Tour de France - Boonen cleared to race

Eurosport - Fri, 03 Jul 23:25:00 2009

Former world champion Tom Boonen has been allowed to take part in this year's Tour de France by a French arbitration court.

CYCLING Tom Boonen has been cleared to race in the 2009 Tour de France despite a string of positive tests for Cocaine out of season - 0

"After the decision announced on the 3rd of July by the Sport Arbitration Chamber, Tom Boonen of the Quick Step team will be at the start of the 2009 Tour de France," race organisers ASO said in a statement.

"ASO takes this decision into account. The management of the Tour de France believes that, considering the great champion that Tom Boonen is, he will relish the opportunity that has been given to him and that he will have an exemplary attitude during the event," they added.

The organisers had previously banned Boonen from the race, which starts on Saturday, after the Belgian failed an out-of-competition test for cocaine in April.

Boonen launched a court case against ASO but earlier this week a judge said she could not rule on the matter, sending it before the French sport arbitration court.

"It's been three months of stress," Boonen said at his team hotel in Monte Carlo.

"It will now be hard to focus on the race. But I am not seeking revenge. Revenge is something stupid. When you want to win, you win for yourself."

Briton Mark Cavendish, who finds himself with another rival for the best sprinter's green jersey, welcomed Boonen's entry into the three-week race.

"It changes many things, in a good way. Our team will have less pressure in the flat stages," Cavendish said.

Boonen's positive for cocaine in April was the 28-year-old's second offence in 12 months after he failed a test for the same substance last year.

The 2005 world champion missed last year's Tour following his first positive test.

The International Cycling Union said last month they would not open disciplinary proceedings against Boonen after they had threatened him with a six-month ban for spoiling the sport's image.

Failing an out-of-competition check for cocaine is not technically considered a positive doping test since the use of the substance is not banned between races.

Boonen, who won the Paris-Roubaix classic race for the third time in April, was banned by his Quick Step team on May 9 after it was announced he had failed the test and returned to racing last month.

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Reuters

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  1. It's good that Boonen races, to get his %#@t kicked­ by Cavendish. Then he can run home with his 'milk­ mostach' and bleeding nose, to his 16yr old girl­ friend in Belgium, where most pedophiles in the world­ are. Then Cavendish can go home as well, because of his­ fear of heights (can´t time-trile either). Only then­ can we start enjoying real tallent. Such a pitty that­ such fools have to get involved in such a sport.

    From jan.deruyck, on Sat 4 Jul 8:54PM

  2. If we are talking about setting an example for the­ kids, than should we also ban cyclists and other­ professional athletes for other offenses as well? Drunk­ driving, domestic violence, public drunkenness,­ shoplifting, speeding etc? If you want to hold up an­ athlete as a shining example of what we want our kids­ to be than they should be pure as the driven snow.­ Otherwise the message is you can do wrong sometimes but­ not all the time and it depends on where you committed­ your offenses. I don't agree with the use of­ cocaine or any other recreational drug but if we are­ going to rely on a guy who spends more time riding a­ bike, or kicking a ball than educating himself to­ provide morality to our youth than we are in big­ trouble

    From Chris, on Sat 4 Jul 2:31AM

  3. They have let him in to spice up the sprint and god­ knows what else that we humble cycling fans dont know­ what else is going on.A Minus for cycling once­ again.Hey what about having a tdf with all the drug­ losers in it.

    From Francis O, on Sat 4 Jul 1:00AM

  4. Boonen should race the Tour. So he likes to stick s*it­ up his nose, his a Monaco living Playboy. Coke is not­ performance enhancing, he is an amazing rider, does­ anyone really care as long as he races well. I suppose­ Alan Davis might care.

    From cliffyprice75, on Sat 4 Jul 12:14AM

  5. The color of the TDF leaders jerseys is determined by­ your drug of choice it appears. White for the up and­ coming coke addict, Polka dot for the heroin injectors­ and their tracks, green for the marijuana folks and­ yellow for the good old fashioned drunkards.

    From Worldwide, on Sat 4 Jul 12:11AM

  6. although cocaine is classed as a recreational drug, so­ not legal but is available, not unlike alcohol in the­ usa until 1933. it doesn't help in the long run in­ a race like EPO or testoserone or even growth hormones.­ in the 70's all of the 6 day riders were on speed­ which has a similar effect to that @#$% boonen was­ having a crack at of season. his trouble is this is the­ 2nd time and it is still illegal. i disagree with his­ entry. cycling has so many clouds over it. zero­ tolerance should apply or the sport will continue to be­ disreputed in the world of sport

    From peter w, on Fri 3 Jul 11:24PM

  7. so can someone please clarify that its now officially­ ok to take drugs and race or is it not ok.?

    From martin h, on Fri 3 Jul 11:19PM

  8. Hypocrisy.

    From Gallas, on Fri 3 Jul 10:19PM

  9. In reply to Tmartine who wrote - Boonen is an idiot and­ a three­ time loser... not only that... he NEVER is­ able to get­ over the mountains so will never wear a­ green jersey­ into Paris...
    Who was the T boonen who­ won the Points Classification (Green Jersey) at the­ 2007 TdF? At least get your facts right!

