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Horner blasts his way to stage and race win at the tour of the Basque County!This is great news. I'm a big fan of Chris Horner. He even beat Valverde! This is easily the biggest win of his career. It's a big win for radio shack too as they haven't had a big result this year. A lot of second places but no wins. I don't think it will take off any pressure as they really only care about one race. the TDF.Armstrong has been sick. I think he's doing too much traveling. He's been to the USA, Europe and South Africa in the last few weeks. He need to park his ass in one place and get some serious training done. (Aspen anyone) The next few weeks will be very, very telling if Armstrong is going to be the sole leader for the TDF

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Cancellara was a beast. An absolute beast. He won by 2 minutes! The only rider who even looked remotely on the same page was Boonen.Cancellara attacked while Boonen was in the back eating a drinking. Some have said that this was a little shady but I don't have a problem with it. Next up Amstel gold and Liège-Bastogne-Liège!So far this season has been about two riders. Contodor and Cancellara.

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This Sunday is Amstel Gold. The first of the hilly classics. The finishes is really really crazy as it is uphill finish. The riders turn themselves inside out on the hill. They suffer 10X at this race. Unlike Flanders and Paris Roubaix this race seems a bit more wide open. There are a lot more favorites rather than just Cancellera and Boonen. Chris Horner is riding the best of his career. It would be awesome if he pulls off a victory. But not holding my breath. 5 Star FavoritesAndy Schleck Frank SchleckAlejandro Valverde 4 Star FavoritesChris HornerSergei Ivanov Cadel Evans3 Star FavoritesPhillippe GilbertSylvain ChavanelRoman KreuzigerKarsten KroonDark HorsesRobert GesinkSimon GerransDamiano CunegoIf you want to watch the race goto steephill.tv - watch video from either France or Belgium. Listen to the audio on Eurosport. My Podium1. Valverde (riding well and has the best sprint of all the climbers)2. Sergei Ivanov (he won last year and this is HIS race3. Horner (riding really, really well)4. Evans (BMC needs a result but there not getting it here maybe next week5 Simon Gerrans (could surprise as he's a great climber and is super gritty) Make your guessesFor the complete start list go herehttp://www.cyclingnews.com/features/amstel...race-start-list

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Apparently the eruption beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier (how the hell do you pronounce that?) has caused a lot of riders living in Spain to miss the race. Valverde and Sanchez along with Wiggins and Craig Lewis are not going to be able to start.My New predictions!1.Andy Schleck2 Chris Horner3. Phillippe Gilbert

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Great showing by Ryder Hesjedal (Canada!) in the Amstel Gold! Keep it up, son!Nice call on Gilbert, Wildspoke-ster
Ryder is on great form right now. He's got a real shot at Liege-Bastongne-Liege. He'll also ride the tour this year. I don't know if he'll ever be the tour leader for Garmin. I think his stage win at the Tour of Spain was a real breakthrough for him. He should switch to Cervelo. A Canadian rider on a Canadian team. I don't know if he could podium at the tour but I think he'd have a shot at the tour of Spain.
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The final monument of the classics. Liege-Bastongne-Liege.Liege-Bastongne-Liege is such a long race that I think it's fair to say if you're not a seasoned cycling professional your shot at winning is greatly reduced. The younger riders just won't have the legs to compete when the race enters the last part of the race. 5 Star FavoritesAlberto Contador faded in the last 200 meters of Fleche Wallonne I think it was more inexperience than lack of formCadel Evans 'no curse here' finally a climber wearing the rainbow jersery. On form with confidence. A real shot. Alejandro Valverde A climber who is a super strong sprinter if he's in the final group it's all him. 4 Star FavoritesLuis Leon Sanchez can time trial. Has a great teammate in ValverdeRyder Hesjedal on superform and riding really well. Has a real shot at wining it all Christopher Horner see RyderThomas Lövkvist Team Sky has had very little success this might be there race. 3 Star FavoritesRoman Kreuziger Has been lurking all season. A result not out of the questionPhilippe Gilbert His win at Amstel Gold was much neededDenis Menchov He's got to get some results soon or people will start to question2 Star FavoritesAndy Schleck Might not have the legs Frank Schleck Might be working for his brother1 Star FavoritesAlexandre Vinokourov ridding well. Has raced well at LBL before. Igor Anton Is riding well for a Spanish (Basque) team that rarely rides well in the Classics Tejay Van Garderen Finshed 2nd at the Tour of the Turkey. Could be the next big American rider. Stijn Devolder Has had a HORRIBLE season so far. 1. Contador2. Andy Schleck 3. Luis Leon Sanchez4. Chris Horner5. Ryder HesjedalMake your prediction:If you want to see the race, it's Sunday morning. Go to Steephill.tv for the video feed.

