gtr1

Ryan Gibbons definitely up there, and if you go back a number of years, Alan van Heerden won a stage of the Giro back in the 80's. Robbie McIntosh rode European pro. Willie Engelbrecht achieved some great results in Europe.

Cav carrying that Tour de France form he had to this tour, and was it Poland ? Great form he had ????????

DD team already confirmed Ben King Ed ald Boasson Hagen Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Louis Meintjies Ben O'Connor Nicholas Dlamini Rasmussen Tiller Jaco Venter

Sorry PhilipV. You want one of these ?

Gibbons 5th at Giro today as well.

Could also be due to the clash with Tour Durban this year ????

Glad to see they have swapped the start and finish chutes around. Last year came around the bend in the sprint and up the start chute

Cois, this is he toughest time, when you know you have Cancer and before you know what treatment you require. As you say, your mind goes crazy. And as much as people say stay positive, not always the easiest thing to do. I conjured up images of how I would look bald etc? But it helps if the people around you are positive and supportive. My daughter promised me she would get me a nice wig. In the end, when I saw the dr! and had a plan! it was much better. My GP said, it is a process and we just have to go through it. People without cancer don't quite understand the feelings. I was one of those, and now I am on the other side of the fence. A whole different reality. As for treatment, once you know, ask about any clinical trials on the go. If you can get on one they cover all the costs.

The **** thing with cancer is it doesn't discriminate :-(. I am a competitive masters cyclist. Thought I as bulletproof. Had a crash a year ago and broke collarbone. Early is year while doing rehab noticed some lumps in my neck. Thought it was related to crash. Eventually decided to go to dr. They were swollen lymph nodes. Blood tests do not reveal Lymphoma :-( my bloods were clear. A scan showed the swollen nodes. Had to do a biopsy ( under surgery) which when tested revealed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I was lucky as I think I caught it early. 3 nodes in neck and 1 in stomach. None too big yet. My suggestion, not sure what the lump is. Go get it tested. Today was my final treatment. Now to see if all clear !!

I asked Dr if I could win Tour de Franc now once treatments done. He said " you're not Lance Armstrong ".

Hi Cois. Tough topic, and lots of possible answers. So will give you my take on it and what I gave read and experienced. I was diagnosed recently with Lymphoma, so can relate. I even told Dr to delay treatment by a few weeks so I could ride W2W. So before treatment I trained and raced as normal. Actually won a race a day after been told I had the cancer. Was more worried about potential chemo than the cancer :-( My treatment in the end was not chemo, and undergoing immunotherapy. Not much research available as fairly new treatment compared to chemo. When I saw dr, he said I should be able to carry on training and racing while on treatment, but I would experience fatigue especially day after. Initially I carried on as normal, but after 2 treatments, I found that my HR elevated easily, and felt like it was thumping in my chest when doing any intensity. Have since cut back, and just ride for fun when I feel like it. Keeping hr down. What I read on chemo was that exercise is good during treatment, and can even help with recovery. Once again I think moderate exercise. Side effects of chemo way worse than immunotherapy. So will depend on what treatment dr goes for. Tomorrow is my final treatment...........I hope. PM me if you want to chat a bit more.

He's doing a fair bit of racing and is quite competitive for someone who has retired

First Wiggins was an elite pro at a whole different level of training support etc. just his chain cost more than most people's bikes to save done watts. Gert races vets in SA. Wiggins also did his record on an indoor wooden track with a controlled atmosphere. Way faster than Hector Norris. Don't forget that Gert is actually World Champ for individual pursuit in his age group. This is an amazing effort, and I would challenge anyone to go and try better it.

Hector Norris is still probably the fastest track in the country. As old and as bumpy as it is. Plenty of records standing that were set there. And some only broken by riders racing on indoor tracks at world champs etc.

Funrider today, elite pro tomorrow ???

The biological Passport was regarded as a massive breakthrough in anti -doping efforts. And cycling was the first to implement it. Has been used many times successfully. Max had the chance in his hearing and before to get all the necessary evidence but did nothing. Now he wants to contest it. Yes he never tested positive, but hey, neither did Lance. The reason behind the passport is to test anomalies where athletes micro dose etc. and some of the doping products don't have a test for the product. Maybe their expert that disagrees with the system is Dr Ferrari ???

I have always said, only way to stop doping is to allow retroactive testing of samples, and to make it a criminal offence to be caught. That way you can dodge a test today, but not in the future once a test is developed or improved, and a criminal record effects you for the rest of your life. They should even get jail time for extreme cases. And then any money recovered must go towards anti-doping efforts.

The issue is not about prize money. It's the glory that was denied as well as the achievement. Will never know what the other athletes missed out on by being denied the win or podium. And nothing can change that years later.

At the time of DG's incident, the minimum mandatory sentence was 2 years, unless there were mitigating circumstances or you provided info that could assist the anti-doping efforts. This was later changed to 4 years. So hence KE getting 4 years. And because he did not contest it or try give mitigating circumstances he got the standard.

The issue isn't about hating or not hating KE. The issue is that he is still serving a ban, but yet is granted the privilege or competing in cycling events. So the message is, if you are well known, it is ok to dope because we'll invite and allow you to ride in some races, because you know, you have a cool bike shop and well, your ban is almost over. Only another 6 months.

Just go look at the World Champs thread and see how many love the fact that Valverde won.

There are probably more people that think Lance is a hero than those that don't . You want a polarised debate, debate Lance. Same with Contador, Yates, Ullrich. The French still love Virenque, and he is part of the Tour team. Probably one of the biggest dopers. yet people hate Rasmussen ??? If I had to do some research I would probably find a list way too long of those that have doped that are still held in high esteem.

John, nice reply. I race in a vets category, and also raced in junior and elite category years ago (before it was classified as elite) I have never doped, and I have raced against guys that have. So I have seen first hand the difference it can make. And believe me it can be huge. From being pulled 1 day to winning the next :-( All I can say is I am still able to win in a vets category, and often hold my own in younger categories. So this makes me think that there is not that much doping going on ( can't say all the time) as everyone seems to believe. Otherwise I am just phenomenal, which I am not. I probably train harder, and smarter, now than when I was junior/elite. And as you say, years in the legs, and experience mean a lot more than fitness at times.