Spyns 2011 Tour de France Tours: Euro Finance Ministers in Davos "The Crisis Is Over. Thank you and Goodnight"

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Few things are certain these days but I am sure of the following:

"I'll have the irony
please."

• Spyns offers the best Tour de France tours;
• The sun will rise tomorrow;
• Contador will lose his doping appeal (and won't compete in the 2011 Tour de France); and
• The Eurozone (and larger world) crisis are far from over.

What a surprise then to read about France's President Sarkozy, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and other Euro government thingies claiming the end of the Eurozone crisis. While speaking at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, France's finance minister claimed the crisis had "turned the corner." This seems a bit delusional. 

To wit: Ireland's bailout was inked just 5 weeks ago and has yet to be formally ratified in that country's parliament. Adding to the uncertainty, the Irish government has collapsed and the leading opposition party likely to form the next government has started making noises about bond haircuts. [They were summarily slapped down by both the ECB and European Commission: both defenders of German and French banks that own the bonds.] Portugal's economy is shrinking while bond interest rates remain stubbornly high. This is an unsustainable path for that country. Belgium has no government and is likely heading for a break up. Both inflation and unemployment are on the rise across Europe, most acutely in France, Great Britain, and Spain. So sounding the "all clear" may be a bit premature. The instability at Europe's doorstep is also a bit foreboding.

Politicians don't normally deal in bad news. Some have even been known to lie. I'd look at what's happening in North African countries like Egypt and Tunisia to see how quickly things can degerate when you have an explosive mix of high youth unemployment, skyrocketing cost of living, and governments that fail to address either. Turning to the Eurozone, these factors are common in Spain, the UK and France to name a few. While everyone is having a Chamberlain moment in Davos (the man who claimed "Peace in our time" just before the outbreak of WWII), I believe Western governments are dealing with symptoms rather than treating the illness.

While governments in Spain and the US artificially prop up housing prices, lowball unemployment, and continue with bank bailouts, soverign debt keeps growing at an alarming rate and shows few signs of abating. The US deficit is projected to be a staggering $1.5 trillion in 2011. It makes little sense for the US government to extend tax cuts under these circumstances. Sadly, governments on both sides of the Atlantic look no further than the next election when addressing problems that will take generations to resolve. Will this come to a head in 2011? Your guess is as good as mine.

I equate the current financial situation to a melting iceberg. Lehman's collapse was the fracture setting developed economies adrift. The resulting iceberg moved inexorably towards warmer waters and started melting - almost imperceptibly. The politicians are like penguins darting here and there around the massive surface, giving the impression of frenetic activity yet doing little to change the iceberg's trajectory. Once adrift, it is almost impossible to change the course of an iceberg. Similarly, it will take decades to repair the developed world's finances yet the political will is missing. 

What does this mean for Spyns 2011 Tour de France clients? In the short term, I'd expect Spain's financial problems to become front page news again in the next 8-10 weeks. This will probably lead to a dip in the euro before the US budget crisis also makes headlines - likely when a large US city or state goes bankrupt. So Spyns clients should probably exchange their dollars to euros during the next dip as the euro will likely spike again in June/July 2011. 

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

2011 Tour de France Travel Packages: Adios Contador, Schleck Poised for Yellow Jersey

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Contador: brining sexy back
to cycling.

As Spyns former clients can attest, I am no fan of Alberto Contador. While his talents aren't in question, there was always something that irked me about the unloveable latin rider. This general malaise was only confirmed during the 2010 Tour de France when Contador seized upon Andy Schleck's mechanical failure to sprint past his rival and, through questionable means, win yet another yellow jersey. Well, gotcha!

The plucky Spaniard is at it again. Alberto Contador has confirmed that he will not be retiring from cycling even if he is eventually banned and said that he will appeal against any kind of sanction.  Speaking in a press conference on Friday, his first since he heard he would receive a one-year ban for clenbuterol, he said "I have no plans to quit. But above all, I consider this ban to be totally unfair. I've never doped. I'm an example of what it means to race clean."


Contador said he had done around 500 anti-doping tests in his career. "They've done tests on me in my home, with my family, I've had to go out of the cinema in the middle of the film or walk out on someone's birthday celebrations. I did all that because I believed in the antidoping system. I believed it was right. My only error has been to eat meat without it being previously tested. The norms [about positive tests for clenbuterol] will change within three months, six months or a year. But what about me? Those responsible for the anti-doping system have to rethink things. There's an antidoping regulation [which states that any amount of clenbuterol detected is a positive] which is completely obsolete."

He may have a point but in most people's minds, pro cycling has a serious doping problem. And many Spyns former clients disliked Contador because, well, he didn't let an ageing Lance Armstrong (and former teammate) win the 2009 Tour de France. Armstrong eventually placed 3rd. "The amount of clenbuterol found in my system could have had no effect on my performance and is physically impossible to take intentionally. In no way did it help me win the Tour de France. What hurts is that all of the scientists know I'm innocent. These rules no longer keep up with scientific developments and until the rules change there will be more cases of false positives in 2011."