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The first Grand tour - the tour of Italy starts tomorrow with a TT.Top 8 tomorrow's opening TT1. Pinotti2. Bradley Wiggins3. Miller4. Cadel Evans 5. Alexandre VinokouroSprinters Competion1. Greipel2. Petacchi 3. OVERALL PINK JERSEY1. Michele Scarponi 2. Alexandre Vinokourov3. Vincenzo Nibali 4.Cadel Evans5.Ermanno Capelli 6.Damiano Cunego 7.Ivan Basso8.Stefano Garzelli (9. Vladimir Karpets10. Christian Vandevelde

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I was going to comment on how great a race the giro is turning out to be. One of the best races in a long timebut with the Floyd Landis revelations the rest of the sport on the back burner.I'm actually surprised he came out now and not during the Tour De France.Usually people choose to spout off when they can have the most impact.But who really cares about Floyd the only fish they want to get is Armstrong. If you ever had any doubts as to whether or not Armstrong doped, this is the final nail in the coffin.

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Yikes, you can't get more detailed than this.This part of the letter Floyd Landis sent to the USDA2002: I was instructed on how to use Testosterone patches by Johan Bruyneelduring the During the Dauphine Libere in June, after which I flew on ahelicopter with Mr Armstrong from the finish, I believe Grenoble, to SanMauritz Switzerland at which point I was personally handed a box of 2.5 mgpatches in front of his wife who witnessed the exchange. About a weeklater, Dr Ferrari performed an extraction of half a liter of blood to betransfused back into me during the Tour de France. Mr Armstrong was notwitness to the extraction but he and I had lengthy discussions about it onour training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolutionof EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to theinconvenience of the new test. He also divulged to me at that time that inthe first year that the EPO test was used he had been told by Mr Ferrari,who had access to the new test, that he should not use EPO anymore but hedid not believe Mr Farrari and continued to use it. He later, while winning the Tour de Swiss, the month beforethe Tour de France, tested positive for EPO at which point he and MrBruyneel flew to the UCI headquarters and made a financial agreement withMr. Vrubrugen to keep the positive test hidden.2003: After a broken hip in the winter, I flew to Gerona Spain where thistime two units (half a liter each) were extracted three weeks apart. Thistook place in the apartment in which Mr. Armstrong lived and in which I wasasked to stay and check the blood temperature every day. It was kept in asmall refrigerator in the closet allong with the blood of Mr Armstrong andGeorge Hincapie and since Mr. Armstrong was planning on being gone for a fewweeks to train he asked me to stay in his place and make sure theelectricity didn't turn off or something go wrong with the referigerator.Then during the Tour de France the entire team, on two different occasionswent to the room that we were told and the doctor met us there to do thetransfusions. During that Tour de France I personally witnessed GeorgeHincapie, Lance Armstrong, Chechu Rubiera, and myself receiving bloodtransfusions. Also during that Tour de France the team doctor would give myroom mate, George Hincapie and I a small syringe of olive oil in which was disolved andriol, a form ofingestible testosterone on two out of three nights throughout the duration.I was asked to ride the Vuelta a Espana that year in support of RobertoHeras and in August, between the Tour and the Vuelta, was told to take EPOto raise my hematocrit back up so more blood transfusions could beperformed. I was instructed to go to Lances place by Johan Bruyneel and getsome EPO from him. The first EPO I ever used was then handed to me in theentry way to his building in full view of his then wife. It was Eprex bybrand and it came in six pre measured syringes. I used it intravenously forseveral weeks before the next blood draw and had no problems with the testsduring the Vuelta. Also during this time it was explained to me how to useHuman Growth Hormone by Johan Bruyneel and I bought what I needed from Pepethe team "trainer" who lived in Valencia along with the team doctor at thattime. While training for that Vuelta I spent a good deal of time trainingwith Matthew White and Michael Barry and shared the testosterone and EPOthat we had and discussed the use thereof while training.Again, during the Vuelta we were given Andriol and blood transfusions by theteam doctor and had no problems with any testing.2004: Again the team performed two seperate blood transfusions on me, butthis time Bruyneel had become more paranoid and we did the draws by flyingto Belgium and meeting at an unknown persons appartment and the blood wasbrought by "Duffy" who was at that time Johans assistant of sorts. Thesecond of which was performed on the team bus on the ride from the finish ofa stage to the hotel during which the driver pretended to have enginetrouble and stopped on a remote mountain road for an hour or so so theentire team could have half a liter of blood added. This was the only timethat I ever saw the entire team being transfused in plain view of all theother riders and bus driver. That team included Lance Armstrong, GeorgeHincapie and I as the only Americans.2005: I had learned at this point how to do most of the transfusiontechnicals and other things on my own so I hired Allen Lim as my assistantto help with details and logistics. He helped Levi Leipheimer and I preparethe transfusions for Levi and I and made sure they were kept at the propertemperature. We both did two seperate transfusions that Tour however myhematocrit was too low at the start so I did my first one a few days beforethe start so as to not start with a deficit.2006: Well you get the idea....... One thing of great signigicance is thatI sat down with Andy Riis and explained to him what was done in the past andwhat was the risk I would be taking and ask for his permission which hegranted in the form of funds to complete the operation described. JohnLelangue was also informed by me and Andy Riis consulted with Jim Ochowitzbefore agreeing.There are many many more details that I have in diaries and am in theprocess of writing into an intelligible story but since the position of USACycling is that there have not been enough details shared to justify callingUSADA, I am writing as many as I can reasonably put into an email and sharewith you so as to ascertain what is the process which USA Cycling uses toproceed with such allegations.Look forward to much more detail as soon as you can demonstrate that you canbe trusted to do the right thing.Floyd Landis

