never, though, has doping been more out there than in this year's tour. so far several riders have tested positive, two entire teams have withdrawn due to doping related issues, and just today, the leader of the tour, danish rider michael rasmussen, was fired by his team and kicked out of the race. there is no positive test for him, but he failed to adhere to team rules regarding reporting for testing prior to the race which definitely is suspicious. there are rumors that he wasn't where he said he was.
doping in cycling is a huge problem. so many riders do it. the ones that don't are at a physical disadvantage. it's definitely a culture of doping. lately it seems that anybody who is winning is a suspect. who knows how justified some allegations are, but with more and more top riders coming forward and admitting to drug use, and several more testing positive, it's clearly going on. hopefully the sport can clean up its act. i'd like to think that lance and floyd didn't dope and that the current top riders (contador, the best young rider and new tour leader after rasmussen got booted, and leipheimer, teammate of contador, top american, and currently 3rd place overall) are riding clean.
update: interesting post on the freakonomics blog about tour doping. they suggest that maybe cyclist be allowed to dope since they all are anyhow. they also point out that cycling was the sport that introduced doping to the sports world. what a claim to fame!