Apart from re-asserting his innocence, the 27-year-old Madrilano was also critical of the way his provisional ban was leaked to the press, but said he will everything he can to try to reduce the ban in the next ten days before it becomes definitive. During the ongoing press conference, due to finish around 6pm Spanish time, Contador received the support of his team manager, Bjarne Riis, as well as his sponsors at Saxo Bank. This is no small feat.

It will be interesting to see the powers that be in professional cycling on the run. If as Contador claims the chemicals in his system could not have helped his performance, perhaps antidoping authorities will have to re-assess their testing. Lance said as much when an ancient urine sample was re-tested years later and found to contain traces of illegal substances. Armstrong was successful in having that thrown out on the basis the samples could have been tainted so many years later.

The ball is in Contador's court. Let's see how he plays it. But there is little doubt that Andy Schleck (cue smile with tooth sparkle) is the new favourite to win the 2011 Tour de France.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Tour de France Tour packages www.tdf-tours.com: Tour de France / Mont Ventoux Victim Tom Simpson Subject of Film Project

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Simpson on his fateful ride up
Mont Ventoux: 1967 Tour de France 

Spyns former clients who conquered Mont Ventoux during our 2009 Tour de France trips know the "Geant de Provence" is one of the most challenging rides in France. Spyns 2011 Tour de France tour clients will have the opportunity to bike epic Mont Ventoux during our Provence to Paris Tours during the July 2011 edition of the Tour de France. But few Spyns former clients know that Mont Ventoux also has a morbid history that will soon make it to the screen.

This is England director Shane Meadows wants to make a film about Tom Simpson, the British cycling champion who died of exhaustion on Mont Ventoux while taking part in the 1967 Tour de France. Meadows, who grew up in Simpson's home county of Nottinghamshire, told the Associated Press: "He's a Nottingham guy and it's just one of those legendary stories that feels like a Hollywood movie script, though I wouldn't treat it like that." The film director, who hasn't yet bought the rights to the story, said he wouldn't gloss over Simpson's use of amphetamines while racing because "it was very different then". No casting decisions have yet been made.

Simpson, born in Haswell, County Durham in 1937, was Britain's first road world champion (in 1965) and won several other major races, including the 1961 Ronde van Vlaanderen, 1963 Bordeaux – Paris, 1964 Milan – San Remo and 1965 Giro di Lombardia, In 1962, he became the first Briton to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France and finished sixth overall (the best placing by a Briton until Robert Millar's fourth in 1984).

He was looking strong at the start of the 1967 Tour, having won that year's Paris – Nice and two stages of the Vuelta a España. But 3km from the summit of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage he began to wobble. After another kilometre he fell off his bike and had to be pushed back on by spectators. He made it a further 300m before collapsing again, this time losing consciousness. A post mortem found drugs and alcohol had combined with the heat, the hard climb and stomach cramps to cause his death.

With full van support, a stop mid mountain, and guides riding in front and bank, Spyns clients can enjoy Mont Ventoux at their own pace and in complete safety.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Tours: Pro Cycling is a Contact Sport

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Get the butt out!

In the past, Spyns former clients have likened professional cycling to other non-violent sports like horsebackriding or badminton. But anyone who watched Mark Renshaw get disqualified for headbutting at the 2010 Tour de France would have seen more "head" action at the recent Tour Down Under.

As Lance Armstrong retired from pro cycling, dethroned Tour Down Under champion Andre Greipel, who did not manage a stage win in his title defence, accused Argentinian sprinter Juan Jose Haedo of headbutting him and Robbie McEwen in an aggressive bunch sprint finale yesterday. Greipel likened his clashing with Haedo to the headbutting that led to a former teammate, Australian Mark Renshaw, being thrown off the Tour de France last year. And while he shook hands with Haedo after racing yesterday, the German did not refrain from criticising him subsequently.

Asked whether he thought Saxo Bank's Haedo had crossed the line, Greipel, who has switched from HTC-Highroad to Omega Pharma-Lotto said: ''I think yes. I mean, Renshaw was disqualified in the Tour de France for shit like this. We went into the last corner and he was pushing and headbutting me. I'm not the judge. I mean, it doesn't change anything now because I couldn't do my sprint and that's it. He did the same with McEwen, I think, from what I saw.''

A UCI commissaire (international cycling referrees who oversee the races) said last night there was limited television footage for judges to review such incidents at the Tour Down Under - which would have made it difficult for race officials to issue punishment - but he suggested several riders appeared to have contravened rules in the final furious moments of stage six, and that they looked to have offended seriously enough to have warranted expulsion from the race.
Despite the numerous incidents of heavy rider contact in the finish that determined the 2011 champion, no team laid an official complaint. In a land of full contact rugby and crocodile wrestling, a little head contact doesn't seem actionable.

The finish yesterday in downtown Adelaide was particularly hot given it was the final chance for some of the Tour's biggest names to score a stage victory. McEwen had stated it as his aim and was well in contention to pull it off in the final kilometres yesterday. For Michael Matthews, the 20-year-old Australian and reigning under-23 world road race champion contracted to professional outfit Rabobank, it was the first experience of an elite road race and yesterday's conclusion proved hair-raising. Matthews could have become the overall Tour Down Under champion had he won the final sprint.