    From Matt Donaldson, on Fri 3 Jul 9:25PM

  10. Surely if someone has, as tmartine has alleged, 6­ UNOFFICIAL tests positive and one test where there was­ a doctors note to cover it, then they shouldnt be­ condemned as a cheat alongside those who have been­ PROVEN to have cheated. This flimsy hearsay to slander­ a clean rider is on the same low level as a cocaine­ addict being allowed to partake in the best cycling­ race in the world. Lay off Lance with the drug thing.­ It's boring and disrespectful.

    From Liz S, on Fri 3 Jul 9:23PM

  11. forget for a minute about how this reflects on the tour­ and ASO and the sport of cycling... is all this­ association with illegal drug use really what­ Quickstep's sponsors want? the real farce is how­ Boonen gets away with it but other poor smucks in­ Belgium who aren't so famous are likely getting­ thrown to the wolves...

    Boonen is an idiot and a three­ time loser... not only that... he NEVER is able to get­ over the mountains so will never wear a green jersey­ into Paris... i feel really sorry for who ever he­ replaces at Quickstep.. Lefevere... i sure hope Boonen­ finds some other dope (and lots of it) to get him past­ Cav or all this energy and bad publicity will be for­ not..

    From tmartine, on Fri 3 Jul 7:54PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    @floatunderwater - contrary to popular belief neither­ pantani nor virenque have failed tests for performance­ enhancing drugs.. they were caught by police­ investigations.. as has Basso, Millar, Ullrich etc,­ etc.. passing dope tests is dead easy for these guys..­ only the stupid or unlucky fail tests.. people who use,­ not having failed a dope test as proof of innocence­ prove their utter ignorance of how doping in sport­ works.

    And just to be fair Armstrong actually has­ fail a drug test for corticosteriod... for which he­ produced a doctor's note after the fact... giving­ the unlikely use for a saddle sore as the reason... no­ doctor would use it for that since it thins the skin­ and would actually make the problem worse. plus 6­ unofficial EPO positives from 1999. so in terms of­ passed dope tests Armstrong isn't even up to the­ level of guys like Basso, Millar, Ullrich, Pantani,­ Virenque etc that in actuality have passed every dope­ test they've taken even thought we know they are­ guilty through means other than testing.

    people, stop­ trotting out passing dope test as proof of innocence..­ you are just showing how ignorant and naive you are...

    From tmartine, on Fri 3 Jul 7:42PM

  13. This is shocking. Hopefully it won't affect­ Cavendish very much but I feel sorry for the guys that­ come behind him in a sprint. He knew the rules(of the­ country not just of cycling), he broke them he should­ be out end of.

    From Keith McLean, on Fri 3 Jul 5:50PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Cocaine is illegal, drink driving is illegal, they both­ give you a criminal record but doesn't mean you­ should lose your job. Think you are being a bit harsh­ chem452002. Give kids and parents some credit that­ they will make their own choices when it comes to drugs­ instead of blaming 'society' or Tom Boonen for­ all the wrongs in the world. People need to take­ responsibilty. He used coke, he's a c*ck, but if­ some kid wants to try coke, they will try coke­ regardless of one cyclist.
    I don't agree with drug­ use and think if he has been caught he should be dealt­ with by the police but illegal or not, when it comes to­ the rules of whether he should cycle the tour or not it­ is in black and white that he can. Tom especially­ likes the white bit. ;-)

    From Richard, on Fri 3 Jul 4:22PM

  15. The FRENCH are getting weirder and weirder. If your­ name is Lance Armstrong, urine and blood is not good­ enough, they want your hair sample too and YOU BETTER­ NOT TAKE A SHOWER :-). But a guy who got caught taking­ cocaine 2-3 times, sure, no problem, welcome to the­ tour. Am I the only one confused here???
    And what does­ this say to all people specially those between 7-20 yrs­ old? " Cocaine is ok" ? Those of you who say­ " at least he didnt do it to win races". But­ it is illegal just like robbery, you dont say "­ the car thief damaged a lots of things but he didnt do­ it to win Formula 1 race, so he should be free ".­ It is ridiculous.

    From chem452002, on Fri 3 Jul 4:02PM

  16. What a farce!
    Alan Davies was presented to the world­ yesterday in Monaco at the team presentation - now he`s­ told to piss off home!
    It sends a poor message to young­ fans especially those in Belgium.
    It`s a political­ decision & f all to do with sport!

    From Bikefan, on Fri 3 Jul 4:00PM

  17. Shocking decision. What kind of message does this send­ out to youngsters about drug taking. This is not what­ the sport needed after it's efforts to become­ 'clean'. 100% Me, drug free and proud to be.

    From judy, on Fri 3 Jul 2:31PM

  18. It's all about getting publicity and getting the­ popular guys on the road so the organization gets more­ viewers and make more money. Cycling is a business and­ will forever play favorites towards their "golden­ stars". Look at Lance being scrutinized even­ though he hasn't failed one test and people like­ Virenque and Pantani will always be hailed as heroes­ even though they're dopers.

    From floatunderwater, on Fri 3 Jul 2:26PM

  19. just keep him away from snow in mountains rofl

    From xangtzu, on Fri 3 Jul 2:23PM

  20. terrible decision!

    From franzy_1919, on Fri 3 Jul 2:03PM
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