Sorry for the silence -- was out on the East Coast for a lovely, and much needed, vacation with the wife and kiddo. We enjoyed Kate's first Bristol 4th of July parade (my seventh, already) and spending some time on Cape Cod at Kristen's sister's place. Many, many pictures to come.
Meanwhile, what's been going on. Oh, Jan Ulrich and Ivan Basso were thrown out of the Tour? Jimminy Christmas, this is a horrible story. On one hand, you've got the UCI finally seeming serious about cleaning up the sport, which they didn't do in '98 after the Festina affair blew up.
On the other hand, you've got cyclists thrown out of the premier event in the sport without a positive test, simply because they're under investigation. I know that all ProTour riders agree to this, but there's something about the lack of a presumption of innocence that rankles.
In fact, that's at the root of what's bothered me with the entire WADA regime, and the climate around athletics today. When an athlete is implicated, the instant assumption is that they're guilty, from the top of the sport to the fans on the street. I'm not sure why that's the case -- maybe innocent until proven guilty is a uniquely American view of the world.
But the event continues, as do the whispers.