''Everyone was pushing me everywhere,'' he said. ''Just going that fast, and the way these guys push around a bit is a bit different to the under-23s. In the under-23s there are a few elbows and stuff, but in this league it's definitely headbutts and full body movement, so, yeah, it's almost like a wrestling match in the last lap. Being a little guy trying to sprint, it's a bit hard being pushed around by the big guys. But I guess you've got to push them back and see how you go. I just couldn't quite push them back.'' We'll see how he fares in the 2011 Tour de France.


While he didn't feel he was manhandled illegally (enjoy that innuendo), Matthews said he saw riders who were. ''In front of me and around me guys were getting headbutts, but that's racing I guess. I'm not going to name names because it's not for me to do,'' he said. Hopefully Matthews won't be manhandled in front of Spyns clients during our 2011 Tour de France trips.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Package Tours: Contador's Future Hinges on Pork and Hair

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"Got doping?"

As Lance Armstrong ends his professional cycling career down under, doping scandals continue to dog the world of professional cycling. In a more interesting twist, in the wake of Alberto Contador's recent positive test results, scientists continue debate on how to separate doping from meat contamination.

As Spyns clients prepare for our 2011 Tour de France tours, the cycling world awaits the verdict of the Spanish cycling federation concerning Alberto Contador's positive test result for clenbuterol, anti-doping scientists are continuing to debate over the best way to separate intentional doping with the substance and innocent meat contamination. Several recent clenbuterol positives have been based on infinitely small amounts of the drug in the athletes' urine, suggesting a possible contamination with clenbuterol-treated meat. And because there is no threshold for the muscle booster, innocent athletes who did not dope could be unfairly punished.


German table tennis player Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who tested positive for the drug in August 2010, was cleared by his national federation in October because he provided his hair to be tested, further supporting his claim that the positive came from ingested meat. "Clenbuterol sticks at least 20 times better to dark hair than to blonde," Detlef Thieme, director of Germany's WADA-accredited lab in Kreischa, told AP. Spyns former clients may ask while a table tennis player would need to dope. After Ovtcharov's hair test was negative, it offered additional evidence that he didn't cheat. Had Ovtcharov been blonde, that result would have been "rather vague," added Thieme, whose lab performed the test. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has since appealed the acquittal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) - a move it is likely to repeat should the Spanish cycling federation decide to clear the 2010 Tour de France winner Contador.

But within the scientific world, anti-doping experts point out that WADA's zero-tolerance policy for clenbuterol should be re-examined. Zhao Jian, deputy director-general of China's Anti-Doping Agency, said that the absence of a threshold for the substance is "not fair" because of a great possibility of punishing innocent athletes. Still, Zhao warned that dopers could use a threshold to escape punishment, as long as they tested below the limit. "It could give a green light to those who deliberately use," he said. Germany's Thieme suggested loosening the rules temporarily, while scientists pinpoint the risk of meat contamination with greater certainty. "That would be smart," he said. At the moment, "in order to protect the integrity of the ongoing proceedings", WADA is not commenting on the scientific investigation of clenbuterol positives, or whether it would be willing to introduce a threshold.


Another rider waiting for the outcome of Contador's case is Li Fuyu, who used to ride for RadioShack but was released after testing positive for clenbuterol in March 2010. Like Contador, the clenbuterol traces found in Li's urine were infinitely small, and the Chinese rider also blamed contaminated meat for the positive test. Officially, Li has been banned for two years by his federation, but if Contador is cleared, the Chinese cycling federation could shorten his supension. "Since his case is the same as that of Contador, he has to wait for the outcome of Contador," said a Chinese cycling official by the surname of Niu. "If Contador is acquitted, it’s possible that an adjustment will be made in (Li's) punishment."

The Spanish cycling federation is expected to provide a sentence on Contador by February 15. The up-and-coming Schleck brothers hope Contador will race in the 2011 Tour de France. Andy Schleck wants a chance to beat Contador after his narrow victory over his rival at the 2010 Tour de France.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Tour Packages: Lance Armstrong Ends Pro Cycling Career...Under a Cloud

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Do not go gently into that good night...
Rage rage against the dying of the light.

As riders prepare for the 2011 Tour de France and Spyns' clients gear up for our 2011 Tour de France trips, Lance Armstrong bids farewell to professional cycling. Tour de France icon Lance Armstrong brought an end to his international cycling career when he completed the final stage of the Tour Down Under.

Cancer survivor Armstrong won a record seven Tour de France yellow jerseys during his career, but failed to produce fireworks on what was his final professional race outside the United States. Armstrong won no stages in the six-stage event, finishing on Sunday outside the race's top 50 and almost six minutes behind 23-year-old race champion Cameron Meyer of Australia. The 39-year-old American is still contracted to the RadioShack team, for whom he is scheduled to race in a number of multi-sport events.


Armstrong's participation in mountain bike races or triathlons could be determined, however, by the outcome of a federal probe launched following allegations that he doped regularly while racing with US Postal in 1999-2004. Armstrong said last October that the Tour Down Under, where he launched his second comeback to the sport in 2009 - having retired after his seventh Tour de France win in 2005 - would be his final international race. "I'm excited to be competing in my last professional ride outside the US at the Tour Down Under," Armstrong said in a statement on October 24. It will be my third time to the event and I'm sure I will enjoy it as much as I have the first two times."