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It's Tour Time!If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll try to answer them. This year's race is going to be a awesome. There are so many story lines and back stories. For Starters:You have Contador VS Armstrong (and Radio Shack) This is going to drive the drama of the race.It's Armstrong's last tour. If he has a good start, this could get good. Will Andy Schleck make the final step to the top of the podium? (maybe)Will Frank, Andy's big brother emerge as a tour contender? (long and short answer - no)Will Team Astana be strong enough to support Contador? (yes)Will British Rider Bradly Wiggins be a one year wonder or have a real shot at the yellow jersey? (no)Will the cobbles and the dutch wind play a big factor in the overall race for the yellow jersey? (let's hope so)Will Cavendish finally win the green jersey or will Rogers and Martin sidetrack the team's efforts? (hmm)Will American Tyler Farrar become the next great sprinter? (would be great)Will Thor recover from his broken collarbone and grab green. (has the coolest name)Will Alessandro Petacchi find his glory and get green. (um, no)Will Robbie McEwen do well in the sprints?What French rider will win the mountain jersey and have zero impact on the race? (of course) Who will lead Caisse d'Epargne now that Valverde has been given the boot? Luis León Sánchez (huge sleeper)Who will win the prologue?Here's my top 5:1. Cancellara2. Contador3. Wiggins4. Martin5. FarrarShip it!However, I would not be shocked if Contador wins it. He won the Paris-Nice prologue in 2009 and it was the same distance.The prologue will be critical for Armstrong. If he's out of the top 12, he's not going to have a good tour. Guaranteed. When LeMond won the tour in 89, his prologue was surprisingly good. He flew under the radar until the long time trial.

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I got hooked on the tdf way back when I was sitting on my couch looking for something to watch, when I came across the tours final stage, where Lamonde made up a full minute on hinault during the time trial.Personally I wouldnt mind seeing the final stage being a time trial more often,so there isnt the last 50 kilom parade with the guys toasting each other.Also, this whole doping thing doesnt bother me that much, seeing that 99.9% of the human race couldnt be competitive in a single stage while snorting vials of coke the whole way.

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I'm rooting for Garmin-Transitions because of Ryder Hesjedal (Canadian!), as well as Euskatel-Euskadi because the Basque language is so strange. Contador should take the whole deal, barring injury. No one else is as complete a rider as he is, it would seem...Looking for some solid showings from some old war horses before they move on, as well as the occasional "wall of flesh and spokes" type crashes, like at the end of the stage the other day lol, as long as no one gets too damaged.

