Male cyclist have this type of conversation at some point in their life.

Alexandre Vinokourov’s return to the Pro Cycling Peloton has been met with much derision from the start. Vino was a much loved rider in the early part of the decade for his “attack at any moment” style of riding. He displayed grit and toughness that made many fans across the globe.

Then in 2007 Vino posted an outrageous performance in the Tour de France to comeback and win two stages back-to-back. For Vino fans this was a highlight moment that was only deflated days later when doping tests revealed a homologous blood transfusions. Vino went away from Pro Cycling immediately and vowed to clear his name, a vow that rang much like OJ Simpson trying to find the “real killers”. Vino provided no excuse and no defense to his dope test and seemed to all to be guilty as charged. This would be the end of the story for most riders except for Vino who decided to re-establish his place on the team he helped form from the ashes of Liberty Seguros a few years earlier.

Vino was determined to comeback and start pretty much where he left off. For die-hard fans of cycling this is a tough turn of events. The cyclist who seemed to bombastically make a mockery of doping at the Tour is deciding to comeback without a public apology or even an attempt at a defense. Compare to other high profile cyclist who were busted or highly conspicuous such as Basso, Landis and Ullrich.

Ivan Basso’s milquetoast defense of “I never actually doped” and his cooperation with the law helped to redeem him to most fans. His comeback has shown he does not have the same level of form as before. Could this be due to his two years off or the fact that he is not doping? The last year away from top results helped make amends to his fans so if Basso were to win, there would not be the same level of animosity as we see with Vino.

Floyd Landis put a very aggressive defense and could have almost won, short of a 2/3 decision. Floyd eventually came back, but was limited to the US Domestic peloton where he did not get many results with OUCH!. Landis just barely latched onto the Bahati team after a switch to Rock Racing fell through. He put in his time, but is not back to the same form he possessed when winning the Tour in 2006. This could be a result of Landis not having the opportunity to race in Europe. No Pro-Tour squad will want to get near Landis since they could risk a spot in the Tour. The ASO has been burned by Landis and they do not seem eager to include him in the future.

The Landis situation makes Vino’s comeback more rage inducing. Landis can’t get a ride or be seen next to the color yellow short of the ASO get upset. Meanwhile we will have to endure the prospect of Vino and Contador riding down the Champs Elysee together.

Jan Ullrich retired from the sport in 2006 and continues to be hounded by doping allegations. He put his time into the sport and quit when the allegations became too much. He did not attempt to comeback with the same form to prove anything to anyone.

Now we have the case of Vino who seems to be back to his usual form with no explanations or excuses. How can a fan or former racer explain Vino’s resumption of form after two years off?

Jonathan Vaughters could not explain this when asked by Phil Liggett.

Phil Liggett: “so, Jonathan, how is it these guys can come back from suspension and still ride so well?” JV: “Ummmmm…. Uhhhh….”

So what do we do now? Vino did serve his time of two years off and owes nobody any excuses. His home country still sees him as a hero, so the Astana conglomerate funding the team is happy. So I guess we should get used to seeing Vino on the podium while we cringe.

Big Photos from Steephill.tv

Gilbert Duclos Lasalle and Anderi Tchmil used them to great effect way back when, but they lost favor since the shows seemed a bit excessive.

The Road Diaries on Flickr

Thor did one better than last year’s third place which featured a crash on a fast turn on the cobbles.

Say hello to Jeff Hoover and Bryan Blake.

Fabian Cancellara gets back into the lead in the Vuelta after the critical stage 6 TT.

A racer wants to know only one thing. Win first, bike second, your own injury third.

Jens Voight in 2007 after Stuart O’Grady crashed.

Direct link to video interview

Sorry Lemond, please get your shit together if you are going to tear down the sport that gave you your success and fame.

Update, Lemond will sounds very coherent in the above video if you watch this video first.

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong just missed his chance to cap off his 2009 comeback Tour with a Maillot Jaune presented by Ben Stiller. Instead, Fabian Cancellara had to accept Greg Focker’s kisses on the podium. Maybe it was a calculated move to not have the guy who cost him an $85 fine for lingering at a French coffee shop put a yellow jersey on his back. Plus, you don’t want to tire out your Astana team too soon with the job of defending the Jersey for more time than necessary. One cyclist “in the know” noted that Lance was the fifth person across the line and let up every so slightly to maybe cause the close micro-second difference.

But who has that much presence of mind after rocketing through 39km on a twisty TTT course that caused some top riders and half the Bbox Bouyges Team to crash?

The prospect of donning the Yellow and stamping his authority on the team as they head into the tougher stages would be tempting. But the true GC leaders don’t worry about wearing the Yellow in the fourth stage of the Tour, they would rather wait until the last day.

For Bjarne Riis, keeping the Yellow after another battle in the TTT with Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong must be sweet. In 2005 Team CSC was defending the Yellow Jersey vs. the Discovery Channel team when David Zabriske mysteriously crashed in the last kilometer. Zabriske lost the jersey to Lance Armstrong and probably left the CSC squad stinging from the bad luck. Today Saxo Bank pulled back one second in the last section to keep Cancellara in Yellow. Cancellara could be seen at the front for most of the final sector pulling his team along to a respectable finish. This is no small task since the Andy and Franck Schleck are not very good Time Trialers, while Astana is stacked with TT experts.

The new Astana kit design by Johan Bruyneel to show his dissatisfaction with the non-payment of salaries reminds me of this clip from Family Guy.