WTF are they thinking of? ( for PMD and TDF followers)

cyclists must be insane...... a blood transfusion (of sorts) mid race?
madness, the sport has so little credibility..... incredibly disappointing.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2007/story/0,,2133758,00.html

the guardian article is making out the transfusion took place in the hours
before the TT which Vino won..... even more surprising.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6914301.stm

"Astana said two distinct types of red blood cells were found in
Vinokourov's sample indicating he had had a blood transfusion from a
compatible donor shortly before Saturday's stage."

re-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping
after winning Saturday's time-trial stage of the Tour de France.
Vinokourov has asked for a second blood sample to be tested, but his Astana
team have now withdrawn from the race.

The Kazakh rider lost time in a bad crash on stage five and dropped out of
overall contention in the Alps.

But he looked back to his best in a dominant time-trial on Saturday and won
another arduous stage on Monday.

If Vinokourov's B-sample also tests positive he is likely to be banned from
cycling for two years. "



http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2007/story/0,,2133254,00.html

he British cyclist David Millar yesterday bitterly attacked the Tour de
France leader Michael Rasmussen for failing to make the anti-doping
authorities aware of his whereabouts for out-of-competition testing.

Millar said: "He's now shrouded in suspicion, and rightfully so. It is
unacceptable of a rider of his stature and responsibilities to not have his
whereabouts supplied to the right authorities. For sure, it is possible for
it to slip through the system due to slow Mexican mail, or whatever, but it
is up to him to confirm that it has been received so as not to have this
situation arise.

Rasmussen retained his race lead yesterday, but his credibility has been
called into question, said Millar, who has become an anti-doping campaigner
since serving a two-year ban for the use of the blood booster
erythropoietin. "Now it screws us all," he said. "Because of the current
situation he will be doubted. Regardless, it's *** for him, it's *** for
the Tour de France, and it's *** for us, the riders and the fans."

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