Armstrong's legacy and Tour de France wins are in question following a US probe into allegations Armstrong doped during past cycling races.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

2011 Spyns Tour de France Travel Packages: 2011 Tour de France Teams Unveiled

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As Spyns clients gear up for our 2011 Tour de France trips, we can now look forward to no fewer than four US-based teams participating in pro cycling's most famous race. It used to be we had to wait until much later in the year to find out which cycling teams were getting invited to the Big Spin in July, but ASO, the sports conglomerate that owns the Tour de France, got it out of the way today. Eighteen teams received slots owing to the elite status conferred on them by the UCI, cycling's international governing body. Four lower-tier Pro Continental teams drew wild cards.



French cycling has been in decline for a quarter-century, but it's still startling to see just one home team in the first 18 -- a percentage remedied by the organizers, who gave all of the wild cards to French squads. Four American teams will start to equal last year's record. There are always odd teams out for various reasons, and this year's Most Disgruntled Award goes to Spain's new Geox-TMC team. Geox's exclusion is due to the fact that the UCI denied the team elite status due to doping episodes during a previous management incarnation sponsored by Saunier-Duval. It also leaves 2008 Tour champion Carlos Sastre out in the cold. Spyns former clients will be disappointed as Sastre was always popular (the "good" Contador I always said).


Wih the beleaguered Lance Armstrong saying he'll watch from the sidelines and triple Tour winner Alberto Contador facing suspension for his positive clenbuterol test (a decision is due within the next week), there may be no former Tour winner in the 2011 field. Clearly a page has turned.


The lineup list by country:

Belgium
Omega Pharma-Lotto
QuickStep Cycling


Denmark
Saxo Bank (go Schlecks!)

France
AG2R La Mondiale
Cofidis (wild card)
Francaise des Jeux (wild card)
Saur-Sojasun (wild card)
Team Europcar (wild card)

Great Britain
Sky Pro Cycling (go Wiggins!)

Italy
Lampre-ISD
Liquigas-Cannondale

Kazakhstan
Astana


Luxembourg
Team Leopard-Trek

Netherlands

Rabobank
Vacansoleil-DCM

Russia
Katusha

Spain
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Movistar

United States
BMC Racing Team
HTC-High Road
Garmin-Cervelo
RadioShack


There will be plenty of opportunities for Spyns clients to see the 2011 Tour de France as we're offering a number of riding and non-riding trips to see the final Tour de France stages. While Lance won't be racing in July, the crowds may be a bit more manageable this year because 2009 and 2010 were out of control.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

2011 Tour de France Trips: Scotland Wants to Host Tour de France's Grand Depart

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"Bonjour!"

I had Britain on the brain this week as I've just returned from a scouting trip to London (UK). I could have sworn I saw Bradley Wiggins having breakfast at my hotel but didn't want to disturb his eggs and (streaky) bacon (as the Brits call it). Mind you, almost everyone in London looks like Wiggins - both men and women. Spyns former clients won't be surprised then to learn Scotland is in the running to host the Tour de France's Grand Depart in 2017.  

Typically the grand départ has an opening day prologue – a short city centre time-trial designed to showcase the host location – followed the next day a full length stage although, as is the case this year, it can be two out-and-out stage races if the terrain is challenging enough. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are likely to be involved in the bid and given the topography around both cities the Tour de France organisers will have plenty of options. While Spyns only offers Tour de France trips during the final week of the race, I applaud the initiative although Scotland is a bit far from continental Europe. Historically, the French enjoy needling the English and do so by supporting mildly nationalist groups in Scotland and Quebec (Canada) for example so this is right up their alley.

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour de France, are known to be looking for suitable overseas start venues and were particularly encouraged by the outstanding success of the 2007 Tour from London when some of the biggest crowds in the race's history flocked to watch the action. A host city will have to bid between £5-10m ($8-$12 million) to host the start of the Tour but with the world's media in attendance, the huge race day crowds and the associated commerce as the Tour de France circus hits town for three or four days the economic benefit is calculated at being between £75-100m ($100-$130 million).


EventScotland chief operating officer Paul Bush said: "The Tour de France is an obvious fit for Scotland. "We can certainly operate it logistically, we've got a fantastic cycling heritage, we've had fantastic cycling performances in the last few years and in terms of visual pictures for the Tour and challenges for the riders it would be absolutely outstanding." Officials from EventScotland officials first met informally with Tour director Christian Prudhomme at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and have met him again recently about the prospect of taking the Tour to Scotland although the competition will be fierce with Prudhomme also fielding enquiries from Japan, the Middle East and the east coast of the United States.


Rotterdam in Holland hosted the 2010 grand départ, while this year's race will begin in the Vendée region of western France. Bush hopes the impact in Scotland could be similar to when London hosted the 2007 grand départ: "I went to London a couple of years ago and saw it and it blew me away – it was amazing. I would hope if we're successful in winning this bid in 2012 or 2013, it then gives us a three- or four-year run-in to develop a greater culture of cycling and then when the Tour comes it gives it an added boost." While Spyns won't be offering Tour de France grand depart trips, having a few kilts mixed with bike shorts wouldn't be a bad thing.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Tour Packages: Cavendish Crashes at Tour Down Under

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Swift wins the stage.

