But the Ballerup track was looking great, freshly sanded and with new advertising - what you don't realise until you look at the down tube of a bike that has just finished in a Derny race is the amount of soot and oil that the little motorbikes pump out - the joiners have buffed all that off, though.

Next up was the women's pursuit; Sarah Hammer was too quick for Wendy Houvenaghel but with all the emphasis on coaching these days, surely someone should get the American to sit still; apart from looking terrible, it's costing her time, increasing her frontal area and catching a lot of air.

The team sprint and Chris Hoy's pedal came off the spindle as he waited to start - bizarre and definitely disconcerting.

The commentators and newspapers weren't slow to use it as an excuse for the team's non-qualification for the final, but their 43.5 in the ride-off for bronze wouldn't have got them into the final either.

In that ride off-for the bronze, I think they were very lucky; Jason Kenny pulled his foot. My recollection of the rules is that only a mechanical problem justifies a restart; I remember France's late pursuit and prologue star, Charly Grosskost with the tears streaming down his cheeks as the commissaires denied him a restart in the world pro pursuit champs after he'd pulled his foot.

GB third in the Team Sprint.

I was a tad puzzled by all the chat that surrounded this ride; in my book they were beaten fair and square by two faster teams - full stop.

All three GB riders are hugely experienced - Chris Hoy, enough said; Ross Edgar has been around at this level for a long time and Kenny is an Olympic medallist.

To say that it's a new team and still being 'developed' doesn't ring true to me - I'm definitely puzzled by what they do with all that time they spend at Manchester track.

It looked like Roger Kluge was going to dominate the men's points as he scooped up the early sprints but as soon as Cameron Meyer slipped into that four man break to lap the field, there was only going to be one winner.

When Meyer took a second solo lap, 'just because he could,' the writing on the stone tablet was chipped even deeper.

Dane Daniel Kreutzfeldt tried hard to get on terms and Chris Newton showed great courage and ability to take fourth, just a point or two, back but it was Meyer's night.

And Meyer is a young man who can win Worlds time trial, team pursuit and madison medals as well - pure quality.

I rang Vik; 'good ride by Newton.'

The reply was as expected; 'oh aye, what medal do you get for fourth, then?'

Day two's session, started badly for me; I missed Alex Rasmussen's brilliant ride to take the scratch race, proving - as did Meyer's ride - that when it comes to 'real' racing, the proper pros will always beat the 'lab rats.'

Alex Rasmussen assumes his best aero position, en-route to the World Title. If it was Meadowbank Track League, he'd be told to "hold his bars properly".

I walked in the door to see Taylor Phinney taking the men's pursuit gold - there was no British competitor.

This dismays me - the GB attitude now, is that if it's not an Olympic event, it's not really a proper race.

These are the Championships of the World, the pursuit goes back to 1946 at this level and GB has a great history in the event - Cartwright, Brotherton, Hallam, Porter, Sturgess, Doyle, Boardman, Obree, Wiggins, Hayles, Manning.

To decide to 'bin' the race because it's 'non-Olympic' strikes me as arrogant and lacking in respect for the event and it's history.

This leads me into the second part of my rant; whilst the Olympics are a big deal, there's a clue in the title of these events - 'World Championships.'

A win means that you are the best rider on the planet at that discipline and entitles you to wear that most beautiful of garments for one year - the rainbow jersey.

And in that discipline, you're entitled to trim your jersey with worlds bands for the rest of your life.

To listen to Rob Hayles, Tony Gibb and David Brailsford, the events at Ballerup are no more than a glorified training session and all that counts is London 2012 - it's arrogant nonsense.

The ladies' team pursuit; Viktor wants to know why, with gender parity, the ladies only ride three kilometres - good question.

Matt Crampton looked good in taking the 7th to 12th keirin final but not as good as Chris in winning - I try to avoid those over-used superlatives, but Chris was brilliant.

Chris rode a tactically superb final. Photo © Gerry McManus.

They all know what he's going to do; he does it and wins from two laps out, on the front - epic bike riding.

He has to be in-line for being the greatest sprint rider of all time.

But no medal for Vicki and Jessica; I can't wait to read about that one, it'll be a triumph of some sort... I'd never get a job writing for Sky.

The 'sunshine' was the Primavera; a race I've been obsessed with ever since I was a young Merckx fan, waiting for my 'Comic' on a 70's Friday - Thursday if I was very lucky.

Richard Russell, Gregor's dad.

The 'sombra' was Gregor's dad's funeral; although maybe it wasn't 'shade,' as Bill Brockie, the former minister and CTC stalwart who managed proceedings so well, explained to us; 'this is a celebration.'

I didn't know Gregor's dad well, but judging by the turn out at the Mortonhall and the anecdotes that were related about him, he was a cool dude.

I stayed behind to have a wee look at his bike, despite the fact that he was 80 years-old, this was no vintage 'scrapper,' - over-size ali, hiddenset, a-head, concealed gear cables, SPD's, double rings (Viktor would approve - he has a phobia about triple chainsets) - and carbon cranks.

A man who moved with the times; but I had to smile when I saw the saddle which topped off the little black gem - someone will no doubt write in to correct me, but I think it was a Brooks 'Swallow' or 'Cutaway,' well battle scarred and which, as Martin said; 'has seen a few miles!'

He'd go with the changes if they were the right ones; but there was no need for fancy carbon and titanium saddles when he still he had his Old Faithful Brooks - I wish I'd known him better.

Milan- San Remo; what a race, epic, whoever thought of calling them 'monuments' got it right.

The first time I saw the race, it was the top of the Poggio, the speed they came over the summit at was crazy - throwing themselves into the descent, bumping off the bottom of the Poggio for the deranged, flat, 60 kph run-in through the streets of the lovely old city.

Freire won that one too, the last time it finished on the Via Roma - they should get it back there.

Oscar makes it three.

We ran a piece on Pez on Thursday based on the bookies odds for the race - the men with the soft hats had four of the first five finisher down as favourites; it's hard to beat them.

Fourth placed Sasha Modolo would have been on long odds though - but maybe not to his fellow pros who watched him get top tens in Tirreno as a neo-pro; maybe not Sagan-impressive but nonetheless excellent results for Italy's top U23 rider in 2009.

If you watch the replays, you'll observe that Modolo was actually making ground rapidly on Ale Jet and just missed the podium.

A year ago Modolo, riding for A.S.D. G.S. Zalf Desiree Fior, was winning the Gran Premio della Liberazione ahead of Michael Mathews.

Freire - has the gift of positioning sense that only the top sprinters have; he knew where to be, exactly when to go and was pulling away from Boonen at the line.

The early break of Fabrice Piemontesi (Androni Giocattoli), Aristide Ratti (Carmiooro NGC) and, Diego Caccia (ISD – Neri) got as much as 22 minutes, but they needed twice that to stand a chance. Pic © Ale Federico.

Tomeke can't be unhappy, he's not as ultimately quick as he used to be, but to beat the likes of Petacchi and Bennati must bode well for the cobbled classics.

Tom Boonen bombs off the Poggio. Pic © Sirotti.

Petacchi looked terrific on the climbs; when I heard that he'd crashed in training, I thought it was over for him - sprinters' speed is as much in their head as their legs - but the Italians all dig deep for this one.

Just like every Belgian laddie dreams of winning Flanders, the Italians fantasise about the view from the podium in San Remo; when The Jet has slept on it, he won't be too unhappy with third.

