So it looks like Team Fidea has ponied up and signed an ethics charter to support anti doping. Roughy translated from Cyclocross Info:

The Fidea-team wants to support the fight against doping. The ten racers on who the team counts all signed a “sport-loving charter” (Greg: That is a hilarious translation), an internal regulation that will issue fines and other sanctions in case of a positive.

"We are a leader in this area", said manager Van Kasteren. "We want contribute with the Fidea team an even playing field. We already had an earlier agreement, but now we’ve elaborated and refined it.”

The charter contains also a general ethics code of conduct. It has directives concerning clothing (Greg: Huh??), training periods, handles press... "a first of its kind in Belgium."

I guess I'm down with anything that moves the ball forward on this front. But, these Belgian 'renners' have been, are and will always be heroes more than bike racers to their supporter clubs. It's not about winning but about being heroic. It's about the ability of the rider to merge their guts and effort with the Belgian countryside...the same one they came from and where they're going to be buried some day. 'Cross in particular is even more poetic in this sense. Traversing their desolate countrysides of muddied cow pastures and barns. That's why it's so core to them and why we in America think...well...think differently. We like the winner....the result....the prize. Nothing wrong with that but the question of doping fades into the background for a Belgian when it isn't helping anyone necessarily win (it may), but is assisting, quietly, the suffering heroism going on for their fans and countrymen.

I'm going to get the shit kicked out of me in Belgium. HA!

I don't even know where to begin. Preposterous is the only word I can think of...and how the word defines to our sport. It's a secretly recorded audio Greg Lemond recorded on a call with Stephanie McIlvain where Lemond converses her into hearing Armstrong admitting Lance used performance enhancing drugs.

The MP3 can be accessed from Smithers blog here. You better have a coffee ready to sit through the 20 minutes of this crap. When Stephanie insinuates that she "...wonders what Hincapie's baby will look like (due to drug use)..." I about choked.

If you're pissed at me re-casting this stuff, apologies. I am on the fence about it pissing me off, fascinating me or feeling completely apathetic. You can make up your own opinions.

I think Nelson said it best: Ha hah!

I think I have a "you heard it here first" news item: Durango's Tommy D will be in the argyle kit of Slipstream Sports next year. Let's just say I have it on first hand knowledge.

This is gonna be interesting. Tons of Boulder-ites in the mix here. I see these guys flying round town often. And now, Maggie, CVV, Millar, Tommy D...not quite sure what they are going to focus on but they could represent next year for sure if they can groom Will F and maybe Pate to do some damage in the short stage races like Paree Neeece or like. I think a 3 week'er is still a load for some of these youngings but a good roll at the Giro would be nice.

Anyhoo, i hope these guys take their squeaky clean blood and lay wood on those chumps in Euro-land.

So good:

So at 5:30PM tonight and I should have been rolling out to head down to the Research Center but the hail was coming down like you wouldn't have believed. Trees bending side ways and flash floods. Classic late day thunder boomers. By 6:15...calm, cool and beautiful.

The racing tonight was great. Super fast course and nice and perfectly tacky due to the rain....no dust either! Pretty big field again in the A's.

Before the racing I saw a Sycip kit warming up. I noticed it was an old friend from the Left Coast, Aaron Bonar. Great to see you man! Hope you enjoy Boulder.

I wanted to test the legs today and went for the hole shot. I should have grabbed it but settled in for 4th and held it for a lap or two. Sitting in, I finally got a chance to see some of Mike West's tactics. Man, is he savvy. He made the split happen, I stayed with it and then went on to just play with us (OK, maybe not 'us' but certainly me and some other chumps who couldn't hold that wheel!). He put in another HUGE surge to make another split in lap 3 (maybe 4?) and I couldn't cover to (sorry Ward!). So I stayed in the top 10 and fairly comfortably (well, red lining but feeling good) until 1.5 to go and I start developing a slow leak in the rear. Beat! Any carving resulted in the rear tire folding over so I literally had to ride at like 3/4 speed! So many dudes came by me at the very end I was bummed but I still think I got in the top 15. We'll see. Big time fun though! Collin created another very unique and very fast course.

In classic fashion, Brandon roles up in just about every Dopers Suck item he's got. Shirt, sweat bands, socks...you name it. Hilarious.

No pics tonight. Maybe some if I can get a hold of them.