As Lance Armstrong's last professional race, Australia's Tour Down Under is getting considerable media attention. In just two stages, the race isn't disappointing with plenty of blood, sweat, toil and tears. Spyns former clients have always enjoyed the Tour Down Under because it's professional cycling's first race of the year. As we build up to the 2011 Tour de France trips, there is plenty of drama down under.

Team Sky sprinter Ben Swift claimed his first major win of the season after surviving the crash-marred finale to the second stage of the Tour Down Under. British tyro Swift on Wednesday was one of the few sprinters to emerge unhindered in the final few hundred metres of the 146-kilometre stage from Tailem Bend to Mannum after a series of late spills caused mayhem in the peloton. Swift finished ahead of Australian pair Robbie McEwen (RadioShack), in second, and Rabobank's Graeme Brown, who was third. McEwen took the overall race leader's ochre jersey from overnight leader Matthew Goss, who slipped to second overall with Swift moving up to third. McEwen is roughly the same age as Lance Armstrong and was delighted to join the 7-time Tour de France winner.


The Australian veteran, who has recently moved to Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team, admitted that winning a stage was still his priority. "Obviously I'm happy to take the leader's jersey, but my number one priority here is to win a stage," said McEwen. "Swifty rolled me, I just ran out of legs completely. I went kind of early to try and get the jump.... but with all the carnage I had to come from quite a way behind. I tried for the win and came up just a little bit short."


Swift admitted he had not been Team Sky's designated sprinter, but after teammates CJ Sutton and Greg Henderson disappeared amid the chaos he had no hesitation when asked by Geraint Thomas to give it his all. "It's incredible, to get it at a WorldTour event as well, I'm really surprised but really happy," said Swift. Two-time overall champion Andre Greipel of Omega-Pharma avoided crashing, the German overcoming a flat in the final 6km -- and a late bike change -- to keep in contention in fourth at 4secs adrift. After seeing Goss add victory on stage one to Sunday's win in a pre-race criterium, HTC-Highroad were brought crashing down to earth.


Goss crashed in the final kilometres but only had scrapes to complain of as British teammate, star sprinter Mark Cavendish, came off much worse off with cut above his eye and scrapes over his body. McEwen said he was sickened after seeing one HTC-Highroad rider, believed to be Cavendish, being hit from behind. "There was just so much gravel on the sides of the road and after one particular left-hand corner there was actually gravel in the middle of the road," McEwen told AFP. "Somebody hit it with a front wheel and just went arse-up, took everyone down. I don't know if it was Gossy or Cav, I saw one of the HTCs go down and someone just ran straight into the back of their neck. It looked sickening, it looked horrible."


Cavendish is expected to saddle up for Thursday's third stage from Unley to Stirling. So far the only major casualty was UniSA rider Bernard Sulzberger, who has been ruled out with a broken collarbone. Despite his own spill with 4km to race, Goss managed to get back in contention but was delayed further as more crashes ensued on the technically difficult finale. In the end he finished 47th but in the same time as Swift to stay in contention.Goss refused to blame the gravel or the course, claiming "the course is only as dangerous as the riders make it. It's hard to make sure everything's spot on but if everyone's paying attention it's not too bad but everyone seemed a little bit crazy today," he said.


Spyns hopes pro riders will bring the same level of intensity to the 2011 Tour de France.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Trip Packages: Former Tour de France Winner Landis Calls it Quits

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"What me worry?"

Spyns former clients remember Floyd Landis as Lance Armstrong's heir apparent after winning the yellow jersey in 2006. And then things went horribly wrong. As Spyns gears up for our 2011 Tour de France trip packages, the former pro racer has retired from professional cycling. But Landis ain't going quietly.

Floyd Landis, stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping, is giving up on a return to professional cycling, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said. “He sent USADA his retirement notification yesterday,” agency spokeswoman Erin Hannan said in an e-mail. Landis’s decision was reported earlier today by ESPN.com. The 35-year-old told the website he’d spent five years trying for a comeback but his efforts are “causing more stress than is worth it.” He raced a “handful of times” as an unaffiliated rider last year, ESPN.com said.


In May, Landis sent e-mails to cycling officials accusing Lance Armstrong and other former teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team of doping. Armstrong, 39, has denied the allegations, saying Landis has “zero” credibility.  Jeff Novitzky, a special agent for the Food and Drug Administration, is investigating doping in U.S. cycling in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Landis told ESPN.com he was “relatively sure this sport cannot be fixed.” He didn’t reply to an e-mail from Bloomberg News seeking comment.


Enrico Carpani, a spokesman for cycling ruling body Union Cycliste Internationale, said it rejected Landis’s allegations there is systemic corruption in the sport. “Mr. Landis is not the right person to express an opinion about cycling after all the damage he caused,” Carpani said by telephone. “We don’t accept his judgment.” Landis spent more than $1 million on legal fees fighting his Tour de France disqualification, about half of which was paid through donations. He also served a two-year ban. 

I've long argued that Floyd may be a strong athlete, but he lacks a little, ahem, brain power. Case in point: he published a book entitled, "Absolutely False" denying he doped only to admit he did indeed dope throughout his career. As media attention turned nasty, Landis's defence seemed to be, "Lance Armstrong was an even bigger junkie than me."

