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Tour de France…by Canon
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This years TdF was marred by alleged drug use. It isn’t different to any other sport apart from the fact that the governing body, the UCI, insist on strict checks. Apply this level to any sport and you’ll be surprised.
The link below is to a Canon user, Elizabeth Creutz, who took some photographs of this years tour. Some inspiration and ideas can be taken for sports events as well as those of other Canon users on the tour.
By the way, she used the MkIII…for those of you interested on what it is capable of.
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/road_test/tour_de_france.do
Let me know if there is a link problem.
Alan .
That’s a brilliant link Alan…had a quick browse through it and have bookmarked for reading later.
I used to religiously watch the tour back in Indurain’s heyday, with the added interest of Kelly and Roche, and for a few years after, but have to admit that the whole drug thing killed my interest in it. When it was man and bike against the elements it was a wonderful spectacle…and I used to honestly believe those guys were superhuman…and maybe back then some of them still were….but now all I think of when I see a great performance is…what drugs did he take!! Plus I think a lot of the great characters are missing these days…for me..it just isn’t the same.
Still it makes great reading to see how a photographer has to organise themselves on a big event like that.
Cheers.
Yeah, the tour was an annual event for me too. I used to partake in the sport on a serious level once representing a squad made up of 6 counties of the South East. Sean Kelly still races and is a regular attender of our Hamper Race in Wexford every Christmas along with Ciaran Power.
I think the whole drugs thing is coming to a point. It’s getting to the stage where suspicion is enough to get a ban. Rasmussen didn’t give a positive test, David Millar was never caught with drugs but still got a 2 year ban and the whole blood doping affair has rattled the peleton. I just wish the UCI would do something before the TdF not on the eve, or a few days in, to announce irregularities.
By the way – drug use was prevalent back then too. Read Paul Kimmages book – “A rough ride”. He was slated for writing it but there was no denials or law suits. And did you know Kelly himself was caught twice?? Back then the penalties were softer. Now it should be a total, lifetime ban. We won’t even go into the whole Armstrong debate.
Glad you liked the link.
Alan.
And in other news…
‘Allo Paris, we have a problem…
http://blogs.reuters.com/2007/07/23/allo-paris-we-have-a-problem/
Ouch!!!
Oh I know, looking back now, that a lot of the guys back then were probably using performance enhancing drugs…Tom Simpson was long before Kelly and Roche…but I guess we didn’t see it on TV all the time..so out of mind etc. I hope you’re right about it coming to a head now..and maybe they will eradicate most of it from the sport. Maybe then I will go back to watching it…..it really was a great TV sport imo. I suppose it’s what happens when money and not glory becomes the over riding factor in any sport. Athletics is exactly the same these days. I heard an illuminating interview with Paul Kimmage the other day on the radio where he basically said that if you are a career cyclist for one of the big teams and you are told if you don’t up your game you’ll be sacked ..then you inevitably end up on the drugs bandwagon.
Great link there wonka,super images from that photographer,although everybody knew before the tour that rasmussen was suspect after dodging 3 test prior to the classics and the tour! Albeit he has not being found guity of anything yet only stupidity after lying to his DS about his whereabouts at training camps in italy and mexico. I would have thought after Pantani’s death it would have shaken things up and cleaned it up. Maybe the way foward is with a new approach to racing by a new team called Slipsteam(US) .They are due over here for the Tour of Ireland in the end of August.
I’m loking forward to that Ben. Isn’t Daniel Martin among that team? As far as I know he will be officially launched with the team for this tour.
Should be fun!!
Alan.
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