Dauphine, TDF and drugs....

Seems that the USA is having a good Dauphine Libere so far! We have had an American rider win the prologue, Levi Liepheimer (Team-Astana) and now stage 2, George Hincappie (Team High Road)! Stage 1 was won by Alejandro Valverde and Thor Hushovd is in the yellow (overall lead), YES, my man, THOR, the big Norwegian!

It has yet to be determined if Astana will get an invite to the Tour de France but there is time for the "powers that be" to change their minds. They invited Astana a week before the Giro d'Itlalia. Astana answered with a win by Alberto Contador. It has been speculation that they would get an invite if all the Astana riders basically stayed clean, which they have, but it seems that "the powers that be" said they do not expect to overturn their decision but if things keep going well that maybe next year they will have an invite to the Tour de France.....should I hold my breath?

Tom Boonen seems to have a bit of an issue following him these days. He tested positive for cocaine three days prior to the Tour of Belgium, May 25. The Tour of Switzerland quickly banned the sprinter from their tour. Here is the kicker. WADA states that he will not be suspended because cocaine is a stimulant which is only banned when in competition. This is interesting. In January he was investigated as being a cocaine dealer and his parents house was search but nothing was found and the case was dropped. Now, Quickstep, Boonen's team he rides for, is going to have a press conference on Wednesday regarding this. Do you think they will suspend him or make him go to counseling? He has also had issues speeding and has had his license revoked two times in one month! I hope he can get his act together! This is not good for the Quickstep team and it's search for a new sponsor.

Another story hitting the internet is the use of Viagra to aid in performance...WHAT? Not that kind of performance, which is what the drug was manufactured for, but athletic performance. Andrea Moleta was to ride in the Giro D'Italia but when his father's car was search and 82 viagra pills and a syringe were found, Moleta was suspended. Do you think they could have been his father's pills? Who knows. They say that Viagra helps build endurance for athletes that compete at high elevations by delivering oxygen, nutrients and other drugs more efficiently to muscles...imagine that. When taking testosterone injections, Viagra offsets impotence, which is sometimes a side effect of the injections. UGH! It was also noted that baseball is littered with Viagra popping players, making it the hottest drug in locker rooms. That is all we need, another reason for baseball players to grab their packages and rearrange or to be in the batters box with two bats....enough said.