’t get that reaction.
Crank,
Looks at the facts and take a side. Ever been beaten by a cheater? Ask someone who is clean and got 2nd the crap you are peddling. I think drugs make music better. but I also like musicians that can admit they use drugs. I respect David Millar, Zabel, and Bjarne Riis more then the ones that act high and mighty and aren’t squaky clean. See Foolneel…
Admit it, put it out there, let’s clean it up and move on. Sticking your head in the sand helps nothing.
Can’t Levi switch teams? I mean, if it’s his dream and all. Other teams might not have the same “program” but that doesn’t mean he can’t try to go achieve his dream with the lessons he’s learned last year, right?
Guys-
I see my homie Doug-O is pulling for Cipo the Lion. Ain’t that a thing?
Some good comments above… yes, ASO got fucked in the ass during their Big Show last year. They’re pissed, and they’re acting out. Who can blame them? It’s their show.
Any “war on drugs” will ultimately fail. It’s like the “war on crime” and the “war on poverty.” Human behavior follows a probability distribution and you cannot eliminate the six-sigma and outlier datapoints. You can only orchestrate group hugs and try to sell careful, unprovable definitions of what “isn’t.”
Pro cycling is dead… well, yeah. But amateur competition such as the Olympics isn’t?
Go, Doug-O!
Mikey
Humpty:
I’m picking a side, either ban all drug taking teams or none. My pick is all but just picking one….looks like other motives are at play.
Humpty – I didnt know that about Levi, although I could’ve guessed it. I know Hincapie’s climbing chops came out of a blood bag, and for sure with Floyd as well. Landis is the only one I really wanted to believe in, but there’s just no chance he wasn’t in on the program too.
I’m Canadian, so Mike Barry and Ryder Hesjedal are the two guys I’m hoping get a shot to ride in July, but I really like Horner and Zabriske. And I hope Phinny’s kid keeps ripping it up – I loved Davis when I was growing up and riding. Guy was the shit. Him, Hampsten and Bauer…
Anyway. I’m out.
Crank – what you’re seeing are the reactions of a crowd of people that were likely into this sport before the Lance years. We’ve seen the rather arbitrary nature of doping punishment, and where the scrutiny is selectively focused, since 1999. Maybe this is a new feeling for you, cause this time its your favorite riders that are getting hosed while the others walk away, but I’m glad to see it happen to whom I honestly believe is the dirtiest crew out there.
The truth is that the best dopers, the most sophisticated, don’t get caught cause they don’t trip up the tests.
I’m just sick of it cause I love cycling and its ruining the image of the sport and turning it into a race of pharmacology and not athleticism. You’re dead wrong when you say the same guys would still win – you’ve never raced a bike, have you?
K-Ro
Been racing road bikes, mountain bikes and cross since 1989. Bmx since 1980 so yeah I guess I’m “new” to the sport and “naive”. Love the sport and actually make my living from it. I think these are not the reactions of long time fans, they love the sport. This blog has like comments. The Let Levi Ride website has 30,000 responses now so we’ll see what cycling fans think…