Well he did it - good win and I fully expect him to go home to Peta Todd for some rest and recuperation (yeah right!!!).

I think I had heard before the Giro started that he would be bowing out of the Giro early once the few sprint stages were out of the way.
I think the way Thor isn't performing this season that the green jersey could be there for the taking if he can come out flying from the start.
I also have to say that the way Appollino *sp has rode for sky I wonder if they maybe would give him a run out at the tour? Though I suspect with other sprinters like Henderson, EBH, Sutton, Swift, they would rather use them this year.

An interesting weekend for cycling fans.

Old Bertie continues to dominate the Giro. Two pensioners lead the charge at the EPO Tour of California and Lance....

Well it looks like the house of cards around Lance Armstrong is about to fall down. Not seen the CBS show from yesterday but is this the beginning of the end for him?

You can't blame Mr Hincapie for telling the truth to the federal investigation. He'd be an idiot not to!
However Lance's holier than thou stance is both expected yet slightly dissapointing. You would think that he would do the right thing and hold his hand up. Instead he'll stick at it as his house falls down around him expecting his campaign against Cancer to uphold his integrity amongst others.

I'd actually have much much more respect for him if he owned up.

Will he ever own up? He has so much to lose. His reputation would be in tatters in the cycling community. However.....what about the cancer community? Would they give a rats ass about doping?

The facts are that when Armstrong came back everyone else was at it. Indeed, if you weren't at it you were seen as someone who wasn't willing to put in the effort for yourself or the team.

You can understand why he won't confess though? Pretty soon Lance Armstrong could well find himself in the same position as Floyd Landis. Sitting at home wondering how he got caught....when he knows full well there are people still racing and still doping and are getting away with it.

Doesn't stop me loving cycling though. Although I'd love it a bit more if once you did get caught you received a life ban. That includes being a team manager or director sportif too. It's the only way in my view.

Did you see the piece in cyclingnews or one of those cycling sites ( I can't remember which) but it was ratings given out from the biometric passports during the tour. The scores indicated the probability of doping with 0 being non and 10 being most probable. I think Lance was an 8 and Contador was a 9.

As for life bans. I think they should have to prove they are straight again have a set time for the ban and in that time have to help at grass roots level or something like that. If proved worthy and clean then they should be allowed back. Look at Scotlands own David Millar for how a one time doper can rehabilitate and become widely respected again.

I have - and even the latest UCI suspicion index is making things very interesting again. Doping hangs about the sport like a fog. Is he, isn't he. If Clenbutador can race this good why on earth does he need to dope......or is he doing it within the tolerences of the sport? Are they all at it? When Gilbert speaks out against it...is he protesting a little too much?

Much as I like David Millar I'm afraid that my life ban would mean he is gone. No redemption for some and none for others. It's no good giving young up and coming cyclists the idea that if you dope and put your hands up and then speak out against it then you'll be welcomed back. The choice should be simple. Dope and get caught - you're out....for good.....no more money to be earned off cycling. Goodbye.

Whilst I respect your reasons and stance I just feel that in many cases the doping and pressure to dope comes from not the riders but the backroom staff. Imagine your a young neo pro this is your big and probably only chance to make it into the peloton. Your DS comes up to you ( lets say johan Bruyneel ) and tells you how you have what it takes , but they need that little bit more from you. Just have this little blood transfusion it'll help the team and I'll give you a new contract next year etc etc etc...... You get the jist.
Thats a lot of pressure to put on what are usually youngish shoulders. I'm not saying it's right , but I can understand why some would do it and this if for me why a life ban shouldn't be used. I would have however a 2 strikes and your out rule. I think that would be much better IMO

Hmmmmm so it's Johann Bruyneel asking me.....well in my world he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near a team due to his close links with doping.

I understand what you mean but it's the only way to send out a clear message to a neo pro to stop him from doping.

What chance has the sport got when it's riddled with dopers as riders, DS's and managers?

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere but can anyone recommend:-

- a good make of cycle computer (Cateye?); and/or
- a good cycle computer full stop?

Any advice gratefully received.

Personally I'd love to have one of these all singing/all dancing Garmins which you can use as a cycle computer but also GPS.

I had a Trek one fitted to my road bike when I bought it 3 years ago. Not sure of the model. It does the job but I don't really like it. If you stop for any longer than 5 minutes the computer can sometimes decide to stick meaning that it takes another 5-10 minutes for it to re-set. I also lost the link up with the cadence monitor very early on and have never been able to re set it.

Personally I'd take the bike to your local bike shop and get their advice (it's what I should do to be honest) on what you're after, what you want it for and how much you're prepared to pay.

Oh dear - looks like old Bertie could be riding the Tdf. With the CAS appeal being heard at the start of August this now opens the door for Bertie to ride. I know he said at the weekend that he might not but can you really see Riis not taking the opportunity to stick two fingers up to the Schlecks and Nygaard?

How do I feel about this? Fecking angry to be honest. He had a positive dope test at the 2010 Tdf. A title he should be stripped of in my opinion. He also should not have been allowed to contest the Giro as he should have been sat at home eating more Spanish beef whilst serving a ban.

Cycling fans are facing up to a Tdf where any positive news about the race will be over shadowed by the fact that a doper is in the yellow jersey.

I have a Garmin 706 with cadence and HRM

It's the older version so you could probs get one at a good price albeit maybe more than you want to pay.

It gives you gps and mapping ( like a sat nav) so it's great for mapping a route out in advance and then following the directions as you ride. You can have it record your rides and log all the details on it. It then saves those rides and you can race against a virtual rider next time you do the same ride.
You can also use it as a training tool in many ways using the HRM and cadance both out on the road and indoors on the turbo.
Via Garmin connect you can look at all the schematics and share them with your friends and all other users of the system. You can also use the huge database of rides logged by others to give you new routes to ride.