Gilbert had a go on the Poggio, but left it a little late on the climb. Pic © Ale Federico. (click for the full image)

Bennati - I said in my Pez piece that he didn't have the 'grinta' to win; I don't know if he'd have won, but he'd certainly have been closer if Nibali hadn't been trying to play Mission Impossible solo attack games on the Poggio descent and run-in.

He should have been working for Benna; as it was, Daniel Oss rode himself into the ground but died further from the line than Bennati could handle - as soon as Benna went I thought, 'it's too early!'

Those Liquigas 'too many chiefs' problems seem to be unresolved.

Ivanov takes up the chase for Pippo. © Ale Federico. (click for the full image)

Today (Sunday) I spoke to Simon Clarke (ISD & Australia) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC & USA); I know Simon from his amateur six day racer days - he would have been with the leaders in San Remo, had he not crashed in the finale on the coast road, the energy he burned up to get back on would have seen him safely over the Poggio.

But as it was, he was shelled with a kilometre to go to the top.

Brent Bookwalter rode for BMC last year too.

Six years ago, Simon Clarke (l) was part of the Aussie Junior World Champion Team Pursuit squad. (Others are Michael Ford, Matt Goss, and Miles Olman, Mitch Docker in the middle).

Bookwalter crashed too, hitting one of those little cones they have around traffic islands and landing hard on unforgiving Italian tar - no placing for him, just a ride to the finish in the team car.

What struck me about both men was the respect in their voice when talking about the race - even though they are first Primavera riders, they're in no doubt about the significance of the 'Classicissimo.'

The early part of the race had filthy conditions. Pic © Ale Federico. (click for the full image)

Last words go to Cav, interviewed by Belgian TV:

"It was hard, not just for me, but for my team.

"On the Turchino I had spokes ripped out of my wheel and had to chase back, then there was the crash in the tunnel which held us up.

"We chased and chased to get back on the descent - I'm a good descender and we got back up through the field to the second group.

"We were coming back on la Manie where I crashed on the descent, but eventually we got back to the front group.

"On the Cipressa - the hardest part - same as last year, I lagged a little and I couldn't make it back. I did better than I imagined and I'm pleased for Oscar."

The interviewer asked; 'And will we see you back to win year, Mark?'

Cav's next statement was delivered with steely determination;

"Yeah, hopefully in the world champion's jersey."

Whoever wins, I'll be there. This year, it was painful not to be.

ciao, ciao.

The team is largely the same as last season, but has been bolstered by the addition of six riders; Dutchmen Job Vissers and Robin Chaigneau, Frenchmen Alexandre Geniez and Yann Huguet, Belgian Dominique Cornu, and Norwegian Frederik Wilmann.

The 2010 Skil - Shimano Team. (Click for the full image)

As General Manager Iwan Spekenbrink told the assembled press;

"Both the team and the organisation have been strengthened, in terms of quality and quantity - we have a good set of riders for this season, which we, the staff, have every confidence in.

"We've three Chinese riders in the team again this year, and we work on their development intensively. They have come on in great strides in all areas over the last two years, and we're expecting them to be ready to take part in more international races for us this season."

Riders in action through the streets of the TdF prologue in Rotterdam’s centre, followed by television cameramen. (Click for the full image)

Piet Rooijakkers, Koen de Kort and Job Vissers in front of the Erasmus bridge. (Click for the full image)

The team reaffirmed it's 6-point policy that it first introduced last year:

1. development of riders with an international focus (such as the strong links with Japan, naturally, and China).
2. a great team spirit (as DS Rudy Kemna told VeloResults at the Tour last year, he wants his riders to race with panache).
3. innovation (they'll be using Shimano prototypes this year in certain key races).
4. ethics (racing in accordance with the strictest guidelines and with Shimano insisting on absolute and zero tolerance of positive controls).
5. investment in rider and staff development.
6. an enhanced responsibility in the stewardship of the environment (for example, the team vehicle fleet is going to be entirely carbon-neutral in 2010, and a new role taken on by the team is to be an ambassador for "'Trees for Travel' - a foundation that helps the (re)planting of forests and the use of sustainable energy in developing countries).

The new Koga team bike is stunning. The team were quoting a retail value of an astonishing 14.500 euros! Note the Shimano Dura Ace DI2 (electronic shifting) cables running through the inside of the frame.

Skil's Team Bike. (Click for the full image)

The Major of Rotterdam, Mr. Ahmed Aboutaleb, speaking with the winner of the Tour de France 1968, Jan Janssen. (Click for the full image)

Skil-Shimano’s General Manager Iwan Spekenbrink speaking with journalists. (Click for the full image)

The full roster

Riders

Netherlands - Piet Rooijakkers, Albert Timmer, Tom Veelers, Roy Curvers, Kenny van Hummel, Koen de Kort, Floris Goesinnen, Robin Chaigneau, Job Vissers

Norway - Frederik Wilmann

France - Thierry Huppond, David Deroo, Steve Houanard, Yann Huguet, Alexandre Geniez

Germany - Robert Wagner, Simon Geschke

Belgium - Bert De Backer, Dominique Cornu

Australia - Mitchell Docker

Japan - Yukihiro Doi

China - Feng Hang, Long Jin, Cheng Ji

General manager

Iwan Spekenbrink (Netherlands)

Directeurs sportifs

Rudie Kemna, Piet Hoekstra, Merijn Zeeman (Netherlands)

With thanks to Cees van Keulen-Gerwen for the photos.

It's almost as if the guy that bank rolls the team, owns the newspaper.

He does?  Oh!

The Times, today.

We're treated to nine examples of marginal gains:

1. Cav and Lance get a kicking for having personalised paint jobs on their bikes - the Pinarellos only have 25% of the frame painted, to save weight.
   With virtually every bike in the peloton nudging the UCI minimum weight restriction, anyway - am I missing something?
2. Sky have the 'most aerodynamic shorts in the game.' Super cool news for those chronos - but when the mud is flying at Het Nieuwsblad...
3. Great lengths have been gone to in order to secure Sky's race radio communications - money well spent when you consider the UCI will ban them, in a year or two.
4. The asymmetrical Pinarello - I love Pinarellos, but how come all bikes up until now haven't gone round in circles when you're stepping on it?
5. I'm not sure if this is an early April Fool; but the bus apparently has a telescopic mast with a strobe light on top, so the riders can spot it after the finish.
   Frans Assez would have run his Flanders team for a year on the price of that.
6. Apparently all sorts of tests were done to come up with the team kit design.
   When I'm even older and writing articles about 'cult cycling jerseys of the past;' Bianchi, Faemino, Peugeot, Brooklyn - Sky? hardly.
7. Mood lighting on the bus, maybe there's a vacancy for a DJ? I've still got all my 80's 12" vinyl.
8. More on the bus - 9 x skype, laundry, electrically obscuring glass, etc.
   Frans could have won classics with that amount of cash.
9. 'The line' statement printed on the kit - so how come all the kit doesn't have it?

I'm sorry for my cynicism, but it's Barcelona, 92, Boardman all over again - that Lotus won the pursuit on it's own.

Bikes and buses don't win races - men do.

Sky's mechanics hard at work on the Dogmas.

I think Sky will have a good year; Boasson Hagen is sheer quality and Steve Cummings is one big, strong under-rated rider: he'll win this year. And that's just two of the squad.

They won their first race and won it well, respect for that.

But let's keep those hype filters firmly in place, readers.

But scratch all of the above and file under, "Another one bites the dust!" albeit the 'B' sample might just be 'clean.'

