Sorry about the break and Valverde

Well I am very sorry my readers for my extended absence. I was on some trips that took me up to northern Michigan. But I am home now and am ready to update you'll. Well some more threatening news has occurred for a rider involving doping allegations. This time though the target was the 2006 UCI pro tour Champion was in the line of fire. Alejandro Valverde has been banned from taking part in the World Championship next month in Stuttgart, Germany. This is all due to his name appearing in multiple places in operacion puerto. Hes not the first rider to be affected this year from this investigation from two years ago. Earlier in the season Ivan Basso was fired from Team Discovery due to his involvement. Once again a big name has been associated with doping.

Unibet.com is going to join the likes of Discovery

The Unibet.com Team has just announced that the team is going to cease operations. This team suffered the same fate of Team Discovery Team. Both could not find sponsors or could not keep their sponsors on board. A lot of talk says that these teams are dissolving because of the doping problem. No company wants to support drug users so this leaves teams without sponsors. The loss of Unibet.com team is not as such a big blow as it was discovery. Unibet was not allowed to race in many races due to the fact they are sponsored by a gambling company. Many race officials don't want the sport to be exposed to such sponsors so Unibet has been left out of races many times.

CSC still has lead but Discovery is Closing fast

Sorry but I only have time to post results so here they are for the tour of germany's fourth stage.
Results - Stage 4
1. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre-Fondital, 183.8km in 4:28.06
2. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, at 0:00
3. David Lopez Garcia (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:00
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:05
5. Patrick Calcagni (Swi), Liquigas, at 0:05
6. Peter Velits (Svk), Wiesenhof Felt, at 0:05
7. Andrea Tonti (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 0:05
8. Florian Stalder (Swi), Volksbank, at 0:05
9. Manuele Mori (I), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 0:05
10. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:05


Overall
1. Jens Voigt (G), CSC, at 14:33.31
2. Chris Anker Sørensen (Dk), CSC, at 0:01
3. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:27
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:27
5. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:27
6. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, at 0:45
7. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, at 0:45
8. David Lopez Garcia (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:49
9. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:52
10. Matthias Russ (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:55

The End of a Dynasty

I got some bad news today. It has just been announced that the Discovery Cycling Team will cease its operations. After following a search for a new sponsor, since Discovery decided to not continue its sponsorship, the team has decided to stop searching and to end all talks. This is quite a surprise due to the success the team has shown. Tailwinds Sports, the parent company of the Discovery Cycling Team, has taken the 8 of the last 9 victories of the world renowned Tour de France. One of the main reasons it has been difficult for the team to find a new sponsor is that companies don't want to be linked with a rider who is guilty of doping. This is following the release of Ivan Basso due to his connections. This should not alarm the riders from this team. They all are very talented and should be able get contracts with other teams. Some already have for example George Hincapie has signed with T-Mobile. Others will definitely land on their feet. There is interest in this years Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and his teammate Levi Leipheimer. This is a sad day in cycling for every. This will be a great loss to the sport.

Another major blow to cycling

More and more blows are happening to this years Tour de France. Following Astana's withdrawal comes today's ejection of the yellow jersey holder Michael Rasmussen. Except today's ejection came from within the Rabobank management. Michael had made a mistake by violating his team rules. Supposedly he stated that he was on a vacation in Mexico and would miss two mandatory drug tests. But today a former rider has come forward and stated that he saw Michael in Italy during that time period. This violated Rabobank's rules and thus forced them to eject their leader. Now the yellow will be awarded to the 24 year old Alberto Contador from Team Discovery Channel. This also will advance Cadel Evans to second place and Levi Leipheimer is in third. This now places two riders from the Discovery Channel Team in the top three positions. It's looking good for Alberto he deserves this victory if he team allows him to become the leader.

Start of the Tour de France And a Outstanding Proformance

Today the Tour de France has finally started. The prologue took place in London, England. Fabian Cancellara has taken the win with an outstanding showing today. He was the only rider to crack the 9 minute mark. Andreas Kloden showed up as well today coming in second place. George Hincapie tied for third. Team Discovery had a very good day overall with two riders, George Hincapie and Vladimir Gusev, placing within the top five spots. Tomorrows stage 1 is gonna be a sprint to the finish so plan on seeing an awesome finish. Poor Stuart O'Grady has fallen again for the second time in two years. Costing him a large amount of time. Here is Cancellara's game face that dominated the prologue provided by Velonews. I'm heading away for some short time but I will return for more coverage at a later date.

The Discovery Team Announces Tour De France Squad

Well today Johan Bruyneel announced the team which he will bring with him the Tour de France. It will include the notables of Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie. Also Valdimir Gusev did guarantee his spot among the nine riders thanks to his win in a stage of the Tour de Suisse. Here is the complete list of all nine riders attending.

1. Levi Leipheimer
2. George Hincapie
3. Alberto Contador
4. Benjamin Noval
5. Egoi Martinez
6. Sergio Paulinho
7. Tomas Vaitkus
8. Valdimir Gusev
9. Yaroslav Popovych

Discovery's Team sponser? and the Tour de Suisse

Well Tour de Suisse has concluded with a win by Vladimir Karpets. He beat out his teammate Vladimir Efimkin by 1 minute and 41 seconds to gain the overall lead and took the victory. Efimkin dropped from first overall to a disappointing 5th after controlling the lead for so long. Fabian Cancellara took the win of the stage today with a twenty second lead to Andreas Kloden. There is a lot of talk surrounding the sponsorship of Discovery Team. As of the end of this year Discovery Channel's 3 year deal with the Discovery team terminates. Johan Bruyneel has said they are not worried about the sponsorship. They has been some gossip that the sponsor may come from China due to the ties that the team has made there recently. They have just got a new rider from the country. If I hear anything I will update all of you on it immediately.

Gusev takes Charge at the Swiss Mountains

Today Discovery Team's rider, Vladimir Gusev, took the stage win in the mountains of Switzerland. The young Russian rider took aim and beat the Field to the finish with a 2 minute and 2 second lead. This win now guaranteed Gusev to be added to Team Discovery's 9 man team at the Tour de France. Another notable mention was Christopher Horner taking second place today at the stage. The American was the only rider from the Predictor-Lotto team to place in the top 10 of today's stage. Vladimir Efimkin took ninth today and remained in the lead of the Tour de Suisse. He has a lead of 24 seconds to Kim Kirchen. Kim has recently become a threat moving up through the ranks to take his spot in second place. Tomorrow's stage is 152.5 kilometer.