Here are the members of Team CSC who will participate in the 9th annual 2006 CSC Invitational in Arlington, Va., on Saturday:

Bobby Julich, USA; Lars Michaelsen (the 2004 winner), Denmark; Matti Breschel, Denmark; Kasper Klostergaard, Denmark; Martin Pedersen; Denmark; Luke Roberts, Australia; and Andrea Peron, Italy.

Every major men’s Pro Cycling Team in North America has confirmed participation in the 100km crit.

Do you get the impression that the World Anti-Doping Agency, the French and Europeans in general just don't want to believe that Our Boy Lance could win their precious Tour de France (OK, so it's OUR precious, too) seven times in row without cheating?

Maybe that's because since Bernard Hinault, a Frenchman hasn't been able to win the race whether he cheated or not?

Give Samuel Abt's excellent story in the New York Times a read and form your own impression of the sour grapes that continue to emerge from the WADA people and others who refuse to believe that OBL didn't dope in 1999.

"It's clearly everything we feared," WADA president Dick Pound said of a report by a Dutch investigator appointed by the International Cycling Union that appears to clear OBL of doping during the 1999 Tour de France. The report also criticizes international anti-doping authorities.

EVERYTHING WE FEARED???!!!

Does that not sound like anything someone who might be predisposed to believe OBL would say?

Where is any semblance of the benefit of a doubt?

Of innocent until PROVEN guilty?

What is wrong with these people?

Where is their sense of fairness?

Even IF OBL was to ultimately prove guilty, this whole process has been a sham. And isn't it ironic that at a time cycling may have something to celebrate relative to doping, it faces what may turn out to be its biggest scandal since Festina in 1998? You remember 1998, don't you? OBL wasn't racing that year. He had other concerns. Concerns that he champions today: the war against cancer.

Shame, shame, shame on WADA and Dick Pound.

(Graham Watson)


Dutch report clears Lance of doping in 1999

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Dutch investigators cleared Lance Armstrong of doping in the 1999 Tour de France on Wednesday, and accused anti-doping authorities of misconduct in dealing with the American cyclist.
A 132-page report recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations."

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's urine samples from 1999, when he won the first of his record seven-straight Tour titles, came back positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO when they were retested in 2004. Armstrong has repeatedly denied using banned substances.

The International Cycling Union appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman last October to investigate the handling of urine tests from the 1999 Tour by the French national anti-doping laboratory, known by its French acronym LNDD. Vrijman said Wednesday his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France." The report also said the UCI had not damaged Armstrong by releasing doping control forms to the French newspaper. The report said WADA and the LNDD may have "behaved in ways that are completely inconsistent with the rules and regulations of international anti-doping control testing," and may also have been against the law.

Vrijman, who headed the Dutch anti-doping agency for 10 years and later defended athletes accused of doping, worked on the report with Adriaan van der Veen, a scientist with the Dutch Metrology Laboratory. EPO, or erythropoietin, is a synthetic hormone that boosts the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Testing for EPO only began in 2001. Armstrong had challenged the validity of testing samples frozen six years ago, and how they were handled.

Vrijman said a further investigation was needed regarding the leaking of the results to the French paper. He said a tribunal should be created to "provide a fair hearing" to the people and organizations suspected of misconduct and to decide on sanctions if warranted. Vrijman's statement did not specify what the alleged violations were.

The UCI said it was upset with Vrijman for commenting on the report before all parties involved in the case were informed. "Upon reception of the document, the UCI will study in details the content before publishing it in its whole," the UCI said in a statement. WADA chief Dick Pound said he hadn't received the report yet but, based on what he had read in news accounts, was highly critical of Vrijman's findings.

"It's clearly everything we feared. There was no interest in determining whether the samples Armstrong provided were positive or not," he told The Associated Press by telephone from Montreal. "We were afraid of that from the very beginning." Pound reiterated his claim that the UCI had leaked the forms to a reporter from L'Equipe and was responsible for the doping samples being linked to Armstrong. "Whether the samples were positive or not, I don't know how a Dutch lawyer with no expertise came to a conclusion that one of the leading laboratories in the world messed up on the analysis. To say Armstrong is totally exonerated seems strange," Pound said.

