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The news just broke and many questions, of course, follow.

The biggest for me is- who will they bring and what will their intentions be?

Are they going to hedge their bets and hold back the Contadors, Klodens and Leipheimers of the world from a full-on GC push (so as to save them for Le Tour) or are they going there to take home the Maglia Rosa? There are no guarantees that they're going to get into the Tour, so this might be their biggest stage of the year.

Of course, there's also the question of fitness and form. One can't just turn it on for a three week stage race. Is anyone ready for such a thing? Have they been prepping "just in case?" So many questions and so little time to sort it all out in time for the start of the race.

Astana given place in Giro field

Organisers of the Giro d'Italia have invited the Astana team to compete in their tour at just one week's notice.

Astana, thrown out of last year's Tour de France for doping violations, were originally excluded from the event.

Astana given place in Giro field

In other Giro news, Petacchi is skipping the race due to bronchitis. Petacchi basically owns the Giro, so that might give some other people a shot at some stage wins. Sad to see him miss out though, as he really is a joy to watch when he's on form.

Bronchitis will keep Petacchi out of Giro d'Italia

[update]

Here's Astana's team for the race:

• Assan Bazayev
• Antonio Colom
• Alberto Contador
• Vladimir Gusev
• Maxim Iglinskiy
• Andreas Klöden
• Levi Leipheimer
• Andrey Mizurov
• Dmitriy Muravyev

Think they're going there to win? I do. That's a strong team. Whatever way you slice it, three guys who have finished on the podium of the Tour de France is a pretty solid foundation and Iglinsky and Gusev have shown me a lot over the past couple of years.

I do wonder who will be their main rider. It might be whoever ends up being on best form. Which is tough to judge in advance since "the big three" have all had pretty solid spring campaigns.

Being the cycling nerd that I am I added the Lance Armstrong one, but there are a ton of great new themes.

Here's the Livestrong one in action:

Some on-topic options:

Os Gemeos:

Shepard Fairey:

Check out the whole list:

iGoogle Artist Themes

Still months away from his return to competitive cycling (October 24th, for those of you keeping track), Ivan Bass today signed with Liquigas. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the deal is for one million Euros over two years. The contract is for 2009-10, but there's no news on exactly when he'll make his return to racing.

Photo of Basso, Bettini and Cancellara (c) Ken Conley kwc.org/cycling/photography/

English coverage from VeloNews:

VeloNews | Ivan Basso will return to racing on the Liquigas team | The Journal of Competitive Cycling

Italian coverage from La Gazzetta:

Basso torna con la Liquigas

More coverage from La Gazetta (an exclusive interview):

Basso: "Grazie Liquigas Rinasco e torno a vincere"

"I am reborn and return to win"

Nothing major, he just talks about why he chose Liquigas (they're an Italian team, they've been competitive, they have a grand plan for the next couple of years) and some slightly philosophical stuff- based on the question "Who, today, is the man Basso, rider and father? "

Lance Armstrong

4 time winner Robert K Cheruiyot on Heartbreak Hill

Winner Dire Tune duels Alevtina-Biktimirova on Heartbreak Hill

Khalid El Boumlili

Fun times.

In the next ten or so days we have:

• The Boston Marathon One of the world's great sporting events takes place in my back yard I love the Marathon and this year my girlfriend and I are going to watch it from the course together, which is a first. We're heading to Heartbreak Hill to watch the elites and hopefully catch sight of Lance Armstrong before heading home for a little relaxation. Should be an awesome day.
• The Red Sox playthe Texas Rangers on the very same day. The annual Patriot's Day game has an early morning, 11:00 AM start time. Since the Marathon course goes right through Kenmore square the convergence of the two events is occasionally serendipitous- the game getting out just as the elite runners are hitting the square.
• The Boston Celtics, truly great again for the first time in twenty years, open the NBA playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. I know the NBA is hoping for the return of the dream match up to end all dream match ups- a Celtics/Lakers NBA Final.

  I'd be pretty happy with that result too <- understatement.

• Over in Europe, the spring cycling calendar continues with The Amstel Gold Race on the 20th, La Flèche Wallonne 2008 on the 23rd and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the 27th. While they don't possess the grand drama of the grand tours, the spring classics are dependably great racing and this week of back-to-back-to-back action is an annual highlight.
• Closer to home the top American riders will all be on the start line of the Tour de Georgia. Folks like George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriskie, Chris Horner, and Bobby Julich will be vying for top honors in this challenging race through the state of Georgia.

