Tour de France 2016

[CiKe]

I don't think that tweet has the tone you think it has.  I doubt anybody who follows cycling would be surprised at the result today tbh,).  Froome is the best cyclist of this era, wholeheartedly supported by a team with the biggest budget & best support team.

I have been secretly hoping that Quintana has been doing a bit of roping tbh,  he really only needs one big day in the mountains, today's stage further shows he's off form tho. (Or not getting as much EPO into him as last year).

You have a pop at me for questioning Froomes transformation from grupetto rider to multiple grand tour winner and then I check in here to see that you have called out Quintana for using EPO. What curious logic, and no I'm not saying Quintana is clean but he has a hell of a better pedigree than Froome has. At Quintanas age Froome had done nothing of note, and had to rely on a team mate falling ill to make the Vuelta line up. Only for that mutant transformation he would have been facing the prospect of no contract the following year.

Sorry Benny, respect your knowledge a lot and wouldn't ordinarily comment on this thread but have followed it for years and unless that was a very tongue in cheek comment on Quintana, then definitely seems a case of double standards. You wouldn't be the only one though seems to have double standards when it comes to Sky. I'd like to believe they're clean but Froome showing nothing till mid 20's is dodgy as f**k (and I don't but this BS that he was racing in Kenya till then...if he was that good he would have been picked up by someone earlier) and Quintana has had much better pedigree from much younger age. Was it EPO induced or something else, I don't know, but not sure why one would be questioned and not the other.

[bennydorano]

Yip. Fired out a totally ridiculous statement with no back up whatsoever. Anything goes in cycling commentary.

[yellowcard]

Typical sky fan logic. Froome is clean but Astana/Contador are dirty as hell whenever they win. Double standards.

[bennydorano]

I'm actually a big fan of Contador  eventhough he's been caught doping and had a TDF victory stripped. Astana (& Katusha) have had a few cyclists done for doping this past year or 2. Froome's been done for..... ?  Failing to see your logic?

[bennydorano]

I don't think that tweet has the tone you think it has.  I doubt anybody who follows cycling would be surprised at the result today tbh,).  Froome is the best cyclist of this era, wholeheartedly supported by a team with the biggest budget & best support team.

I have been secretly hoping that Quintana has been doing a bit of roping tbh,  he really only needs one big day in the mountains, today's stage further shows he's off form tho. (Or not getting as much EPO into him as last year).

You have a pop at me for questioning Froomes transformation from grupetto rider to multiple grand tour winner and then I check in here to see that you have called out Quintana for using EPO. What curious logic, and no I'm not saying Quintana is clean but he has a hell of a better pedigree than Froome has. At Quintanas age Froome had done nothing of note, and had to rely on a team mate falling ill to make the Vuelta line up. Only for that mutant transformation he would have been facing the prospect of no contract the following year.

Did u ever think why did he get a contract with Sky in the first place?

[gallsman]

I'm actually a big fan of Contador  eventhough he's been caught doping and had a TDF victory stripped. Astana (& Katusha) have had a few cyclists done for doping this past year or 2. Froome's been done for..... ?  Failing to see your logic?

Yeah and Quintana rides for neither of them but you still have your pop.

[bennydorano]

As I've already said it was a ridiculous statement to make, zero evidence that Quintana is doping, sarcasm.

[yellowcard]

I don't think that tweet has the tone you think it has.  I doubt anybody who follows cycling would be surprised at the result today tbh,).  Froome is the best cyclist of this era, wholeheartedly supported by a team with the biggest budget & best support team.

I have been secretly hoping that Quintana has been doing a bit of roping tbh,  he really only needs one big day in the mountains, today's stage further shows he's off form tho. (Or not getting as much EPO into him as last year).

You have a pop at me for questioning Froomes transformation from grupetto rider to multiple grand tour winner and then I check in here to see that you have called out Quintana for using EPO. What curious logic, and no I'm not saying Quintana is clean but he has a hell of a better pedigree than Froome has. At Quintanas age Froome had done nothing of note, and had to rely on a team mate falling ill to make the Vuelta line up. Only for that mutant transformation he would have been facing the prospect of no contract the following year.

Did u ever think why did he get a contract with Sky in the first place?

No, not at all. He was a mid-back of the peleton rider with Barloworld before he signed with sky. Sky at that stage were a new team who had achieved nothing and who had a clear preference for British riders. Froome would have been a fairly natural fit for them. Did you ever think why Sky were about to let him go before he uced that Vuelta performance out of nowhere and practically transformed himself overnight?

When I think of Froome I consider 2 seperate versions of the same rider. Pre Aug 2011 and post Aug 2011. You are clearly a big fan of Froome's but name me one transformation that has been as dramatic as Froome's in the history of the sport?

You seem hell bent on athletes not testing positive as proof of them being clean. If history has taught us one thing it is that the athletes and their support network are way ahead of the anti doping agencies. In most of the big cases where athletes have been charged with doping it has been whistleblowers who have blown the lid off the drug cheats as opposed to the drug testers.

[bennydorano]

Have I missed a credible whistleblower nailing their colours to the mast and calling Froome out a la Walsh & Kimmage?  Luckily for society the burden of proof is on the accusers. The 'ah but I know' bullshit is fine for Twitter & discussion boards.

[The Stallion]

Indeed.

[screenexile]

Have I missed a credible whistleblower nailing their colours to the mast and calling Froome out a la Walsh & Kimmage?  Luckily for society the burden of proof is on the accusers. The 'ah but I know' bullshit is fine for Twitter & discussion boards.

Kimmage and Walsh in very different corners on this one! Kimmage doesn't trust Froome at all!

[bennydorano]

Kimmage doesn't trust anyone. He might have the odd kind word but he is hedging his bets on everyone. The last thing I can remember him vouching for was the Garmin Slipstream team & J Vaughters. Ultimately didn't work out.

[bennydorano]

@PaulKimmage
How has a mild-mannered Kenyan with an ordinary pedigree and an ugly racing style transformed into one of the greatest cyclists of all time?

Paddy Heaney's reply
@PaulKimmage How did a headstrong Irishman with no literary pedigree and a confrontational writing style become a leading sports writer?

[The Stallion]

Paddy Heaney is a good writer, but he's backing the wrong horse in this one. Kimmage makes a perfectly valid point, which Paddy has not made any attempt to counter, instead making a glib retort.

Kimmage will be vindicated eventually, it's just a matter of time.The sycophantic bullshit from seemingly intelligent people towards Team Sky and Froome is bizarre.

[bennydorano]

Kimmage isn't 'investigating' Froome, all he  does these days is fire out innuendo laden tweets and it's getting old. Perfect response from Heaney imo.

Noticed Nico Roche pulled him on a tweet over the weekend.