What a retard. I'm proving guilty before innocent. Sue me. This is two-thousand-friggen-seven. You signed up to be a pro cyclist you vain f_ _k. Tell the UCI and your frickin country's anti doping division where you will be training. You signed up for the vampires and that blood of yours should be squeaky clean. Bring 'em on is what you shoudl be saying. Not playing international man of mystery in your all black kits. "I hate fans asking for signatures as it interrupts my training." Then train in Moosjaw Saskatchewan Mikey. Play games with WADA and make them find you there...but tell 'em!

Taro is Za Plan. I trust him as a friend, as a mentor and therefore it gives me that slightly unique visibility into this to believe it through and through. I'm close to this one and I'm boiling. No one's got designs here to bring anyone down. Except when the hubris is so thick it basically is paramount to Rasmussen pulling down his bibs past his bony-ass legs and taking a giant crap on our sport. All because he can rape it, grab cash, retire and fade into the ether. No harm no foul right? "I don't need to be a DS or announcer. I just take my cash now. Ciao."

Normally I'd glance over the dope scandal stories (they come fast and furious these days) of these poor Euro kids who get wrapped up in this. The peloton is filled with Euro youth...our version of the kid in the ghetto who has hoops to get him out of the gangs and somewhere. They have natural skill to shoot, run, dunk. What God gave 'em. These fools just want to get out of their mom's house. I guess the pampering and cooking is too much. I guess to stay in the peloton you have to juice. Self fulfilling prophecies in motion.

I am going to climb my bike tomorrow and stew over this. Probably end up laughing lots. Rasmussen is so bush league. I can't stand him in yellow.

...to celebrate winning clean. At least I have GOT to believe in this kid. Linus is not the kid sucking his thumb and blanket....he was the kid today who brought pain to the peloton and let the mitochondira do the talking. I love the picture because it's non pretentious and innocent. I hope that it means its real. A huge visual sigh from his whole body that says: F you, i did this clean.

Jeremy Powers getting quoted in an article, Doping Center Stage at Tour de France.

"Pro rider Jeremy Powers, who has twice represented the U.S. at the world cyclocross championships as a member of the Jelly Belly team, sees nothing but positives in the union's pledge.

"Cycling is confronting the problem, unlike baseball and football," said Powers, who was raised in Niantic. "If you look at a guy like Jose Canseco or Barry Bonds, they've had very little consequences for their actions.

"Cycling is the exact opposite. Cycling has really confronted guys, given them bans. Cycling is doing the most testing of any sport. It's terrible to have to go through this, but once the new generation - my generation - starts coming up, it's going to be a new group of racers. We're going to have a different attitude about cheating and winning at all costs."

That is exactly what I'm calling Piti's weak-ass sock selection. What sport is this? Tennis? Shit even tennis players are wearing real socks these days and not the ankle panties Valverde is sporting. I CAN'T STAND IT! And now I'm seeing all these euro-fools go low on the sock. It reminds me of that scene in Good Morning Vietnam when the bartender is telling Robin Williams how he loves the curve of the soldiers ankles in their combat boots. But I digress on that tip. Weak. I think hey should all just go back to wearing the pom-pom ankle socks my sister wore in '82.

So let's inspect some style. Who else to go to but our main anti-doping advocate and style maven, Geoff Kabush. OK, so he's Canadian, but I won't hold that against him (D'oh! Kidding Kabush!). But seriously, this is 2007 and there is style to be applied to your ride.

Let's study this pic for a bit shall we? Here we have Geoff killing it in some race. Anywhoo, Geoff has embraced 2007. Note the white saddle. I guaran-frickin-tee you he's got white grips under those hands. Any self respecting bike style junkie's got to match the saddle and the grips (mtb)/tape (road). C'mon! You're squirming in your chair right now wasting time reading this blog 'cause you agree. Shoes: White. C'mon! You know you want white shoes. You need white shoes you bitches.

And the piece de resistance? You know it: Brandon's Limited Edition, 6" Tall boy PINK Doper's Suck socks with stylish T-Mobile Magenta embroidery . Made just in time for Bjarne's confession AND the Giro! What timing! They're just high enough to be uncool, just low enough to be rad. Balance. Don't be weak. Say no to ankle panties.

Kabush photo from CyclingNews