In a separate statement, WADA expressed "grave concern and strong disappointment" over Vrijman's reported comments. "Elementary courtesy and professionalism would have dictated that WADA should have been provided with a copy of the report before interviews were given to the media," the statement said. "WADA continues to stress its concern that an investigation into the matter must consider all aspects - not limited to how the damaging information regarding athletes' urine samples became public, but also addressing the question of whether anti-doping rules were violated by athletes." The anti-doping lab at Chatenay-Malabry has been accused of violating confidentiality regulations.

Mario Zorzoli, the doctor who gave copies of Armstrong's doping control forms to L'Equipe, was suspended by the UCI for one month earlier this year. He has since been reinstated.
The full report was sent to the UCI, the LNDD, the French sports ministry, WADA and Armstrong's lawyer. The International Olympic Committee also had requested a copy.
The accusations against Armstrong raised questions about how frozen samples, routinely held for eight years, should be used.

Granny is probably much better versed on female sprinters than I am, but I should probably be excited about defending champion Laura Van Gilder leading a long list of the USA's strongest female sprinters at the 9th annual CSC Invitational Pro/Am bike race Saturday right here in Arlington.

Mike Armellino and I will probably bike over from Vienna to watch the races, which begin at 8 a.m. The men's 100-lap race over a tight 5-turn, 1km course begins at noon. I have yet to see the field -- especially the CSC team.

The women's race will cover 50 laps. Van Gilder of TEAm Lipton (that's really how they write it!) is a two-time winner in Arlington. Other top crit specialists include current U.S. National Criterium Champion Tina Pic (Colavita Cooking Lite), Laura Yoisten (Victory Brewing), Shannon Hutchison-Krupat (Aaron's Corporate Furnishings) and Charm Breon (Diet Cheerwine).

Charm?

All of these women have had consistent podium finishes at the top criteriums around the USA this year, and have also placed in the top three in Arlington in previous years. "I love this race!" said Van Gilder. "There is no doubt it may be the hardest crit on the calendar, but good team tactics will be rewarded. Both times I've won here my team controlled the field while I was able to stay away up front."

So, should I be excited, Granny?

Nice column on Bob Roll on Roanoke.com.

That Guy Jan on the Tour de France:
"[Ivan] Basso was excellent in the Giro but the competition will be fiercer in the Tour de France."

Especially if the T-Mobile rider doesn't quit, as he did on the final climb to the finish of the 19th stage of the Giro, complaining of back pain. The Giro is plenty tough, Jan, especially when you're not treating it like a training exercise.

There's a nice story on the Spartanburg, S.C., newspaper's GoUpstate.com website (where my friend, Tom Priddy, does some terrific multimedia work) about six cyclists, three of them from the Spartanburg area, who forked over the $8,500 to ride with Our Boy Lance on an eight-day bike tour (Lance showed up for a ride and climb through the Apennine Mountains in Northern Italy) during the Giro d'Italia.

It's nice to know that Trek went through with the trip, even though it was supposed to max out at 20 riders. Ah, if only the Crankset had that kind of disposable income!

Photo is John Cash of Spartanburg with OBL.

Let me first pay proper respect to the men and women who've died for our right to freely publish blogs and live in this great country of ours. To them we owe a lifetime of gratitude and then some.

While we all enjoyed this marvelous weekend here and abroad, I'm happy to announce that there will be no EPO scandal emerging from the streets of Lancaster County, PA. At least not from my camp anyway. You see, EPO allegations usually come on the heels of 9+ min leads and sub human ascents over 15KM. Not here, not today. Why you may ask?

I suspect that while I did manage to work the front of Saturday's 4/5 race for nearly 2 laps and manage to put together a feeble break with my teammate, I did what every bike racer fears next to crashing...

I bonked and I bonked hard.

Yes, Granny give me all you got. After razzing you about proper fueling and calorie deficits, I hit the wall and kept going right through it. After working with a 15 yr old teammate that possibly will go pro (I'm not kidding here), I completely pulled my ripcord in lap 6. We're talking not turning the crank here. Meanwhile, this kid is 15 and working the front of 4/5 races 6 out of 7 laps. He's awesome and provided he's coached properly, we may be hearing about him on the domestic circuit.

Last race 6th, this race? You got it, dead last. I even started to pull over to quit the race but Lance's words clanged in my head: Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever. I kept going. With each painful stroked I was reminded of my new training lesson: Rest 3 days before a race. IT WORKS.

Either way, it looked to be a great cycling weekend for all! Well, except the entire pro peloton maybe.

