Deejay Tom Boonen

In this waiting period on the pro cycling calendar, headlines consist of new doping discoveries such as Pasquale Muto's positive CERA test; notable returns from doping suspension, such as Davide Rebellin who will fill in for Pasquale at Miche; lawsuits being dropped, such as Lance's suit against Landis (but not UCI's suit); investigations being abandoned, such as the ongoing inquest against Vino, Iban Mayo and Christian Moreni by French authorities -supposedly dropped because UCI won't cooperate and hand over samples; imminent break-ups such as Lotto and Omega Pharma, leaving Gilbert in the middle; cyclocrossers attempting road racing, such as Stybar's first exploits in the vierdaagse van Duinkerken, and classics riders turning into DJ's for the night, such as Boonen and StuBru.

How is that for a run-on sentence?

We also learned that Lars Boom will stay with Rabobank for another three years and that Contador will attempt to win three grand tours in one year -unless UCI stops him that is. UCI meanwhile is also outlawing needles starting on Saturday in what is known as the "No Needle Policy." Needles are already illegal in the US but their use in the European pro-pack is widespread.

Here is a picture of Alistair modeling the new Rocktape jerseys that were kindly provided to us for the Ster van Zuid-Limburg (thanks Greg), but that unfortunately did not reach us in time to be used for the race.

Rocktape jersey

There are three more slots left for the Ster der Vlaamse Ardennen.