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."

Mad style points:

• Rare 26" Dugast and Custom Ritchey Carbon Rims: Check.
• White Radars, Helmet, Gloves and White Sex: Check

A mini-Frischi protege' indeed.

Tuba Brown told me I have to scope out Ride with Nick Martin. It's awesome. Local Boulder MTB Pro with a lot of good thoughts, pics and things to say. Not sure if I met this guy before but I think I saw him hit the deck at our Short Track the other night. We also share nice MTB-inspired bloody mess knee wounds. Nick, just what precisely is this body part you snapped a photo of? If it's what I think it is, you should really wipe better. (kidding). Mine was not unlike this mess after Ned took a piece out of me one day.
Anyhoo, Nick's got a rad blog for Class-A time wasting.

Gotta give the "PRO" props out to my BelgianKneeWarmers homie for his capitalized use of PRO. Anything that is professional he indicates with a declarative PRO. Hilarious.

So in todays TdS, we had an un-PRO moment.

This is Frankie Schleck at the TdF in 06...and very PRO. Jersey up, victorious fists...OK maybe a bit too much monkey face, but Computer Sciences Corp gets their due in advertising so they can go and build more missile control systems:
Schleck at today's TdS stage...very un-PRO. We don't need to see your concentration camp victim chest, Luxie. The phlegm should have been wiped off too. Love you Frankie, but get PRO-er:

Note Erik's SRM. ET is a tank of a powerhouse. Great photos of interesting things from this photographer can me found at P. Edward Squidersons Flikr site here.

So for my homies here in Boulder, especially the dudes on our team who are all geekdified on your team deal Specialized Tricross carbons, listen up! Andy Jacques-Maynes (who's brother Ben is tearing it up in the NA scene) was in a fairly hideous wreck at a crit this weekend in CA (Thus why I avoid crits when I can....even in vet pro which supposedly has us being skilled and conservative at our core.....). Why the point about the Tricross above? Because it is he who spearheaded the development of the project and leveraged his obvious talent and experience to develop that bike and bring it to market (can't say I 'love' the "Free Road" thing though...).

A GREAT posting about these brothers from a really great blog (any blogger should aspire to this level of thought "Vanderhoot" puts into his postings...) is a must read about AJM. Vanderhoot is a Bay Area racer and basically is like the information hub on all things road, mountain and 'cross in my old homestead.

Anyway, read this post...and get exposed to some other bike related banter. And when you throw your leg over your shiny new Tricross, put good thoughts out there to get this guy rolling again.

.....about Floyd's case can be found here.

I am 6'2" and have some pretty big quads from racing for quite a few years. All back patting aside, I am a 98 pound weekling wuss next to MAGNUS (he should always capitalize his name going forward as it is the raddest name ever). Maggie Backstedt's cannons are gi-fricken-normous. Unbelievable. If donated, he could feed a populous of a small nation for at least a week. Or maybe a long weekend.

One of our RM'ers Scottie W is over in Belgium at the Cycling Center. MAGNUS is spending time there while he reccies the pave' before the classic week comes full on. Some words about the meeting from Scottie:

"By far, the coolest experience so far in Belgium was going to France with Paris Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt. He is staying with us for about a week as his base for all of his reconnaissance rides he is doing for the Paris Roubaix race in April. Yesterday I went with him and 3 other CC riders to preview some critical cobbled sections of this year’s race, most notably the Forest of Arenberg. It is fair to say that just riding the Forest of Arenberg is a dream of any cyclist, but doing so with somebody who has won the “Hell of the North” was nothing short of amazing. The four of us were like kids in a candy store riding up and down 2 of the most famous kilometers is cycling until our hands were full of blisters and our legs wouldn’t turn anymore.

Having the opportunity to live with Magnus has taught me more than I could’ve imagined. He is without a doubt one of the most down to earth and personable professionals that I have ever met and several times I found that I have forgotten that I’m talking to the most talented cyclists in the world. It is motivating watching someone that committed to his job, down to every detail. Tomorrow, I’m cued up for my bike fit, so I’m sure to be sitting a little differently on the bike tomorrow night. Until my next rest day…"

Christine Vardaros' Rock Lob-stah getting some love in Germany. Nice. And she took 2nd!