It's quite simply an awesome piece of kit which has made my cycling much more enjoyable.

If you just want a simple speed, distance, timing comp then decathlon do a great one with HRM. I had it before the garmin. It's much less expensive than a cateye etc... but just as good.

I think a much worse position will be when he is hopefully found guilty in August and they then have to strip him and give the real titles to the others who will not have recieved the recognition they should have at the time.

To be fair the ASO aren't very happy at the prospect of him ruining their tour this year. It'll be interesting if he does ride to see the reception he gets if/ when he eventually podiums. I think the boo's he recieved after the andy schlek chaingate scandal could pale into insignificance. And rightly so!

If he does ride then I hope its a very unpleasant experience for him. It would be great if he was gobbed at constantly by the jeering French fans on the roadside.

Anyway - I talk too much about doping. Wish it would go away once and for all. I still firmly believe cycling has a far better handle on it than most other sports.

Another topic - cycling podcasts. Do you listen to any at all? I was listening to the Flammecast on the way into work this morning and they have a great interview with Jonathon Vaughters. Always thought he was a bit of a c@ck before but really impressed by the guy and his views for improving cycling.

Flammecast would have to be my favourite cycling podcast right now. Closely followed by Real Peleton, Velo Club Don Logan. I download the Spokesmen as well but it isn't the most entertaining of listens.

Wow - Bradley Wiggins. How different does he look this year compared to last year? Was listening to Real Peleton this morning which had been recorded just after his time trial win and they were talking about 'when do you think he'll have to give the yellow jumper to someone else'. They reckoned it would be the weekend with the 2 tough days of climbing.

Well all I can say is - Hat!!

OK, it isn't the Tdf. OK, maybe other people are keeping their powder dry. OK, you could say the main protaganists are at the Tour de Suisse but.......he won a class race with a class field.

I think this will do wonders for Brad at the Tour. He looks lean and I also think he looks ready to give his best in July. I also think a massive amount of weight has been removed from his shoulders this year that was sitting way to heavy in 2010.

Can he win it? No, absolutely not. Can he get on the podium? I can't see why he can't. I hope that Andy Schleck can win it. I think the Giro will have hurt Contador. If it hasn't then either he was soft pedalling and/or he's still as dirty as ever.

I've never listened to a podcast ever! What do they have on them?
As for the Wiggo. Absolutely AWESOME win for him. I watched each day live screaming at the telly. The rode such and intelligent race. EBH was superb on Saturday he buried himself for Wiggo. I 'm pretty sure that if not for his efforts the attcking would have come earlier and maybe have forced Wiggo to blow up trying to chase the attacks back down.

So for the TDF. He'll definitely be a marked man now. I suppose it comes down to how the mountains get attacked. He doesn't have an explosive kick so relies on his fast tempo to keep him up there. Should the big mountain boys attack in strength then he'll get blown off the mountain and at best make top 10. If the attacks are limited and the tempo is kept high then with his proven TT record a podium is a outside posibility. He needs Uran to be on top form as I feel he could make an great lieutenant for him up in the mountains.

Depends entirely on the podcast really but I find that they help fill the gap left by the coverage cycling receives in the UK. Consider it a bit of a 'Boots n All' or 'The Super League Show' for cycling. A bit of good old fashioned cycling related punditry mixed in with some hating of doping and a few useful tips for when it comes to selecting the all important fantasy cycling team.

They're always negative towards anything Team Sky related.

Read somewhere that EBH was supposed to ride 500m on the front and ended up doing 5k. Agree about the importance of Uran, Michael Rogers' absence will also be a big loss for Sky.

Armstrong soap opera continues... www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... laims.html

Armstrong soap opera continues... www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... laims.html

Not sure I would describe them as negative. I just think Sky entered the sport with the wrong attitude and a stated aim which was way too lofty. Can't blame the podcasts for rightly ripping the pish when they failed.

Team Sky have had a good 2011 so far, 2010 was just awful for them but that can happen was the bar is set too high.

I just love the fact we have a British professional cycling team. Long may it continue

Quote ="StuMain"Armstrong soap opera continues... www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... laims.html'" OK, lets imagine that the grand jury verdict is that he doped. Will he confess or continue to fight it?

Quote ="StuMain"Armstrong soap opera continues... www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... laims.html'" OK, lets imagine that the grand jury verdict is that he doped. Will he confess or continue to fight it?

So the Cav to sky, will he, won't he saga takes another turn!

The Sky stated aim - wasn't it for a Brit to win the Tdf within 5 years? We'll come back to that.

It's a move which is as baffling as it is obvious.

Obvious - With the Worlds this year being the best chance Cav had of wearing the rainbow jersey just how good does the rainbow jersey being on a Brit in a Brit team?

Obvious - Sky have tried to make a point to Cav this year that they have a sprint train too - see Tour of California for details.

Most obvious - The Olympic road race. Its fair to say that the majority of the British team will be from Team Sky. With Cav training with them and riding as part of the same team this gives him a great chance of winning the Gold medal.

Obvious - Rod Ellingworth being a coach on Team Sky.

Baffling - the stated aim of winning the Tdf within 5 years goes up in smoke but......................it was a silly chuffing aim anyway!!

The Tdf - yes it is the biggest stage race in cycling but there is so much more to the sport than that. Plus - do we really have a cyclist who could fulfill that ambition right now?

Sky need to change their tactics to raising the profile of the sport within Britain. Having a guy who wins the most stages during the biggest race of the year would most definately do that. If we build a culture of road racing in the UK then in my view, the future Tdf winner will appear anyway.