Zirbel had a promising 2010 ahead of him with Garmin.

We asked Paul Coats, who's a lecturer at Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, for an expert view:

"Zirbel, Jesus.. who knows these days!

"Seems a strange one though, as I mentioned to you when you asked me about Landis; testosterone or any of the androgens are only useful for recovery.

"And you can beat the test if you are smart - and most pros are, or at least they have someone keeping them right. Long-gone are the days of using steroids: too easily detected.

"Only dumb-asses get caught on test these days, even my gran knows that."

What is DHEA anyway?

"DHEA is a pro hormone and is metabolised to more active testosterone, produced naturally and can also be taken as supplement.

"It's readily available to buy on internet.

[DHEA is an abbreviation for dehydroepiandrosterone. Produced by the adrenal glands, it is a precursor for the manufacturing of many other hormones in the body, 50 of which are from the adrenal glands.  Editor.]

"The problem with supplements used in body building is that they add DHEA without listing it, thus making the customer think the product is great and they buy more.

"This was a big problem a couple years ago; in the USA there were a few well documented cases of track athletes testing positive due to protein supplements which were contaminated (so the manufacturer said) with DHEA.

"Now all the reputable supplement manufacturers provide test results to show their products are free from substances that may produce positive result."

Will Zirbel know how it got in his body?

"He'll know what he has taken, he clearly has tested positive and unless there is a total screw up his B sample will be positive. It would be useful if the numbers were presented; then we could see how much was in his system.

"He states on cyclingnews.com he knows nothing and is ignorant of all this kind of thing. Well, we know all pros know this game inside-out, and he is seasoned pro.

"Diet will be a major factor in his training and I'm sure he knows exactly what supplements and food he has taken."

We'll probably never know what really happened to Tom.

So what happened?

"1)  His body produces high DHEA: ok, so why has he not tested high before? Therefore, unlikely.

"2)  Someone spiked his recovery drink: wild claim - possible, but unlikely.

"3)  He took a supplement contaminated with DHEA: possible - yes it happened in the past, but nowadays quality supplements come with quality control, also he's probably taking the same supplements as others on his Bissel team, and they have not tested positive. Unless he has his own supplements; but as mentioned he will know what he takes and could provide this to authorities to check for DHEA contamination and in a way, help explain the situation.

"4)  He is a dumb-ass: applying Occam's razor principle (ie. the simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one) this seems the most likely."

"We will likely never know the truth; but if 4) is correct, what a waste of a great career and potential great 2010 with Garmin.

"I can't believe someone at his level can test positive for DHEA - its not like EPO or CERA, it has no big benefits but it carries the same penalty."

Paul Coats (PhD), Lecturer: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences.

'...waste of a great career.' - for sure, Paul.

With thanks to Paul for his time and expertise.

Brad with his new Pinarello.

I hope you all had a good Xmas; Viktor didn't - but that shouldn't surprise us.

He did make a good point though - namely that Sky are well behind with their training camps; all of the big squadra have had one, if not two camps already.

The Christmas edition of the Comic.

From a fitness and bonding point of view the digital vision guys are behind the eight ball already; it'll be interesting to see if that makes a difference come flag dropping time.

It's easy to 'have a go' at what folks write and I know I'm guilty of it, but sometimes I read things that jar so much that I can't let them go without comment.

Cycling Weekly described Brad's rise to the 'top' as 'meteoric.'

There are two points to address here; he's been a pro for eight full seasons and he's not at the top.

Knocking on the door, yes; but with no major wins on the road. Let's save the hyperbole until he's actually on the Tour podium - or even wins a stage.

Cast your mind back to the heady days of '84; the Tour seemed Robert Millar's for the taking - but it was never to be.

Talking of le Tour, we decided to consult an expert on Bradley's chances for 2010 - did we talk to Barry Hoban? Scott Sunderland? Jimmy Rutherford? - nah!

Big Pete, the bookie from Leslie.

Alberto Contador is at 6 to 4 'on' - if you're not a betting person, that means if you place a £60 bet on Alberto Contador, you'll get £100 back if he wins; your £60 stake plus £40.

But put your £60 on Brad and, if the big man wins, they'll slide £1,260 across the counter, that's your £60 stake plus 20 times that; Brad is at 20 to 1.

Norrie, back in the day.

For us, it's just 'bragging rights' (as Pez would say) about getting the results correct; "well, I did say that, back in December!" But for Pete, it's his living, if the bookies actually thought Brad could win, he wouldn't be at 20/1.

And whilst I'm on the subject of turf accountants, my Norrie Drummond calendar arrived, this week.

Picturesque views of Scotland? Scantily clad ladies? Chucklesome cartoons?

None of the above; simply a list of every horse race meeting in the UK for 2010, a calendar for the pros, the hard core - respect, Norrie, and thanks.

I see "The Hall of Fame" is upon us; there's always going to be controversial choices. It's hard to condemn riders who were 'kitting' in the 70's, 80's and 90's - if you didn't, then you didn't win.

And we've all got a bit of the monkey in us when it comes to wheeling and dealing; but there's at least one man on that list who could flit through the tree tops with the best of them - no names, no pack drill! But why isn't Arthur Daley nominated?

And there's 'just one more t'ing, sir!'

David Millar; a different man could have blagged his way out of the EPO wrap; "I've never seen that vial before in my life, some idiot must have planted it there!"

Dave appealed to be allowed to race for Scotland in India next summer.

But no, he 'fessed up' and has accepted responsibility for his actions. He's candid about what he did, he's paid the price, and on his day he rides with a panache that makes you feel proud of our sport - I'll be rooting for you at Delhi, boy!

Wiggins and Brailsford finally admit what's been going on.

Well shock horror, probably the worst kept secret in cycle racing so far this century!

My own view is it was a great move for his bank balance and now he is riding a Pinarello, mine too!

But as far as his cycling career goes mmm, I ain't so sure!

The new Team Sky will make for an interesting season.

Let's be honest, no other team would pay him what Sky are and if as we are being told he is a potential grand tour winner, then you may expect a scrum or at very least a small que to get his signature!

Johan is a great tactician, and like LA, apparently holds grudges.

Earlier this year I was told Cav could have more than doubled his money if he left Columbia but chose to stay as the set up suited him, he had guys that would knock their pan in to get him into 'launch position', plus the infrastructure of mechanics, masseurs, ds's, etc were all there with proven track records!

A very sensible decision for one so young. Compare that to Sky, a new team with a ds who has done a fantastic job with our track squad, however the road is not an exact science with so many other factors coming into play and with all due respect he has not got that T shirt never mind the badge!

I really hope Sky have a great season but my gut tells me too many things are not in place.

Ed has pointed out that David B isn't trying to pee others off but already clearly has!

The cycling community is relatively small and come July he may be made to regret some of his actions. Armstrong and Bruyneel are arguably the best tacticians in our sport and making yourself enemy no. 1 is not the smartest move.

Another move which I can't fathom is Brad telling us he is better than LA? How? Where are the results to back that up?

He also expects us to believe the first week of next years tour will suit him better, over cobbles in cross winds? Again how? He is no Tchmil or Musseuw, what results has he got to back these statements.

Sky clearly have the budget required to put a Pro Tour squad on the road and it is welcome shot in the arm for UK cycling but it is what you do with that money that will ultimately count and how they will be judged.

I was told they allocated over £8m to buy riders out of contracts, and some of the salaries being quoted for mediocre riders is frankly frightening.

