Quotes from 2009 - Quotes prior to 2009 "The biggest problem was situated in Pontarlier when George Hincapie just missed out on the yellow jersey. That was stressful. George thought that we had ridden against him, which we did not. George didn't want to speak to any of us. For weeks.” - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews “Eight of the nine riders who did the Tour moved away to another team. Even his [Contador's] room-mate [Sergio Paulinho]. “[If that was me] I’d have looked long in the mirror. I’d never let that happen. Never." - Lance Armstrong VeloNation “I have been through a lot of adversity in my life and I have fought through it and succeeded but the journey has been far from easy." - Amber Neben BicycleRetailer "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." - Ralph Waldo Emerson QuotationDetails "The governor has loudly encouraged people to get out and go walking and lose weight. We want people to pay attention to their personal fitness. It's difficult to encourage people to go out and use the roadways if we don't have laws to protect them." - Brandon Jones ClarionLedger “I have a strong feeling of Déjà Vu. Actually I have no response. In the past, it was no different. This is the umpteenth time that the French media throws these facts up. We cannot possibly defend against [the media reports] and we will not let it disturb our sleep.” - Johan Bruyneel VeloNation "Some believe that Armstrong could have made a stronger push for the yellow jersey; instead he cooled his assault for the benefit of the team. This is a clear indication of the true professional he remains." - Carl Blacker iAfrica "Cocaine brings misery to a lot of people.” - Tom Boonen CyclingNews "By the time of his failed drug test, he was doing his best to support the entire pharmacological industry - EPO, human growth hormone, testosterone, insulin, steroid and amphetamines. No doubt he popped a few aspirin, too." - Twisted Spoke ''It's as if they're saying, 'Hey all you Australian riders you're too shit to have your own race, we're going to throw in some foreigners to spice it up'." - Robbie McEwen TheAge "The AFLD have lost our trust." - Anne Gripper CyclingNews “But, of course, there’s a fine line between crazy stupid and crazy spectacular.” -  Christian Vande Velde VeloNation "Something is fundamentally wrong when the head of the UCI and WADA have to beg Spanish judges to try cases." - Walshworld TwistedSpoke There was only one team I would leave them [Garmin] for, and that's coming home to Team Sky and Dave and all the people who have helped me with my Olympic success." - Bradley Wiggins CyclingWeekly “I’m 38, going to be 39 this racing season, so it would be irresponsible to build the team around me,” - Lance Armstrong VeloNews “For a rider of the characteristics of Petacchi, age is relative. He’s a sprinter who has managed well without exhausting himself. Cipollini won the world championship at 35 years old, perhaps Petacchi can do it at 36 in Australia and 37 in Denmark.” - Giuseppe Saronni VeloNation "Alberto has to learn that fame is temporary. His feet have to come back to the ground." - Johan Bruyneel CyclingNews "Some of the guys that are lining up in the men's junior sprinting are riding sub-11 second, 200-metre time trials and that's a good two to three-tenths [of a second] quicker than I've ever ridden." - Anna Meares TheAge "humiliating and embarrassing but it goes with the territory." - Lance Armstrong Examiner “It’s a serious problem which is only going to get worse as the number of cyclists increases - lots of people are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them. People don’t realize how dangerous listening to music is on the roads - whether pedestrian or cyclist. It takes one of your key senses away. People shouldn’t do it.” - Manpreet Darroch road.cc "In one of the bigger surprises of the week, the UCI announced that it had approved the extension of Astana’s ProTour license." - Padraig RKP "Johan Bruyneel confirmed that RadioShack has signed a contract with Beppu. He said RadioShack had trusted information provided by Beppu that said he was free to sign with their team, which he was not." - Benny Ceulen CyclingNews "So, you can go shoot at someone riding a bike and get four months in jail?" - Nancy Jones Citizen-Times "It is very confusing. You have no privacy as a cyclist. It is almost impossible not to get a warning one time or another.“  - Kim Andersen CyclingNews "He’s [Sastre] got something wrong in his head!” - Andy Schleck CyclingNews "Cycling is good for strengthening muscles, but it does very little for bones." -  Chris Boardman DailyMail “There is always plenty of pressure when I am doing a time trial. Everyone expects me to win every time and it’s this kind of mental pressure that I have to deal with." - Fabian Cancellara BWN "Trek has always supported Greg in his comments about doping in general – those comments are fine, but the specific attacks on individual athletes were not. ‘No comment' would have been a preferable statement to attacks on specific athletes. Trek would have been okay with that." - Trek attorney Ralph Webber CyclingNews "Honestly, I did learn a lot from Johan [Bruyneel] after working [at US Postal/Discovery Channel teams] for four years. He ran a very tight ship and I definitely learned a lot from him about running a team." - Matt White CyclingNews "It was late. We'd drunk quite a bit and when we were walking in front of the town hall, a guy ran by shouting" 'The Wall has come down!' Obviously, we didn't believe him, but little by little everyone came out into the streets." - Olaf Ludwig CyclingNews "All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse." - Benjamin Franklin “He’s [Mark-Paul Gosselaarin] in a different league from all the other public figures who ride a bike. He’s not just out there riding, he’s competing and, in some cases, winning.” - Loren Mooney NYTimes “I still haven’t seen a single kangaroo.” - Floyd Landis BrowneEye "PIL once sang "anger is an energy" and for Eddy you can change it to 'OCD is an energy.'" - Competitive Cyclist "One has to ask the question, 'what's going on here?' What's the agenda? What's the objective? Is it to damage the Tour de France? It doesn't make sense. Cycling and the UCI, as defender of cycling, won't accept it anymore." - Pat McQuaid CyclingNews "He [Chris Hoy] probably did more hours of mental training than he did physical." - Steve Peters BBC “For my family and friends it does not matter whether I race in the red and white of Denmark or the black of New Zealand. But I'm curious as to how the Danish spectators will receive me, I hope I will not be booed." - Linda Melanie Villumsen CyclingNews "I'll die someday & I spend time daily trying to get cool with the idea. When my time comes I hope it's not on the bike." - CompetitiveCyclist "...go take a long,hard look at yourself and be critical. It can only be a good thing!" - Rory Sutherland CyclingNews "If there weren't cars, we wouldn't need stop signs. They're not there for bicycles.... You didn't need stop signs until cars were in common use. You just looked in the eyes of the other guy and it sorted itself out." - Andy Thornley TreeHugger "Cyclists in the United States do not have a reputation for successful activism. Causes to which their efforts would be well applied rarely get the effort they deserve." - Padraig RKP "Is it ridiculous to be excited about a bike race route announced nine months in advance? Probably. Do any of the millions of us who can't wait care? Absolutely not." - John Swart TheStandard "We're pawns in their game. We're just riders, it doesn't matter what we think." - Bradley Wiggins BrisbaneTimes “One thing that I learned is that my bike didn’t come visit me in the hospital. Even if it had, I couldn’t put my arms around it." - Marco Rullo WestLinn "At the beginning of the year I was riding with Cavendish in Qatar and he's a very nice guy." - Eddy Merckx EuroSport "On Wednesday in Paris, the top three of the 2009 Tour,   Alberto Contador,   Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong will be there as well as Mark Cavendish." - Christian Prudhomme Reuters "We were in Copenhagen (at the International Olympic Committee meetings) and I asked my colleagues from other sports if they had a definition [of gender] and nobody has one. But nobody (else) has had the problem so far." - Pierre Weiss USAToday "Watching Stephen Roche ride made you feel almost like you should just quit. His style was so fluid and seemed effortless." Joe Parkin 6 Years in a Rain Cape "...a bike is such a multipurpose tool. It's a toy. It's a piece of exercise equipment. It's a mode of transportation. And so really it's very common to have many trends at once." - Loren Mooney AP "One thing is clear: without water carriers, even a Lance Armstrong would never have won one single Tour." - Bernhad Kohl CyclingNews "Riders have lost their instinct and have become dependent on the orders from their car and the racing has become increasingly controlled. Radio communication has eliminated many of the variables which make cycling exciting and appealing to the public." - Michael Barry VeloNews "I need to rest both mentally and physically before thinking towards next season and resuming training." - Alejandro Valverde AFP "Sure - no problem - boy, am I handsome!" -  Jens Voigt RoadCycling "The Z5 was Pam Anderson in spray paint while the Z4 was Pam Anderson in … burlap sack." - Padraig RKP "I also have to think about me and my ambitions to race at a highest level. There is no [chance] that I am racing in a Pro Continental team." - Pierrick Fédrigo CyclingNews "I want to create a team that I wish I was on as a kid." - Axel Merckx CyclingNews "We've had a difficult year, and that's putting it mildly. Cadel's World title makes up for it." - Marc Sergeant CyclingNews "Hollywood celebrities? No. I prefer the sporting ones." - Patrick Dempsey Boston.com "There were plenty of autograph signings, lots of beer being served and wrenches trying to score schwag, but the one thing retailers told me over and over was that they weren’t placing orders." - Padraig at Interbike