Sorry not to have posted a bit. I have a road rash and other bits of pain distributed in small amounts all over my body. So if you’re wondering where my normal zest and vigor’s gone to, most it’s been reserved for forcing myself to shower, come to work, ascend stairs, etc. Not that anything especially horrible happened, but there are little bits of pain attached to nearly all the bony protuberances of my body, meaning that movement and physical contact are taxing enterprises. But this is the way with cycling, and I’ll probably be full of more verve than I know what to do with by the end of the week.
Anyway, to the news. A healthy Iban Mayo (termed “overweight” by people who think Andy Schleck is the pinnacle of athletic fitness) took his first major race in some time, while Petacchi nailed down his 5th stage in this year’s giro, and took the maglia ciclamino (termed “Cyclamen Jersey” by people who think Zero Wing is the pinnacle of effective translation), confirming his return to dominance. His teammate Erik Zabel has been winning again, too, but seems strangely disaffected by the experience. Still, a mostly healed Tom Boonen (termed “scrawny” by people who think runway models need a BMI of 24) hasn’t forgotten how love 1st place.
On the doping front, Christian Prudhomme made a surprisingly levelheaded comment on the integrity of the TdF. While insisting that the Tour should be taken seriously as an athletic event (as opposed to say, pro wrestling or Major League Baseball), he manfully refused to say that his race would be drug-free. Meanwhile, T-Mobile says they’ll be keeping Sergei Honchar benched for the foreseeable future, adding some marginal credibility to the idea that teams can, in fact, police themselves. In fact, now that German authorities and Erik Zabel have agreed that the German 2008 Olympic squad would be best off without the six-time maillot vert you might just forget that it was professional bike racing we’re talking about here. Good thing we’ve got the Sergeant Schultz-esq denials of Walter Godefroot to bring us back down to Earth.
How can Godefroot deny any knowledge of what happeend during his time at Team Telekom? If he is any good at his job, he would have known. He’d be better off shutting his mouth and saying nothing in this instance because he is starting to look like a fool.
Maybe Big Mig should do the same?! Saying that Riis’s comments have done nothing for the sport? I think he would have been better off with a ‘no comment’.
The Indurain years are surely under (a lot more) suspicion as a result of the Telekom confessions.
Hope the injuries heal quickly Cosmo.