I do hope I am wrong and they do prove to be successful and Brad or another brit wins the tour by 2015 but I for one won't be breaking the door down at my local William Hill's just yet!

For what it's worth my advice is 'Let your legs do the talking'!

‘I’m better than Armstrong now,’ says Wiggins - reads the headline; of all the bike riders in the world that one should not make that statement about, Lance Armstrong is the absolute top of the list.

Has Brad placed himself on 'the Black List'?

Martin will no doubt fill in the blank here, but the man from Plano will have one of those feeds which alert him every time his name is mentioned on the ‘net. [Probably an Atom or RSS feed, or a Google filter Ed!]

I hope he didn’t read that over his 47.3 grams of organic muesli – messy!

Brad’s name will have moved from the ‘potential rivals’ file to the ‘black book list’ normally reserved for Paul Kimmage and David Walsh – you can see why I keep clear of those press conferences.

To add to Garmin and Katyusha then, we’ve got The Shack, all refusing to work in Sky breaks and pulling like hell to get them back.

Garmin, ah yes, the team that took Brad on, paid him good money, believed in him and rode their hearts out for him in the Tour – only for our boy to compare them to Wigan Athletic.

Brad might find it harder in the peloton next season.

We heard that the deal had been done, months ago, but then it all went quiet; we believe that this was so as not to rock the boat whilst Garmin were doing the deal with Transitions. But as soon as that was done, it was time to sign.

There was an interview with David Millar on Cyclingnews on Friday past, give it a read, his comments ring true, to me.

The jist of it is that Sky are rocking the boat, and before a wheel has turned in anger, are heaping pressure upon themselves.

Also in that piece is a New York Times quote from Jonathan Vaughters; ‘The way the deal went through is very disrespectful,’ are his words. No favours from Garmin, either, then.

‘I didn’t go out to piss people off,’ David Brailsford said, according to the Guardian. ‘But we’ve got thick skins. And once the racing starts, the talking will stop.’

Two observations here, if that’s him not trying, I can’t wait to see what happens when he does try – and the talking will certainly not stop, once the season starts.

Whilst the British Media may not be well clued up on pro bike racing, but they know what a win is; and given the buzz that has surrounded this team, nothing but wins will do - and not from guys with funny names, it’ll have to be good old Brits.

And let’s not forget Ben Swift; he’s probably glad of the Brad hype to take the heat off his case – but we hear a settlement is close, thank goodness. We want to see Ben moving on with his career, the man has so much potential.

Dave reckons he has a thick skin.

And finally, I thought ‘Gender Parity’ was an Amish folk singer until the last few months, but no, it’s a burning issue and is responsible for the removal of the pursuit from the Olympic agenda.

A few years ago, one of the 12, or maybe even 24 time trial guys said to John Woodburn that he should start riding those ‘man’s events’ and forget 25 mile time trials. Woodburn replied that it's competition that makes a race hard to win, not duration.

With this thought in mind, why introduce more women’s events?

If you check the UCI web site (taking Continental listings from 2009) you will find 18 Pro Tour teams, 19 Pro Continental and somewhere around 120 Continental teams; a total of 155 or-so teams.

There are a total of 25 women’s teams; and some of these are adjuncts to the men’s teams from above – Columbia and Cervelo for example.

I fail to see how a sport which has one sixth the registered teams of its male equivalent should have parity.

The GB Womens' Team Pursuit.

And the distances should be the same, in athletics the women don’t run a 66 metre sprint instead of 100; the distance shouldn’t be messed with in the team sprint.

I think the main reason for having only two girls is that most nations would struggle to get sufficient numbers to put three up for the event.

And the omnium - good luck to the commentators explaining that one; I read that there’s a move afoot to take the omnium up to six events, instead of five – presumably to make it even more complicated.

Tradition, the rider’s views, the fan’s views, none of these things matter any more; no wonder I can’t wait for Het Volk – ok, ok, I mean Het Nieuwsblad.

It’s enough to turn you to golf; there are no scandals there.

Ben Swift.

Ben Swift – top guy, affable, always happy to chat, looks the business and has a great career ahead of him.

But – I don’t like what’s happening with this Sky business. I might be wrong - and am probably writing my own obituary here, as far as Sky interviews goes - but it smacks to me of; ‘we can’t get Brad, so we have to get some one else who can win a bit and who’s English!’

Ben should have been left where he was to mature and learn more of the ropes of pro racing in a team that helps him but puts him under no undue pressure.

Personally, I believe that Sky should have come in at Pro Continental level and built from there, with a view to going Pro Tour – and snaffling Cav? Brad? Ben? - for 2011. That way, there would have been room to manoeuvre, time to build and much, much less pressure.

Ben found the Tumble climb in the British Champs tough going.

As it stands, they’ve done what we expected – recruited all the ex-Academy/Plan guys they could get hold of; and also a strong all rounder in Boasson Hagen, just in case they couldn’t get a big British star.

But there’s the rub, for the team to get the kind of exposure and publicity that an name like Sky needs, wants and craves, the star has to have a nice simple English name. Even The Comic [Cycling Weekly Magazine] is making negative noises; ‘this is a super squad that still lacks a serious GC contender or a major British presence,’ they said in the November 26th issue.

Katyusha insist that Ben will ride with them in 2010.

On the one hand, the team played the line that; ‘yes, there’s money available, but not silly money, we’ll be paying market value and no more.’ But then the tales circulate that they were willing to give Garmin two million dollars to buy Brad out and then pay him eight million for a six year contract.

Probably exaggerations, but then we hear that they’ve poached a guy from Formula One to look after the team vehicle fleet – this hardly smacks of ‘prudence’ as my fellow Kirkcaldy boy, Gogs Brown would say.

On the track, you don’t really need to make friends and the GB steam roller has certainly flattened all opposition on the boards.

But the road is different, friends are essential, irrespective of how fat your cheque book is; whilst there are few presents in pro road racing, you have to have allies, or at least have as few people as possible who’ll want to chase you down at inopportune moments. Ask George Hincapie; seemingly headed for yellow on the Tour stage eventually won by Ivanov, Garmin decided that they didn’t want a Columbia man in yellow and launched a chase.

Before a wheel has been turned in anger, Sky are now in a position where two powerful teams – Garmin and Katyusha – will do them no favours and go out of their way to stop the English team from winning.

Apart from that, they’ve propelled Ben Swift into the centre of a media storm and an awkward situation. If he stays with the Russian squad, there’s a real risk that Katyusha won’t race him; and if he goes to Sky, there will be a huge weight of expectation upon him to perform – I just hope he’s ready for that.

Just one more t'ing sir

And under the 'just one more t'ing, sir' rule, whilst mentioning Cycling Weekly; 'the recent Dortmund and Munich Six-Days have not done as well as they once did,' that's very true in the case of Dortmund - it was cancelled.

Bert is on Specialized next season.

Next move Bert signs for Astana for a large wage rise and a possible extension to his contract and it looks like Astana will be on Specialized bikes next year too. It all looked too well organised, Specialized were hedging their bets, get a Tour winner on their bikes and loose Flanders and Roubaix wins and better still push Trek off that top step in Paris after…how many years?

We wont have to wait long to see the fireworks between Contador and his ex team-mate; Armstrong. I use the term “team-mate” loosely as I’m sure Contador and Armstrong wouldn’t use it after their conflict at the Tour. The two will meet in February in the Volta a Algarve; it’s been on the Americans Tour build-up calendar for years, including introducing a time trial just for him. Alberto now also wants to start his season on the Portuguese coast, it probably won’t prove anything that early in the year, but it will make for some interesting photos.

