Another TDF Bomb about to drop?

[Coach McGuirk]

Rumor mill churns
Despite a quiet couple of days on the doping front, rumors are still churning that the hammer is about to drop on the Tour de France again.

One reporter from a French news wire service said an official from the French anti-doping agency said something could break early this week. Why? Because the French like to take their weekends off and said they won’t get to the paperwork until Monday morning.

Whether that’s true remains to be seen. What’s sure is that most people believe they haven’t seen the last of doping scandals on this Tour.

Following the devastating positives from Manuel Beltrán, Moises Dueñas and Riccardo Riccò (which could lead two sponsors – Barloworld and Saunier Duval – to abandon the sport), it seems that more positives are inevitable.

Testers are cranking up the heat. Following Sunday’s stage, no less than 14 riders were tested. CONI drug testers headed up the anti-doping protocol during the Tour’s quick detour into Italy and it will fall back onto France’s AFLD once the Tour climbs back over the Alps on Wednesday.

Things seem to be reaching a fever pitch, however, at least among some imaginative minds of some journalists hot on the doping trail.

Saturday evening, Silence-Lotto manager Marc Sergeant took the extraordinary step to issue a press release denying rumors reported on German TV that authorities were raiding the team’s hotel. Instead, it was some police of the Tour’s police entourage having a few post-stage beers with Sergeant and other team staff.

Hoping this is not true and I just get to concentrate on the action the next two days.


http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/a...sc-s-wealth-of