Bookie Needed

Slowly getting over our snit about Lance Armstrong, the writer has to admit that Astana manager, Johan Bruyneel, played his cards perfectly. Seen on Saturday's stage decked out in Livestrong gear (thus proving, we think, our take that the entire exercise was mostly a marketing effort for non-Kazakh company), the very sharp Belgian got both the Tour win and his main man onto the podium amidst a phenomenal amount of media coverage. Our suspicion is that he is an investor in Armstrong's company. But all this is milk spilled below a bridge - overshadowed, as it is, by two news items.

The first, being a standard issue 'what did happen', is that Bruyneel and Armstrong were jumping Astana to start a new team sponsored by American electronics retailer, Radio Shack.

The second, being what inexplicably (according to irate Spanish commentators) failed to take place, consists of the observation that Alberto Contador passed on an absolutely riskless run for the super prestigious stage win on Mont Ventoux in order to go back and help his thought-to-be mortal enemy, Lance Armstrong, in his podium battle with Frank Schleck.

Given that...

1). Bruyneel will gut Astana on his departure;

2). The return of Aleksander Vinokurov to this team is going to be even more problematic for Contador than was Lance's arrival;

3). The general take is that a Spanish-sponsored team with Contador at the helm will not be ready for 2010;

4). The only European race of interest to a purely American sponsor is the Tour de France (Armstrong knew where his interests lay) and the only position to finish is first;

5). Contador is the best thing going by a margin - with all the respect due Andy Schleck...

...we see Alberto's pass on the stage win as, at the very least, an indication that the bridge under which the milk was spilled has not suffered the added indignity of being burned.

The real question, however, is: Where can we put a few pesetas on that one?

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