Hava Nagila: I Can't Believe I'm Here

I'm embarrassed for you, Levi!

(Photo:Casey Gibson/VeloNews)

Old Guys Don't Win In Pro Cycling

I'm actually surprised I missed this one. Mongo usually has a nose for dopers like a pig onto some Truffles. Here was an obvious case hiding in plain sight.

Thirty seven year old Davide Rebellin, who just won Fleche-Wallonne, has been busted for using CERA during the Olympic Games last year.

Oh, and guess what? He won the Silver Medal. Guess what else? He rode for Gerolsteiner last year...Along with Michael Schumacher and Bernard Kohl. All busted for CERA! Look at Rebellin's results from the past year and a half...all accomplished over the age of thirty six. The results are so strong that I'm amazed he slipped under the radar for so long.

2008
1st, Tour du Haut Var
1st overall, Paris-Nice
4th, Milan-Sanremo
4th, Amstel Gold Race
6th, La Flèche Wallonne
2nd, Liège-Bastogne-Liège
3rd, Clásica de San Sebastián
2nd, Olympic Road Race
4th, UCI Road World Championship
2009
1st, two stages, Vuelta a Andalucia
1st, La Flèche Wallonne
3rd, Liège-Bastogne-Liège

(Photo:VeloNews)

Secret Spy Photo: Mongo In Training

Finally...Some Hair On Your Huevos

An-orexic Schleck wins the final Spring Classic, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, like a man...in a solo breakaway. If this kid can get strong in the TT, he'll be a Grand Tour winner.

Though I consider Bjarne Riis the chemical spill on top of Johan Bruyneel's oil slick, I have no beef with A-Schleck...other than the fact that he could use some.

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

Six Hundred

Mongo is a creature of ritual...In this case, I'm not talking about the small woodland animal or stray cat kind of ritual, or as it's known in my house, "Thursday"...but instead, the preparation prior to a big ride.

I get almost as much joy and satisfaction in cleaning and prepping my bikes as I do riding them.

The sound and feel of a dialed-in bike operating at the peak of it's performance is unmistakable.

Good To Have You Back

Ivan Basso wins the Giro del Trentino. It's his first win since coming off his doping suspension.

I like Basso...so I really hope he's clean and working hard to become one of the premier cyclists in the sport once again.

Say It Ain't So

Mongo has been living in a fantasy world when it comes to his favorite rider, Andreas Kloden. Though I am as harsh a critic there is when it comes to doping, I have always given my boy a free pass...for no good reason. He was right in the middle of the T-Mobile fiasco with Ullrich and the rest of the cheaters, but he was never accused of anything...until now!

"Andreas Kloden and Matthias Kessler have been implicated in illegal doping practices following an independent investigation, news magazine Der Spiegel reports. The former T-Mobile cyclists are suspected of having received banned blood transfusions by doctors at Freiburg University Clinic, the magazine reports in its edition to appear Monday, quoting the results of an investigation by an expert commission."

It doesn't surprise me, it just makes me even more jaded.

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

Lets Go Kloden Clap Clap Clap-Clap-Clap

Every time I give my boy AK47 some dap on a good performance, he proceeds to go out the next day and stink up the joint. He hasn't been able to string a consistent week together yet this year.

Though his TT results have been strong, his big-mountain climbing has been below par. This was evident during Stage 2 of the Giro del Trentino when he lost over a minute and a half of his lead to the wrong people.

Kloden's teammate, Janez Brajkovic (Pictured), holds the lead with one stage to go. Basso is four seconds back in second and AK47 is in tenth at 1:36.

Naked And Oblivious

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

AK47 Update

Back in the saddle after a short time off, AK wins the opening TT at the Giro del Trentino.

With GC contenders like Basso, Di Luca, Simoni, and Garzelli close behind, this will be a good test of his form.

The Juice Is On High

Mongo correctly predicts Rebellin in first and Cunego in third at Fleche Wallonne. An-orexic Schleck came in second

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

Fleche Wallonne Predictions

1. Davide Rebellin

2. Roman Kreuziger

3. Damiano Cunego

(Photo:VeloNews)

Hammerfestastic

Hmm...Eat less+Train more=Ride stronger...Go figure!

Mongo "will" be ready for the Summer Omnium Series.