“I’ve trained my whole life to race the Tour. It’s my dream to win the Tour de France; it’s my life long goal.” — Levi Leipheimer
Cycling fans who are shocked by the unfairness of the Astana cycling team's banishment from the Tour de France will want to sign a petition at LetLeviRide.com.
American cyclist Levi Leipheimer launched the campaign to petition the Amaury Sports Organization to allow his Astana team to compete in the Tour de France, as well as Paris-Nice and other races it owns.
ASO announced it banned Astana from the Tour de France because of doping problems the past couple of years, in spite of the fact that management has been overhauled this year and many of the cyclists are new.
(Update: As of Wednesday night, more than 23,000 have signed the petition.)
No comparison
According to the LetLeviRide website:
“There can be no comparison between the Astana team of 2007 and the new Astana. The entire organizational structure has been rebuilt under the direction of the team’s new General Manager, Johan Bruyneel, who has thoroughly cleaned house. What’s more, Astana has adopted the rigorous doping controls developed by anti-doping expert Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard, and Astana now spends more money on anti-doping controls than any other team in the pro peloton.”
Leipheimer finished in third place in last year's Tour de France, his best finish ever in the race. He has been considered among a short list of favorites to win the race since the retirement of Lance Armstrong.
Italy's Alberto Contador, the winner of last year's Tour de France, wouldn't be able to defend his title if the team is banned.
UCI supports Astana
The decision to ban Astana is solely the idea of ASO; the Union Cycliste Internationale is not preventing Astana from competing. In fact Leipheimer and Astana are in this week's Tour of California and UCI president Pat McQuaid calls ASO decision “a monumental folly.”
The petition also is aimed at the Versus cable network, which is ASO's media partner in the US. Interestingly, Versus commentators Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll are both siding with those who contend Astana is being robbed. Bob Roll:
“Cofidis is also free to ride in spite of their doping offenses at the 2007 Tour De France, which honestly are no worse than Astana’s. So far, the ASO hasn’t given an adequate reason for excluding Astana in light of many teams’ reputations being tarnished by a small number of riders. Maybe my being from the United States gives me a more acutely attuned nose for the stench of hypocrisy. But the cheese is getting ripe in France.”
Be sure to sign the petition at LetLeviRide to “Free the Astana 9.”
First seen at Roger Kramer Cycling.
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