Lance Armstrong wines and dines, Alberto Contador just whines – Post Tour de France news and notes

2010 looks like it is going to shape up to be a very interesting year. The gloves are off and the battle between Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong is ON. By now, of course we know that Lance Armstrong is heading to the new Radio Shack Cycling team, while Contador is headed to parts unknown. All we know for sure is that they will both be at the 2010 Tour and it’ll be “no more mister nice guy.”

• Contador says that this year’s victory was his hardest ever, saying that he had to fight the battle on both the roads and in the hotel. Since Sunday, Contador has not held back in his derision for Lance Armstrong, saying “We are simply incompatible.” He told reporters at a press conference in Madrid, “My relationship with Lance is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will.”
• There seems to be more rumors swirling around about Contador jumping to Garmin, but the Astana team seems to be making moves to extend his contract to as far as 2013, with a strong role as the only team leader with Alexander Vinokourov as one of his lieutenants.
• Velo News doesn’t seem to think that Vino will play second fiddle to Contador and also theorizes (correctly, I think) that Vino’s presence may jeopardize Astana’s chances to be invited back in 2010.

Lance Armstrong moves on. Quickly.

• Lance Armstrong chose to wine and dine his new sponsors at Radio Shack rather than celebrate Contador’s victory with the Astana team. [It's certain that Alexander Vinokourov was at the Astana celebration, so I can't blame him for not going, but... still bad form - Ed.]
• Lance responded later in the day to Contador’s comments, reminding him that it takes a team to win a stage race. He also commented that this reflects some of the immaturity that he pointed out earlier in the year.
• The closing count on doping controls on Lance Armstrong during the 22 days of the Tour de France was 11. One every other day.
• Beyond the obvious transfers to Radio Shack Cycling (Leiphimer, Horner, Kloden, Zubeldia) there are some surprising names being tossed around for rounding out the squad. Negotiations are said to be underway with Brice Feillu, who was a standout in the early part of the race (and without a team in 2010) and with Andy Schleck. Schleck is said to be interested but wants brother Frank to be a part of the team as well. Saxo Bank, of course, insists that Schleck is under contract until 2010 and will not be going anywhere.
• Lance’s third place finish ties him with Raymond Poulidor for the most podium appearances in the race. Poulidour finished 2nd twice and 3rd five times

The cleanest Tour ever, or not? Opinions differ:

• Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme says that this year’s clean (so far) Tour is exactly what the sport needs to restore its image.
• Prudhomme may think that the race was clean, but AFLD president Pierre Bordry says that some teams were found with banned substances (in their trashcans) used by diabetics that encourages the production of insulin. Bordry also said that samples from the race will be tested in the fall for two new substances that aren’t even on the market yet: The first is a third generation version of EPO and the other is a product that increases both strength and fat burning. They expect to tests ready in September or October. [Hats off to Bordry and the AFLD for being vigilant in the fight against doping, but his comments make one think that they might be looking just a little too hard and pointing fingers where they shouldn't. - Ed.]

Bradley Wiggins was the breakthrough rider of the race. Sort of last year’s Christian Vande Velde:

• Garmin Slipstream’s Bradley Wiggins was a bit of a surprise in this year’s race, finishing fourth overall and matching the top finish ever by a British rider.
• Wiggins was one of Britain’s track cycling stars before trying out the road, but he is now saying that he will forego track competition for the next two years to focus on winning the Tour.
• He is expected to return to the track in time to go for glory at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
• Wiggins’ success has caused some to question if he might be doping. Wiggins has responded by saying that he is going to put all of the results from his latest tests online for public review. “I don’t want there to be any suspicion or doubt that what I did was natural. I have nothing to hide and I want this transparency,” Wiggins said Wednesday. “If more people did that fans would have a lot more respect for our achievements.”

Injuries, recoveries and retirements:

• George Hincapie rode the last six stages of the race with a broken collarbone. He thought that it was just badly bruised, but x-rays taken on his return to the states confirmed that it was actually a break.
• Jens Voigt will undergo surgery to repair the broken jaw he suffered in a fall in the 16th stage of the race.
• Rabobank’s Robert Gesink broke his wrist early in the race, but the cast is already off and he’s back to training.
• Quick Step’s Steven De Jongh has decided to retire after the end of the season. He will turn 36 this year and wants to focus on his private life and his children. He has been a pro for 15 years and has enjoyed 50 career victories. He expects to stay active in cycling in some way, but has not decided quite how.

Mark Cavendish is OUR sprint winner:

• No one went for it harder or more often. Thor Hushovd won on a technicality. Cavendish and Hushovd reportedly have kissed and made up, but Cavendish said all that he really needed to say in the final sprint on Sunday.

Here are the last two Cavendish videos from Nike:

Cav pt. 6:

Cav pt. 7:

Then there are the post-Tour Crits. These races are carefully orchestrated, delivering the expected winner to the line and earning them some healthy bonuses as well:

• Mark Cavendish won the Aalst nighttime criterium on Monday night, besting Robbie McEwen and Greg Van Avermaet at the line. This was McEwen’s first race back after a fall in the Tour of Belgium two months ago.
• Andy Schleck was the winner in the Tour of Boxmeer, outsprinting Koos Morehout at the finish. Brother Frank Schleck rolled across in third.
• Thor Hushovd won the Diksmuide crit, knocking back a recovered Tom Boonen at the finish. Jurgen Van Den Broeck came across in third.
• Alberto Contador bested the Schleck Brothers in the Stiphout criterium.

Of course, it’s not to early to start talking about the next Grand Tour: The Vuelta

• Vacansoleil has named their pre-selections for the Vuelta: Borut Bozic, Matteo Carrara, Baden Cooke, Johnny Hoogerland, Sergey Lagutin, Bjorn Leukemans, Gerben Lowik, Marco Marcato, Jens Dying, Matthieu Pronk, Bobbie Traksel, Frederik and Veuchelen Lieuwe Westra.
• Andy Schleck and Ivan Basso have already expressed interest in racing the Vuelta. Alberto Contador will not return to defend his title, however.
• Contador’s (new/old) Astana teammate Alexander Vinokourov will make the Vuelta his Grand Tour comeback race.
• Mark Cavendish has decided to pass on the Vuelta. The Columbia-HTC team will send Andre Greipel as their sprinter.
• Universal Sports will be broadcasting the race both online and on TV, giving many fans their first opportunity to see the race.

And yes, as usual, there are other things happening in cycling besides the Tour:

• Did you know that the World Championships were last weekend? Donny Robinson won Gold for the U.S. at the BMX World Championships in Adelaide, Australia. He had previously taken bronze at the Olympics and won the 2008 UCI Supercross World Championships. Robinson’s compatriot Mike Day brought home silver. Olympic champion Maris Strombergs had to settle for fourth.
• Davide Rebellin and Stefan Schumacher appeared before the disciplinary committee of the International Olympic Committee on Monday to defend themselves against their positives tests for third generation EPO (Cera) in the 2008 Olympic Games. The IOC did not make it clear when they would announce their decision.
• Rumors are flying today that Shimano, or some other Japanese company, has purchased Campagnolo. I’ve never been a big Campy person, but this is still tantamount to blasphemy.

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