The Tour

I have been a tad less vocal about this year's Tour de France for obvious reasons: many of the more popular riders (and teams, for that matter) are not participating in this year's edition. The biggest news is that Team Astana, which is essentially the newly constituted Discovery, was banned due to Vinokourov testing positive.

I think it's a shame that riders such as Contador, Levi, et al. are being punished for the travails of others, but unfortunately, this is what the sport has been reduced to and desperate times require desperate measures. Plus, the sting of being left out of the Tour was eased a lot by Contador's unexpected win at the Giro.

People have asked me given my madness over the Tour the past ten years, am I still looking forward to this year's race. The answer is an unequivocal yes. I love the sport, the tactics and the racing and while the players might chance, these elements always remain constant.

I am not sure who I will be rooting for this year, however. I will need to see how the race unveils itself. I'd say at the moment, I am probably rooting for Alejandro Valverde, who won today's opening stage. I think the Spanish riders ride with gusto, versus someone like Cadel Evans who is more of the Jan Ulrich mode, and I think he's a terrific rider who has yet to demonstrate his potential. His win at the Dauphine was foreboding, though I hope he isn't too far out on the razor, ala Lance after his first Dauphine win. So, we'll have to see. But you can bet I will be watching every single stage.