Since there has been a ton of news in the last day in the cycling world, I am going to wrap it all up here.
World Championships Elite Men's Time Trial
Fabian Cancellara is at another level. That is the main take away from his easy-looking win in last night's (today's in Australia) time trial. It was evident at the second time check that he was the best man and the only way he was going to lose was either a mental error causing a crash or mechanical problem or a flat and even a flat or mechanical may not have stopped him considering bronze medalist Tony Martin had a flat and lost little time (it was enough to slip from silver to bronze but Cancellara was way beyond that level of time loss). Cancellara may be the best ever in the discipline. Also of note was the silver medal ride turned in by David Millar. He won a silver in this event in 2001 and was stripped of the gold because of doping in 2003, but he is most certainly clean at this point and the silver medal is impressive.
More after the jump including Doping and World's Road Race Preview
Doping, Doping and more Doping
Part 1 - Alberto Contador
Contador tested positive for a trace amount of a steroidal substance on the second rest day at the Tour de France (why on Earth is has taken this long to come out is for another day). He immediately claimed it was due to contaminated meat. And the entire American media laughed and derided the Tour de France as a non-event because the culture of cycling is rampant cheating and performance enhancing drug use. What the American media missed is that many experts in Europe are saying that Contador's explanation is at least plausible. Now whether that will hold up or not is going to be an incredible argument. What is known is that the champ of the Tour de France is currently suspended for a doping violation pending what could be a ridiculous appeal process. Hopefully the actual truth will come out one way of the other so there isn't a long-term mountain of speculation one way of the other (yes I'm looking at you Lance Armstrong).
Part 2 - Ezequiel Mosquera
Mosquera tested positive during the recent Vuelta a Espana where he finished second overall (his test result is more along the expected timeline for doping offenses to be discovered). It is a shame too because Mosquera picked up many new fans with his attacking climbing style and guts to not lose everything is the time-trial, a very weak discipline for him. Ultimately, Mosquera's legacy may be helping to destroy two teams, the Xacobeo Galicia team he rode for this season that struggled to find funding and may not be folding after potential investors pulled out of a deal after the doping positive for Mosquera, and the Vacansoleil team he was scheduled to ride for next season that was left without one of its two big offseason acquistions designed to get it invited to the big races on the cycling calendar (more on that team below).
Part 3 - Riccardo Ricco
Can I just call him SCUM for the remainder of his career, even if he somehow exonerates himself from this current case. Ricco, for the uneducated about cycling, won two stages of the 2008 Tour de France before being thrown out for doping as one of the first to test positive for CERA, the third generation of the endurance boosting drug EPO. He served his suspension and raced this season getting back into shape and then signed with the Vacansoleil team (Mosquera's new team). In the process, he broke up with his girlfriend and the mother of his kid after her positive doping test (she is a female professional cyclist) because he thought with his history, being associated with a doper would be bad for his career. Yesterday, Italian authorities raided Ricco's home and seized pills of an unknown substance as part of a doping investigation that got former teammate and friend Enrico Rossi arrested last month.
World Championship Road Race Preview
Even with all of the doping, there is still racing happening. The World Championship Road Race is late Saturday night in Geelong, Australia (Sunday afternoon there). The question is still whether a sprinter can survive the climbs to win the race in a bunch sprint. I'm not sure if it can be done, but the climbs did not look exceptionally difficult during the time trial last night. Of course, doing them eight times could spit the sprinters like Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar out the back of the peloton. Also, there is a possibility of crosswinds in the approach from Geelong from Melbourne that could cause splits in the field.
The pick: Cadel Evans shockingly defends his title on home turf. Nobody has been talking about him, he is a solid classics rider, the climbs will be to tough for the sprinters and Evans will pull off a shocking upset for the second season in a row.
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