IanD wrote:Schumi I think you are being disingenuous. You miss my quote about David Walsh who lest we forget was one of the biggest detractors of the UCI and former doping cyclists who SKY have given unlimited access to the team. He has given them the all clear. Have any of the cheats given him access to their team? What would you like Sky to do to prove Froome is clean?
Paul Kimmage was extremely sceptical of Froome on Tuesday's Off the Ball and he was at least as critical of Armstrong and co. as Walsh. I don't understand how you can think Contador, etc. are cheating and be sure that the guy 5 minutes ahead of them is clean. I see that Sky have given l'Equipe some data from some of his climbs, hopefully this will provide some more insight.
Today Froome won the stage because of the bike change he made for the last descent. Team Sky's kit seems so much better than the other teams and also Froome tucked his head in more than any other rider which made him more aerodynamic. This comes from advanced testing in wind tunnels and the fact Dave Brailsford is Team GB Cycling coach. Team GB spent a fortune on bikes - testing and production - to help win medals. This seems to have been brought across, I have no definitive proof but the Time Trails bikes Wiggins rode in both the Tour and the Olympics were the same even had the same oval crank.
It's the big climbs that are more of a question to me. He's a good bit heavier than Contador and Quintana but is killing them up the mountains. His times have been up there with Armstrong's when he was 'winning' tours. Maybe Froome is that good but if it looks too good to be true, it would be naive to take him at his word.
I have to be honest here and say I have hitched my wagon to the Team Sky train with their anti doping stance and if someone on the team is caught doping I have to say I think it will be the last straw for me as a fan of cycling.
I can't put full faith in any cyclist at this stage tbh, and there are many other sports where I think drug use is rampant too that don't bother testing properly.