By Tick of Cycling4Fans

Lately all the weekends seem to have been dominated by one team or the other, and so we can color the last weekend baby blue. Congratulations to the sparkling water boys of Gerolsteiner for their first ever World Cup win, and let's not forget Robert Förster's win at the smaller Gronigen-Münster race on Saturday. Presumably the winners were toasted with something other than the sponsor's mineral water...

Great excitement in the US as the pro cycling circus invades Georgia. I gather the whole debate as to who will win comes down to Lance v. Bobby -- gosh, are they really the only two riding this race? And then there is always the question of how Mario Cipollini will cope with those dreaded Georgia mountains; perhaps he would rather spend his time getting to know some of those lovely Georgia belles....

Miss Georgia USA, Caroline Medley, will be in the "other" Rome - Rome, Georgia - this week...is it a sign???
Courtesy Miss Georgia USA, photo by Fadil Berisha.

By the way, nothing against those mountains! I was coincidentally there last summer and I'm the first to say I would never even think of biking up them! But let's face it, the deep South just can't boast of a Tourmalet or Alpe d'Huez.

But as far as I'm concerned, the major question about this race is: Why is it the Tour DE Georgia? Why not use the good old all-American Tour OF Georgia?

Dario Pieri of Saeco apparently knows how to get himself in bad with the bosses. A simple report that he would be operated on for a groin cyst suddenly expanded into a nasty statement from the team, blasting him for, among other things, his refusal to follow team medical advice, his "generally damaging lifestyle," his problem with overweight, and his general attitude.

The real kicker was "...the real problem of this rider: his incapacity to lead the life style of a true professional rider." And the team notes that it is "reserving every right to make decisions regarding his contractual position with the team." Words that many a rider should take to heart......