Alberto said this week in “La Gazzetta dello Sport” that he had to buy his own wheels at the Tour.

"Sucedió antes de la contrarreloj de Montecarlo. Para mí no había las ruedas mejores. Así que parece imposible, pero me las tuve que comprar yo".

Basically before the time trial in Montecarlo he didn’t have the best wheels and had to buy his own, Bruyneel didn’t give him the good wheels. This was followed by there being no team car to take him to the time trial in Annecy, they were all being used to ferry Radio Shack VIP’s. Contador was taken in the car of his brother/manager and girlfriend; Macarena. Annecy was close to the funeral!

We will know for sure if Astana gets a Pro-Tour licence tomorrow.

Triki Beltrán.

Manuel “Triki” Beltrán will not become the sports councillor in Jaén Town Hall. The executive of the PSOE (Socialist Party) have put the brakes on the move. Triki’s brother; Ascensión Beltrán is a PP (Conservative Party) councillor and behind his brothers job position. It was said that nepotism was flagrant.

If you had forgotten, Manuel Beltrán was sanctioned for two years when found positive for EPO at the 2008 Tour de France joining the list of positive ex-Armstrong team riders including Heras, Hamilton, Landis…..

Says Ed:

Beltran's demise; should we be happy that another "doper" has been caught?

Or should we feel sad and empty, because a man who was 15 years a pro; the team mate par excellence and who wept openly and without embarrassment when he had to abandon the Vuelta, has ended his career like this?

The wrong way to go out, amigo - but I'd still buy you a beer.

Some more sad news

Agustin Sagasti.

Sad news to hear of the death of another cyclist due to depression after the suicide of Belgian Dimitri De Fauw.

Basque rider; Agustin Sagasti (now 39 years old) was found by his mother at his house in Munguia (Vizcaya).

Sagasti rode for Euskaltel and won a stage of the Vuelta de la Pais Vasco in 1994, but he had had a difficult life. As a child he suffered from Polio and was advised to cycle for his health, then when he was 24 years old he crashed into a car during a stage of the Tour of the Mining Valleys (Asturias) in 1995.

At first he was in a coma and had many operations on his arm and leg over a year. He received 70 million pesetas compensation for not being able to continue his occupation as a professional cyclist. It must all have been too much.

‘Are you going to have a rant about this Sky carry on, on that site of yours?’ enquires Viktor.

‘Damn right!’ says I.

Sylvain Calzati.

All pro cyclists demand respect, it’s easy to forget that even the guy who finishes stone last in any pro race has to be pretty good to get a pro contract in the first place; but the two French riders just signed by Sky leave me a tad puzzled.

Sylvain Calzati won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2004 and took a stage win in the ‘real’ Tour in 2006, that apart, his palmares are sketchy.

A team can’t be all winners; that’s why you have riders like Michael Barry and Matt Hayman, beasts of a boys.

Nicolas Portal is a puzzler too, Caisse D’Epargne don’t employ duds, but he missed most of 2009, due, I believe, to a heart problem.

Both choices seem strange; it looks awfully like they are struggling to fill the roster to me – or maybe I’m looking at it in too simplistic a fashion?

At VeloResults, we thought that the “Astana stays Pro Tour; Bert goes to Garmin; Brad goes to Sky” master plan was a done deal – but it seems that JV, over at Garmin just wouldn’t play ball.

Word is that Sky offered him £2 million to release Bradley; but Vaughters wasn’t having it.

The saga isn’t over yet – Astana don’t have their licence yet, but neither do Sky; apparently this could be due to something minor.

Nicolas Portal.

The bureaucrats at the UCI go over every piece of paper with a magnifying glass and a simple bank sort code in the wrong place can stall documents from clearing.

However it’s hard to blame them for being ‘picky’ after Coast, Linda McCartney, H20 and all the rest.

Interestingly, on a standard UCI Pro Tour contract, it’s possible for a rider to buy himself out of a two year contract, after one year for 60% of his second year salary – this has happened this year and is relatively common place if a rider ‘blooms’ and begins to get bigger results – and offers.

This suggests that Bradley’s contract with Wigan (sorry, Garmin) must have additional clauses in it.

The failure of Sky to nab Brad or Cav is a major glitch in their game plan, albeit le Tour seems to be distinctly non Brad and Cav friendly, anyway.

The Tour (and anything that Chris Hoy rides) is the only race that Joe Public understands and which gets serious media attention.

The colour photos of the two Britons which appeared in the Guardian on a daily basis during the Tour gave way to minimal Vuelta and late season classic coverage, never mind photos.

The Milk Race was a classic example, whilst crowds were big; the real major media interest didn’t come until Bill Nickson triumphed.

Simon Gerrans.

The story at the time was that the Milk Marketing Board were wringing their hands when Bill won it, they were going to pull the plug because they were tired of all the dour foreigners with unpronounceable names who kept topping the podium – when ever-smiling, ‘boy next door’ Bill won it, they had to keep it going.  [Ironically, the Liverpool man's win ushered in the era of even more unpronounceable names winning the race; six Russians and a Pole in consecutive years, interrupted only by American Matt Eaton in 1983 - Editor.]

Mark Bell takes the win in Blackpool in front of big crowds.

Boasson Hagen is a great talent, Lovqvist too, and Gerrans must win a hilly classic, soon.

I think too that some of the British riders have good rides within them; Froome has the bravado and class to win moyenne mountain stage in a Grand Tour.

Steve Cummings should go back to quality rider who win two serious Italian races in 2008.

But the Tour’s the thing and if ‘Wiggo’ could wear that maillot jaune – even for one day – then Rupert Murdoch’s millions would be well spent.

Who knows, maybe the money men in Kazakhstan will get bored; JV will figure that he can’t ‘raise’ Brailsford any more and Sky’s two mil will pay a big chunk of Bert’s salary at the satnav squadra; then Brad will return home to Man U (sorry, Sky) – it’ll almost be a shame when it’s all sorted out!

It looks like VeloResults' hot tip on 'Bert bolts to Garmin; Brad flies to Sky,' has unwound.

Sky's 'capo,' Rupert Murdoch has deep pockets, but at some stage he has to say- and following on from the musical intro - just like Donna and Babs did; "enough is enough, is enough!"

La Gazzetta dello Sport headlines today, 10th November; "Contad(oro) venti milioni per 4 anni!"

Yes, Bert is on five million euros for four years with our chums from Kazakhstan.

Rupert Murdoch may have a media empire that Citizen Kane could only have dreamed about; but he's not sitting on top of a fair chunk of the world's fossil fuel reserves.

Whilst boys like me get all excited about the deal, what's Bert doing ?

He's swimming in Curacao - I like the man's style!

Bert looks none too happy with the attentions of the dolphin! Tom doesn't appear to mind though.

The Gazzetta also tells us - really or guestimation - what the other main men are paid (in euros; more-or-less the same as Sterling).

• Lance: 10 million (including endorsements)
• Valverde: 2.3 million (but he can't spend any of that in Italy, still)
• Gilbert: 2 million
• Evans: 1.7 million
• Pozzato: 1 milione
• Cunego: 800,000

Ercole Baldini.

The last I heard, Boonen was on seven figures, and so is Cav. [If you bump into me, ask me about Cav's 800 grand barn conversion in the Isle of Man. Just that we're a tad jumpy about those defamation laws, here at VR!]

