De_Gambassi

Yes, it had (except for the speed skating thing). I don't believe Switzerland could had a better bid tbh. It's more that possible that we will never see a swiss bid ever again...

I'd say that if any (western) european city makes it to the final candidate stage, they will have it in the bag. The thing is, I don't believe anymore that a western european bid will survive so far (Sion was my best hope).

And now, Sion is gooooone too. https://www.lematin.ch/suisse/Sion-2026-c-est-non-aux-JO/story/14427188 So no olympic speed skating in the Netherldands I guess

Sooo... don't answer the doping agents, claim yout bell is broken and walk free ? She should copyright it, she 'd make more with that than with her tennis's carrer. On other news, l'Equipe had acces to the letter that Russia sent to WADA which is a basically a confess that inded shit was going on in Russia and that the McLaren Repport findings were right. (In french). A moment of thought for the ones (here and elesewhere) that was claiming this to be only an anti-russia conspiracy run by rabbic russophobes. In Memoriam.

Him tweeting against Morocco 2026 is the best possible lobby in favor of Marocco 2026.

It's pure decorum. A grotesque decorum that's it.

Thankfully, he only starts to dope in january this year. Do you immagine, if he doped in 2012 ? ... Actually, there is something that could be done and that could be more efficient than life ban. Strip every medals, every records from any caught athletes up to the date he got caught.

No, they're not, even if many people like to prented they're. There is no official venue designed for any of this sport in Paris plan so far.

https://www.metro.news/tour-bosses-to-block-chris-froome-if-drug-case-not-resolved/985901/ Christian:

IOC So it's still possible to have a triple starter (rifle/pistol *2 + team event)

Why not ? As long they reached the minimum standard. There are no other limitations for "double starters" than the max number of athletes/teams per event and the minimum standard, right ? Btw, can there be triple or quadruple starters, or is it limited to two events ?

Because, that's the subject you have discussions about ?

Old news. Second post of this thread Anyway, at that point, Sion 2026 looks very much in Jeopardy. Unfortunatly.

Unfortunate is the word (whithout irony) . Rugby Europe is a rather amateur organization which have done quite a poor job at developping its owns competitions for years (they don't run SIx Nations nor the european clubs cups). It's more likely than they have made a piss poor decision one more time than antyting else. It's even more likely considering that - The - promising - career of the romanian referee is probably over now - Romania would still have stood a decent chance to make the RWC with the repechage tournaments - RE appointed a french ref for the Spain-Romania game when 2/3 of the spanish squad is actually french born. Occam's razor always.

Welsh, Irish, Scottish, English from our perspective they are only cosmetic differences when it comes to rugby (and specially refeering). I wouldn't surprise if more than half of the rugby followers here believe than Nigel Owens is actually english

It was just bad refeering. Nothing more, nothing less. Just like, us, frenchies, we like to believe we're contantly fucked over by referees in european games, because, really, what's the difference between an englsih and a welsh if not for more readed hair ? That's called a confirmation bias. They should never have appointed a romanian ref for this game. And everyhing would have set down. Now, it gets traction in french and british press. I don't believe WR will go full retard on this one (like asking for replaying the game), but some people will need to go down at Rugby Europe.

The last OG Virtual Tennis player

French biathletes Marie Dorin and Jean-Guillaume Béatrix.

It's interesting (it actually is), but how does it have anything with doping ?

Maybe Who was the first commercial team ?

Well, I get that. My interrogation is not sponsors, what are they for ? But why, in one case (speed skating) the sponsors led to the creation of commercial teams, and that in pretty every other cases it didn't (some of them being much more popular sports than speed skating).

Commercial teams in track or cyclo-cross are mostly (only ?) offsets of pro road cycling teams, aren't they ? Anyway, I don't think it's an oddity that commercial teams are so rare and few between them in individual sports. What exposure is there for a sponsor when the notion of "team" doesn't really exist in the first place ? I believe that's why the concept took off in road cycling, but not really (at all ?) in track cycling (and track cycling was really, really popular at one point in history).

But it's similar in nature. Indiviuals (mostly) running against each other years in and years out. The set up is similar in speed skating than in other indivudual olympic sports (world cup, world/continental championships run by individuals or national teams), yet the sports developped this unique professionnal environment. In other individual sports, sponsors sponsorize individuals and/or a whole national team, not a selected few number of athletes that they farm in a "team". There is no athletics or swimming Lotto Jumbo team AFAIK (nor from any other country).

C'est à dire que des pronos quand on ne connait pas encore les systèmes de qualif...