OK, so I'm mixing metaphors. Somehow I don't think the riders are taking feedbags at night. But as my uncles would say, waddayagonnadoo? Actually, I wasn't raised on the set of the Sopranos, I just need to watch less TV.
- Not that I recommend wading into the Landis mess, but CN is ebullient about Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, who testified on Landis' behalf that the testing is flawed. VN is also upbeat. Wade through the whys if you must... but remember, they just did direct exam of the witness (the part where he gets his story out); cross-examination starts tomorrow. So much for turning that frown upside down?
- The CN Notes have some precious quotes today, including Ale-Jet's nod to his fans for not winning Monday down the road from his family crib in La Spezia. Petacchi took his lumps like a man:
"We all know that Napolitano is a strong rider. He's a different sprinter than me. I like to take a long sprint and he has a short punch in the last 50-100 meters. Here's very explosive and it's obvious he's one of the best sprinters in this year's Giro."
- Rider to watch: Caisse d'Epargne's David Arroyo, one of the riders who was spotted 4.19 by the peloton Sunday. At 1.43 behind Marco Pinotti, he's a full three minutes clear of the nearest GC contender, DiLuca, and five minutes up on Gibo Simoni. Will the heads of state regret this oversight? Arroyo can climb, and might be hard to shake in the mountains. Of course, last seen in a time trial, he dropped 8.30 at the Tour's last ITT, and 5.38 at the previous one. Still, it's not likely he was set loose on those courses, and if he can limit his losses in both disciplines, he might never go away.
- No hour spent messing around at YouTube is ever wasted, but if you search Giro 2007 you get lots of home clips, including a shot of the peloton rolling thru Cassino. You can also find great battle footage from the Battle of Monte Cassino... which somehow brings up a video of sexy Japanese volleyball players. But I digress.