Daily Dose - 7/17

Let's get straight to some news items.....

Versus Won't Soft-PedalBiking's Woes
Thankfully they haven't given up on cycling like many other mediums. If sponsors took the advice of one marketing strategist then Versus would be forced to drop the sport, but companies like Cervelo, Specialized, Miller Beer and Visa realize the opportunity to reach valuable consumers exist. To completely abandon a sport due to a few scandals would be a bad strategy, especially considering it doesn't stop advertisers from sticking with baseball despite rampant steroid scandals. Moreover, anyone thinking there's not a drug problem in the other major sports has their head in the sand.

Treated Like the Winner, but Unsure That He Is
Pereiro is unsure because he's not the winner, and even if declared the winner he'll know he's not the winner. Dope or no dope. Don't forget the only reason Pereiro was on the podium was because the peloton allowed a breakaway containing Pereiro gain almost 30 minutes on a stage. I'm not knocking his result, but it's important to put it into perspective.

Millar responds to crowds
Starting the Tour in London for the first time ever was a huge success, and David Millar was in a dream wonderland the whole time.

Because I found the Millar article I was able to find this article.....

Pendleton strikes the pose of a future Olympic champion
Give her gold! Looks like another potential Olympic medalist with obvious endorsement opportunities. Check out the slide show.

Change of gear for sport of lost souls
An interesting write-up from Paul Kimmage. The comments from the German officials about canceling the World Championships this year should encourage the sport to strip them of the privilege of hosting the race. Canceling events is not a viable solution. Ask baseball how that worked for them when the World Series was canceled. Ask the NHL how it worked for them by canceling an entire season. No, the sport must continue as the ugliness of doping is stamped out.

Race Tech: Tour de France - Bikes of the prologue
Mouth watering.

UCI asks support staff to join riders in signing anti-doping pledge
Every single stakeholder in the sport should be forced to sign if riders are forced to sign. No requests but rather a pre-requisite. Either sign it or don't work in the sport. You're either against it 100% or you're hedging your bets. Nope, put all your chips on the table. They're all guilty and should share the responsibility of cleaning up the mess by putting their livelihoods on the line.

Not only riders need a push but sometimes the team cars as well
Time penalty you think?

An Age-Defying Quest (Red Wine Included)
No blog would be complete of course without a mention of wine. Resveratrol is continuing to potentially become the wonder drug of the future, and one that may help us all to live a longer life. Which would I rather do; take a pill or pour some Pinot Noir from the bottle? Come on now, I think you know my answer. Plus, you just know resveratrol would end up on WADA's banned list anyway!

Pounding the pedals with Floyd Landis
Jim Caple of ESPN.com spent some time with Landis recently on a ride through Seattle. As Landis says, "'OK, fine. Don't believe me. But....." There's always a but isn't there? We could do without the f-bombs Floyd. Respect and credibility goes out the window if our words aren't chosen more wisely.

Discovery's Leipheimer still in the Tour game
Johan Bruyneel sums it up well about Leipheimer, "He's a smart rider, a very economical rider. He's not a rider of extremes. He's very regular." Key word there being "regular." After watching the last two mountain stages his assessment is more right on than he's stressing.

It doesn't appear that any one rider is prepared to take control of the Tour, or is it they simply cannot seize it? There isn't a lot of aggression coming from the leaders, but men going for stage wins only are laying it on the line each day. The Alps haven't given us a clear indication of the top three favorites, but the upcoming Pyrenees and individual time-trials will clear a path to yellow in Paris.

It appears parity has taken the Tour by storm. Parity works well if you're selling advertising spots for NFL games, but cycling enjoys a dominant figure to either love or hate. The upside of parity is that it means unpredictable racing each day unlike the years of Armstrong, but it also keeps riders from showing their talents to the fullest extent.