February 16th, 2008 by 
thien
Palo Alto, CA – Speaking at a press conference on the eve of this year’s Tour of California Prologue, defending Tour of California champion and 2007 Tour de France podium finisher Levi Leipheimer unveiled LetLeviRide.com, a grassroots campaign to appeal the Amaury Sport Organization’s (ASO) recent decision to ban Leipheimer’s team, Astana, from participating in this summer’s Tour de France. Visitors to LetLeviRide.com have an opportunity to pledge their support for Levi and add their name to a
petition directed at the ASO.
“With LetLeviRide.com I’m not disputing the ASO’s right to decide which teams it invites to the Tour and which teams it doesn’t,” notes Leipheimer. “I’m drawing attention to the fact that this decision by the ASO is completely arbitrary and unjust. I had nothing to do with Astana prior to joining the team this year. There are many other teams with tainted pasts that haven’t changed management or structure like the new Astana has, yet Astana is singled out and excluded. Where’s the consistency? By taking action now it looks political. It looks like the ASO has a grudge against a team that can win its races. My hope is
that this campaign will encourage the ASO to reconsider its decision.”
On February 13th, the ASO barred Team Astana from competing in any race or event organized by the ASO in 2008. The ASO owns premiere cycling events like Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours, and the famed Tour de France. To justify its decision, the ASO cited the doping scandals of last year’s Tour de France.
For anyone who has followed cycling’s ongoing battle against doping, the ASO’s rationale is suspect. Astana’s 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 the highly respected, anti-doping expert Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard, and Astana now spends more money on anti-doping controls than any other team in the pro peloton.
There’s no comparison between the Astana team of 2007 and the new Astana. “That the happenings of last year…prompted the Tour organizers to leave Astana out of the season’s most important race sounds understandable,” notes Bruyneel. “However, Astana Cycling Team 2008 has nothing to do with the team of last year. We have done everything to change the dynamics of the team.
New management, new riders, new philosophy. Only the name of the sponsor remained.” The ASO has nonetheless largely ignored the new Astana’s restructuring efforts, and as a consequence of barring the entire team from competing in ASO events, has stripped athletes like Levi Leipheimer of the opportunity to realize their life’s ambition of competing in the Tour.
“I’ve trained my whole life to race the Tour,” notes Leipheimer. “It’s my dream to win the Tour de France; it’s my life long goal.”
February 17th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
ASO decision to ban Astana after their housecleaning is wrong and is making a farce of the Tour. Astana has some of the strongest racers, ASO decision to not allow Astana to compete is limiting competition.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Clean riders must be allowed to race in the Tour de France. Levi is clean. Let him ride.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
This is a sad day for cycling when something of this nature takes place. I say if the ASO wants to act like this and the riders feel it is unjust, then bring those races to the USA and let the fans in this country support all the Euro’s as well. The ASO is full of themselves and they should be sanctioned against. Levi, we have your back and all the other riders in this case. Let some of the overweight money bags come out and train, then they will see what it takes to ride at your level.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 am
The decision makers of ASO are rightly empowered to make whatever decisions they might choose to protect and enhanse the prestige and event leadership of the venerable TOUR DE FRANCE…however common sense and good stewardship seems to not be in force in the case of their decision to exempt and quarantine the innocent. I join with the overwhelming majority to plead the ASO decision makers reconvene and reconsider their decision in light of what is best for cycling, and if they find it appropriate to penalize the guilty, by all means do so. However, I submit that a blanket condemnation which encompasses the innocent is self destructive, and is not in the best interest of cycling. As a enthusiastic fan, hopeful for recovery, I pray ASO will reconsider their position, and demonstrate that fairness prevails in their decisions.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
I’m going to bed now. Someone please wake me up in 10 years when this whole nightmare is over and we can get back to enjoying the fabled sport of regular mortals with regular blood riding bikes as fast as they can toward a regular old finish line. If it turns out to be 20 years, could someone just turn my body at the halfway point so I don’t get riddled with bedsores? Thanks.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I understand and support all avenues of the leadership cleaning up the sport (baseball can’t honestly say they have made that stand!); however, their reasoning is NOT sound to band a particular team…on what grounds? Perhaps the pro teams should boycott the Tour De France and actively support different venues? I know, it is the Tour de France but it just wrong. Hats off to you Levi…you rode a nearly perfect race last year…bring one home for us!!!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 5:41 am
As in any war, there will be collateral damage. Good, bad, right or wrong, clean or dirty is not relevant - it is the price to be paid when it is necessary to wage a war. Unfortunately if we want to be enjoing cycling in 10 years, war is necessary.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Please let Levi ride. He is a role model for cyclist around the world and his absence in the Tour de France with undermine the prestige of this great event. He did not do anything wrong and his behaviour both on the road and off his cycle shows a great character that others should try to emulate.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
IF they let Astana race other teams will not take the whole doping problem as seriously. I would like nothing more than to see Levi ride especilly with Johan Brunnel managing. But they had to know this was comng when they joined Astana. They joined Astana for the money and were prepared to take the risk they would be banned form the tour. If Levi was not in the team would every one still want Astana in the tour?
March 13th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Over half the riders on Astana were on the team last year. The financial backing hasn’t changed and Contador came from the disgraced Libery Seguros team (which became Astana). Plus you have the first team director to hire riders implicated in Puerto. ASO made the right move to leave out Astana and their hideous baby blue uniforms.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:07 am
What bull shit. I’m not going to get cable TV this summer. I only get it a for a month each year to watch the tour. I’m boycotting this year.
You rock, Levi!
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Innocent until proven guilty is an interesting concept in team sports. Astana was clearly guilty last year. The argument, though has to be, that the riders and personnel of Astana, not the abstract “team” were guilty. Levi was not there, Contador was not there, Bruyneel was not there. In the interests of fairness, the ASO needs to let these athletes that have never tested positive compete. You cannot ban an abstract. Is the ASO saying the company Astana is guilty of testing positive to performance enhancing drugs? They are a title sponsor, not the team.