It is a sorry end for an incredible athlete. Next stop: celebrity Apprentice, Survivor, or the Amazing Race. I can just see Donald Trump in the boardroom for episode one, "Floyd, you're fired!"

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Trip Packages: Eve of Tour Down Under McEwen Talks Retirement with Armstrong

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In the buildup to Spyns 2011 Tour de France trip packages, Spyns former clients will be watching Lance Armstrong's final professional race in Australia's Tour Down Under. Aussie sprint legend Robbie McEwen believes new teammate Lance Armstrong is unlikely to waste any winning opportunities on what will be his cycling swansong this week. Armstrong, who won a record seven Tour de France crowns after beating cancer in 1998, will bring the curtain down on his stunning, and at times controversial career, at the Tour Down Under from January 16-23.


And while the profusion of sprint specialists among the field has opened the way for teams keeping a tight rein on the race, McEwen believes all-rounder Armstrong will want to play a starring role. "I think Lance being Lance he'll want to go out on a good note. He's not going to travel all the way out here to embarrass himself or sit in the bunch and do nothing," McEwen said here Sunday. "He's a really competitive guy. Last year he was in the very first breakaway in the first criterium. He's looking pretty good, I know he's had a little bit of knee trouble in the lead-up but I think he's still very fit and, with his competitive nature, he'll want to put in a good performance."

Armstrong's impending retirement, two years after making his second comeback to the sport in 2009, coincides with his desire to spend more time in the United States with his family. However, the 39-year-old American who is credited with one of sport's greatest ever comebacks -- a year after beating cancer he won the first of seven yellow jerseys, in 1999 -- is facing an uncertain future. Doping allegations levelled by former teammate Floyd Landis late last year helped spark a federal investigation into the misuse of funds by their then team, US Postal. Landis, who in 2006 was stripped of his own yellow jersey triumph following a positive test on the race, admitted doping and claimed he witnessed Armstrong using and in possession of banned substances. We at Spyns believe Landis has just been lashing out at Armstrong who has proved stronger not only on the bike but also in front of the microphones. Landis published a book clamining he was innocent only to admit he doped several years later. Although he seems a very nice guy, he's not a black belt in the intelligence department.

A grand jury probing doping in professional cycling has heard from several teammates and associates of Armstrong over several months, although no charges have been forthcoming. As he never ceases to remind us, Lance has never tested positive for banned substances. And he has the full backing of Tour Down Under organiser Mike Turtur, who believes the American has helped boost the profile of Australia's premier cycling event. "With Armstrong's final appearance, it's a great honour for us to (bid) farewell one of the greatest champions in the sport's history," said Turtur. "He's done a massive amount for the race, on and off the bike."

Experienced campaigner McEwen, meanwhile, will have the pleasure of racing alongside Armstrong as the American legend prepares to ride off into the sunset. The Australian sprint specialist joined Armstrong's RadioShack team in a hurry after a move to the Pegasus team collapsed at the last minute. Although also in the twilight of his 16-year career, McEwen -- who has 12 stage victories from the Tour de France and a record 12 from the Tour Down Under -- beats Armstrong on one score. "At least now I'm no longer the oldest guy in the team," added McEwen. "Lance is nine months older than me."

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns 2011 Tour de France Tours: Lance Armstrong Good for Tour de France Business

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As Spyns clients eagerly await our 2011 Tour de France trips, Lance Armstrong prepares his final international cycling race in Australia's Tour Down Under. The American racer's impact on cycling goes beyond a record seven Tour de France wins, Armstrong also helped advertising and sponsorship revenues from 1999-2005 and again from 2009-2010. At the peak of Armstrong's career - he won the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005 - cycling enjoyed a financial boom. Wherever he raced, he was a magnet for the print, television and radio media and advertisers, and sponsors, politicians, fans and, increasingly, the doping controllers.


Following Armstrong's retirement after his 2005 Tour win, cycling's investor drawing power dipped. It fell further after Floyd Landis's positive drug test in the 2006 Tour - the ''winner'' was duly stripped of his title - and a string of other doping scandals. The Tour, however, continues to make a profit, according to a recent report on VeloNews.com. The announcement of Armstrong's comeback at the 2009 Tour Down Under in South Australia gave the sport - and the Tour de France - a huge boost. That news prompted many investors and sponsors to reopen their chequebooks.

Armstrong today finds himself under scrutiny because of a US Food and Drug Administration investigation sparked by doping allegations last year by Landis, a former teammate. The announcement in late 2008 spurred the sport - and the Tour de France - attracting worldwide interest. Quantifying the value of his decision to race again is difficult. The Bloomberg news agency late last year reported a financial assessment by the Tour's owner, the Amaury Sports Organisation, showed that group turnover in 2009 increased by €32 million ($41.6 million).

But as VeloNews.com pointed out, ASO owns other organisations and events, including the French daily newspapers L'Equipe and Le Parisien, the Dakar motor rally, the French Open golf tournament and the Paris Marathon. VeloNews.com said the Dakar Rally particularly helped to boost ASO's revenues in 2009. The event was cancelled in 2008 due to the threat of terrorism, and shifted in 2009 to a new route in South America.

