I sat here at the computer Tuesday afternoon and thought hard what I should write for this Blick... and had very few ideas. I decided to wait for Wednesday morning and hope that inspiration would strike, or that something that would be worth writing about would happen in the cycling world. Well, something did happen, and I think it came as a big surprise to just about everyone.

The Lion King is retiring! What a surprise, or perhaps only the timing is a surprise. To many he is the embodiment of an Italian man - self-assured, even arrogant, handsome - and unquestionably talented, and he dearly loved his home race, the Giro d'Italia. It is therefore all the more astonishing that he chose this point in time, so close to the Giro start, to announce that his great career is over. But when it's time, then it's time. Perhaps he sensed that his time was over and that he would accomplish nothing in the upcoming Giro. It's always better to go out with the head held high than bowed down in shame and embarassment. We bid goodbye to a great personality and a great athlete, who will be sorely missed.

L-B-L on Sunday was an outstanding race and one of the greatest finishes I ever saw. How many kilometers did we suffer along with Vino and Voigt - would they make it? Would the peloton catch them? And then at the very end when it became clear that one of them would win, it was equally nerve-wracking. Who would have the greatest sprinting skill, the most strength left, perhaps the most mental and emotional strength, to be able to take the win? Voigt, the master of the breakaway and a most sympathetic man? Or Vinokourov, seeking his form for the Tour and looking for T-Mobile's first season victory? Most fans in Germany would happily have accepted either as winner.