0 Tour de France 2007 - 2 days to go!

The Tour is decidedly the biggest sporting event on the calender. Almost 200 riders crossing
3-4 countries, bridging 3500 miles for 21 days with hardly much time to rest. You tell me whats more hardcore than that.

And as is traditionally the case, the events before the Tour are packed so much heat and drama. Italian sprinting sensation Alessandro Petacchi is out of the Tour, adding another substance to
the list of blackmarked wonderdrugs - Albuterol, a.k.a Salbutamol, a relieving cure for Asthma. A glance at the official site for the drug lists one of the properties of the medication 
as, "It works by relaxing the muscles and air passages in the lungs so that air can flow into them more freely and improve breathing.

Research papers across the internet testify to the anabolic effects that it has on peak power.
Eric Zabel admitted to doping in '96, but he remains in the Tour, so atleast we can see some
clean action from him this year.

All that aside, Riis has opted out of the tour, so that leaves team CSC with his backing and support. Mr. Riis doped as well, in his Tour days.  Andreas Kloden is being pressurized with doping charges as well, and the man is 
enervated,making people believe his story.

Doping here, there everywhere. Its funny. Were all these people stupid? In abattle to please sponsors, team organisers, wild fans, and selfish personal aims, these crooks resorted to popping pills, sacrificing their own lives and careers and delivering a tainted image of the wonderful sport that is cycling.  This sport has taken a consistent beating over the past couple of years. What remains to be now seen is who the hell can beat the odds and have a clean victory and restore
the sport to being legit human performance! No more freaks of nature, no more pill popping, just a nice clean victory.

Sometimes I feel like a rabid fan standing around the Colosseum, waiting for the Tour to begin, to frantically cheer the gladiators of modern cycling, screaming out to them


"Give us more, give us more!"

When I'm sane, I think of the numerous sacrifices the riders must have gone through, 
the challenges of training and preparation, the media battles, the drama everyday in 
their lives...just to get selected for the Tour. 

The Tour still remains, open-minded. The roads are wide open to swallow the bravest of men.

She's a virgin and she needs her next hero.