Froome Voooom

[Christie]

The highest tree catches the most wind. But there were other similar jumps from mild to awesomein the recent past: Europcar was sectacular (unrealistic?) for a couple of seasons, and are now back to mild all of a sudden, with the same riders.

[the nerd]

The UCI's incompetence will have left ongoing gaps in the dope testing net, I reckon.

This can be exploited by the high budget teams if I think about it.

 

I don't get this high budget low budget nonsense.... every team in the tour has pretty high budget i would imagine, thus having the same resources to acquire drugs etc...

[raptor]

No not all teams have that big a budget, but team Sky i think have the biggest budget in cycling

['Dale]

 

 

I don't get this high budget low budget nonsense.... every team in the tour has pretty high budget i would imagine, thus having the same resources to acquire drugs etc...

 

Some teams don't know where the next salary cheque is coming from.

It's not always public knowledge.

 

Some teams roll in 'R & D' budget which can bring all kinds of resources to them.

Edited July 17, 2013 by ' Dale

[Tumbleweed]

Some teams don't know where the next salary cheque is coming from.

It's not always public knowledge.

 

Some teams roll in 'R & D' budget which can bring all kinds of resources to them.

 

Bit of an exaggeration. The teams have to provide guarantees for salaries after a number of teams folded without paying their riders.

[Lucky Luke.]

Take a read of what;s just gone up on Velonews:

 

 

Still living with bilharzia parasite, Froome says he has no drug exemptions

By Andrew Hood

 

AP, France (VN) — It’s a parasite called bilharzia that thrives in the murky waters of Africa. Its larvae are deposited inside a human host. It’s tough to diagnose and even tougher to eradicate.

 

Almost unknown beyond rural Africa, few had heard of bilharzia until Tour de France yellow jersey leader Chris Froome (Sky) came down with it a few years ago.

 

While Froome is battling for the maillot jaune, he’s been battling an enemy from within over the past several seasons.

 

On Tuesday, Froome said he continues bi-annual check-ups and treatments to rid the parasite entirely from his system. ”I do go for a check-up every six months. The last was in January and it was still in my system,” he said. “I take Biltricide. It kills the parasite in the system.”

 

Biltricide, also known as praziquantel, blasts the parasites out of the human body. In an interview with VeloNews in 2012, Froome said he only discovered the bilharzia in 2010.

 

Here’s how Froome described Biltricide, the bilharzia treatment he underwent in early 2012: ”It’s a very strong pill. It basically kills everything in your system, and hopefully at the same time, kills the parasite. It’s something that I have to try to get rid of it. You cannot train when you’re taking that. The treatment is pretty rough stuff. I have had a bit of a slow start to the season. There was more than a week when I could not even touch the bike.”

 

Froome also confirmed Tuesday he does not have a TUE (therapeutic use exemption) during this Tour, not for bilharzia treatment, nor anything else. Biltricide is not included in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substances list and does not require a TUE.

 

“TUEs are a rather personal issue, but I am able to say I do not have any TUEs during this Tour,” Froome said. “Hopefully I will not have any.”

 

TUEs can be somewhat controversial, as they allow doctors to prescribe medical products or treatments that are otherwise on WADA’s banned list. Some claim that TUEs can be a backdoor for cutting corners among the peloton. Though not illegal, they can be abused.

 

Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford told French television in an interview, broadcast Tuesday, that all TUEs should be publicly released before the Tour, as a step to be transparent and to rebuild credibility.

 

One source told VeloNews that none of the Team Sky riders have TUEs during this Tour de France.

 

Froome said he’s been struggling with bilharzia over the past several seasons. Doctors initially thought the symptoms pointed toward mononucleosis, but the parasite went largely undiagnosed until Froome underwent extensive blood screening with a switch to Sky in 2010.

 

Brailsford said the parasite might be one reason Froome could not reach his potential earlier in his career. Some have wondered how Froome, who did not make much of an impression in his early grand tours, has suddenly emerged as the dominant grand tour rider of his generation.

 

Froome was 83rd at his grand tour debut at the 2008 Vuelta a España, 34th at the 2009 Giro, and was disqualified from the 2010 Giro after taking a pull on a motorcycle for what he said was a planned abandon after suffering a knee injury.

 

That’s in sharp contrast to Froome’s breakout ride during the 2011 Vuelta, when he lost the race by just 19 seconds to Juanjo Cobo.

 

Brailsford said it wasn’t until the bilharzia was diagnosed and treated that the real Froome could emerge.

 

“There was an inconsistency about him,” Brailsford said. “The question wasn’t why he was good, the question was why we’d only seeing glimpses. Why isn’t he like that all the time? When the illness was discovered, retrospectively, it made a lot of sense. There would be certain stages in the front group, you’d see these glimpses, but he couldn’t put it together with some consistency.”

 

Brailsford said team doctors continue to monitor Froome for bilharzia because it’s difficult to completely eradicate.

 

“It’s not something that just disappears. It’s a parasite. It lays eggs. They might be dormant, then the eggs hatch, then they lay more eggs,” Brailsford said. “You have to stay on top of it, be vigilant, that’s why he keeps having treatments so it’s completely eradicated over time.”

 

During an interview with VeloNews during the 2011 Vuelta, Froome said he believed he came in contact during off-season trips back to his native Africa.

 

“I must have touched some contaminated water somewhere in Africa. I probably had it for a year before I found it,” he said in 2011. “That just drained my immune system. I was always getting little colds and coughs, nothing serious, but it always kept me from being at 100-percent fitness.”

 

 

Hard not to think this story is BS. I can list all of the inconsistencies and issues with the timing for you if you like, but I suspect nobody wants to hear them.

