I don't feel like doing multiple fanposts, so I'll cobble together a little notes piece...
- So apparently Leif Hoste has been suffering headaches... due to a crack in his brain. From the gnomes:
Hoste and his brains went under the scanner and there was a tear in his brain down. "Through the crack I lose cerebrospinal fluid, so I get headaches at the slightest exertion."
He apparently sees a quick cure on the horizon, albeit surgery up his nose. Honestly, what these guys go through... - Huzzah! The best classics rider with no wins on his record for several years finally has a win on his record! No, not Davide Rebellin... Actually, Bjorn Leukemans wins about once a year, but they're not overly memorable, or even watchable in most cases: Druivenkoerse Overijse, a stage of L'Etoile de Besseges, a stage in Austria... Kind of odd for a guy who's a fixture in the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix top tens.
- Today in And There Was Much Rejoicing, Philippe Gilbert has taken a pass on Sunday's Vattenfall Cyclassic. Even gods need to rest, or at least they like to now and then. Which means Edvald Boasson Hagen or Marcel Kittel is free to win it instead. Eddy Boss is confirmed, but a number of other sprinter types are not. Tyler Farrar, winner of the last two, is at the Ronde van Spanje, as is Mark Cavendish. No reports yet on the Gorilla, who would be a top pick at Germany's top classic.