RKP "Being part of last year's Tour de France team was an unbelievable experience. Looking at where the team came from and to compete at that level was really special. Not that many people get that opportunity and it was a huge privilege." - Will Frischkorn CyclingNews "I had a little extra motivation today because I am retiring. This is my last week of racing and I wanted to give everything I possibly could." - Kristin Armstrong AFP "When it comes to unveiling fresh ideas, Interbike has been the place to see new gear. Still, Interbike is a trade show and shooting holes in it is easier than aiming a shotgun at a stop sign on a back road." - Padraig RedKitePrayer "Just be careful with the weights though, because lifting the things has been known to cause extreme boredom. We're talking going-to-the-opera style boredom there, too - cruel and inhumane punishment." - Joe Parkin 6 Years in a Rain Cape “When we started Selling Cycling in 1995, retailers kept asking for more content, and suppliers were not even thinking about brand-specific training. Now retail training time is stretched thin, and the supply brands are exploring their training options as well.” - Ray Keener BicycleRetailer "Gary Fisher's new Superfly 100 debunks nearly every possible argument put forth against 29"-wheeled dual-suspension race bikes: it's light, it's stiff, it handles brilliantly, and most importantly, it's brutally fast." - James Huang CyclingNews "I’m not saying it has the best fit, temperature management or aerodynamics, or is the only jersey that does neo-retro right. I’m saying that when it comes to paying homage to the sport’s soul by flagellating yourself upon the altar of detail, Rapha is the Eddy Merckx of bike wear.” - Bill Strickland Bicycling "I think probably one day there will be a breakaway in the Tour of Missouri but who knows when that will happen? I've been working for the guys, but I think I'll take my chances on a breakaway this race. You never know." - Floyd Landis CyclingNews "It finally came together. It was hard all day. It was a horrible stage, with more than 3,000 meters of climbing. I wasn’t optimistic to make it in the front group today, but the team was there for me all day, keeping me in position, passing me water bottles, supporting me. When we went over that last climb, I had Ryder (Hesjedal) there to help me come back. Dave Millar did a great job in the last kilometer and delivered me perfect for the sprint." - Tyler Farrar VeloNews "Our goal is to get as many stage wins as possible. I would like to finish of the season with a really good race here at the Tour of Missouri. One or two stages wins for Thor would be nice." - Heinrich Haussler CyclingNews "The riders that we are keeping won about 85 per cent of the races we won this year so we are not losing a lot of our fire power." - Bob Stapleton CyclingNews "It's been hard this year, I've crashed more times then I care too. I've been just keeping myself together with tape and glue at this point in time." - Christian Vande Velde CyclingNews "This was my fourth crash of the year that resulted in a fractured bone, so now it's back to the couch to recover once again. The good news - hey, at least I have the routine down!" - Chris Horner OregonLive "I would like to point out that Jacob Mørkeberg in his interpretation of the blood profile emphasizes that the fluctuations - in addition to blood transfusion - can be caused by completely normal biological responses in the body. Mørkeberg therefore has not found that Lance Armstrong is doped - he merely pointed at variations in the blood values." -  Rasmus Damsgaard VeloNews "As much as the French hate the fact that a countryman hasn’t one their national treasure since 1985, that unfortunate record has helped to confirm the fact that the French value fairness above the reputation of French riders." - Padraig RKP "I'm not handicapped by being on the same team as Lance. It makes me ride stronger and better because it pushes me." - Levi Leipheimer CyclingNews "I survived six months in Afghanistan and a year in Iraq, many parachute jumps out of airplanes and other adventures and never broken a bone, and it takes a hit-and-run driver to send me to the hospital with a broken bone." - Pat Rimron BikingBiz "If I have learned anything from my days in the north, and the rest of the season, it is that good positioning in the peloton only goes so far. Real survival comes down to a little luck." - Chris Horner OregonLive "There were not only tensions between him [Contador] and me, but other people [were] involved. There was quiet at the dinner table more than once." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "Most of us have at least one rider on each ride who attempts to talk some sense to the group when the peloton blows a stop sign or sprints into a second lane." - Padraig RKP "In Copenhagen, a third of people already cycle to work, school or the university. There are about 350km (217 miles) of cycle routes around the city. Cyclists have priority over cars and pedestrians at many major junctions and traffic lights." - Maddy Savage  BBC News "I said previously that if my B samples confirmed the positive tests I would retire from cycling but now I've changed my mind and I am certain I will ride again in the Tour of Italy. My lawyers and I have some serious doubts about the method used in the doping tests which have produced positive results. These methods have already given false positives and I think that's the case with me. I would have to be a man without a brain to have used CERA, which stays in the blood and urine for a month, especially during the Giro." - Danilo Di Luca RoadBikeAction “I'm going to be skipping the final stage today of the Eneco tour. My objective going into the race was to win a stage and get the (kilometers) in my legs to be ready for the Vuelta. Looking at the GC going into the final stage, I think I would have had a hard time finishing highly with so many TT specialists within a few seconds, so (sport director) Matt White and I decided I would be better off getting an extra day of rest leading up to the Vuelta.” - Tyler Farrar VeloNews "I was walking in the park looking for cocaine and an hour later I was high. I changed in the way I started using substances.  Instead of alcohol, I started using cocaine completely. My wife divorced me and every girlfriend I had didn't want a guy who used cocaine, which is understandable." - David Clinger CyclingNews "I've said it all year, Lance is like Michael Schumacher, he's like Tiger Woods, he transcends the sport of cycling and he's a world star. His comeback is good for cycling and for the fight against cancer.  Before the start of the race on Friday he spent time with a young girl who is seriously ill with cancer. It's a side of Lance that a lot of people don't know exists but it's what makes him special." - Pat McQuaid Independent "Before I became a board member of World Bicycle Relief last year, I’ll admit that having a bike was something I took for granted. I grew up on a bike and have been surrounded my entire life with some of the most expensive and nicest bikes in the world" - Johan Bruyneel BikeRadar "We Americans live in a country that has amazing natural resources, beautiful countryside, breathtaking mountains, and seemingly endless opportunities. Bobke and I used to joke that all of the guys we were racing with and against would rather be driving a lifted, gas-guzzling 4x4, with a Calvin-peeing-on-something-or-another window sticker than their BMW M3 or whatever cool road car they were driving." - Joe Parkin 6yearsinaraincape "It is estimated that half of all new cancers are skin cancer. This year alone in the United States, more than 1 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed and approximately one person dies from Melanoma every hour." - FatCyclist "Amateur racers love to copy the pros. That's why they hire coaches in order to ride around in their local parks on $6,000 bikes while covered in sponsor logos and wired to power meters." - BSNYC "My doctor told me to stop using the chamois cream I'd been slathering on because it might be exacerbating, or even causing, the irritation. And he prescribed a lotion that contained triamcinolone, a corticosteroid that had gotten Lance Armstrong in trouble with the UCI in 1999 until he produced a doctor's note saying he'd used the lotion to treat saddle sores. I figured: If it's good enough for Lance, it's good enough for me. And it was—sort of" - Geoff Van Dyke Bicycling "You can’t pick them all…. Lance Armstrong confirmed yesterday that George Hincapie will ride for Radio Shack Cycling next year. I didn’t even pick Hincapie as a possibility when I handicapped possible team members, thinking that he had a pretty plum ride going with Columbia." - Al Fresco BikeWorldNews "Levi faked his broken wrist so I wouldn't wipe his ass at Leadville." - Lance Armstrong VeloNews "If more people do not sign up for the Raisin Hope ride, we will have to cancel. As of now only 15 people are signed up."  Saul Raisin CyclingNews "But whatever you do as a rider you can't stop the media speculating. At this year's Tour I spoke to Lance Armstrong and guess what, there's a headline that I'm going to ride for him next year. I spoke to Alberto Contador and guess what, we're working together against Armstrong." - Andy Schleck CyclingNews "One of the things I enjoy most about racing is the routine; knowing the plan will be wake up, eat/caffeinate, kit up and ride/race, come home and shower/eat/nap and then dinner and sleep." - Liz Hatch CyclingNews "It's very disturbing. This does not mean that we are already beaten, but it says a lot about the true position of France in international cycling. I hope this will at least provoke some thought." - Laurent Jalabert  CyclingNews "If one frequents Northern California cycling road races, it becomes apparent that the female participation numbers are substantially lower than in other sports involving cycling, including triathlon and mountain biking" - Paul McKenzie SierraSun "Sounding just the tiniest, teensiest, little bit unloved, Alexandre Vinokourov has returned to bicycle racing."  - Samuel Abt NYTimes “Cyclists are usually really good basketball players, so I’m not concerned.” - Floyd Landis BikeRadar "I know that I have not taken anything prohibited, and categorically say: 'I've never taken anything forbidden.  I received a call from the UCI and I thought it was a joke. I was surprised because I know I did nothing. If I had taken something I would have given a wrong address [to the controllers]." - Mikel Astarloza CyclingNews "Maybe I'll do RAAM one of these years. Am I crazy? Anyone know how many miles a day they avg?" - Lance Armstrong Facebook “I deeply regret that a mistake I made as an individual will reflect poorly on the entire sport. I’d especially like to apologize to my teammates and to my sponsors, and hope that my actions will not damage their good names." - Kirk O’Bee RBAction  "I have heard of a black list going around in the sport, which lists the names of unwanted riders. This more than suggests that this list actually exists, and my name is on it." - Michael Rasmussen CyclingNews "I have had a great time with Lance this year. As you know, I have been with Johan for three years and I have had the best years of my career. I am not saying that I would definitely not go there." - Levi Leipheimer CyclingNews "No wonder that hurt. Looks like I'm out for a bit:" - George Hincapie "Got some bad news this am. X ray confirmed my collarbone is broken." - George Hincapie CyclingNews "My relationship with Lance is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will" - Alberto Contador VeloNews "(I'm) convinced that two new products have been used during the Tour, two drugs that are not yet on the market." - Pierre Bordry CyclingNews “It’s good for the sport, for cycling, which I love so much. I always pass the controls with a happy face and I will keep undergoing them.” - Alberto Contador NYTimes "I can't complain. For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium, [it's] not so bad." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "You climb it from the south side, during a very hot season, in the beginning of the afternoon. It's practically a desert! There is no vegetation, nothing... the heat is unbearable, you can't breathe." -  Raymond Poulidor CyclingNews "Contador said he attacked to neutralize Wiggins. What? Wiggins was already dropped. No one attacks a dropped rider. When you attack, you are attempting to drop someone on your wheel, which makes Contador either a liar or not very bright." - Padraig RKP "These adverse findings were a direct result of a targeted test programme conducted on Mr Di Luca using information from his biological passport’s blood profile, previous test results and his race schedule. This is further proof that the system works and we are determined to get rid of the cheats," - Pat McQuaid CyclingNews “Astana is a closed chapter for me.”  - Johan Bruyneel VeloNews "I'm a Hincapie fan, but while Contador finishes his stages with a bang, Hincapie tends to cross the line with a wimper. In fact, he seemed on the verge of tears in his post-race interview Saturday as he blamed first Astana and then Garmin for shutting him down." - BSNYC “Alberto is the best rider. Sure he is the best climber. You know when everybody is at the limit and you can accelerate again, that's how you win the Tour. I have been there. I definitely suffered, it was very hard, I was at the limit, I no longer have the acceleration and the pace that Alberto has.” - Lance Armstrong CyclingWeekly "Bummed, really bummed about George Hincapie not getting yellow. Won't elaborate on the strategies but what Garmin did was just BS. Sorry!" - Johan Bruyneel BikingBiz "I actually think it's ridiculous. This is the Tour de France, and you can't wake up guys on a day of a mountain stage at 6 a.m. ... Enough is enough, we have had this team for a long time, we have never had a positive control." Lance Armstrong Examiner "My wrist hurts, it will be uncomfortable tomorrow, but surprisingly, I am okay - it could have been much worse. With 2km to go, my tire was sliding and I couldn't save my bike from sliding out. I slid out and hit the curb, I saw Mick Rogers come over me onto the grass, I have heard he will be okay." - Levi Leipheimer RoadBikeAction "It's a small article by an anonymous writer and with comments from an anonymous rider. I've got to take it as a compliment if they've got nothing else to write about. They can't criticise my cycling, so they start this s**t.” - Mark Cavendish CyclingWeekly “There’s a little bit of friction, of tension. We both want to win the Tour. The biggest tragedy would be that the both of us want it so bad that somebody else gets it.” - Lance Armstrong Yahoo "In the morning in the bus we had a team meeting to see how we would deal with the stage. The plan was to wait for the attacks of our rivals but they never came. I was feeling very well and I thought I could make a difference that would benefit the team. Sometimes, what happens in the bus is different from what happens during the stage. I am very peaceful, very focused. Nothing will distract me. Of course it could be easier, without all these questions, but at the end of the day, my goal is to stay quiet, to isolate myself to focus only on the race." - Alberto Contador ESPN "The honest truth is that there's a little tension. Alberto is strong, and he's very ambitious. If he proves to be the strongest in the race, there's nothing I can do. We'll have more moments, we'll see who's truly the strongest. The Tour is only 25 percent done. Maybe we're halfway done, but in terms of selection (elimination) we're only 25 percent done." - Lance Armstrong BikeRadar "I get so sick of being told, ‘Why don’t you go in an early break? Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you do that?’ Do you think anyone in the Tour de France would let me go in a break?" - Cadel Evans CyclingNews "To participate in my first Tour de France is awesome, but there was also a lot of apprehension. The pressure is on, especially since I am a neo-pro. But I felt good after the French championships, and confirmed to my sports directors that I wanted to do it." - Brice Feillu CyclingNews "If I were Contador, I would attack Armstrong tomorrow in the climb to Arcalis to set the record straight and show him who's the boss." - Bernard Hinault ESPN “I got a phone call Saturday morning that I’m on the Astana detail and in charge of interviewing Lance and the rest of the team. I was definitely surprised and shocked by it. They told me Astana had called over and requested it. I didn’t understand why or what was going on, but Versus said to go over and do it.”  - Frankie Andreu VeloNews "Pedaling mechanics, muscle recruitment and force production are all different in the time trial position. The muscle coordination and recruitment patterns must be learned and practiced to become optimized and efficient. Athletes tend to try to achieve the most radical, aerodynamic appearing position they can. Lowering the stem as far as you can and forcing yourself to sit on the tip of your saddle is not necessarily the best way to go fast. Nor is lower always more aerodynamic." - Judd Van Sickle PezCyclingNews "Observers will note that Armstrong had Astana teammates Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia in the breakaway with him, and all three helped drive the breakaway from the peloton. Conspiracy theorists also may note that longtime Armstrong lieutenant George Hincapie rides for the Columbia team that created the split and pushed the pace." Gene Bisbee BikingBiz "You look at the last week, the last four days of this Tour de France with the Alps and the final time trial, (and the climb to Mont) Ventoux - it's just so hard for a team to say, 'okay, this is what we're going to do.' We're keeping it open, Levi's obviously good. Right now we have four guys who can win the Tour, and there's eight guys in the whole race that can win the Tour." - Lance Armstrong VeloNews "After Bruyneel’s 11 wins, the next best record in cycling is that of Cyrille Guimard, who led Lucien van Impe, Hinault, Laurent Fignon and LeMond to seven victories. The difference alone—four—would make any other director’s career." - Patrick Brady rkp “We are going to approach Alberto Contador and propose lengthening his contract. He will be our sole leader for the years to come, he will have every liberty to choose the riders that he wants to have at his side. In our mind, the team will be made up of Spanish and Kazakh riders, amongst those Alexandre Vinokourov. " -  Nursultan Nazarbaiev CyclingWeekly "I will resume my career as a professional on July 24. I cannot imagine being on a team other than Astana. The Kazakhstan cycling federation wants me on team, I am currently negotiating with Johan Bruyneel and I think we will reach agreement in the next week." "If Bruyneel does not want me, it will be Bruyneel who is leaving the team." - Alexander Vinokourov VeloNews "It was necessary to support the Tour de France and its organizers." - Nicolas Sarkozy ESPN "Stage number 17 does not look hard but for me it is the hardest day in this year's Tour de France. It is the accumulation of climbs. Maybe we don't go up to 2000 metres, but they are hard and steep. The Col de Romme is a real nasty one. With the three climbs before you have in your legs, it is going to split the race up." - Andy Schleck CyclingNews "In those who managed more than 186 miles a week on their bikes, the proportion of sperm that was the correct size and shape had fallen to 4%, the point at which men may struggle to conceive without fertility treatment." - Emma Wilkinson  BBC “How should an athlete respond as other to always say that he is clean, and to vehemently deny anything else, although he knows: I am not clean? There are a few riders who are clean, that may well be – but it's not very many.” - Bernhard Kohl CyclingNews "This year, my role on the team is really multi-faceted. I will be helping lead out our sprinter, Mark Cavendish, for the sprint stages. If I'm good, I'll help out the guys riding for overall in the mountains. And then, of course, I would love to win another stage." - George Hincapie Bicycling "We've learned that if we want to shoot video...any video...at the race, we must pay a fee of 7,000 Euros...that's about 10,000 US Dollars. The Giro d'Italia, Tour of California and World Championship races don't charge a fee for pre-and-post-race video coverage. This is an outrageous demand from the Tour de France, and it just doesn't pass the smell test." - Bob Cullinan CycleTo “After winning the Tour in 2007 and then becoming the fifth cyclist to win all three Grand Tours, it's hard to find a better stage race rider than Alberto.  