Cheers.

"Mired in depravity, riddled with deceit and seemingly oblivious to the consequences, cycling is at the brink of a precipice of its own making."

That actually IS me, in front of (obviously) Wrigley Field, four summers ago during my Chicagoland bike tour of the city. The bike is a Unavega hybrid I bought in 1993 -- the bike that got me back on two wheels. Wish I could have been out there with you, Granny (see item below), on Sunday, but you would have enjoyed my ride (see two items below) along the Potomac! And what was 53rd Tooth doing?

OK, so that isn't me, but I was cycling along the Potomac River in Rosslyn and Alexandria Sunday, starting out in Vienna and cranking out about 50 miles in temperatures in the mid-80s. Took it nice and easy (you can't crank it up on the path because there's a lot of traffic); I got a good sweat and an even better workout.

Maybe Danica Patrick should have ridden a Trek Sunday in the Indianpolis 500!

He's running in the New York City Marathon, so why not drive in the Indianapolis 500 someday?

"It's just a question of time," Our Boy Lance said Sunday. "I've been invited to every race school, but I don't have the three or four days to go do that. But I will one of these days."
Golly. What next?

On the day that a new king of cycling, Ivan Basso, is crowned in Milan, this should be a happy time.

It is not.

That is a shame for Basso, who's 9:18 margin of victory in the Giro d'Italia is the largest in 41 years.

Remarkable.

But there is a shadow hanging over cycling today. "Everybody is under suspicion," writes Samuel Abt in the International Herald Tribune. "Did a rider outdo himself, or did he find a better doctor? Who gets credit for an unexpected victory, a rider or his pharmacist? Who are the riders involved in the ongoing doping scandal in Spain?"

There is a list circulating inSpain with 200 names on it. Basso is not among them. Jan Ullrich's is.

Simoni causing trouble again
And Gilberto Simoni, just as he fanned the flames of controversy in 2004 when his then teammate, Damiano Cuenego, won the Giro, is breathing fire again.

After the finish Saturday, he Simoni accused Basso of asking him to slow down on the descent from the Mortirolo and not leave him behind, hinting that there would be a payback.
"Basso said to me, 'Don't drop me on the descent,' so I thought I had a chance to win today," Simoni said. "If I had thought Basso was going to do that in the finale, I would have played my cards differently."

It was then that Simoni heaped false praise on Basso:
"I've never seen anyone dominate like him, never seen anyone that strong. He seems like an extraterrestrial."

Abt, who knows cycling unlike few others, writes that "extraterrestrial" is a code word, first applied admiringly to Miguel Indurain a decade ago in the a Tour de France after a particularly impressive time trial. The word "extraterrestrial" has a different connotation now, Abt writes: that no rider can be so strong naturally.

Basso, of course, was upset.
"I don't like to be called an extraterrestrial or a phenomenon," he said. "In this Giro, I have always been honest and played fairly."

Said Simoni:
"It's a Giro I would rather forget. I don't want to make up with Basso, whom I no longer consider a friend. All I want to do now is look to the future. I'm hoping to compete in the Tour de France with David (Millar). After that I will ride for another year if (team manager) Mauro Gianetti agrees."

You have to wonder how many friends Simoni has left.

In praise of Basso
And you want to believe in Basso, who always has a smile on his face, even during the toughest stages.

You want to believe him, just as you want to believe Our Boy Lance, who was far away in Indianapolis driving the pace car to begin Sunday's face auto race, the Indianapolis 500.

So, what shall we believe?
Who shall we praise at this yet again precarious moment in cycling?

Basso, who is just 28 and in position to dominate the sport for years, won three of the 21 stages of the three-week race; his CSC team also won the team time trial. It was a show of strength that reminded many of Lance Armstrong.

Spain's Jose Gutierrez of the Phonak team finished, Simoni third at 11:59. "This was a very hard Giro and so it was important to ration your energy and know when and where to gain time. There were seven key stages and I think I rode well on all of them," Basso said.
"In the last two years I've finished on the Tour de France podium twice and even made Armstrong suffer. I've been the same Basso as always, but with a year's experience and improvement in my legs. "There were days when I suffered but I manage to hide my pain when I riding and so fortunately my rivals didn't take advantage."