Armstrong realises that, and certainly has not valued his comeback to the Tour in 2009 at €32m ($41.6 million). He does believe, however, that the 2009 race won by Spanish arch rival Alberto Contador, when Armstrong, then 37, placed third, helped lift interest in the three-week event. "ASO is really a parent company of a lot of different events and media properties," Armstrong says. "There is some debate if Dakar's return to profitability affected that. But that tension between Alberto and me - while certainly uncomfortable for he and I - was probably good for ratings and for worldwide interest. That can't be denied."

Spyns certainly saw a marked increase in Tour de France package tour business in 2009 and 2010. While demand remains strong for our 2011 Tour de France trips, clearly we have moved beyond the waiting lists and Lance mania that marked his comeback. How much value Armstrong is to Australia's Tour Down Under has also been open to debate. His appearance fee, put at $1m to $2m, has been criticised by some parties but the South Australian government, which owns the race, has argued that his presence has been a massive financial coup. It estimates his visit last year injected $41.5 million into the state economy. Either way, with this year's event his last bike race outside the United States, opponents, supporters and even Armstrong can prepare to close a chapter.

Armstrong will arrive in Adelaide on his private jet early next week from Hawaii, where he has been training since a recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the coalition armed forces there.
That trip set his preparation back a little, but since being in Hawaii he is confident of honouring his adieu to international cycling. ''Obviously I didn't have a bike with me over there [in the Middle East]," he says. "I tried to compensate by doing some running and some other things, but I've managed to catch up a little here. The weather is amazing and the riding is very difficult. I've built up a fair amount of cardiovascular conditioning because of the amount of cross training I've been doing."

Armstrong admits he is a mix of sadness and excitement - the excitement stemming from knowing his life is about to change. "It will be cool to go back Down Under and be in South Australia,'' he said. ''It was such a special start of this comeback a couple of years ago. It was bigger and greater than I ever thought it would be. It will be sentimental to be in a big time pro team field like that for the last time. But also - if my body holds up and I can attempt some other multi-sport events - then there's the start of something new.''

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Tour de France Tours Spyns 2011: Lance Armstrong Takes the Long View

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Looking to the future?

Retirement at 40 is a dream for most of us but Lance Armstrong isn't most of us. Spyns former clients flocked to France to see Lance Armstrong win an unprecedented seven yellow jerseys. While many former Spyns clients are returning this year, the 2011 Tour de France trips will certainly miss cycling's golden boy.

Currently training in Hawaii, Armstrong is preparing for his last Tour Down Under. Lance first raced the Tour Down Under in 2009 to kick-start his return from three years in retirement. In his three trips to Australia's only World Tour event, Armstrong has learnt much about the country and its people. He has been called a lot of things - good and bad - but ignorant is not one of them. He never goes anywhere without researching where he visits, especially when founding cancer-research initiatives, as has been the case in South Australia.


Many of the attacks on Armstrong have come in the aftermath of an ongoing investigation into him by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. That stemmed from doping allegations made by his former American teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France win after he failed a drugs test. Armstrong, who has never failed a dope test and has undergone hundreds - possibly thousands - of controls, declared his innocence to Landis's claims in May. And ever since last year's Tour de France, in which he placed a disappointing 23rd, he has remained tight-lipped about them and the investigation.


Armstrong was not in a position to elaborate on the FDA investigation yesterday, but nonetheless broke his silence on the matter to say the probe had not impacted his day-to-day life. "I don't let it affect me," Armstrong told the Herald. "I have five kids to raise. I have a foundation to help run and lead. I still have, theoretically, a job - I ride my bike and train every day. It has no effect in what I do on a daily basis." As the FDA has hovered and his new-found and often anonymous enemies have zeroed in on him, Armstrong has devoted himself to action more than words. But he has not been impervious to what has gone on around him, and is excited about his second attempt at retirement from international cycling.

A visit by Armstrong to the Coalition Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan last month helped to put things into perspective - as had the testicular cancer that nearly killed him in 1996. War, cancer and natural disasters such as the Queensland floods might affect people in different ways, but Armstrong says they can often bring the best out of people and force them to reassess their values. "They are all wildly different," Armstrong says. "You can compare the flood in Queensland. You could compare war, or you could compare cancer. They are all very different. But ultimately the toll that they take on human life and the disruption to people's sense of normalcy is all the same. The thing is - we talk about this at the [Lance Armstrong] Foundation - teamwork and community.

''The same goes for the armed forces. A big thing for them is commitment to each other, a commitment to their country. Then you see something that comes along - whether it's [Hurricane] Katrina, a tsunami in South-East Asia or floods in north-east Australia or Queensland … People have to try to work together to cope with these sudden changes in their lives." So is Armstrong's sporting career as important to him as before, now that he has visited Iraq and Afghanistan?

"It's different now," Armstrong says. "Compare it to our recent trip. You are there for support, to give a quick hello or entertain some troops who have given up 12 months of their lives. They earn $30,000 a year. They risk their lives every day. They live in absolute misery in terms of the barracks and the conditions of Afghanistan and Iraq. ''They are in countries [where] young men and women - to be frank, they are like all of us - would like to go out and have a few beers at night and chase around and have some fun. And they are not allowed to. Cyclists are often the first to start whingeing about the conditions. I've been at the top of that list for many, many years. But I tell you what - seeing what these guys and gals go through … " Looking ahead to his retirement, Armstrong has plotted a new sporting path that will include some US cycling races such as the Tour of California, a few triathlons - his main goal is October's Hawaii Ironman - mountain-bike races and charity bike rides.