He has worked very hard, earning the right to represent our team as the leader in July.” - Johan Bruyneel PEZCyclingNews "Christian is a team leader and team player. He's a guy that only worries about the fit and function of new teammates. He thinks of this team as his family, and only wants what's best for his family. He's just not one to get caught up on specific roles. It'll be interesting to see if he can make it back to form, after five broken vertebrae, for the Tour. But it is pretty amazing that he's even racing the Tour." - Jonathan Vaughters CyclingNews “Those two guys are amped up to race the Tour. It was all I could do to hang on.” - Ben Jacques-Maynes PEZCyclingNews "Lance said that we needed to go on the second or third lap. I said 'you're crazy we can't do that', but that's what worked out." - Levi Leipheimer CyclingNews "Chris [Horner] is a big talent and really can do anything asked -- chase on the flats, go up the climbs with the leaders, provide good morale and team atmosphere, etc. If he recovers nicely, he'll definitely be a strong candidate for the Tour team. Simply put -- he's the type of guy you want to take with you to war!" - Johan Bruyneel OregonLive "Initially, I cannot overemphasize the fact that there is no feud between LeMond and me.  I have had no contact with him and certainly have much more productive work to do than to feud with Greg LeMond.  His lawsuit concerns a business relationship with Trek, not me." - Lance Armstrong Livestrong "In the wake of Tom Boonen's recent drug test, which followed a previous positive test in 2008, the Tour de France, having spoken to representatives from his Quick Step team, can only note that the image and the behavior of Tom Boonen are incompatible with the image of the Tour de France and the image that such an exceptional champion should try to display. In these circumstances and in order to preserve his reputation, his image and those of the Tour de France, the ASO group has decided not to accept the presence of Tom Boonen in its event." - ASO VeloNews "Cooked! I am cooked! I can't even lift my leg to step off my bike... What a crazy idea of Robic to ride that fast! Fortunately I tried to do this after he did, with his record on my mind the whole time." -Jean-Pascal Roux CyclingNews "Tyler took an herbal anti-depressant in a moment of crisis, with no intention or possibility of enhancing his cycling performance. Although we believe the sanction is exceptionally harsh and completely disproportional to the transgression, Tyler has chosen to focus on getting better instead of fighting a pointless battle against the anti-doping regime."  - Chris Manderson DailyPeloton '“¿Donde vas? Manzanas traigo” ("Where you going? I bring apples") says the popular Spanish proverb. What is the reason? Where did you get such a brilliant idea from?" - Pedro Horrillo NewCyclingPathways "UCI will be announcing this week a small number of riders on whom we will be starting disciplinary procedures as a result of their biological passport," - Pat McQuaid CyclingNews "We [have] targeted research on a fifty riders.  Federations, teams and riders will gradually be informed in the coming days. I can not imagine that teams [will] bring riders covered on the list to the Tour de France. We worked with experts. We are ready to defend these results before the court." - Pat McQuaid CyclingNews "Traffic virtually disappeared and I could hear birds singing from the perches on fenceposts. The tension left my body. Our road was flat and straight. We could see trees, towns, and grain elevators on the horizon and pedal for an hour before we reached them." - Gene Bisbee BikingBiz "Finally I'm back on a real bike and I've taken a big step towards being back out on the road. And with the altitude trainer I can now work on my condition without forcing my knee too much.The garage isn't as comfortable as the couch in the living room but I'm glad to be back out there!" - Robbie Mcewen Facebook "The Spanish cycling authorities have never attempted to follow up the Valverde case that has now dragged on for almost three years." - Alasdair Fotheringham and Simon Richardson CyclingWeekly "When the biggest publicity the sport is getting is about doping accusations and former champions fighting current champions, it's not a good thing." - Mike Jacoubowsky WSJ "Would I want my kid to get into pro-cycling? No I would not." - Greg LeMond BBC “When I learned that the French authorities were going to make new analysis after the Tour — I reassured myself, OK, I am dead, but others will be dead, too. What were the French authorities going to do? Withdraw the complete GC of the Tour? I knew they wouldn’t dare. Bizarrely, only three of us took the fall. I am convinced that the top 10 would be positive.” - Bernhard Kohl VeloNews "Things appear to be looking up for Tom Boonen and a start at the Tour de France in July. Following his second? third? positive for cocaine, TdF boss Christian Prudhomme commented that Boonen would of course not be starting the Tour. The UCI has yet to rule on whether to sanction Boonen in some way. If some kind of sanction is handed down, Boonen will of course be out, but that seems unlikely, which means we should expect to see a bit of Tornado Tom come July." - Jered Gruber PEZ "What a wanker. 5 TdF wins doesn't buy you any common sense. http://bit.ly/NWGzn" - Lance Armstrong Twitter "Eric Heiden won the inaugural edition of the 156-mile race (Philadelphia International Championship) in June 1985.  Heiden, the iconic five-time Olympic gold medalist speed skater and Tour de France racer, has become one of the country’s leading orthopedic surgeons with sports medicine practices in Murray and Park City, Utah." - John Wilcockson VeloNews "Everything is normal now, there are no problems. We have paid our debts and we will pay a further substantial sum of money next week to cover expenses for the three months ahead.  (Astana's annual budget amounts to about $21.3 million)" - Nikolai Proskurin ESPN “I want to regain the rhythm of competition in the Dauphiné, because the race is like a ‘mini Tour’ which demands a big effort whether you’re trying to win it or not.” - Alberto Contador VeloNews "The UCI does have rules regarding course design and safety, but the way those rules are written appears to put the onus entirely on the organizer. Indeed, the rules appear to be carefully crafted with potential liability in mind, and the UCI seems to have distanced itself from any suggestion that it has a “duty” to ensure safety at any event." - Charles Pelkey VeloNews "Tour of Italy winner Denis Menchov has replaced Heinrich Haussler in the individual rankings, Cervélo have ousted Caisse d’Epargne as top team, and Italy has overtaken Spain to become the leader in the nations competition." - UCI "Most of the guys knew me, but they didn't know what to expect from me. I win time trials and pursuits, but not much on the road. When we got to the track, I was in a perfect position but I was blocked in with a lap to go and just had to give it everything  I had." - Taylor Phinney CyclingNews "I may have disappointed some fans and people in the pressroom expecting that I immediately should start winning big races. That is crazy. I am almost 38 years old. Both of my feet are firmly on the ground. It's taking a lot of work up to this point but we might ride strong and be in the front in July."  Lance Armstrong RoadCycling "And while we all think bi-partisan lawmaking more likely than an eventual Di Luca victory, we’re fortunate that his attacks aren’t based on American Idol-like audience voting. Our sense of the inevitable would have made the racing much less interesting." - Padraig BKW "I am relieved that no one was hurt, but this incident reinforces the need for us to make London's roads safer for cyclists, which I am determined to do and to make London the best city for cyclists in Europe. Cycle Super Highways, which are part of our record investment in cycling, will play a central role in this, providing clearly demarcated routes for cyclists that lorry drivers and others will be aware of." - London mayor Boris Johnson BicycleRetailer “Now Robbie is in the hospital. His knee joint is OK, but he cut his ligaments under his left knee and the doctors are rebuilding it. It’s almost impossible his participation at the Tour de France." - Team Statement VeloNews “That’s a curious question. This story isn’t new to me. I heard all about it last year. I gave explanations last year. I have nothing to do with it. I don’t want to have to speak about it again and give the same explanations. We’re in the race now. I’d rather speak about the Giro.”- Denis Menchov VeloNews "I know there are numerous variables, but assuming everyone stays upright, Denis Menchov almost can't lose. Carlos Sastre has a slim chance of ripping that maglia rosa off his back, in one more massive attack, just as he did last July. But the odds are longer now and the foe as formidable as any." - Chris PodiumCafe "I don't want to continue leading a double life which is based on lies. Without doping there is no equal opportunity in the top international field.  