  Of special interest, as always, will be the premier stage in all of North American cycling, the mountaintop finish atop Brasstown Bald. The nearly mile high peak brings the best out of the American climbers and adding a win atop Brasstown Bald is one of the most impressive victories a cyclist can earn on North American roads.

• Women's Marathon 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be held in Boston the day before the Marathon (the 20th.) I'm not sure if I can make it out but it might be a lot of fun if I'm able. How often can one say they've seen two marathons live in two days?
• The Bruins? Heck, they might even be able to pull of an upset of Les Habitants. Not that I pay much attention to hockey anymore, but I know some people that do, so I've got to shout out the Bs
• Chelsea play Manchester United on April 26th. A game which could decide the Premier League. Fun times.

Did I miss anything? Even if I did that's enough to keep me entertained and my DVR in good shape for a while. Good times.

From VeloNews:

Rumors are flying in Spain that Giro d’Italia organizers are reconsidering their decision and might welcome Astana to the season’s first major stage race. Vuelta a España officials reiterated Wednesday that Astana will be welcome, but warned that any hint of scandal could see the team lose its spot.

I'd obviously be excited to see Astana in the Giro, if just to see them win both the Giro and the Vuelta (are you betting against Contador in his home race? Me? I've already got his name engraved on the trophy.) as part of their "revenge against Le Tour tour."

Speaking of Castilla y Leon- a snowy, mountaintop finish? Contador vs. Colombian climber Mauricio Soler? Sounds like a fun stage. I would love to have seen it.

While the weather sucked and I wasn't able to feel warm by proxy watching the race (kind of like watching Red Sox Spring Training*,) this year's Tour of California was a fun event. A great field (especially in terms of time trial talent,) some aggressive riding and what appeared to be great organization provided a fun week of cycling.

As for the results, I can honestly say I couldn't have scripted it any better. Maybe it would have been better if David Millar or someone else from Slipstream had come away with a stage win, but seeing favorites like Cancellara, Boonen, Haedo, Leipheimer and Hincapie coming away with stage wins was perfect for me- especially with George winning the dramatic final stage and Leipheimer coming away with the overall victory.

I really want to check out the race in person next year. It's truly a world class event, so there will be no excuses next time

Leipheimer wins his second consecutive Tour of California

*hopefully the Race to the Sun will provide that for me next week,

He's got my full support.

UCI president Pat McQuaid promised Friday to put the full weight of the organization behind an effort to ensure that defending Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will take part in this year's edition of the world’s biggest bicycle race.

The Tour's organizers, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced on February 13 that Contador's Astana team would be barred from competing in this year's race because of doping scandals over the past two years.

"We will do everything that is possible to ensure that Contador takes part in the Tour,” McQuaid told the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Friday. “It would be a tragedy if Contador could not defend his title."

Lord knows what they can actually do, but I wish the UCI all the luck in the world in getting the ASO straightened out. I've been thinking about it and without Astana, I'm simply not watching the Tour this year, so unless there's some sense in the world come July I'll be sleeping in during that month.

McQuaid pushes for Astana reversal

Join the Campaign to Let Levi Ride

On February 13th, the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) barred Team Astana from competing in any race or event organized by the ASO in 2008. The ASO owns premiere cycling events like Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours, and the famed Tour de France.

The ASO cited the doping scandals of last year’s Tour de France as justification.

There can be no comparison between the Astana team of 2007 and the new Astana. The entire organizational structure has been rebuilt under the direction of the team’s new General Manager, Johan Bruyneel, who has thoroughly cleaned house. What’s more, Astana has adopted the rigorous doping controls developed by anti-doping expert Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard, and Astana now spends more money on anti-doping controls than any other team in the pro peloton.

“That the happenings of last year…prompted the Tour organizers to leave Astana out of the season’s most important race sounds understandable,” notes Bruyneel. “However, Astana Cycling Team 2008 has nothing to do with the team of last year. We have done everything to change the dynamics of the team. New management, new riders, new philosophy. Only the name of the sponsor remained.”

The ASO has turned a blind eye to Johan’s efforts. By barring the entire team from competing in ASO events, outstanding athletes like Levi Leipheimer, who was not a member of last year’s Astana team and who has never been implicated in any doping affair, are forced to sit on the sidelines while their life’s work passes them by.

“When I saw the Tour de France on TV when I was young,” laments Leipheimer, “I knew that someday I wanted to do that race. I sacrificed my life to participate. After finishing on the podium last year I want to do even better. Now I’m a victim of an illogical decision and have been excluded from the race.”