Basso will now prepare for the Tour de France, which starts in Strasbourg on July 1. "I can't celebrate and rest too much because the Tour is not far away," he said. "This Giro has been hard but leading the race for 15 days has taught me a lot. "I know the pink jersey is not like the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, but now I feel ready to face the pressures of the Tour. I've never said I can win the Tour, but I'm going to try."

In praise of Team CSC
CSC, meanwhile, has emerged as the dominant team in cycling.

"This wonderful achievement in my own native country would have been impossible without the skilled support of my dedicated teammates," said Basso in a Team CSC press release. "They repeatedly sacrificed their chances for individual glory to help me keep the lead in ways that were vital to victory -- a victory shared by all nine of us. It is my hope that this win sets the stage for our performance at the Tour de France.

"Each stage of the race was its own little drama as members of my team chased down breakaways, rode tempo at the front of the main bunch and controlled the flow of the race. I was both humbled and energized by their support."

Said Bjarne Riis, manager of Team CSC:
"Basso's win proved he was the strongest rider in the race and that he had maximum support from the strongest team at the Giro. Teamwork is always at the core of our values, which we put into practice everyday, and look forward to applying at the Tour de France.
"Our German attacker Jens Voigt dominated the early stages of the Giro for the team and could have very well won a stage or two, as could have Carlos Sastre who was second in the 2005 Vuelta a Espana. Giovanni Lombardi was a key rider acting as Basso's 'bodyguard' throughout the race, helping to steer Ivan through the chaotic and sometimes dangerous bunch sprints at the finish. Ivan could often be found glued right on Lombardi's wheel in these situations, protected from other riders in the tightly grouped peloton or from the sometimes harsh elements."

And Bobby Julich, another teammate, praised Basso, too.
"Riding in support of a man like Ivan is rewarding. Not only because he achieves consistently strong results, like this Giro win, but he also has so much class. Our respect for Basso, and each other, is what drives this team and makes us push to be the best each day."

Team CSC in Arlington, Va.
Now, here's a treat for the Crankset:
Next Sunday, June 4, is the CSC Criterium in Arlington, Va. Who will Riis send? Julich has ridden the past two years.
Stay tuned (and there will be pictures!).

What's a major stage race without a little controversy?
There's absolutely no controversy about who's going to win the Giro d'Italia Sunday when the tour concludes Sunday in Milan. Ivan Basso won Saturday's difficult 20th grueling, 211km 20th stage up the Gavia, his third stage win of this Giro, to put the finishing touch on the most dominant Giro win in a generation, according to Andrew Hood of VeloNews. The difference of 9:18 to second-place José Enrique Gutiérrez is the widest margin since 1965, when Vitorrio Adorni won in 11:26.
An angry Gilberto Simoni called Basso an "extraterrestrial" for his crushing performance and accused him riding unfairly by asking him to ride easy on the perilous descent off the Mortirolo, only to leave him stranded on the final hump to Aprica.
Answered Basso:
"This is the most beautiful day of my career, let me enjoy it. What I did today was proper and I did my work in the stage, but I don't like it when someone calls me an extraterrestrial. People have to remember I was the only rider strong enough to follow (Lance) Armstrong at the Tour de France. I've worked hard for this moment."

As you may recall, Our Boy Lance is driving the pace car Sunday to start the Indianapolis 500.

And while he rarely hit the wall as cyclist, there's a different kind of wall he wants to avoid at the Speedway.

Said OBL (during his Speedway press conference): Even as freaked out as I was today, it’s going to be a whole another level. Coming out of the last turn at 120 mph, that was tougher than I thought. And not really knowing where the wall is, they’re like, ‘Get up closer to the wall.’ I’m like: ‘No, I’m not getting closer to the wall. No, I’m going to stay away from the wall!’ It will be a whole another feeling, and when you put that many people in the place it narrows up real quick."

Lance Armstrong stands next to the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Pace Car and in front of the field for the 90th Indianapolis 500 and special Indy 500-edition Trek road bikes.

Ivan Basso's second child, Santiago, was born before the 19th stage of the Giro d' Italia began on Friday. "In these situations, cycling comes second. My happiness was unbelievable this morning," he said.

Here's why I love cycling.
Spaniard Juan Manuel Garate won the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia Friday.
German Jens Voigt could have.
But Garate should have, and Voigt understood that.

Garate was part of a long breakaway and rode the final few kilometers with Giro GC leader Ivan Basso's CSC teammate Voigt. Garate is a better climber than Voigt and worked harder on the steep road to the finish. Voigt, a stronger sprinter, returned the favor by tapping Garate on the back a few hundred meters from the finish, indicating the Spaniard could have the victory.