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I'm rooting for Garmin-Transitions because of Ryder Hesjedal (Canadian!), as well as Euskatel-Euskadi because the Basque language is so strange. Contador should take the whole deal, barring injury. No one else is as complete a rider as he is, it would seem...Looking for some solid showings from some old war horses before they move on, as well as the occasional "wall of flesh and spokes" type crashes, like at the end of the stage the other day lol, as long as no one gets too damaged.
Hesjedal rode a great stage today. He was in the lead group he just didn't have the gas to pull off the win. Since Vande Velde dropped out, I think Ryder has a real shot at finishing in the top 15. Garmin has had a horrible start to the tour. He's been the only bright spot.They had a shot at winning the 1st stage but bad luck kept it from happening.
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best stage in the tour for a couple of years imo. great drama.navarro set a hell of a pace. i wonder if it was too quick for contador even?3 legit contenders now this year which is awesome.

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Andy Schleck is ripping it up...Also, too bad for Hesjedal and Garmin team. Having lost 3 major riders thusfar, Ryder stands little chance of recouping the 6+ minutes of time he's lost over the past few stages.

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Today's stage showed who the real contenders are. Both Schleck and Contador ignored the rest of the field and played cat and mouse with each other. Astana is showing itself to be an exceptionally strong team in the mountain. Tomorrow will be one of the days Schleck attacks. He needs to be at least a minute and half up on Contador if he wants to win the tour.Look for Armstrong to attack early in the stage. He wants to win a stage desperately. He's been sandbagging the last couple of stages not putting in any big efforts.

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That is really unfortunate for Schleck, he has been dominating Contador through the entire tour. I still think he can take back the yellow jersey, and in his interview he looked extremely pissed off, so maybe he'll pull a Floyd Landis and win a stage by 8 minutes and retake the yellow jersey, except without the whole scandal that followed after.It seems like one of the announcers (I can't remember who) doesn't seem to like Contador that much. He finds every opportunity to praise Schleck but rarely compliments Contador.

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That is really unfortunate for Schleck, he has been dominating Contador through the entire tour. I still think he can take back the yellow jersey, and in his interview he looked extremely pissed off, so maybe he'll pull a Floyd Landis and win a stage by 8 minutes and retake the yellow jersey, except without the whole scandal that followed after.It seems like one of the announcers (I can't remember who) doesn't seem to like Contador that much. He finds every opportunity to praise Schleck but rarely compliments Contador.
Probably some British dude who has a hard-on for Luxembourg
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Probably some British dude who has a hard-on for Luxembourg
Actually, he probably has a hard-on for Lance.When Versus was called OLN (outdoor life network) the joke was - ONLY LANCE NETWORKEven though he's 40 minutes down on General classification, they still talk about him.I don't think Contador had to wait. If he did it would have only enhanced his image. When he put on the yellow jersey, the French fans booed him. He looked very uncomfortable. You're not supposed to take advantage of a player when they are down. But the mechanical was Andy Schlecks own fault. I think Contador has a real fear that he might win. He has looked very uncomfortable this entire tour. Last year he was very confident because he had the best team and director by a mile. Now not so much - though Astana is very strong.Tomorrow is going to be a great stage to watch - wish I could call in sick.
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Actually, he probably has a hard-on for Lance.When Versus was called OLN (outdoor life network) the joke was - ONLY LANCE NETWORKEven though he's 40 minutes down on General classification, they still talk about him.I don't think Contador had to wait. If he did it would have only enhanced his image. When he put on the yellow jersey, the French fans booed him. He looked very uncomfortable. You're not supposed to take advantage of a player when they are down. But the mechanical was Andy Schlecks own fault. I think Contador has a real fear that he might win. He has looked very uncomfortable this entire tour. Last year he was very confident because he had the best team and director by a mile. Now not so much - though Astana is very strong.Tomorrow is going to be a great stage to watch - wish I could call in sick.
Well to be fair, I think the more casual fans (I guess I'm included in that bracket) tend to be Americans and only correlate the TDF to Lance Armstrong. I'll admit I still have hopes that Lance will have a huge day on the mountains and win one last stage, I mean he's the sole reason I started watching the sport.I just really hope Schleck wins this tour, it's a shame he doesn't have his brother with him, this tour could be over by now if he had Frank.
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