This is absolutely the end. I have voluntarily doped – in a system in which you can't win without doping. Talent, training and iron discipline just aren't enough at some point. Doping becomes the rule. A clean sport is unfortunately an exception." - Bernhard Kohl CyclingNews "The back doors of the lorry flew open as it overtook us and the bolt on the right-hand door picked up a parked car through its front windscreen and swung it round at head-height, brushing past a few of the cyclists and then landing it back on all four wheels a little further down the road." - Beatnic NYT "The minimum salary for the 2009-2010 season in the National Basketball Association is $457,588 for first-year players and $1,306,455 for players with 10 or more years of experience. In 2009, the agreed-upon minimum wage is $46,200 for ProTour racers." - Ron BikeWorldNews "Many cyclists who think they're eating healthfully often consume far more sugar and sodium than they realize because they eat so much pasta, cereals, energy bars and other processed foods." - Selene Yeager Examiner "Despite being out of his coma, Horillo still needs to gain more strength before doctors will allow him to return to his home in Spain to continue his recovery process. The Rabobank team doctor, Geert Leinders, has also said that it is misplaced to be talking about when Horillo might return to racing as the most important thing for him at the moment is to recover fully from the crash and regain his normal quality of life." - Matt Conn PEZCyclingNews "They've paid part of the money but the major part is still missing. I think before May 31 (a UCI deadline) they will complete payment then it is up to the UCI to decide on the future of the team." - Johan Bruyneel ESPN "With the Wingate test, Rotor peak and mean power values were consistently higher (4-9%) than normal cranks regardless of which position was used." - Dr. Stephen Cheung, Ph.D. PEZCyclingNews "Tuesday's Stage 10 is the first of the Grand Tour stages. At 160 miles with three huge climbs, it will test everyone's fitness and push all us to the limit for the first time in this year's Giro. Anyone who makes it through this stage with the leaders will stand a chance of winning the Giro." - Chris Horner OregonLive "In his long, infinite fall -80 metres the equivalent to a 30-story building; slowed by tree branches, which continually beat him, he broke his femur and right knee. Horrillo received a strong blow to the head which left him stunned, he broke countless ribs which were nailed to his lungs, causing pneumothorax." - Carlos Arribas NewPathways "UCI president Patrick McQuaid will be meeting the leaders of the Federation of Kazahkstan to try and resolve the situation with Astana. If something cannot be resolved, the UCI will not wait for the end of the Giro to take action." - BikeWorldNews "We're an important factor in the race and we don't want to pretend as if everything is okay. It's not okay. The riders have only received two months of salary [this year]. We're here riding a very good race and we cannot pretend nothing is happening. I hope this has an effect and that a solution is found. It's a way of saying we are professionals and that we're doing a good job. But I expect commitment from both sides." - Johan Bruyneel CyclingWeekly "He’s (Chris Horner) a warrior. He came into form and, at Gila, he said I am going to be there at the Giro. He does what he says. Respect." - Johan Bruyneel VeloNews "As you turn your head and body to look back, also lift your arm so it’s pointing in the direction you want to look, and you won’t swerve. That’s it. That’s the whole thing." - Fat Cyclist "Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted."  - Hesketh Pearson QuotationsPage "Andreas Klöden travelled to the Freiburg University Clinic for an illegal blood transfusion after the first stage of the Tour de France 2006, an independent commission has ruled. In a report issued Wednesday afternoon, the commission which investigated doping practices carried out by doctors at the clinic said that three riders – Klöden, Matthias Kessler, and Patrik Sinkewitz – received transfusions of their own blood on Sunday, July 2, 2006." - Susan Westemeyer CyclingNews "The good news is that Boonen does not have a cocaine problem. Rather, he's got such a bad drinking problem that cocaine just seems to enter him by accident." - BSNYC "Yeeeeah biatch. RT: Just got my first European stage race win. Haut Anjou. Shout out to my team. Thanks guys" - Taylor Phinney Twitter "I put all my weight behind Tom last year, and told him I would forgive him, on the condition it did not happen again. Now, he's gone and done it again.  He needs help. It would be a real pity for the sport of cycling to lose Boonen like this." - Frank De Cock  BikeRadar "Whether I will remain a cyclist? That is the least of my worries." - Tom Boonen  YahooEuroSport "If I were them, I would be thinking about Levi, not me.” - Lance Armstrong  YahooSports “The test, about two weeks ago, was positive for cocaine and was carried out by the Flemish authorities.” Alessandro Tegner BikeWorldNews "Bos had pushed me before the crash, and then with maybe 750/800 to go I felt his hand on my shoulder; I don’t know what was in his mind but he took me into the barriers and we both went down. He got up and crossed the line, but I just lay there because I knew it was bad" - Darryl Impey PEZCyclingNews "It's not easy. I don't take a salary from the team but there are masseurs, mechanics and riders that have families and expect their signed contracts to be respected.  The Kazakhs are not responding on the telephone. Perhaps the situation will be sorted by the end of the month or the licence must be transferred to Bruyneel to take over the team from the middle of the season. I think this is the most logical solution." - Lance Artmstrong Reuters "I don't know them, I don't have a personal relationship with them, but I get frustrated. These Kazakhs, they don't return phone calls and there's not a lot of clarity about what is going to happen." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "Mr Torri acts, in a repeatedly obstinate manner, with total disregard for the Spanish legal authorities, refusing to submit to the decision of the Madrid judge that forbids CONI from using criminal evidence against athletes" -  Alejandro Valverde VeloNews "Only the Kaz Munai Gas company has completely fulfilled its obligations to the team, and for that we would like to thank it.  The companies KEGOC, Eurasian Bank and Kazakhmys haven't stated their positions clearly, but Kaztsink and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy have made it clear that they are not going to repay the debt owed to Astana. We are considering an option of raising funds from [state holding and investment company] FNB Samruk-Kazyna." - Alexander Antyshev CyclingNews "I would like to have my own team: to be the owner, director and... cyclist. Because if I have a team I also want to race. It does not necessarily have to be the Giro and Tour, but only when I have the desire.  The name? That of the principal sponsor. Its probability? High. You will know it in July. Even if it is hard to convince sponsors to give money with the economic crisis and news of doping." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "It's a pro race. That's all that needs to be said. Lance is a pro, Levi is a pro, I'm a pro; it's a pro race. If you don't want to race with the pros, stay amateur." Chris Horner VeloNews "A lot of people are not talking about the Astana front with Leipheimer. I think Leipheimer is maybe more of a favourite than Ivan Basso. You see how he is going lately: on the climbs he is strong, in the time trial he is strong and he has a strong team. But I think it is going a great Giro with Basso, Danilo Di Luca, Damiano Cunego, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov... with everyone else." - Stefano Garzelli CyclingNews "Bartali: to the devil with that damned banana. How is it possible that I let myself be taken by surprise like a child? Nothing other than a stupid blunder. And almost on the flat, where they fear me the least. "Come on Jomaux! Move faster!" But Jomaux can do just so much. And Coppi draws away." - Dino Buzzati The Giro d'Italia "Bajadali crashes in stage one of the tour of the gila breaking his collarbone." - KBSProCyclingAndy Twitter "I see Prudhomme doing more of that stage 6-7 combo from P-N in the Tour itself.  When he does it'll be the first step towards making  the race accessible to another group of riders: the hilly Classic specialists. To me this is the first step to making these Grand Tours more interesting. I think in ten years we'll be seeing very different Tours than we are seeing now.  And Andy Schleck will win a Tour de France. Just not this year. " - Ursula  PodiumCafe "The other riders in the Astana team have a good chance, too, and whether he is called upon to help Armstrong or has a chance for himself, I think that Levi Leipheimer has a great chance. He is, for me, a more realistic challenger." Stephen Roche CyclingNews "Armstrong revealed JP stood for Juan Pelota, which is the name of the coffee shop in Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's bike shop in Austin. It's a nom secret he uses to register clandestinely in hotels. Pelota is Spanish for ball. Juan Pelota." - BikingBiz "The report, based on the conclusions of an independent inquiry, accuses former T-Mobile riders Andreas Klöden, who now rides for Astana, and Matthias Kessler, who was sacked by Astana in 2007, of using testosterone and doping products." - VeloNews "The word from the French agency AFLD on the shower gate incident. Case closed, no penalty, all samples clean. Onward." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "As I saw myself getting closer and closer to the breakaway riders, a flurry of who’s who of women’s cycling started to go with me: current World Champion, Nicole Cooke, Marianne Vos, Noemi Cantele, and so on.  At that moment, I knew I could not let go, no matter how I felt.  I could not possibly let this opportunity pass me by…" - Janel Holcomb  DougReport "Spain. Lovely place, fantastic people. But the relevant authorities there are complicit in doping. Disgraceful." - CyclingWeekly Twitter “I’m certain that the race judges will take the necessary disciplinary action and adequately sanction Theo Bos for what he did. If they do not, every directeur sportif will be able to tell their riders to use their hands to make room for themselves during sprints”. -  Claudio Corti  DailyPeloton "With the first case we need to be absolutely sure. We need to be sure we can defend ourselves in a court, so it has to be safe, reliable. So the [anti-doping] experts are working on it, but also the legal department. But before the Giro I expect the first [doping] cases to be confirmed." - Enrico Carpani PodiumCafe "Bos doesn't even get disqualified. Pitiful. He deserves a long suspension."  - Lance Armstrong Twitter “In personally funding the team each month, I’ve had to make some very difficult choices based on the long-term interests of the team. All three are incredible talents who I have great respect for. When our sponsorship goals are achieved, I want nothing more than to have all three back on this team.” - Michael Ball  BikeWorldNews “A growing number of Americans, mounted on their bicycles like some new kind of urban cowboy, are mixing it up with swift, two-ton motor vehicles as they create a new society on the streets. They’re finding physical fitness, low-cost transportation, environmental purity—and, still all too often, Wild West risks of sudden death or injury.” - Jeff Mapes BikingBiz "All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse."  - Benjamin Franklin "Just because a crazy guy offers you a crazy good deal doesn't mean it's not going to fall through. Just because there's a piece of paper doesn't mean it's not going to fall through. So while I'd love to throw my hands up and play complete victim, I can't." - Mike Creed PodiumCafe "Three years ago, many in cycling knew that there is a network in Vienna. When I was excluded from the Tour de France, I knew that Fuentes didn't spin a network only in Spain. These networks exist in the South of Italy, they exist in Austria. Half of the sports directors knew of this, but didn't talk about it. They were different times in the past. I like the present better. I couldn't change it at the time, you just go with the flow. But I also know that the results of the best would have been the same either way."- Rudy Pevenage CyclingNews "The possibility of Astana disbanding would come as a blow to the Kazakh government, which uses the team to raise the country’s sporting profile. Under the stewardship of Johan Bruyneel, who became team manager in 2007, Astana has secured victories in the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon and the Giro d’Italia." - Yahoo " If every bicycle race was like this past Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, people would not need to watch any other sport." - Bob Roll Versus "Chris Newton (GB) was the favorite; he had the World Cup leader's skinsuit on. No laps were taken, it was won on sprints, the first hundred laps were very fast but the second half was a grovel-fest and it was down to who had the legs for the sprints when your heart is at 200 bpm. With two sprints to go there were three of us tied on the lead - it was pretty nerve racking, but I came out on top." - Garmin's Cameron Meyer PezCyclingNews "The team worked fantastic and since Tom was the strongest rider out there he deserved the victory; he's made for Paris-Roubaix. He isn't a big head despite his impressive palmarès. He still makes time for his fans and remains humble. I started the race convinced that I could win. It's a tough race, especially when you're not super, which was the case for me. It's a demanding, physical race and it's an unbelievable experience to storm on to each pavé sector. It's a man's race. I'm very tired now and my back hurts; I'll have a good sleep tonight, but overall I'm satisfied."- Sylvain Chavanel CyclingNews "Perhaps the most startling graph in Cycling in the Netherlands is the one showing the number of cyclists killed per 100 million kilometres. The Dutch have the lowest rate, only just below other Northern European countries such as Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden, which hover around two deaths per million kilometres cycled. The most dangerous European country for cyclists appears to be Italy, where the comparable figure is 11."  - Richard Peace  BikeRadar "I imagine he (Lance Armstrong) will be at the Tour de France and I imagine he will also be at the Giro d'Italia" - Christian Prudhomme CyclingNews “I used to get yelled at all the time ‘Get off the road!’ but drivers have gotten kind of used to me over the years. It’ll be safer when there’s a critical mass and cars get used to seeing more bikes, though.” - Karin Weisburgh NYT "AFLD vs. Armstrong:  The French anti-doping agency will take "one month" to decide whether or not to open a disciplinary procedure against Lance Armstrong.  (source: Damien Ressiot/L'Equipe)  In other words, right before the Giro d'Italia, continuing the tradition of making announcements timed for maximum political effect.  (Note: AFLD has no authority outside France.)  What's next, lab testers on Twitter?" - CyclingFans "At the agency, the version of events is that only when the tester threatened to call in gendarmes did Bruyneel agree to let testing proceed, and the French official pooh-poohed Armstrong's claim that the tester let him shower. The agency says the tester reported that he repeatedly warned Armstrong that he had to keep him within his sight at all times." -  Associated Press "What’s always amazed me is that in spite of many thousands of negative doping tests and absolutely no evidence that Lance has ever doped the French continue to promote an environment of suspicion and intrigue.  As all sports struggle for credibility I’m amazed that the overwhelming evidence that Lance has never cheated is disregarded in favor of innuendo, half-truths, suspicion, and outright lies." - Bob Roll Versus “The differences today were small and the overall is still wide open.  The time trial will decide everything. If I have a good day (Saturday), it might be enough, but we have riders like Evans and (Michael) Rogers who are specialists and very strong. Nothing is decided.”- Alberto Contador VeloNews "Congratulations to @johanbruyneel and his wife Eva on the arrival of their baby boy. Christian Edward Bruyneel" - Lance Armstrong Twitter "It was just generally hard all the time! The fighting for position is always tough, but because of the weather it wasn’t nearly as bad as it is if it’s windy and raining; it was a fast race, it only took six hours (average speed 43.455 kph, 26.9 mph)." - Dan Lloyd PezCyclingNews "To me there's one top favorite and that is Pozzato. If he's smart then he's just staying on Boonen's wheel all race long. They have other riders in the Quick Step team but the sponsor will most likely prefer Tommeke to win it." - Adri Van der Poel CyclingNews "Hey, things are well. heading out on the road for 3-4 hours today. feeling pretty good." - Lance Armstrong Twitter “I’ve got a score to settle with Ghent-Wevelgem after 2008 when it didn’t work out. … Yesterday [Wednesday] we rode over the Kemmelberg [a key climb of Ghent-Wevelgem] during the stage and I tested myself to see how well I could do. It went well. I closed down a gap on the climb, so I know my condition’s good.”  - Mark Cavendish  VeloNews "Spanish authorities are saying two things. The first, a relatively narrow claim, is that the Spanish will not recognize the sanction requested by CONI. Shorter: Valverde can keep racing. The Spanish will not suspend his license. The second, broader claim is that only the Spanish federation has the authority to sanction Spanish riders." - Gavia PodiumCafe "Well, it's April Fools' Day--unless you're French, in which case it's Poisson d'Avril, or unless you're from New Jersey, in which case it's "Bathe Your Pet Day." (For some reason, everybody in New Jersey bathes their pets on April 1st.)" - BSNYC "He (Matschiner) supplied me doping products. I did blood-doping three or four times" - Bernhard Kohl VeloNews "My stand is that after I stop my career, I do not touch the bike any more because it gives me so much pain and that I just don’t want to bear it any more.  I will lock it up in my garage and watch the spiderwebs growing on it." - Jens Voigt USCyclingReport "On the last lap I punctured my back wheel and had to go straight into a brick wall. Mara Abbott was right there with me and we swapped bikes. I rode to the finish on her bike and she came in on my bike which looked quite funny." - Ina-Yoko Teutenberg USCyclingReport "I realized that this winter cycling is the most beautiful profession in the world.  Of course you tend not to realize this sort of thing until you can’t find a team on which to ride. Fortunately, (Besson Chaussues manager)Stéphane Heulot offered me another chance to ride … and in turn, I offer this win in his honor.”- Jimmy Casper VeloNews “Obviously, it’s a good start to the season, couldn’t be any better.  (The victory) was a little unexpected. After California, I was slowed down a little bit by that fracture, but now we see the silver lining in that. Not having done Paris-Nice has afforded me the energy to have won here, so that’s the good thing.”- Levi Leipheimer VeloNews "This is definitely a setback, there’s no doubt. It’s the biggest setback I’ve had in my cycling career so it’s a new experience for me. Fortunately I’ve done a lot of off-season work that I think will help me through this." - Lance Armstrong RoadBikeAction "It is a pity to lose Lance, because he was eager to gain some good training in this race.  It was a good opportunity to work together at a race. Now I can only support him and hope he recovers as soon as possible in order to start the Giro d'Italia. I tried to protect myself from the wind to reserve my forces for tomorrow's time trial. In the last kilometres, I decided to move forward in the pack to avoid problems, so I did not see the crash." - Alberto Contador CyclingNews "The ticker is currently highlighting three big names, all Tour de France champions:  Armstrong, the Accountant, and the Tailor.  Should be a great week of racing with some fun ticker translations too.  I started calling Contador "The Accountant" three years ago thanks to one of the auto-translated tickers.  