Rasmussen, Vinakourov and their like are dinosaurs - they are part of the "old guard" of cyclists, where acceptance of doping as a means to an end is ingrained in their psyche. Exposing the cheats opens the way for a new breed of young (hopefully clean) cyclists to move the sport in a new direction.

Steve, Aberdeen, Scotland

What are you talking about? the tour is not dead, but some cycling careers are over , that is for sure..

fred, BORA BORA,

A ban for life for the perpetrator is the only way to eradicate drugs in all sports and the instant dismissal of the team involved. This would ensure that the teams only entered a "clean team".

Roger Ely, Cornwall, England

Tour de Farce.

GK, Calgary, Canada

It's hard to resist a chuckle at the irony here, tempered only by the risks of long-term damage to cyclists health.

After all, doping is nothing more or less than the sporting counterpart to subsidy, which in every other sphere of economic activity the French not only tolerate, but are indecently proud of.

The bottom line is that all professional sport is part of the entertainment industry, it's job to deliver audiences to advertisers. And over the last two years, all but one or two of the most entertaining stages have been delivered by cyclists later implicated in doping. Do you want a Tour that features people doing impossible things? Or one that's so egalitarian that even someone like me could take part? (And before you ask, I myself don't know which I'd prefer....)

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

Tour de farce, n'est pas?

N. Waters, Mississauga, Canada

Good heavens! What is there to say? Professional sportspersons should be treated as guilty until proven innocent! Malfeasance punished by banning for life. What about that?!

staffan hultman, stockholm, sweden

It's beyond disgusting to see this happen. How can you kick Rasmussen out of the tour because some guy says he saw him in Italy. The man gets stripped of his career, without ever testing positve. I've been watching this event since I was a kid. But I'll never watch again. Rasmussen absolutely deserves to win. Guilty until proven innocent. Chicken is the winner to me!!!

Gee, Rehoboth Beach, usa

I don't think it will be the end of the Tour de France. You don' t stop a story of 104 years like that!

thomas, Chalons, france

I'm not condoning doping, but I sympathise for the riders here and I am shocked at how they are the ones being publicly hanged by the media. I don't believe that any team management can claim surprise when their riders get caught. Call me cynical but I think they all know exactly what their guys are on. If a team doctor at the least doesn't know what his rider is eating and supplementing, then I'd be worried. Given the gruelling conditions of the tour, I'd expect a doctor to know his riders' medical history to the last detail. My bet is the doctors/mgt don't just know, they're aiding their riders and perhaps even 'pushing' these performance enhancing drugs. The pressure on the riders is immense, probably originating unwittingly from the same sponsors who are now liable to pull out, wanting a ROI and applied by team management who demand results. I think the doctor & manager should be held as, if not more, accountable as their rider who tests positive...maybe then we'll see change

Ros, Durban, South Africa

LOOK STOP KIDDING YOURSELVE's

THEY ARE ALL AT IT !! at one stage or another... i think the best thing is to declare usage and incur embarrasment and time penalties ...or just make it legal and they will all be doing it ! .... oh sorry we want to believe body builders like Arnold too get that size simply on heavy weights and chicken ! wake up people

lee, leeds, uk

Cycle road racing, the most demanding endurance sport which is configured to test to exhaustion those who wish to compete has always had a problem with drugs and stimulants. Efforts to stop the cheats have brought to light the involvement of chemists, doctors and team organisations as much as the willingness of the competitors themselves to gain an unfair advantage. It is to be welcomed that cycling is doing so much to bring fairness back into the noble competition and I think critics should bear in mind that if the same level of drug testing was used in other sports it is quite probable that they too would be announced dead.

Clive Stringer, Eggesford, Devon

How hard can it be to drug test every athlete every day in the morning and afternoon? It is only money after all. If this had been publicised before the tour in time for them to get it our there system many would have done and those that had not would have been revealed. That is not of course to say that the athletes would not continue using substances that the testers have not caught up with yet.

John, Egremont, Cumbria

Why on earth don't we let people do what they will with their bodies. We are all happy to manipulate our bodies with ginko biloba to send blood to the brain, red bull (taurine especially) for stamina during exams and omega 3 to make us all smart and immune to heart attacks.

Wouldn't it be fascinating and also an incredible test of athlete's bodies to list any drugs they have chosen to take to assist them in their abilities, I for one would find that ultimately fascinating. It may even persuade me to watch such stunningly dull sports as snooker and the Tour de France.

Sam Blake, London,

me thinks ....if the French say it is bad...............
well put it this way.......another way ...
if it was O.K. it would be 'good'
If it was 'good' it would become 'excellent'
It it was 'excellent'..it would become 'magnificient'
if it was 'magnifiient' it would become a 'miracle'
But A 'French' miracle of course......
so 'bad' means...'disaster'.......no no no BUT NOT a 'French' disaster (of course!)
The drugs are from UK or perhaps(?) worse? the USA ....(of course.......)

mike, oxford, england

From a fan's perspective, the purpose of sports is entrtainment. I am greatly entertained by the daily updates of "who got busted today?" The winner is either the first on the GC or the last man standing on the correct side of the jail door. Either way, THAT'S entertainment. People will still line the roads, people will still watch TV coverage, and people wil stil be excited by the greatest of the grand tours.

Scout, Chicago, IL

Libération is the worst French newspaper ever ! Mostly don't believe they write ! It's the only newspaper to say that and it's not supporting by anyone.

François, Paris,

Exposing the cheats is a sign of a sport coming to grips with its problems, not falling apart at the seams like the media has been banging on about for the past few days

Such a clean up requires an effort on the part of all involved and it looks like that's happening.

Rob Riches, Croydon, uk

Doping is a result of chasing after the large sums of money available to everyone associated with this race and professional bicycling in general. All stakeholders are tainted.

Could the sport be come clean again? Yes. Will it? only the "money" knows that answer.

Rich Fiori, Cave Creek, USA/AZ

Too Bad! My Wife and I are planning to go to France next year for the Tour.

IsArmStrongClean, Austin, TX

Cycling is an extreme sport which requires training, dedication, talent and above all courage. I don't believe another sport exists where athletes have to perform at their maximum for so long. The athletes already are at risk of dying by accident or body failure. These people are at the edge of human ability, using drugs and blood and EPO etc. to explore human capabilities. It is not always altruistic but the time may come when humans may need to know how to enhance ability for altruistic reasons. In a way these athletes are pioneers and there should be a serious look at the ability to enhance human performance which is not driven by headlines. What other venue apart from extreme sports can you test human enhancement.

Des, belfast,

The only solution is to test every rider who competes in the Tour De France. There aren't that many competitors so I don't see why this can't be done.

Chris Lafong, London,