Some believe Armstrong's zest for cycling has waned due to age and the heightened scrutiny of his integrity by the FDA, media and internet bloggers following Landis's allegations. He is clearly tiring of other issues that drag the sport down - issues that blow up into scandals that could have otherwise been settled with more unity among the various stakeholders who come under the auspices of the Union Cycliste Internationale. As examples he cites race licensing, entries and radio protocols. Armstrong knows cycling's future is no longer in his hands. "Being close to 40, those days are done," he admits. "Cycling has been great to me. [But] from now on, I ride for fun. I ride for pleasure. I ride for fitness. 'I plan on keeping the ties I have, whether it's the local bike shop, [my] development team or multisport stuff that include bikes - triathlon or mountain bike - or charity rides I enjoy. That will be my connection."

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns Tour de France Package Tours 2011: Florence Bidding for Tour de France's Grand Depart in 2014

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Florence hopes to host 2011 Tour de France Grand Depart

Spyns former clients have always asked us to organize trips to Italy's Giro d'Italia. Sadly, we have always concentrated on developing our Tour de France tours but the 2014 edition of the Tour de France may give fans a chance to enjoy Italy and France. The Tuscan city of Florence, which is hosting the UCI Road World Championships in 2014, is reportedly looking to stage the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2014.


2014 will mark the centenary of Tuscany’s greatest ever cyclist, Gino Bartali, twice winner of the Tour de France. Bartali's son Andrea has been pushing for the Florence to host the 2014 Grand Départ. Last Thursday, he was invited to meet with Florence’s deputy mayor, Dario Nardella, who told him that a formal request to stage the start of the 2014 race had been sent to race director Christian Prudhomme at organisers ASO, the company that owns and manages the Tour de France. “Finally, the go-ahead from the council,” said Bartali, quoted in today’s La Gazzetta Sportiva (the Sunday edition of the Gazzetta dello Sport). “It’s been five years since I’ve followed this project,” he added, “it would be a beautiful gift.”

Bartali, who died ten years ago, won the Tour de France twice, in 1938 and 1948, which remains the biggest gap between victories in the race by an individual cyclist. His widow, Adriana, referring to the prospect of his being commemorated by the 2014 race, said “Gino would have been proud of this too.” While the Tour de France nowadays tends to start abroad every two or three years, and has done so 18 times, mainly in the Low Countries, since the first foreign Grand Départ in Amsterdam in 1954, it has never begun in Italy, which of course has its own Grand Tour in the shape of the Giro d’Italia.


The 2011 Tour de France starts in the Vendée region of France and will have a start/finish in the Italian Alps. The 2012 Tour de France will start in Liège, Belgium. The 2013 race, the 100th edition of the event, is rumoured to be starting in Corsica, the first time that the Mediterranean island, birthplace of Napoleon, will have hosted the race. There is no shortage of options for Spyns future Tour de France tours.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Spyns Tour de France Travel Packages: Sanchez Wants Contador to Ride 2011 Tour de France

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Happy New Year! Spyns clients are certainly looking forward to the 2011 Tour de France trips. As we gear up for next July, riders worldwide wonder whether cycling's governing body will slap a ban on Alberto Contador for alleged doping.

Fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (team Euskaltel-Euskadi) hopes Alberto Contador will compete in the 2011 Tour de France. Contador tested postive for Clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France and is still waiting to hear if he will face a ban. “Of the last four Tours, Contador has won the three that he’s taken part in and he has earned the status of favourite,” Sanchez told Biciciclismo.com. “Honestly, I would prefer if he is on the start line. A Tour without Contador would be like a Roland Garros without Nadal or Formula 1 without Alonso.”

As Spyns former clients know, like most professional riders he Tour de France will be the focal point of Sanchez’s 2011 season. However, the Olympic champion remains mum on his chances next July. Sanchez narrowly missed out on a podium place to Denis Menchov in 2010, although he would logically move up to third if Contador is sanctioned for a doping infraction. “The Tour is the best race in the world, it’s like nothing else,” Sanchez said. “There are many different circumstances. Every year riders prepare better and are a year older. Every year there are route changes and it is always difficult. You never know.”

Sanchez also refused to rule out the possibility of riding the Vuelta a España, although he explained that any participation would be contingent on the health following the 2011 Tour de France. “Of course I like to ride it, but you have to go step by step,” he said. “According to the rumours, it will be a very hard Vuelta with some new finishes. If I go, it would be with the intention of winning it. I was already second in 2009, less than a minute behind a great rider like Valverde, and third in 2007. You have to wait and see how the Tour goes though, and also there are other riders on the team who can do very well.”

Sanchez has yet to draw up a definitive race programme, but it is expected that he will begin his season at the Ruta del Sol before moving on to ride Paris-Nice and the Criterium International. He will make a decision on his Ardennes classics participation after the Tour of the Basque Country. “We’ll see after the Basque Country,” he said. “I like [the Classics] and they suit me. I’ve been second in Fleche Wallone and fourth in Liege.”

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.