"I didn't deserve the victory today. He worked for it," Voigt said.

Garate covered the grueling 221km (137-mile) stage from Pordenone to Passo Di San Pellegrino, which included four major climbs, in 7:13.36 for his fifth career win. "I didn't have the legs this year to be with the top riders and I really wanted to win a stage," said Garate, who rides for the Belgian Quick Step team.

Voigt finished four seconds behind.

Basso finished 2:15 behind in eighth, just behind Gilberto Simoni. Basso leads Jose Gutierrez Cataluna by 6:07, with Simoni third overall at 10:34.

Well this "feel good" story might not be enough to counter-balance all the negativity (doping scandals, riders dropping out with 2 stages to go, crashes, allergies and colds) coming out of procycling these days, but when a person stands up and stands out shouldn't that be recognized?

Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step-Innergetic), the Spanish National road champion, crossed the finish line first today after a long and hard Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, but the real victor (and class of the field) was Jens Voigt. The 34 year old German, who along with teammate Bobby Julich (CSC), was up in the 22 man break to cover any possible moves for race leader Ivan Basso. Although Voigt, by far the stronger sprinter, reached the final meters with Garate, he waved the Spaniard forward to take the victory. Why?

According to Procycling, "because, in the German's eyes, his contribution to the 22-man break which characterized today's stage didn't merit first place."

"I wouldn't take a victory like that," Voigt declared at the finish-line. "It would have been a victory without honour because I didn't work for it. I said to myself that if I got to the top [of the San Pellegrino] and hadn't worked, I wouldn't sprint. I hadn't done any work all day and no-one moaned or shouted at me[...] No, if I'd have attacked I'd have felt as though I'd flicked Garate."

"While Riis admitted that he didn't wholeheartedly agree with Voigt's decision, Garate paid tribute to the his sportsmanship. "It was a nice gesture," said the Spaniard, who has now won stages of the Tours of Spain, Italy and Switzerland. "I imagine that it didn't feel right to him to win having not done much work on the front. I don't know whether or not his gesture changed the result, but i thank him anyway."

How's that for a class act? Today's stage could have been a nice anecdote for Voigt to pass along to his grandchildren someday, but for a man with an already impressive palmares, it proved to be just another arbitrary and unnecessary notch on his belt.

It's the next best thing (or one of them) to being there.
The complete route of the 2006 Tour de France has been mapped in Google Earth. You can zoom in to the Paris finish or pan/tilt around the mountain roads. When the race starts in July, Google Earthers can track individual racers as they complete the daily stages.

Here's what you do: Go to this link and download a "network link" for your computer (Mac or PC) . Place that link in your existing Google Earth folder (if you've already downloaded the application). Once the link loads, you will see the route details for each stage.

According to Google Earther Frank Taylor:
"In the 2005 Tour de France there were some attempts to actually track some of the biker's in real-time using network links in GE. I hope we'll see more of that. Also, I was hoping someone will link to web cams at strategic points showing the racers."

How will the record book report on Jan Ullrich's first attempt of the Giro d'Italia?
It won't.

Their Man Jan pulled out of the Giro during the last few kilometres from the finish of the punishing 221km 19th stage from Pordenone to Passo di San Pellegrino (isn't that soda water -- with bubbles?) on Friday. TMJ consulted with team director Rudi Pevenage, then climbed into the T-Mobile team car. So much for Ullrich's 42nd place in the overall standings, 45:31 behind leader Ivan Basso when he abandoned.

Said Jan:
"I feel a bit tired after three weeks and don't want to endanger my build-up of form ahead of the Tour de France. The (Giro) penultimate stage (on Saturday) will be really tough and I didn't want to overstretch myself any more."

Zabel, Holczer and Wüst comment on the Spanish affair

"I find it good that Spain has instituted a new policy of 'zero tolerance', said Erik Zabel, one of Milram's top sprinters, to Eurosport. "Now we have to wait and see what the reports say. If there is something in there, it should be laid on the table. It is too bad that cycling is making negative headlines again, but it also gives a chance to all the riders who try to do things the honourable way."

