Mark Jenkins

In the Spring, Discovery's not even an American team, they're a Belgian team
with Belgian DS's and a core of riders almost as Belgian as Quick-Step's.
What happened at Flanders made it clear that they're not a one-leader team
for the classics, as did Devolder and Hoste talking all week about how they
were each strong enough to win P-R and intended to give it a shot. And
unless the commissar had money on Boonen to place, I don't see what it gets
a French organization to DQ Peter Van Petegem (or Leif Hoste, for that
matter) on what is essentially a home race for him. The race ends up
falsified whether or not the ruling is correct. It's just not a good
situation for anyone.

On 4/11/06, Don Leet wrote:
>
> I wonder about all the paranoid thinking about unfair rulings for
> American Teams. One none of the punsihed riders were from the USA, two, last
> year at the tour a similar thing happened, and the rules are clear. You
> can't cross a closed train track. A Discovery rider went on to win that
> stage, Paolo Salvodeli. We have the same rule in OBRA. At last years state
> championship race there was a real threat of a train. Though an argument
> could be made for the DQ of the Boonen group also it still has no bearing on
> unfair ruling for an American team. Being a race official is not easy
> andjudgements have to be made, not all of them fair. Bike raceing isan
> outdoor sport.
>
>
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