The nickname seems to have stuck." - CyclingFans "It is extremely sad to see the classics disappear for my part, because of a crash. The past several months of hard work had a purpose and focus: classics and especially Paris-Roubaix. Now I see it all crumble." Stuart O'Grady ESPN "On the third lap Mara was able to bridge across, so then we started working the break really hard.  The race was a lot harder that I expected, the course is  up and down all day with no recovery and we worked really hard in the break. By the 9th lap the hill just before the finish was getting really painful.  It was a good day." - Columbia-Highroad’s Ina-Yoko Teutenberg SoCalCycling "I was quite surprised to see him go. I was lucky I got him on the line."  - Mark Cavendish CyclingNews “That was a bit different, to see the Olympic champion, the double world champion, starting first in a time trial, that doesn’t happen often!  I was sick, then I crashed, and now I have sinus problems. That’s what happens when you use your body hard without any training.” - Fabian Cancellara VeloNews “It's a natural selection. We have all the teams who took part in Paris-Nice. We will not change our policy [Fuji Servetto were refused a start in Paris Nice and lost an appeal to the CAS for a late inclusion]. There will be no former Saunier Duval team at the start because they made mistakes in 2007 and 2008.” - Christian Prudhomme PEZCyclingNews "Easy day today on the bike. Went and rode an easy lap on the Tour's opening TT circuit in Monaco. Nearly got hit by 3 or 4 Ferraris. Weird."  - Lance Armstrong Twitter "Yet another "surprise" anti-doping control. 24th one. This one from the French authorities. Urine, blood, and hair! Classic.. So I'm clear - never complaining about these tests. Def part of the job. Feel targeted? Of course. But anything to prove I'm clean. Onward." - Lance Armstrong Twitter “Now that there is some renewed confidence in the US dollar, we are passing the benefits of a lower euro onto the consumer.  A tough economic environment causes a lot of stress for consumers and retailers, and riding is a great way to blow off some steam." - Manfred Krikke, CEO of Veltec Sports BikeRadar "The reaction of the fans after being away for that long, it was overwhelming. I was kind of caught off guard by how happy everybody was to have me back. I was touched." - Floyd Landis ESPN" "I can really only think of one name at this point when it comes to Paris-Nice...Alberto Contador. He didn't win, he didn't even make the podium, but he put on one of the more entertaining displays I've seen in awhile."  - Jered Gruber PEZCyclingNews "Pity that next week LA will be in Milan San Remo and we couldn't get an agreement with the organizers to get the race on Versus" - Paul Sherwen Twitter "Bonked - Not that uncommon in endurance sports. It's miserable." - Alberto Contador Twitter "It's over, one minute 50 seconds (behind), there is no discussion about it. Sanchez attacked and he (Contador) was the only one to try and catch him and he had no team mates. He was okay but he has been attacked by all his rivals.  He is not a superman. This Paris-Nice is extremely tough." - Alain Gallopin ESPN "The French newspaper Le Monde has been fined $383,000 by a Madrid court for linking the Real Madrid soccer club to a Spanish doctor at the center of a major doping scandal in cycling. The Spanish club said that Le Monde and the reporter also were ordered to pay club doctor Alfonso del Corral $38,000. The newspaper alleged that Eufemiano Fuentes had treated players from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish league teams in an article published in 2006" - Philly.com "Right out of the shop, I was impressed with the ride of the Hutchinson wheel and tire combination. My experience with road tubeless has been limited, but I noticed an immediate sensation of suppleness and smoothness. The ride, in a word, was fantastic." - Zack Vestal VeloNews "So what we try to teach the guys is the ability to go deep in the red on the climbs, just enough so they maintain momentum, and then they can recover on the downhill or fast sections." - Dr. Allen Lim CycleOps "In April, 1962, Belgian classics ace and world champion Rik van Looy enjoyed possibly the greatest week in the sport's history. On Sunday, April 8, van Looy outkicked Michel Van Aerde and Norbert Kerckhove to win the Tour of Flanders. Four days later, he won his third and last Gent-Wevelgem. The following Sunday, April 15, van Looy completed his historic treble, taking Paris-Roubaix..." - Chris PodiumCafe “This is truly a testament to the power of teamwork, these guys faced a lot of adversity in the off-season, but when it came to race, they got down to business. I knew we were going to be a contender, but this is also a tribute to the work our directors, Rudy Pevenage and Laurenzo LaPage, have done.”- Michael Ball uscyclingreport "There is no message to Lance Armstrong, actually it's not a message to anyone.  We each have our own program for the season. On my agenda, there is Paris-Nice and I do my best here, that's all." - Alberto Contador ESPN "The UCI did not accept our request, and they ordered the team to pay 60,000 euros or risk being excluded from the Paris-Nice.  Thus we have decided (to make) the full and total payment today for the Biological Passport, paying an additional 90,000 (making a total of 120,000) to avoid speculation about the team and to show once more that it wasn't a question of economics but a point of principle, which evidently was not well received." - Patrick Lefevere Yahoo "If the teams do not pay by the close of business today, they will not be able to take part in the UCI's World Calendar races." - Pat McQuaid CyclingNews "I know that much is expected of me, everyone has great confidence in my chances, but people must understand that I cannot always win or be the fastest." - Alberto Contador Yahoo "Since Roll’s arrest, some of Zabriskie's items have been recovered, including a bike, bike parts and a car. His Olympic ring and Giro d' Italia race medals have not been recovered." - VeloNews "This type of injury is quite serious and pretty rare, it's called a degloving injury and it's when the skin and the underlying tissue and fat get separated from the underlying muscle. The tissues are not bound down as they should be, which has created a space for fluid to collect in. The fluid can be drained off, but every time Chris (Hoy) exercises or gets on his bike, the tissues are tearing again and the fluid's coming back in to that space." - Roger Palfreeman RoadBikeAction "So there you have it Mr. Big Hair Super Fan and everyone else. Despite what you think, most of the time you're just annoying riders, not helping them out in any way. So maybe save the big hair for the monster truck rallies and carnivals. Your heroes will thank you for it." - EuroPeloton "Among all the builders and the wide selections of material, color, construction and size at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, one common theme that I’ve noticed is a distinct respect for all-purpose, utilitarian bikes" - Zack Vestal VeloNews “This race (la Vuelta Mexico) is a good opportunity to get Floyd and the rest of the guys ready for the first part of the U.S. season.  After a two-and-a-half year layoff, Floyd is still looking for his race legs. He showed some signs of it the last couple days of California, but this is a good race to continue his progress. The field is full of quality riders, and the race is done entirely at altitude, including some climbs that approach 12,000 feet.” - Mike Tamayo RoadBikeAction "The question facing the event’s organizers is whether the Tour of California is ready to become a major player in cycling. To do so will probably require a move on the calendar.” - Billy Witz Examiner "In my opinion, Johan is not only the greatest coach in sports, but in the history of sports. He's clearly not only had an impact on me and other cyclists, but also people from Flanders, America and other countries throughout the world." - Lance Armstrong USCyclingReport "Long distance cycling may seem crazy, but once you’ve tried it you may fall in love with it." - Gary Koenig Examiner "I don’t know that I see any reason to stop. It’s been a long process in perfecting my craft, working on it, honing it. I’m at a point where I enjoy it and love to train hard, I have the experience, I’m on a great team, we win a lot and I don’t know why I would give it up too quickly." - Levi Leipheimer RoadMagazine "What's more, the researchers also found that during a 30-minute steady-state cycling test, athlete heart rates slowly increased by 10 BPM without any change in workload. The findings led researchers to recommend athletes forgo heart rate monitor while racing." - Matt Allyn Bicycling "...there’s an element of unease. Armstrong remains a divisive figure in the sport. He’s been dogged by rumours of doping, with l’Equipe claiming in 2005 he failed retrospective tests for EPO on 1999 Tour samples."  - Shane Stoles IrishTimes "I don't know how the hell he won the Tour seven times. It's unbelievable." - Levi Leipheimer CyclingNews "I don’t know if I want to answer questions about questions about the past." Floyd Landis VeloNews "At least Basso "banged his knee on his bars" and spared us his own show of rusty form. [Is banging your knee the DNS-equivalent of "a dog ate my homework"?]" PodiumCafe “I am satisfied with the result because it was my first test of the season and have been good enough. We were all together up to the last 800 meters, Kloden was ahead up to that moment and when we caught him, I attacked. Yes, am satisfied with the result, but I feel a bit in debt with the team, because they have worked very much during the whole day" - Alberto Contador RoadBikeAction "The cyclist arrived and was received by the anti-doping prosecutor and as in these circumstances, the prosecutor's office of the Republic of Italy gave notice to Valverde that he is under police investigation," - Claudio Mele ESPN "Stage 4 complete. Another tough one! The boys were making life tough for us!! All good tho. The sun was a big bonus. Legs are pretty good.  