[Kranswurm]

Some teams don't know where the next salary cheque is coming from.

It's not always public knowledge.

 

Some teams roll in 'R & D' budget which can bring all kinds of resources to them.

Eleven Tour de France team payrolls in euros, according to the latest published financial statements of their parent companies or estimates from team executives:

BMC Racing 15 million euros (estimate)

Team Sky 13.2 million euros (2011)

Team Saxo Bank 9.01 million euros (2012)

Garmin-Sharp 7.28 million euros (estimate)

Omega Pharma 6.55 million euros (2011)

Cannondale 6.24 million euros (2012)

Francaise des Jeux 6.07 million euros (2012)

Movistar 5.91 million euros (2011)

Cofidis 4.46 million euros (2011)

Europcar 4.08 million euros (2012)

Sojasun 2.13 million euros (2011)

[gtr1]

So here's a question. If Richie Porte is found to be positive after his amazing rides up the mountains pulling Chris and setting up the win? That had a major effect on overall result. Should Chris ( or any othe combination of winner and domestique) then be entitled to keep the win ?

 

So your whole team on drugs to kill the bunch, but team leader clean !!

 

Just an interesting thought.

[Dustbug]

What they say about the bilharzia is correct it does leave you in a semi tired state , it re occurs in mild to strong bouts and does not leave your body for years, I had it as a teenager, was treated 3 or 4 times for it and now again 40 years later I have just had another treatment for it, all the previous skin tests didn't show it, only the extended blood test now Im riding the best times Ive ridden in 5 years so any of you who have had bilharzia in the past go and get retested properly you will be surprised, the rivers and dams I have been in in the past 20 years are all in Kwazulu natal around Durban and Pietermaritzburg and I know a number of riders who have had positive test results for bilharzia who have only been exposed to the umgeni river doing the dusi, midmar mile and inanda dam swimming and similar events. It has the effect of leaving you in a permanent semi tired state with spurts of increased energy that quickly fade. The treatment is only a week long so not too much time lost but it is heavy on the body and no stress is allowed and the following week must be an easy week.

[DJR]

Hard not to think this story is BS. I can list all of the inconsistencies and issues with the timing for you if you like, but I suspect nobody wants to hear them.

 

No, I think you should. It sounds plausible to me, but whether it is the whole story is another matter.

[Lucky Luke.]

 

Eleven Tour de France team payrolls in euros, according to the latest published financial statements of their parent companies or estimates from team executives:

BMC Racing 15 million euros (estimate)

Team Sky 13.2 million euros (2011)

Team Saxo Bank 9.01 million euros (2012)

Garmin-Sharp 7.28 million euros (estimate)

Omega Pharma 6.55 million euros (2011)

Cannondale 6.24 million euros (2012)

Francaise des Jeux 6.07 million euros (2012)

Movistar 5.91 million euros (2011)

Cofidis 4.46 million euros (2011)

Europcar 4.08 million euros (2012)

Sojasun 2.13 million euros (2011)

 

 

I think this is more indicative of the rider salaries, which are not necessarily a function of the whole team budget. BMC has to pay for two world champs and an ex-tour winner.

 

I would guess that where Sky racks up the expenditure - more than any other team - is on equipment, branding, logistics, training, R&D and doctors, although clearly they are paying the team well too, despite the fact that they don't have any grand tour winners or world champs yet.

[deanbean]

What they say about the bilharzia is correct it does leave you in a semi tired state , it re occurs in mild to strong bouts and does not leave your body for years, I had it as a teenager, was treated 3 or 4 times for it and now again 40 years later I have just had another treatment for it, all the previous skin tests didn't show it, only the extended blood test now Im riding the best times Ive ridden in 5 years so any of you who have had bilharzia in the past go and get retested properly you will be surprised, the rivers and dams I have been in in the past 20 years are all in Kwazulu natal around Durban and Pietermaritzburg and I know a number of riders who have had positive test results for bilharzia who have only been exposed to the umgeni river doing the dusi, midmar mile and inanda dam swimming and similar events. It has the effect of leaving you in a permanent semi tired state with spurts of increased energy that quickly fade. The treatment is only a week long so not too much time lost but it is heavy on the body and no stress is allowed and the following week must be an easy week.

All the east flowing rivers to the Buffalo river in East London are infected. I picked up Bilharzia from swimming in the Buffalo River, in King Williams Town, as did my dad in the 1950's.

I suppose I should get myself tested again.

[gtr1]

We should be asking these same questions about Bolt......the fastest man in the world. Especially when he is beating the 2nd and 4th fastest ever who have both had positive dope tests.

 

When I say we, I actually mean the media. Strange they are so quiet !!!

[Tumbleweed]

We should be asking these same questions about Bolt......the fastest man in the world. Especially when he is beating the 2nd and 4th fastest ever who have both had positive dope tests.

 

When I say we, I actually mean the media. Strange they are so quiet !!!

 

Are you saying the issue of Bolt and possible dope use hasn't been questioned in the media? Maybe you don't read enough.

[gtr1]

 

 

Are you saying the issue of Bolt and possible dope use hasn't been questioned in the media? Maybe you don't read enough.

Definitely not making the same headlines as any cycling doping incident or suspicion does. Yet way more high profile.

[kosmonooit]

Its no secret Sky have a big budget, but that means they can employ the best support team, and the best and the the brightest sports scientists (to develop and deploy "good science"), pay their staff and riders well, and produce results. A win-win! Sir David Brailsford is a big inspiration to me as a leader and manager.

 

But it seems the real problem here with the skeptics is that they are so jaded and heart broken from their years of loyal LA support, they cant see the situation for what it is, namely the good and the enormity of Chris and Sky's achievement here.