Hans-Michael Holczer, Gerolsteiner team manager, came down hard, saying, "If the allegations are right, then the affected persons must be removed from cycling for many years."
Marcel Wüst was similarly disappointed by the affair, telling Cyclingnews, "It seems that police and government pressure are the only things that work. A sad day for our sport, especially when people pretend to accept the anti- doping rules, and then continue to cheat. It will be harder and harder to convince fans and sponsors that cycling is a great and fair sport."

Just how good is Ivan Basso (photo by Graham Watson)?
Given Basso's brilliant Giro d'Italia performance with just three stages remaining, CSC team manager Bjarne Riis, a former Tour de France winner, makes this assessment: " Basso is clearly the strongest rider this year in the Giro. Basso is at the level you see at the Tour de France, and it´s obvious the others are not."

Of Basso's second Giro victory in Stage 16, Riis said:
"What Ivan did out there today will most likely pass over into history as one of the great stage wins in the Giro. He proved that he's the strongest rider in the Giro and probably one of the greatest riders in the sport at the moment."

I would point to the 8th stage as the moment in history when Basso declared himself. That's when he rode away from Damiano Cunego, Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savodelli. Barring a disaster, the Giro belongs to Basso.

How many times in the past have said that about Our Boy Lance?
And what will we be saying in July?

History awaits the answer.

The Spanish doping scandal may get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
Now, it seems that police have found lists with the names of more than 100 top-level athletes who allegedly used the services of doctors offering doping procedures.
And among those names: Jan Ullrich, according to Cadena Ser radio, quoting "sources close to the investigation."

Says Jan on the T-Mobile website: "I never worked with (physician Eufemiano) Fuentes."
Adds T-Mobile physician Lothar Heinrich: "It's the first time that we've heard of this and there's no truth to it."

Ullrich is currently 42nd in the Giro d'Italia after 18 stages.

A report in the newspaper El Pais said that the names of elite foreign cyclists (not just Spaniards) were on the lists. Five people were arrested in this week's raids, including Manolo Saiz, a major figure in Spanish cycling and director of the Liberty Seguros team.

Police have filmed athletes arriving at a Madrid apartment building apparently to have blood extracted for doping purposes or to pick up performance-enhancing drugs. Police seized large amounts of steroids, hormones and the endurance-boosting substance EPO, as well as 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood. They also found documents on doping procedures performed on cyclists.

Former Spanish cyclist Jesus Manzano, who triggered a probe two years ago by alleging widespread doping in the sport, said he was among those using the blood doping treatments and had done so while competing in a Vuelta. Manzano said he ran into Olympic athletes and soccer players at the doping clinic. "Spanish sports has a cancer," he told TV station Telecinco.
Liberty Seguros announced that it is ending its sponsorship of the team, saying the arrest of Saiz hurts "our name and the name of cycling."

Blood doping is a procedure in which blood is extracted from an athlete, centrifuged to extract a concentration of oxygen-rich red blood cells and then injected back into the athlete before competition to boost performance.

Now here's what I just don't get:
Is doping still so widespread that cyclists believe it is worth the risk? After all, recent scandals have included Roberto Heras and Tyler Hamilton, both major figures in the sport. And the rumor mill just won't leave Our Boy Lance alone. And now, we hear Jan Ullrich's name.

What are we to believe?

Are the athletes and team leaders of this wonderful sport so stupid as to think they can avoid detection, or is doping really the norm?

And if it is the norm, why do we continue to care about these athletes and this sport?

How high does this have to go before the athletes will learn that cheating won't be tolerated by the public?

Or perhaps we, the public, tolerate the cheating, which enables to athletes to continue doing it.

Who is guilty here?

Il Terribile
It's a moniker that makes Ivan Basso sound like a WWF/WWE type or a prize fighter, but on the heels of yet another Armstrong-esque performance in Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia, it certainly looks as if he has applied the "sleeper" or knockout punch to his Giro opponents. "The Smiling Assassin's" dominance has inflicted not only a physical carnage (as seen in the time gaps), but a mental one as well. Whether his opponents have officially conceded or not, it surely is playing out that way, both in words and in pictures.

You know you're done when:
You're riding with a guy who is using this race for PRACTICE!
Jan to Damiano, "Look, one handed."

Gilberto Simoni (after Stage 13)
"As for me, I went up at my own speed, and now, it's getting almost impossible to beat Basso. To stop him...you should perhaps shoot his legs (laugh)! That's the only way to block him! Seriously, it seems difficult...although I went up in the overall ranking, I'm even farther from the Pink Jersey."

