[* Information herein may not resemble reality.]
I can't reveal my sources or even say if I have any, but if it turns out to be true that treble Tour winner Alberto Contador is reformatting his Specialized alliance with the soon-to-be-renamed Saxo Bank squad and Bjarne Riis, remember you read it here first! Actually there are rumors flying that Contador was seen at the airport in Copenhagen, though Bert says he's headed to Belgium. Close enough for your average journo desperate to break the big (and more or less unbreakable ) story! And that, my friends, is the state of modern journalism.
If this doesn't happen tomorrow, there may be some hell to pay. Danish TV2, for example, will not be interrupted by reality or anything else until this happens. And tomorrow when Riis announces that he's close to signing with an unnamed sponsor and has no transfers to report, the silence at TV2 will be deafening. I love their note about scheduling:
Follow the press conference LIVE :: tv2.dk is obviously in place when Team Saxo Bank Tuesday at 11:00 the press conference.
Obviously. Dur. Anyway, "speculation is heating up," which means journalists are furiously re-linking to the same rumor, so there has to be some truth to it. I refuse to miss out on the fun, and will not let journalistic standards get in my way. So you heard it here first: Contador will announce that he's joining Riis. And he will sign a four year contract worth $10 million, and will bring three -- no, four!, no! FIVE! top climbing lieutenants with him. Mark it zero dude.
Photo by Doug Pensiger, Getty Images Sport