It's all a long way from the £10,000/annum which Gregor was talking about recently as a realistic minimum wage for a British pro.

Interestingly, they reckon that Ercole Baldini was being paid more that Eddy Merckx was, a decade before the Belgian re-wrote the record books.

Oh, and the Gazzetta adds that Bert's horoscope is good - "the stars are aligned and sex will be good!"

That man has it all!

Ciao, ciao.

"A week is a long time in politics," said Harold Wilson - even longer at the wheel of a Transit; still, I'm sure that my column in L'Equipe isn't far away, now.

The main protagonists in the riders' strike.

Lombardia was great, I love that race, and Milan - San Remo too; do yourself a favour, go and see them - you'll thank me.

However, all is not well up in the land of mountains and lakes.

Milano is apparently mightily pee-ed off by the 'strike' in the Giro, when the riders went on a go slow because of the 'dangerous circuit' - but the organisers couldn't help but notice that despite the 'dangers,' the peloton raced the last few laps, for the stage win.

Can you explain why those laps were safer, chaps?

Anyway, as a consequence, the Tour of Lombardy is now 'the Lombardia' there's no Giro stage in Milan and Milan - San Remo might well be 'the San Remo' next year - let's hope they sort it out.

Dan's Tweets
Dan Fleeman gave us a nice bit of gossip when we met him over there - apparently, 'a well known cycling magazine' hasn't paid him much attention this year and has resorted to writing pieces about him from his 'tweeting.'

Dan therefore decided to set a trap and tweeted that he was only racing to keep him fit as part of his training to be an astronaut.

The magazine didn't bite, but several weeks later, a French journo approached Dan and asked; "how iz zee astronaut training going?"

And word is that some French cycling web forums were buzzing with Dan's intentions of becoming a cosmonaut.

Moral - don't believe everything you tweet!

The Scottish Hill Climb Champs
I was sorry I missed the hill climb; it's a tough choice, Lombardy or the Lomonds, I gave it a lot of thought - three seconds!

Sandy still looks fit these days.

Apparently Sandy Gilchrist was on Purrinden, to see if his course record would survive; and, of course, it did.

This got me to thinking about Sandy's hill climb bike.

Normally, Sandy's bikes were nice, if you're a cycle shop owner and sane, they have to be.

North East builder, Colin Laing used to build him Columbus tubed, feature cut lugged gems.

But his hill climb bike was different - an anonymous powder blue track iron, which he must have shunted at some time because it did have a distinct 'hump' in the down and top tubes - but it didn't stop him winning the championship on it, year in, year out.

Dan's the Man
Talking about hill climbs and Dan Fleeman, leads me nicely into his win in the British.

The result just goes to show what we knew already, that continental pros are on a different plane altogether.

Race duration was less that three-and-a-half minutes; Dan won by quarter-of-a-minute - that says it all, really.

There's videos on YouTube; give them a watch, but you don't see much of Dan - he's going too quickly!

I'm chuffed for him, his first year in the big league hasn't been the luckiest; but he closed it with good rides in Piedmont and Lombardy - and a British championship is a British championship.

He was really pumped up for the race, here's a text I got from him on the race morning; "I'm going to charge up the hill like braveheart!"

Then, a little later; "You may take my place on Cervélo but you will never take my freedom!" - you're right, he's a bit crazy - but in a nice way.

Just one more t'ing, sir

'Garmin is one of three teams interested in Contador and, if he goes to Garmin, it seems likely that Wiggins would be allowed to move to Sky,' said "the Guardian" in the week - VeloResults told you that weeks ago!

Ciao.

Ronnie Boa was a God like figure, when I was a 16 year-old with Kirkcaldy and District CC.

He would come out at the start of the season and dominate - hilly time trials, road races, APR's, two-ups and even a stage in the Girvan.

He was red hot favourite for the 25 title after banging out winning 58's at Stirling on a track iron; but on race morning he was a DNS, leaving the way clear for Drew Brunton to take the title.

And there he was, last Sunday morning, headed across Old Cramond Brig on his mountain bike, the style is pretty much unchanged, just the Lothians jersey was missing. I gave him a shout, thinking he might stop, but no, maybe he had a watch running?

I was with my amigo John; Sunday we potter around the old railway lines, the Cramond Coast Path and any other traffic free thoroughfare that takes our fancy.

If you were of a mind to, you could do most of your training off road in Edinburgh. When I was younger, slimmer and fitter, I used to be able to knock out a couple of hours, easily, hardly venturing on to the roads.

The Union Canal and Water of Leith are cracking, flat, safe runs - just watch for the dog walkers!

Coffee duly downed at Blackhall's Café Citroen we headed back off through Barnton back towards Cramond and the van - beats the Lang Whang.

Inspirational, Patrick Cocquyt still winning big at 49 years of age. (click for full image)

Kermesses, I love them - the season has ended in Flanders; the final score is Guy Smet on 36; Mario Willems on 25; Patrick Cocquyt on 17 (at 49 years of age!) and Iljo Keisse (yup, the very same) is on 11.

But like Adam Blythe says; "you can't be a Kermesse King without buying a few!"

He was just 34, cause of death is cited as a 'blood clot.'

Looking cool with tats and tanlines.

Frank Vandenbroucke could hardly have been anything else but a pro cyclist - his dad was a pro and his uncle, Jean Luc, was a junior world champion and pro road star.

Belgian novice champion in 1991; junior champion in '92, "Franky Boy" moved seamlessly through the ranks.

His first pro win came in '94 - a stage in the Tour of the Med. By the end of the following season he was winning Paris-Brussels. In 1996 he took Laigueglia, the Scheldeprijs and Plouay.

The following season he was winning events as diverse as the De Panne beach mountain bike race, Cologne and the Tour of Luxembourg.

Gent - Wevelgem and Paris - Nice fell to him in '98. And in '99 things went even better; Het Volk, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and two Vuelta stages - a majestic season.

Frank in action in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

But in that campaign were sewn the seeds of his long and painful slide. In the Worlds at Verona, he was the protected rider on the Belgian squad - with the likes of Johan Museuuw and Peter van Petegem at his service.

Frank crashed, his team mates asked if he was OK, he said he was, but the truth was that he had fractured both wrists and couldn't pull on the 'bars.

Museuuw and van Petegem were furious, rightly saying that Vandenbroucke should have levelled with his compatriots and given them their freedom, instead of having them work for a lame duck.

It was never the same again, he had team problems, women problems, driving problems and - drugs problems; Frank said that the pharmaceutical concoctions found by the police in his fridge were for his dog.

The classic cartoon in the Miroir du Cyclisme from the time had a race podium, on it were Simoni's dentist, Rumas's mother-in-law and, on the top step, with gold medal around it's neck, Frank's dog.

Frank's volatile, on/off relationship with slim beauty, Sarah was top Belgian tabloid fodder - his dad always maintained that the rot started the day Frank met her.

Frank apparently looked much better recently, healthy and calm.

This year seemed different, though, Nico Mattan - a man who Frank liked and respected - signed him up for Cinelli-Down Under; he was training well and even winning - but the wheels came off again.

The last headline was that he would be working with top Italian coach Aldo Sassi, they were going to put Frank's blood values on the 'net to try and help the process of getting a ride with a team.

Despite the wilderness years, police dramas and embarrassments, Frank was still hugely popular in Belgium. His fan club was called the  'Franky Boys' and there was rejoicing among them, this year at Frank's return to his winning ways.

