Busy, not busy, busy, not busy…

• Alexandre Vinokourov has received a one year ban for blood doping. His ban would be completed by July 2008, so he could potentially compete at the Beijing Olympics, but he has since announed that he is retiring from racing.
  • Some other racers are trying to understand how he slipped by with only a one year ban, when others, such as Tyler Hamilton, received two year bans for doping.
  • I’m trying to understand why his suspension dates from July, while Floyd Landis’ suspension dated from December, when both allegedly doped in July.
• Bob Stapleton and team take the High Road, and sign an agreement with the Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), who will run their anti-doping program for 2008. ACE is also working with the Slipstream/Chipotle team.
• The 2007 season is barely over, but many teams are already having team meeting and even race camps.
•  A number of Belgian cyclocross racers are threatening to boycott their national championships unless the prize money gets increased. It seems that the Belgian Cycling Federation is walking away with a big paycheck.
• The route for the 2008 Vuelta has been announced. Strap on your climbing legs, boys!
• Michael Rasmussen was said to be suicidal after being pulled out of the Tour de France.
• In an effort to reach new markets, the UCI is granting ProTour licenses to Russia and China to set up races in those countries.