2011 Tour de France
By Ben, BettingExpert.com | Published
Google+: Ben Bexpert
The 98th Tour de France pedals off from the starting point, Passage du Gois all the way to Champs-Ellysees in Paris for a three-week grueling race starting from 2 July to 24 July. Twenty-two teams clip their feet on their bikes as they cycle in a 21-stages race covering over 3,430km for 22-days that covers climbing high mountains on their bikes. The cyclists’ stamina and sheer determination will be tested as they try to make it the finishing line in Paris where the podium awaits to crown the 2011 Tour de France winner and for the champion to wear the most coveted yellow jersey.
The Retired
The Tour de France 2011 kicks off without the the formidable Lance Armstrong who after coming back from his 2005 retirement has once again retired early this year. Although the seven-time Tour de France title holder cannot distance himself from the controversy that is going on in The Tour. Armstrong been accused by his former U.S. Postal Service team that he cheated in races using banned performance-enhancing substances during his career although he has never been tested positive. On the contrary, last year’s Tour de France 2010 winner Alberto Contador was tested positive for a banned substance during last year’s race. Contador’s urine sample at the final rest day contained trace amounts of the drug clenbuterol.
Defending Champion Could Retire
Despite the controversy surrounding the defending champion, Alberto Contador, is still joining the 98th Tour de France to defend his title. As mentioned earlier, the three-time Tour winner was tested positive for using drug clenbuterol at last year’s event. The 28-year-old Spaniard denied the allegation and maintained his innocence by claiming he had unintentionally ingested the drug by eating contaminated meat. For this, the Spanish Cycling Federation cleared their own cyclist for any wrongdoing. However, the ICU and WADA are not convinced with Contador’s alibi. Under the anti-doping rules, it is his responsibility to make sure he is cleared of any doping substance and if found positive, an automatic two-year banned should be applied against the athlete. ICU and WADA have logged an appeal against the SCF ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sports. To make To make matters worse, the CAS is due to give their verdict on this case the month after Tour de France has finished. If found guilty, it will be a devastating consequences for the Spaniard, he will not only be banned for two years but will also cause him to be stripped off of his Tour de France title he won last year, as well as his, Giro D’Italia 2011 that he won early this year. Comes worst, the Spaniard claimed that if this would be the case, he might retire from racing overall. His future might be hanging at this moment but this will not stop Alberto Contador’s will power to win the race. In fact, he is even more determined to give his best. Although his participation has been questioned by many, Alberto still favoured by many bookmakers to win the stages that involve climbing the mountain for he is build for this. For this, the odds for the defending champion Alberto Contador to win his fourth title, Tour de France 2011 is high indeed.
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