Zabel Wins, Freire Still Hot, More Stupid Dope News

Anyone else out there noticing how this year’s Vuelta photography looks like ass? Even though it would explain Allen Davis’s finish line confusion, I can’t imagine the heat coming off the Spanish tarmac was throwing up that much distortion. You know what I think it is? Radiation from Oscar Freire. After his third win in just six stages, and preternatural crash sense in seventh, it’s clear he’s been mutated from the constantly injured, crash-prone, World Title specialist he once was.

But I don’t mean to take anything away from Erik Zabel’s sneaky win today by mentioning Freire. I dislike it when journalists use the term “crash-marred”; crashes and crash avoidance are part and parcel with the whole sprinting thing, and a win isn’t (IMHO) made any less by the mere presence of a crash. Furthermore, Zabel’s been one of the more reliably sane people throughout the sport’s recent reappraisal of the whole doping thing. I know a lot of people are a little lukewarm to see him win, but I still like the guy.

Speaking of drugs, T-Mobile’s recently bounced Lorenzo Bernucci talked with the media about his “doping” offense. It really makes me wish WADA would put some money into studying exactly how much performance enhancement appetite suppressants and asthma medicines provide. I’m willing to bet they pale in comparison to serious PE drugs, or even entirely legal substances like caffeine. Although, with some dopers starting surprisingly young, I doubt my calls for anti-dope self-evaluation will get far.