Rule #14 of the Internet—according to one respected count—is to never argue with the trolls. Cycling, being a sport consumed and appreciated largely via the Internet, should be no exception.
So I’m not going to talk about Bernard Kohl, or his recent whining in the press. If he wanted not to manage his weight, he should have taken up soccer. And frankly, a quarter litre of vodka just isn’t that much—I’m not volunteering to consume it, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything out of place for an initiation ritual—especially if a Kazakh named “Vino” is doing the initiating.
I’m also not going to talk about AFLD Chair Pierre Bordry, who was apparently unsatisfied with the media hits he got from retesting some 2008 Tour samples, or claiming—without presenting any evidence, other than “alarming” thinness—that two new substances were being used in the peloton.
And I’m definitely not going to talk about how AFLD then dredged up an old story of an inappropriate coffee stop, and spun it into accusing the UCI of testing Astana last throughout the Tour. I wish the UCI would just rise above this sort of thing—Anne’s got the idea, but the rest of the Aigle crew seems more than happy to dive right in there with the pig.
Best to stick to the positive stories—like Farrar continuing his tear through the second half of the season. I will confess to being kinda excited to see what happens during the one-days next spring, though I might steer clear of San-Remo and wait for the Northern Classics instead.
And to add more significance to the otherwise-forgettable Circuit Franco-Belge, Whit Yost has recently been recounting his time behind the wheel there in the sunset days of Team Mercury in Embrocation. Just wish I had a better idea when Part 2 will be coming out.