I well remember, a few years ago, being at Het Volk when Frank was with Fassa Bortolo.

The race was cancelled due to snow and ice on the course. Viktor had a hunch that Frank would maybe turn up at his mum and dad's cafe down at Ploegstert. The hire car was duly pointed south, and sure enough, near Kuurne, we came upon the Fassa boys in two lines, drilling down the concrete section towards Ploegstert.

There was a freezing block headwind, but the string was sitting at 40 kph, lead by - Frank.

He looked lean and was chatting away and joking to Juan Antonio Flecha as they sliced through the icy blast. Whilst his team mates wore blue team issue Fassa winter hats, Frank wore a grey Tibetan style woolly hat, tie cords flapping in the wind. He looked different, cool, fit and in charge of his team.

We arrived at the cafe first, but the Fassa boys weren't far behind; the espressos were lined up on the bar, there were brief chats, hand shakes, then Frank gave the signal - and they were off again.

He was top ten at Kuurne next day, but that season fizzled out, too.

Belgian guys all have their VDB anecdote, soigneur Etienne Illegems tells the story of Frank's first six;

"The big riders said to Frank that he would take so many laps, do this, do that.

"Frank was still a teenager but he replied - "I'll be doing just what I want !"

Then there was the time we met the old soigneur who looked after both Frank and Museuuw - he explained to us that as well as his bike racing talents, VDB was one of the best break dancers in West Flanders!

Despite not being picked to represent Belgium in the recent Worlds, Frank went to the race to catch up with his mates. Note the lack of team jersey.

After a while, nothing surprised you about Frank.

In his early days as a pro - when most youngsters are keeping their heads down - Frank would drive the team mechanics crazy, insisting that his bike should be as light as possible with all the 'trick' titanium bolts replacing team issue.

Perhaps ex-pro Chris Tonge's landlord summed up the root of Frank's problems best;

"He was living the life of a top pro bike rider from when he was a young teenager - it was too much, too soon!"

Frank Vandenbroucke; protégé, star, troubled man, character, eccentric, winner, idol - we'll miss you.

Virenque is often found these days in the Eurosport commentators' box, accompanied by his girlfriend, Alenia Bortolotto.

The trouble with Richard Virenque was, that if he was seven times King of the Mountains; he was at least eight times King of the Erses.

The Festina scandal, that mouth of his, his idiotic tactics - all conspired against him.

This meant that when he pulled off a genuine exploit, the journos and slaggers wrote it off as a fluke or; 'he'll be on new stuff!'

But it 2001 he pulled off a marvellous ride in Paris - Tours; he and Jacky Durand broke away after just 22 of the 254 kilometres.

Durand succumbed in the closing eight kilometres, but Virenque dug deep to win in the grand style, alone and waving a finger in the air, screaming; 'for all those who tried to destroy me!' whilst the greatest sprinters of the generation - Freire, Zabel, Hushovd, Petacchi, Kirsipuu, Eeckhout -  swarmed, switched, lunged and cursed as the skinny climber held them at bay.

Paris - Tours is like that, usually it's one for the fast men; but the Virenques, Dekkers and Fred Guesdons have all had their day on the Avenue du Grammont - defying the guys with the fast twitch muscles.

The flat parcours make it hard for a small group to succeed; but a 'do or die' at the death can work - as it did for Gilbert, last year.

Or, if the bunch goes to sleep, then sometimes they leave the leash just a little too slack, as happened when Richard added that unlikely honour to his palmares in 2001.

The race's place on the calendar can also contributes to its character - if ever there was a race for Mario Cipollini, this was it; but by then Mario had left the peloton for the beach.

Virenque calls this "The greatest win of my career".

The race favours models of consistency like Erik Zabel, who won three times.

I well remember seeing Zabel jerk his Pinarello into the big league with his 1994 win - and the man could win it 11 years later, too!

It should really be one for the Belgian sprinters, but by this time of the year, they're too busy thinking about their spring campaigns.

It seems like an easy race to ride, pretty flat, long straight roads; but ask anyone who had ridden it and they'll tell you that you have to concentrating 100% of the time - an echelon could form, float off the front and it's over.

This year, the favourite is Greipel [3 to 1]; the big German has 20 wins, a good train and excellent morale, having just won Paris - Bourges in the week.

But my favourites is Tyler Farrar [4 to 1] he's had nine wins, the Garmin train is still motivated and Tyler is a winner - I'm so confident in the man from Washington State that I've wagered ££s on him.

That should add some emotion to my Pez coverage of the race!

Just one more t'ing, sir...

We'll never know just how much Zabel and Aldag's - seen here at the Dortmund Six - EPO confessions contributed to the German loss of interest in cycling.

And in the 'just one more t'ing, sir' tray, it was interesting to receive the following from VeloResults pal Stuart Anthony, a man who loves his six day races:

"Re. your article regarding Gabriele / doping and the knock on effect down the food chain: Going back pre Jan Ulrich and Operacion Puerto when the Germans were in love with cycling and had forgot all about Boris Becker, the 6 day events were just what the Germans wanted for the winter months.

"We had problems getting tickets sometimes; sold out for "the big nights ".

"We were always amazed when we went on visits to the centre of Berlin and the department stores sport section, it was like an Aladdin's cave at the cycling department, full of top of the range bikes and clothing.

"In stark contrast to our last few visits when in the same stores we found they would stock the very basics, lights, the odd maintenance tools and some very ordinary clothing.....oh, how the Germans have been turned off by one doping scandal after another.

"We have now recently lost the Stuttgart 6, the Dortmund 6 and Boxing Day meeting.

"Munich had appalling crowds last year and a warning from the organizer that the event is in severe danger; Bremen was poorly attended and closer to home and not related to doping Zuidlaren  and London events cancelled.

"I hope I am not depressing you!"

You are a wee bit, Stuart, but you're only telling it like it is - fortunately, we've got Team Sky - so everything is fine!

“Our pal Bosisio positive", said the text from Dave.

Gabriele Bosisio of LPR Brakes and Italy was the subject of a UCI out of competition test, said the team statement;

“The adverse finding was a direct result of a targeted urine test, conducted immediately after a blood test triggered an unusual blood profile within the biological passport program".

On the Kroonplatz time trial stage of the 2008 Giro, we gave Gabriele a shout as he came down off the mountain, after his ride.

Bosisio takes time to chat to VeloResults at the '08 Giro.

He was polite and affable, happy to chat and have his picture taken with Dave.

‘A nice guy;’ to Dave and I – but to the average person who reads the cycling magazines just another dodgy Italian doper.

Di Luca broke my heart this year; he rode such a good Giro with his attacking riding, risking all to try and win – stylish, classy.

His team – Bosisio included – was brilliant; but it’s all a mess, a myth.

I’ve done nine Grand Tours for Pez; four Tours, four Giros and a Vuelta – I’m glad that I still have my boyish enthusiasm for pro bike racing.

I listen to the other journos with their ‘cool’ senses of self importance, irony and cynicism and I think to myself; ‘I’m glad I’m not like that!’

But I guess there comes a point where it all gets to you – Landis, Rasmussen, Moreni, Vino, Dekker, Di Luca and now, Bosisio.

Pozivivo and Bosisio get the rain capes on.

Meanwhile, The Guardian tells us that; ‘Astana deny getting preferential treatment from drug testers.’

Apart from Brad, Sky, the track squad and Cav (during the Tour), the only cycling stories which are news as far as media is concerned - are drugs related.