My wrestling coach, Bob Stoll, always used to tell us that the mind will give out way before the body ever will, so if you're in a good state of mind, you can push your body to levels beyond your perceived limits. So for the athlete, a physical beat down is more tolerable and workable ("I got beat by the better person today, but I'll work harder and come back") than a mental one. Have you ever wondered why an animal when stuck in a body of water, too far to swim to shore, will tread water until its body just gives out? Whereas a human in the same predicatment will, somewhere along the line, "choose" to give up well before the body does?

All the great ones, the Ali's, the Jordan's, the Armstrong's, had one thing going for them before they even stepped onto their respective fields or arenas...a mental edge. How many times during his tenure at the TDF did we hear Armstrong's opponent readily admit they were riding for second, before the race actually started? It's definitely too early to place Basso in this pantheon of greats, but you wouldn't know it by the way his Giro opponents are talking (and acting).

At this moment in the Giro, Ivan Basso has gotten so far into the heads of his opponents that if he lined up at the start line tomorrow with his daughter's tricycle, his opponents would still believe he could ride away from them in the mountains.

Although I hate to end on a negative note, but with the seemingly ubiquitous cloud of doping that looms over procycling (and with the recent events with Liberty Seguros-Wurth), how long will it take before Dick Pound starts knocking on the CSC bus? (since he'll never readily admit that a dominating performance, such as Basso's and before him Armstrong's, could actually mean that someone has just worked harder).

Going Backwards?
There are many who have pointed to Tom Danielson as the next great American rider (Armstrong even kidding him by nicknaming him "The Great White Hope," recently shortened to just "Great White"), and he still may be. Some felt that this Giro was a proving ground as much for Danielson as its shown to be for Basso. For a climbing specialist like Danielson, these last few stages have to be a humbling experience as he's either not been able to keep up with the race leaders (including his own in Paolo Salvodelli, not noted to be a great climber) or he is being held back by Assistant Director, Sean Yates, to help Salvodelli. There has been some speculation that his lack of results have stemmed from the latter, but Johan Bruyneel has stated that is not the case.

"As for what happens, it's really a matter of communication between the two riders and their directors. I think there's a bit of a misconception in that Tom has not waited for Paolo yet. On Stage 7 both men stayed together and then on Stage 13 Tom came back up to Paolo to work with him."

And according to Salvodelli, Danielson has had his blessing to play his hand. "Danielson is a guy who came here to help me, but he's very good. Although he's so light, he can climb fast and can do good time trials too. My team believe a lot in him, and his weak point is just that he doesn't have a lot of experience, as he's been racing for only a few years. He isn't at his maximum yet, and if he wants to try something in any escape, he will have carta bianca."

With the podium seemingly lost for Salvodelli and Discovery, as it seems highly improbable that Il Falco will be able to climb with Gibo Simoni, it only seems sensible to send Danielson up the road. If he's to be a Grand Tour rider for the future, a Grand Tour stage win or perhaps an overall in the Best Young Rider Classification (not kept for the Giro) should be his first order of business, especially with the way Bruyneel is talking (before Stage 16) about him for the future.

"I'm really satisfied with Tom Danielson's way of riding. Where he is right now is a big step forward and he's definitely a Top 10 contender for the Giro final result. His progression is like we hoped and there's more to come. He's consistent and reading the race very well, and his endurance has also improved. Assuming he finishes the Giro like he's doing now, he will be our team leader this year at the Vuelta Espana and will be on the Tour de France team next year. "

Team leader? In a Grand Tour? Is this where I'm supposed to say the line, "some men are born into greatness, while others have greatness thrust (bestowed) upon them?"

One of the classiest riders in the women's peloton, Lynn Bessette (T-Mobile), has decided to hang up her cleats. Although she planned to ride through the 2008 season, a series of injuries (none career ending) caused her to rethink her present situation. "I always said I'll go step by step and if one day I don't feel like it, I'm going to stop. Of course, the injuries in the last couple of months accelerated my decision. I'm really thinking about my body now and I've crashed a lot and I'm scared. Once you've crossed that line, it's impossible to keep going."

The 31 year old from Knowlton, Quebec (Canada) had previously ridden with Quark and Saturn, the latter where she met her husband Tim Johnson (Health Net-Maxxis).

