Gossip dello Giorno

____________ Edition.

Notice to our readers: The writer charged with producing the introduction and title for the Gossip is on strike this week, protesting insufficient wages. The Nerve! We can not predict how long this strike will last. We apologize for any inconvience this lamentable situation may cause, and hope you will forgive us.

We begin today with a Unibrow sighting! Danilo Napolitano won Thursday's stage of the Tour of Portugal. This win is Napolitano's fourth success of the season, and was not without a dash of drama. A mechanical at 40 km to go left the Unibrowed One off the back. He chased for 20 km, before regaining the field. Francisco Pacheco of Barbot-Siper finished second and Martin Garrido of Palmeiras Resort-RAV finished third. Lampre is a sponsor of the race, and Napolitano said the victory gave him "grand joy."

Cycling's most wanted. Four major teams are hoping to convince Carlos Sastre to wear their jersey next year. Sastre's current team, CSC-Saxo Bank is, not surprisingly, among them. How do you solve the problem of Andy? The younger Schleck won the white jersey during this year's Tour, and has openly expressed his ambition to ride for the podium next year. Even Riis may not be able to keep the team love alive under those circumstances. Sastre hopes to make his decision before the Vuelta, where he will start wearing dossard #1.

It's Vacation for Vincenzo. Last seen suffering through the Olympic crono, Vincenzo Nibali will at last take a break from racing. He rode both the Giro and the Tour before contesting both events in Beijing. His next race will be on 8 September, when he will start the Tour of Missouri for Liquigas. He is also among those riders who may ride for the Azurri at Worlds.

Ivano Fanini of Amore e Vita is at it again. Fanini likes to talk about doping. In light of the Sella and Ricco doping cases, he said, "The victories in the last Giro were not clean... The riders who finished behind Sella and Ricco should rebel, but perhaps they do not because they have something to hide." Leonardo Bertagnolli, who in our last episode won the GP di Camaiore, has meanwhile threatened to sue Fanini over his accusations in the press that Bertag had spent time training with Ferrari in his secret hide-out. No word as to whether the rider or the doctor wore women's clothing on this outing.

Jacquas Hanegraaf, manager to the bad boy of Dutch cycling, has now confirmed the divorce of Dekker and Rabobank. Sadly, he did not tell us who got the house. Or, just how much money Rabobank paid to end Dekker's contract a year early. We're going to go out on a limb and say, many, many euros. The 23 year old must now find a new team. SWM iso new team for fun and bike racing. Likes: time trialing, Italian doctors, and short boardshorts. You: must be willing to overlook past anomalies, and should not insist on seeing medical dossiers or knowing exact whereabouts at all times. Potential for long-term commitment. Astrological sign: Virgo. Secret Fetish: Posing nude.

On the subject of Rabobank and divorces, Michael Boogerd and the team have decided to part ways. Boogerd, who retired last year, is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Details are scarce. Perhaps he will pose for dental advertisments?

I am not dead. So said John Gadret after winning the third stage of the Tour de l'Ain. Last seen abandoning the Tour de France during the 7th stage, Gadret has returned to racing. "I never had any doubts," he said and explained that at the highest levels, it is not always possible to be at the top. It's possible that the climber from AG2R will ride the Vuelta, though the team has not yet decided its roster. Of course, Gadret is looking forward to cyclo-cross season. Here at the Gossip we think 'cross sounds way more fun than the Vuelta. But that's just us.

Speaking of the Tour de l'Ain and returning from the dead, Linus Gerdemann is also back to racing and winning. Last seen crashing out of Tirreno-Adriatico, the talented German won the overall at the Tour de l'Ain. Gerdemann said he was pleasantly surprised by the victory. He had feared that he might not be able to return to the highest levels, as his injuries were severe. Gerdemann's form "remains far from 100 percent," though, despite his surprised victory. He reports still some pain "here and there," but believes that he will again reach his best level in time to begin next season. Gerdemann will next head to Italy for some one-day racing, then ride the Deutschland Tour. Worlds in Varese is a possibility, though he is not yet thinking so far ahead.

