Well, there you have it....should it the rumours prove true.....well, for my part, that's the last scrap of integtrity thrown to I don't know who....blah, merde, yuck...

I'm sure we all have differing views....mine is well, this is rubbish, pure and simple

Here's Eurosport France

http://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/contador-blanchi_sto2665581/story.shtml

Cycling News

L'Equipe reported this morning that along with Andreas Kloden, Yaroslav Popovych, Gregory Rast and Haimar Zubeldia, to which we can probably safely add Horner and Levi, Andy Schleck is close to a move to the new Radioshack team....while negociations are at an advances phase...the refusal to take older bro Frank seems to be the fly in the ointment. According to Armstrong, Frank would serve a a 'break' to Andy progression.

Source: L'Equipe

Discuss...

UPDATE: A. Schleck denies the 'rumor' of his leaving SaxoBank on RTL Luxembourg website

Source:RTL Lu

Oh...and ProCycling website is reporting that the US obesity rate is increasing....finger on the pulse as always!

Despite the best laid plans of mice, men, WADA, the UCI and AFLD....it just won't go away. In today's LeMonde Pierre Bordry, the president of the French Anti-Doping Agency stated:

"Il y a vraisemblablement eu des transfusions sanguines", a-t-il déclaré au Monde. Le président de l'AFLD a également "la conviction que deux nouveaux produits ont été utilisés pendant le Tour, deux médicaments qui ne sont pas encore sur le marché

Tranlation: "There were quite probably autologous blood transfusions" He's also has "the conviction that two new products were used during the Tour, two medications that aren't on the market yet"

He suspects these two drugs to be Hematide, an EPO like drug of a different molecular form that quite probably would not be detectable, and AICAR, the "excercise pill' that converts fast twitch to slow twitch muscle fiber and burns fat. Bodry was equally surprised by the thinness of some of the riders ("J'ai été saisi par la maigreur de certains coureurs").

More worryingly in the trash of serveral teams...."Nous avons trouvé des médicaments lourds, comme une substance pour produire de l'insuline qui est normalement utilisée par des diabétiques",..Translation: "We found serious medications, for example, a substance that produces insulin that is normally used by diabetics"

Continue reading this post »

Having a bit of extra time on my hands this morning, and having ridden this climb in the last few months, I thought I'd have a go at a bit of a guide. The first thing that sticks in my memory is -- it wasn't that hard, however, I attacked it with only a decent from Font Romeu and about 40k in my legs, thus tack on another 150k, and I can see how it would be different.

To begin with, the ramps aren't that steep....the first 7-ish k's are around 3%...I believe I was in a 42-17 or there about, I imagine the pros will big ring this bit without problem, as the road is relatively straight, and the speed will be high. It will be quite difficult to go it alone from here, better to wait until the climb ramps up a bit. One can, as I did, begin to build a false sense of what is to come. I would compare the opening sections to that of the Tourmalet (between Campan and Gripp) or the Port de Bales (from Barousse until just after the holiday camp or 'when the pain starts'). In other words, some riders, Mancoutie, might forget themselves here and have a go...or go 'balls out' a la Jens!, build a gap, and try to hold off the chase.

Back to Arcalis...after El Serrat....and you reach the business end of the climb (10k to the top), the first k is near 9%...someone like Sastre, trying to repeat the Alpe, might want to go solo from here....while the last 10k bring significant winds and switchbacks with an average of around 7-ish percent, the last 2 are relatively easy going, I don't remember the gradiant, but I remember my heart-rate went way down as the power kicked back in.

Effectively, there are 7K's of which to make the difference, 7k's that don't really present any nasty sections, in fact, once they pass through the tunnel, the hard sections are done with...someone like Cancellara, LA, Menchov, or Evans could easily power across a small gap in the last two K's as they favour a big engine and not a slight climber. Thus the damage needs to be done between El Serrat and the tunnel, where, despite being fairly regular, the road is at its steepes for 5kt. Oh yeah, it's a nice surface...for those who climb...you know what a difference that makes.

Everyone who's asked me what I think is going to happen today..i replied...i really don't know...in my experience it's a strange climb...and could present any number of scenarios, barring a Contador festival...i can see a small group getting away for a sprint finish....or maybe I really just don't know.

Well, hope that helps.

Now, how to kill the next two hours.

Tom Boonen will be on the start on Monaco.......

The long drama has come to an end. Take that ASO, Minister for Sport...my arse....From Eurosport as of 13.00 Today:

Selon les médias belges, Tom Boonen sera bien au départ du Tour de France samedi à Monaco. La Chambre arbitrale du sport du comité national olympique et sportif français aurait statué en faveur du coureur de l'équipe Quick Step, l'autorisant à s'aligner sur la Grande Boucle.

Boonen, Boonen, Boonen, Boonen......BatMan!!!

Well, there you have it folks. If pro cycling wasn't already suffering from an image problem...we now have convicted-dopers holding their previous teams hostage and demanding their re-integration at any cost. Enter Vinokourov with this gem:

“I have served my suspension and I do not see why I could not return. If Bruyneel does not want me, it will be Bruyneel who is leaving the team." Source CN

Well there you have it...humility.... in its pure unadulterated form. The sad thing is...he'll likely get his way. This incident, well beyond that of Boonen, Basso, or who have you...leaves a nasty taste in my mouth at least, I don't think I will be alone

This evening, while watching the History of the Tour de France for the ump-teenth time, something struck me in an old interview with Armstrong at the Tour during the Motorola days...he had the world champion stripes in their normal collar and sleeve locations. However, returning to 'modern times' , I've noticed that he doesn't have the stripes on his Astana jerseys? Anyone have any insights as to why this is so? Fashion oversight?