Here at VeloResults we don’t profess to be on the inside track on all matters pro cycling, but the stories we get – regarding drugs, who’s taking what and what some of the things ‘the powers that be’ get up to – are scary.

If you study your early season results, you’ll see that a couple of very big names were missing.

Word is that ‘someone up high' told them to take time-out until their blood values didn’t show evidence of manipulation.

The ‘suspects’ are back, big and strong – and winning.

Was that the right or wrong thing to do? - I don’t know; but I do know that if they had tested positive it would have been a huge scandal.

It's the end of the road for Gabi.

The astronomical amounts of money talked about in relation to Team Sky paint a false picture of what the financial aspect of cycling is really like – and every drug scandal makes it harder to get sponsors.

Not for the Tour, though - it grows relentlessly in media and financial status every year, like some uncontrollable alien virus.

But the truth is that the going rate for a good pro - who can win decent races against strong opposition in Belgian races - is 1000 Euros per month – a long, long way from Brad’s reported £1.25 million per year for six years.

I interviewed Dave McCann on Saturday – a man who can got top dozen in the World Elite time trial champs; he’s had no contract all year.

Alex Coutts won the Tour of Taiwan in 2008 – he has to go to Greece to get a team.

The Dortmund six day has been cancelled, the Munich six day is in danger.

And the words ‘Plowman Craven,’ should ring a bell.

The shine from the Pro Tour circus may dazzle us into thinking how great things are, but a little lower down the food chain, things aren’t quite so rosy.

All down to drugs? perhaps not, but they can’t be helping – Dave and I are disappointed in you, Gabriele.

Today the capital city of Spain didn’t get awarded the 2016 Olympic Games - they went to the Brazilian City of Rio de Janeiro.

I normally have my siesta around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but today I watched the Olympic Games conference live on TV from Copenhagen where they were to vote for the next Games after London.

Madrid's Mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, does his thing at the presentation.

The Spanish contingent made a great job of convincing the Olympic Committee that Madrid would be the best place for the 2016 games.

They swapped between speeches and very professional video displays showing the amenities and the spirit of the Games would be like in Madrid.

They had the King; Juan Carlos I, President Zapatero, the Mayor and President of Madrid, ex-president of the Olympic committee; Juan Antonio Samaranch, and many starts of Spanish sport, with speeches made in English, French and Spanish.

A great presentation wasn't enough for Madrid.

The videos that were played between the stirring speeches showed the multi-national population of Madrid and that they all wanted the Games, the new sports centres, the new accommodation, the beautiful buildings, the culture, and their trump card was the future and how the Olympics would help the handicapped and many others the year after the Games were over.

I was watching this and thinking, “yes, Madrid has got it, they have thought of everything!”

The floor was open to questions; the first was about athletes being able to go to watch the other events that were far from Madrid, like the sailing in Valencia, just a matter of logistics.

A Guardia Civil officer with one of the frozen blood bags.

Then the big question that maybe lost them the Games.

“What about doping?” The president of the Spanish Government; Zapatero answered the question by saying Spain had as good a testing facilities as anywhere in the world, but it didn’t sound great. Something said 'oops'!

Has the ghost of “Operation Puerto” come back and bitten Spain on the arse? It looked very much like it.

There were tears at the announcement of “Rio in 2016”, but can the Minister of Sport, the judge involved and the many sportsmen (not just cyclists and not all Spanish) listed in Puerto look in the mirror tomorrow morning and not feel a little guilty?

I hope they do!

Neil Stephens.

I had one of my secret meetings with Ivan yesterday – I can’t tell you when or where, in case the Moderator from Velo Riders tries to arrange a ‘hit!’
 
The man from behind the Urals was telling me that we didn’t see on Eurosport, after Cadel’s win, was the press conference he gave.

He ripped into Team Manager Neil Stephens, words to the effect;

“This was my win, no one else’s, it has nothing to do with the Australian team; despite my podium at the Vuelta, it was Simon Gerrans who was given protected status and I was told that I would get my chance if it didn’t work out for Gerrans."

I think if I was Neil Stephens - given the season that Gerrans has had - I’d have made the same decision; but that’s Cadel for you, not a man to say the ‘right’ thing.
 
Meanwhile when the press tried to winkle negs from Pozzato about Cunego’s missing of the mark, the Italian champion’s reply was along the lines; ‘shit happens!’
 
And here was me thinking that it would be those volatile Italians giving it the verbals about their team mates’ failure to deliver, whilst those fiercely patriotic Aussies would be tight lipped and united in victory – ah, but of course Cadel lives in Italy, that’ll be it!   
 
I was talking to Kris the other day, in anticipation of the VeloResults 2009/2010 six day campaign – the man we work for, Franco Marvulli is flying, apparently.

Winning the Tour of Thailand last year was a highlight for Alex.

He won a stage, the points and the combine classifications in the Tour of New Caledonia. This got me to thinking that whilst Europe is the heartland and our summer is when it all happens; there’s a heck of a lot of racing going on all around the world.
 
I get email updates from the Aussie Drapac squad, their schedule looks like this:

• 29:09 to 04:10 – Tour of Tasmania
• 11:10 to 17:10 – Jayco Sun Tour, Australia
• 24:10 – Melbourne to Warnambool (that’s 265 k !) 
• 25:10 - Japan Cup
• 07 to 08:11 - Tour of Okinawa

And Alex Coutts is just back from a stage race in Crete; ‘Mondialisation’ is here already; maybe the UCI just hasn’t noticed?
 
And on the subject of Mr. Coutts, he’s very motivated for next year, hugely experienced in international races, a good team man and looking for a start – any offers? 
 
[And did I mention la Vuelta a Chihuaha in Mexico from 04:10 to 10:10 ?]

The most important Spanish National TV station (TVE 1) top-lined the result on the main evening news on Sunday evening.

Joaquin Rodriguez was hailed as a hero, as was Sammy Sanchez, Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Freire, for making the last group and all getting in the top 15, better than all the other teams. What happened to Italia and dare I say it, GB?

The TV news was for the normal man in the street, what about the sports papers?

AS praises the Spanish team.

My favourite paper; AS leads with;

“ ‘Purito’ se lleva el bronce en la exhibición de Evans”.

“Purito”, if you hadn’t guessed is Rodriguez’s nick name and he won the bronze at the 'Evans exhibition'. He is also credited to have made the important break; his attack took him, Kolobnev and Evans clear of the other nine.

The Spanish lads confer before the start.

He said;

“Kolobnev wasn’t stupid (tonto), he wanted to sprint for gold and didn’t kill himself in the final. For me the bronze is good”.

And the team?

“Yes the bronze is very important for the team; we have great spirit and union”.

Spain also had a new director; José Luis de Santos, he said;

“We had a great championship, brilliant work by the team, the best team (selección), better than the Italians.

"Samuel was in charge of Cancellara and Valverde was occupied with Cunego.”

But the Australian, Cadel Evans is the new World Champion and all the Spanish press could see he was the best man on the day, with a very good team. Evans has been called “eterno segundón” (eternal second) and  his win was “justicia poética” (poetic justice) after his mediocre Tour due to physical problems,  and possibly losing La Vuelta due to an un-lucky puncture on the Sierra Nevada.

Cadel hoofs the big ring, out the saddle most of the way up the final climb.

He won majestically, solo, with great strength on the last 6 kilometres.

A good win, a great win!

But Spain did OK, Ed.