Sorry, this blog has become a poor step-child of the main one at Chain Reaction! But with the racing season really getting underway with Milan San Remo in just a few hours, it’s time to get back to work. For starters, we need to go over the Contador doping issue. First he’s suspended, then let off the hook by his own government’s cycling federation, and now the UCI, the overall governing board for professional cycling world-wide, appears ready to appeal the local federation’s dismissal and reinstate the suspension. Things should be getting interesting very shortly!

One thing in Contador’s favor is the recent testing of 28 athletes returning from China, 22 of whom tested positive for Clenbuterol, the same drug Contador was busted for. The significance here is that it’s highly unlikely those athletes were actually doping but had, in fact, eaten contaminated beef.