Jens! Voigt is thinking ahead. Mighty perspicacious of him. Does that word mean what we think it means? Probably not. The copy editor is also on strike. But we are being digressing. Voigt will not ride in Varese this year, saying that his season has been plenty long already. Next up for Voigt is the GP de Plouay on 25 August and the Deutschland Tour beginning 29 August.

Though he remains under contract with Cofidis until the end of next season, Maxim Monfort is considering his options. Already several teams, including Team Columbia, are knocking on his door. The young Belgian climber - an oxymoron for sure - finished third in the young riders' competition at the Tour de France. Maybe he was switched at birth.

David Wiens won the Leadville 100 race, yet again. We've lost count as to exactly how many times Wiens has won Leadville. Many, we believe. HWMNBN, WBCMNBM, finished second. Wiens set a new course record along the way.

Due to the injuries he received at the Tour de France, Damiano Cunego opted not to ride the Olypmics this year. But somehow, the anti-doping authorities did not get the memo, and still wanted to test him. During the Tour de France, Cunego was called for not-so-random testing nearly every day. Now, Cunego is getting called for "random" tests at races he doesn't even start. Popular guy, that Cunego.

After the news of Spanish rider Moreno's positive test for EPO, the technical director for the German women's team, Jochen Dornbusch, in Beijing declared that all Spanish riders should be disqualified from competition for a year. Hanka Kupfernagel, agrees and told the press "Italy and Spain should be excluded for a year from competition." She said it is "not easy" to compete against those who use banned substances, and called Spain and Italy "problem countries." Etorri Torre weeps in his capuccino, and wonders how Kupfernagel could forget where the University of Freiburg is.

How about a few Olympic crono reactions? Stefan Schumacher, disappointed with his failure to achieve a medal in the crono, said he simply never adapted to the heat and humidity of the climate. "I'm still young," he said and hopes to contest the next Olympics in London. Fabian Cancellara, winner of the crono, called the course "very difficult," and said he was "very happy" to win. Cancellara will return home with two medals from Beijing. Levi Leipheimer was "very motivated after missing the Tour." "I have worked very hard to come here, and it has paid off." Second place Gustav Larsson, who collapsed at the finish, had this to say: "People don’t understand the suffering it takes. From 100 metres after the start to the finish it was torture." According to Swedish media, it took Larsson just over an hour to ride the crono, and nearly twice that to complete the post-race doping control. (Thanks to Cafe-ster Jens for the Larsson bits. Used without permission, of course. Because it's better to apologize, than ask permission.)

Kristin Armstrong called her gold medal ride "the race of my life." "I have dreamed of this since I was a baby," she said. She spent a great deal of time training on the track to increase her power, and previewed the course, which she said was not the kind of crono anyone was "in the habit of riding." After her ride, she waited at the finish until the last rider had crossed, ignoring the demands of officials and anti-doping authorities. Karin Thürig called the course beautiful, but said she was suffering so much she didn't really notice it. Christine Thorburn, meanwhile, did not know she was close to the bronze medal, as her radio failed during the race. All the same, she was really happy for Kristin Armstrong. Jeannie Longo was pleasantly surprised with her fourth place, saying that she lost a few seconds at the end. She has not ruled out an appearance at the 2012 London games, when if she raced, she would be 53 years young. Little wonder Hanka Kupfernagel has called Longo her idol in the sport. As for Kupfernagel herself, she said "It was very hard, and I fought, but it was not my day today."

Over at Gazzetta, they have given us a lovely gallery of cycling road race photos. Due to their sad addiction to Java script at Gazzetta, we can not give you a direct linky. Silly kids, Java is for the espresso machine. So misguided. Scroll down to Foto Gallery, and find yourself some ciclismo. Try not to get too distracted by the women's volleyball gallery. Made you look.

That's all for this edition of the Gossip. Be assured we will be back pronto. With the Olympics, well, there's a little less Gossip to go around. But this too shall pass. And soon there will be more bike races, more transfers, and more silly things for us to heckle. We so heart the heckling here at the Gossip.