Cadel Evans: “Reassuring to see that Lance Armstrong is human”

Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto) commented on the comeback of Lance Armstrong. He observed Lance improving in form throughout the course of the Giro and said that his body is increasingly like that of a rider. That said, he says that Armstrong is “only human” and will have to race like the rest of the peloton. He wonders what Armstrong is capable of having been away for three years.

Other Tour de France News:

• Johan Bruyneel does not know how to proceed with Astana. The UCI has demanded that the team sponsors pony up all of their financial obligations through the end of 2009 by this evening, and that if they cannot, the matter will be forwarded to the UCI’s licensing committee. That committee may decide to permit the team to withdraw or to reorganize with a new structure.
• Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevre is threatening “total war” if the ASO does not rule on Tom Boonen‘s inclusion on the Tour by Wednesday.
• Heinrich Haussler of the Cervelo Test Team has had a good first half of the season, but his next goal is to block Mark Cavendish out of the sprinter’s jersey at the Tour de France.
• The AG2R team will be wearing a new jersey for the Tour. It has a white background dotted with multiple representations of the new team logo. [Let's hope the poor guys aren't forced to wear white shorts - Ed.]
• Albert Timmer, Piet Rooijakkers, Kenny van Hummel, Jonathan Hivert, Cyril Lemoine and Simon Geschke will line up in Skil-Shimano colors for the Tour. The remainder of the team will be announced on June 29th.

Other News:

• A doping investigation that initially targeted two doctors at Germany’s Freiburg University has now exapnded to include four additional doctors who will receive lesser charges. Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid were both released by the university two years ago for helping administer doping substances. According to a newspaper report that is to appear today, the four additional doctors are Andreas Blum, Stefan Vogt, Stephan Prettin and Carsten Temme. The T-Mobile and Telekom teams were the most involved with what was called “systematic” doping practices at the school.
• Tuttobiciweb.it has learned that the names of the 50 suspicious riders will be released tomorrow (17 June) by the UCI.
• Danilo Napolitano will head the Katusha team of Mikhail Ignatyev, Alexey Markov, Gennady Mikhailov, Denis Galimzyanov, Kenny Dehaes Vantomme and Maxim Iglisky for the Ster Elektrotoer.
• Tom Boonen will co-captain the Quick Step team with Allan Davis for Ster Elektrotoer.
• Katusha rider Gert Steegmans has been given until 22 June to sign the team’s contract extension regarding penalties for doping offenses. [Who wants to bet he's in the news for something else tomorrow? Anyone? - Ed.]
• The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed Tuesday that disgraced Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov must serve out a two-year doping ban until July 24th. In a statement, the court said it had set aside the one-year suspension handed down by Kazakhstan’s cycling federation in December 2007, following an arbitration request. It decided instead that Vinokourov’s period of ineligibility, which was applicable after he and his Astana team were expelled from the 2007 Tour de France for blood doping, should run for two years under international cycling rules. (Velo News)
• Lance Armstrong reports via Twitter that his 31st (he thinks) doping control came today.
• The UCI has published a “Practical Guide to Implementation” for those who need to be aware of the latest technical regulations for bicycles. The document is mainly intended for National Federations, UCI teams and manufacturers.

Results:

• Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) won the 4th stage of the Tour of Switzerland. Solvenian Tadej Valjavec (AG2R-La Mondiale) took over the yellow jersey. Andy Schleck sits in second place, 2″ behind.
• Tejay Van Garderen (Rabobank) finished with the bunch on Tuesday to take the overall victory in the Circuito Montañes in northern Spain. Vicente Grau Jorda (Camargo-Ferroatlantica-Floortex) won the 152km seventh stage from Potes to Santander in a bunch sprint ahead of Van Garderen’s teammate Boy Van Poppel, with Jorge Martín Montenegro (Andalucía-Cajasur) third.

Tags: Ag2r, alexandre vinokourov, allan davis, andy schleck, cadel evans, cervelo, cervelo test team, Court of Arbitration for Sport, cycling, Cyril Lemoine, Danilo Napolitano, doping, EPO, Gert Steegmans, Heinrich Haussler, johan bruyneel, katusha, Kenny Van Hummel, Lance Armstrong, Mark Cavendish, Matti Breschel, Patrick Lefevre, Quick Step, Rabobank, Saxo Bank, Skil-Shimano, Switzerland, T-Mobile, The Tour, Tom Boonen, Tour de France News