Career Highlights
Canadian Champion 2004
Canadian Champion time trial 2003
Two-time participant Olympic Games (2002, 2004)
2nd Tour de l'Aude 2003
2nd Fleche Wallonne 2002
1st Tour de l'Aude 1999 and 2001
Canadian Champion road and time trial 2001
2nd Montreal World Cup 1999

Neben (forefront) with teammate, Swedish National Champion, Susanne Ljungskog

Final General Classification
1 Amber Neben (USA) Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 24.25.40
2 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 0.14
3 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 1.25
4 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Univega Pro Cycling Team 2.13
5 Edita Puncinskaite (Ltu) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas 2.36
6 Madeleine Sandig (Ger) Buitenpoort-Flexpoint Team 3.47
7 Judith Arndt (Ger) T-Mobile Professional Cycling 4.29
8 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 4.59
9 Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) Fenixs-Colnago 5.50
10 Maryline Salvetat (Fra) French National Team 9.47
11 Kimberly Baldwin (USA) T-Mobile Professional Cycling 11.10

Our Boy Lance says he found coping with the news that his ex-fiancee Sheryl Crow had cancer as difficult as coming to terms with his own cancer diagnosis.
Armstrong split with Crow, who has now recovered from breast cancer surgery, just weeks before her diagnosis in February.
Says OBL:
"They caught it really early, that was a great thing, and the course of radiation went well. It's just odd timing -- break-ups are never easy, and then something like that three weeks later was tough."

Photo: Graham Watson

Of note: It looks as if the final podium has been decided as none seem to have the legs to keep up with Basso, Gutierrez, and Simoni (especially when you have such a mountain goat in Piepoli to help you).

Overall, after 17 Stages
1. Ivan Basso (I) CSC), 67:56:31
2. José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Sp) Phonak, at 5:43
3. Gilberto Simoni (I) Saunier Duval), at 10:34
4. Paolo Savoldelli (I) Discovery, at 10:58
5. Franco Pellizotti (I) Liquigas-Bianchi, at 12:30
6. Wladimir Belli (I) Colombia-Selle Italia, at 13:00
7. Sandy Casar (F) Francaise des Jeux, at 14:06
8. Damiano Cunego (I) Lampre, at 14:48
9. Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Phonak, at 16:40
10. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Sp) Discovery, at 17:48

17. Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery, at 21.23

How's this tidbit from the Cervelo Newsletter regarding inquiries about Ivan Basso's ride from some very sharp-eyed spectators.

"Some people have been contacting us as they are confused about Ivan’s bike choices for the mountains. Ivan won the first real mountain stage on his Soloist Carbon, then rode an R3 for the second mountain stage, his Soloist Carbon again for the third mountain stage and an R3 for the fourth. As we are in touch with the team almost on a daily basis during big races like the Giro, we thought we would give you some insight into what’s happening.

Ivan rode the R3 in a couple of stages largely as an experiment. He had never ridden an R3 but had heard Cancellara and Kroon talk about it, so he wanted to try one out himself. It's not a very useful bike for him as it falls below the UCI weight limit so he needs to add weights. Ivan's Soloist Carbon is put together at a hair over 6.8kg, just to be on the safe side of the UCI weight limit (if your bike is weighed and it comes in at 6.799 instead of 6.8kg, it is an automatic disqualification, and you never know how accurate the scale will be). "

Just as the clothes don't necessarily make the man, the bike doesn't necessarily signal how good the rider. But for Basso to "experiment" on a bike he's never ridden on some difficult stages, of a Grand Tour no less, speaks volumes about the confidence in his condition while also saying something about his supposed competition.

As my Crank yanker teammates are so painfully aware, my techno abilities are, shall we say...limited. Nonetheless even the unconvertible have hope. I have recently acquired the Garmin Edge 305 GPS cyclecomputer. Again with big props to In Gear Cycling & Fitness (Hummelstown, PA).

Dare I say that this hunk of plastic and circuitry is actually fun? Beyond the now hum drum yawners like speed, HR, cadence, zones, averages, calories burned, this baby packs a lot in a small package (kind of like me). The added knowledge of elevation, including real time grades (CH, Blue MTN hits 24%), real time course recording, a virtual training partner option and downloadable data with charting makes this piece worth every cent. Of course knowing that a satellite is following me only furthers my paranoia about Big Brother but I'm over it.

My conclusion? Fancy-schmancy technology still has yet to eliminate lactic acid. Cheers.