TOUR DE FRANCE REVISITED: 2007 IS DIFFERENT

Last year, after the Tour De France, there were some staggeringly vicious things in the European press and on Eury message boards about Floyd Landis.

I reacted.... nay, I over-reacted. See here:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2006/07/floyd-landis-and-effects-of-venereal.html

In particular, I cited several commentators from the weblog of Jan Marijnsen, member of parliament for the SP (Socialist Party - the rebranded Stalinists of Holland), and from the general readership of the Algemeen Dagblad, Holland's premier news rag for the vast and barely sentient Dutch middleclass.


SAMPLE QUOTES:

"Oh well, those Americans just do things in the way they've done them for years. Only difference is that by now they're so stupid that they get caught."

"such a damned sleazy nation, eh, Carl Lewis was also caught using dope but didn't have to turn in his medals. But the life of Ben Johnson (Canadian by birth) was ruined by the Americans. Armstrong, as should be abundantly clear by now, used dope in order to win the tour seven times. According to the Americans, he won on his strengths and no dope! Well, who doesn't remember the racket when Pieter van Hoogenband whupped the American favorite in Sydney? Per the Americans it was impossible without dope to deliver such a splendid achievement. Now and then they're just like children"

"Yeah, Greg Lemond also didn't achieve his three victories cleanly, then Armstrong though now the moron Floyd Landis, if I were in charge of the tour, boycott all those Yankee Doodles, they use doping like it was candy in the States"

There was more. The gist of which was that using performance enhancing tricks is typical of those cheating Americans, who are sleazy besides. Americans are so very very un-European.


Very well then.


THIS YEAR'S TOUR DE FRANCE IS DIFFERENT!

Rasmussen out.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6916698.stm
"Race leader Michael Rasmussen has been kicked out of the Tour de France and sacked by his Rabobank team."

Moreni out.
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6804990,00.html
"Cofidis cycling team's future looks in jeopardy after Cristian Moreni's positive test for testosterone prompted the French outfit to pull out of the Tour de France on Wednesday."

Vinokourov out.
http://www.cyclingpost.com/team/article_005160.shtml
"Team Astana has denied that it will fold in the wake of Alexandre Vinokourov's doping case."

Sinkewitz out.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/cycling/story/10263092
"German prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz, who tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone before the Tour de France."



I am quite enjoying this year's tour.
I seldom pay any attention at all to sports, but I frankly cannot wait until the next sleazy cheating " " " American " " " gets kicked out for doping.
I am anticipatorily quivering, even.

You are all winners, guys.

Bravo.

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By the way, I put the word "American" in triple quotes, because I can't figure out how to do a strike-through here. It is meant ironically and sarcastically. I actually don't mean American in that sentence. I feel I need to clarify this, because some of my Dutch readers are incapable of "getting" the nuances of English. Or, at least, of American English.