Amidst the he-sad, she-said concerning the conclusion of yesterday's race, rumor has it that the Giro d'Italia actually came to an end. Not that I could say for sure, since OLN needs 7 hours to edit the video, but the wires are all saying Robert Forster won the day's sprint in Milan, Paolo Bettini nabbed the points, and Ivan Basso strode home a champion. What I do know is that if Basso could do it all over again, he'd probably put about 10 minutes into Simoni to consign him firmly to the oblivion he should soon inhabit.
- Race reports: Cycling News, or perhaps good old Pez, or as always BiciRace.
- As for Basso-Simoni II, the matter has gotten downright nasty, with Simoni now claiming, incredibly, that Basso tried to extort money from him in exhange for letting him win the stage. La Gazzetta dello Sport has the bizarre exchange that took place this morning before the start, with the two going head-to-head. Eurosport follows up too.
- The only real racing out there was in Belgium, where Gert Steegmans spoiled Tom Boonen's stage aspirations, and Maarten Tjingililil held on for an unexpected overall win.
- More Giro fallout: CyclingNews and La Gazzetta both track down yesterday's fireworks.
- Sam Abt looks at it from a diffierent angle: that Simoni's "alien" commentwas a subtle drug charge. Gutierrez too may face a whisper campaign after so many obscure years.
- Speaking of le dopage, Eurosport with the latest from Spain.
- If you're still wondering what Dario Cioni thinks, trust me, you're in the minority.