Oh!! And they recovered the bike! Don't have details yet but it's apparently on it's way here. Thanks to the Sacramento P D for the help!" - Lance Armstrong Twitter "Good morning. Cracking the shades and i see it's.....what?? Sunny? haha. yes!" - Lance Armstrong Twitter "At first, I thought it was a little strange, a bit goofy, but I tried to have an open mind, my entire career I wanted to be the best cyclist, so it made sense to focus on the mental aspects. A lot of people defeat themselves before the race. When you get the mental part down, the body follows." - Levi Leipheimer  USAToday "Ever since Kimmage's own cycling career (three Tours in the late 80s, one completed in 131st place, one ninth place stage finish) ended, he has blamed the doping climate of the peloton for shattering his dreams. His subsequent book Rough Ride spilled the beans on his colleagues' systematic drug taking and earned Kimmage universal vilification." - EuroSport "The Rock Racing team is bundling up for another soggy day in the saddle. Francisco Mancebo will proudly be sporting the leader's jersey." - RockRacing Twitter "Whoa!! They just came to my room and said our truck was broken into and someone stole my time trial bike! Wtf?!? APB out to the twitterati. They also stole 3 others. crazy!!" - Lance Armstrong Twitter “We have 100,000 people watching here today, and this race will bring $100 million to the state of California.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger Daily Peloton "Found "The Redneck" Horner. At bfast with him now. He just put 9 sugar packets in his tea. Wow."- Lance Armstrong  Twitter "To make that statement, you are not worth the chair you are sitting on with a statement like that. In fairness to you, although I don't think you deserve it, I'll answer your question." - Lance Armstrong EuroPeloton "What you’re telling me here is that you’re not only fat, you’re broke and fat. Condoning (never mind encouraging) a bunch of fat people in padded underpants is just not a socially responsible thing to do" - Style Man Bicycling "It is important that the athlete does not become simply a mindless robot in the process of training" - Matt McNamara PEZCyclingNews "Motorpacing for CTS bloggers involves typing what Chris Carmichael is saying as he speed-reads aloud from Johan Bruyneel's autobiography, "We Might As Well Win."' - BSNYC "Al Jazeera came up to the US National team as we were getting ready and asked us to do the day's program announcement (it went something like, "You're watching the Ladies Tour of Qatar on Al Jazzera Sports Network!"); a group of school girls were there to cheer us on and have their pictures taken with each team (I've never seen so many smiles!)." - Janel Holcomb DougReport "... and my personal favorite, Alessandro Maserati. I don't know much about him, but he must be fast. If anyone has a suggestion about how to find video, feel free to pass it on." - Chris PodiumCafe "My body has basically told me to pack in and slow down.  I have had three and a half years of injury after injury, and sickness in between. I have always managed to meet my targets and prepare for the big races, but at the cost of overloading in terms of training. Mentally, I was taking a lot of blows as well – always fighting back – and I have been sick since Christmas and don't seem to be able to shift it."  - Magnus Backstedt Cycling Weekly "When something this awful happens, racing becomes a lesser priority. We're all devastated, we all knew Frederiek, and we all appreciated him. Today we wanted to remember him. Tomorrow the race will resume, but it won't be the same. The entire team, riders and personnel, feel his family's pain." - Tom Boonen RoadBikeAction “Sometimes in the beginning some things seem negative, but turn into something positive, I’m certainly very happy that he’s (Armstrong) on my team and not on another team. And to be able to learn from his great spirit, that can only make me stronger in the future.” - Alberto Contador  AP "As soon as we finished the Tour de France, Gerard Vroomen talked to me about his project... without thinking too much, I decided, 'Okay, I will go with them'." -  Carlos Sastre CyclingNews "Cycling has no borders, unless sustainable watts/kg can be considered a border." - PodiumCafe "We hear that Landis is blazing fast these days, and if he plays his cards right, could win the Tour of California again, like he did in 2006. Whether or not you believe he doped, he’s one of the top riders to follow right now." - Bicycling "I am completely impressed by the attitude, drive, focus, and professionalism of Svein Tuft" - Jonathan Vaughters Twitter "We are vigorously working to stabilize the pricing for Campagnolo in the U.S. and stability in the strengthening dollar helps. We continue to monitor the exchange rates on a regular basis." - Tom Kattus Bicycle Retailer and Industry News "The skeptics and critics want to hear from me: 'Yes, I cheated.' But why should I lie? I have never doped and I wouldn't lie, just to satisfy these people." - Lance Armstrong CyclingNews "José Antonion Pecharromán, tested positive in 2007 for a product that was revealed to be a balding treatment." - VeloNews "One of my team-mates in America the other week summed up blogging for me. He said, 'Blogging is something you do in between masturbating' and I thought that summed up the world of blogging for me." - Bradley Wiggins Guardian "What Frank Schleck has done a half year before I started my work with CSC, I don’t care about. I also don’t care about if Bjarne Riis has doped. And I don’t care about whether Lance Armstrong has positive EPO tests available in some freezer in France. What people have done in the past, I don’t care about." -  Rasmus Damsgaard PodiumCafe “I kind of decided not too long ago that that was it, I’m moving forward.  I’m not going to worry about whatever happened over the last two years. It doesn’t serve any purpose for the team to focus on it, and for that matter it’s not anything the team should have to focus on. As far as I am concerned it’s finished.” Floyd Landis VeloNews "The main thing will not be to decide between Lance and Alberto but to beat other riders and other teams, it's a rich man's problem. I am well aware that we will have the strongest team when the race starts in Monaco." - Johan Bruyneel ESPN “I was suspended two years … and I also received a heavy sentence by justice as a criminal, which I am not. I only took EPO.”  - Johan Museeuw VeloNews "There's an amount of disrespect you can tolerate but at certain points it's just too much. I'd just lost yellow and probably the Tour. Then I've got someone tapping me on the shoulder again and again. I think my response wasn't so bad, considering. I know it wasn't a perfect situation.” - Cadel Evans  BikeRadar "The Tour Down Under starts in 4 days and there has been no talk and no sign of test results from Lance Armstrong’s collaboration with noted anti-doping specialist Don Catlin." - BikeWorldNews "The Rock Racing team will not start its first UCI race of the season this week after encountering troubles with its racing license. The team was scheduled to contest the Tour de San Luis in Argentina beginning on January 19. USA Cycling's technical director Shawn Ferrell confirmed to Cyclingnews that the team's license has not been finalized, and would say only that he believes there will be a "final resolution" on Friday." - CyclingNews "Lance's girlfriend, Anna Hansen, was at the house staying for a while, too. Let me just take a second to let y'all (yes, I just said y'all) know that I truly love this girl like an older sister. Anna is one of the coolest people I've ever met and I am very happy to call her a good friend. I met her for the first time in Aspen in September, when I was up there training with L. She, without doing much training, did both the Leadville 100 and the 12 hours of Snowmass solo. Yeah, I told you she was pretty cool." - Taylor Phinney CyclingNews "The incident happened early in the elite mens race at Kansas City, when Baker crashed and Myerson ran into him, and their bikes became tangled. Witnesses said Myerson was swearing at Baker and tugging his bike out of the tangle. "I took a swing at Adam after being hit in the head by a bike," Baker said last week. "I'm prepared to take whatever judgment USA Cycling reaches." - VeloNews "I went to the Olympic arcade and played video games until the late hours of the night. I wasn’t as focused as an Olympic athlete should be, but you know, I was only 18 at the time. I still am 18. It was sort of a hard lesson for me to learn because now I look back at the Olympics and I’m not very proud of how I did." - Taylor Phinney VeloNews "The Omloop Het Volk race will have a new name this year, and will go by the name Omloop Het Niewsblad. And while I understand the reason for the name change, it is still a shame that it happened. As one of the biggest early season cobbled classics, the Omloop just sounded cooler being called Het Volk. Niewsblad just doesn't evoke the mystique that Het Volk did." - EuroPeloton  "I'm looking forward to finding mountain bike trails and mountain bike trail riders. I think they've got some good trails (around Dallas) which I've never ridden. So that's going to be part of my routine." - George Bush DallasNews  "Ryder Hesjedal recently made an attempt at beating boss Jonathan Vaughter’s 2 hr 38 min. record up Mount Haleakala in Hawaii. Vaughters set the record in 1993 as part of the Cycle to the Sun event." -  BikeWorldNews  "They must be content with the bare minimum, which is only to transmit the official announcements from the federations or anti-doping agencies without digging further." - les Dessous des Sport , Boulder Report "USA Cycling is slated to name the elite men’s squad for Hoogerheide on January 14 and, at this point, only Ryan Trebon has a guaranteed slot. The coaches and directors of the U.S. program are hoping the Page case is settled well ahead of next week’s team selection." - VeloNews "Belgian cycling star Tom Boonen will know on February 3 if he has to face criminal charges over his positive test for cocaine, the judge investigating his case in the northern city of Turnhout said Tuesday." - VeloNews "I can compete and race with the best of them, just not at every race. That’s what makes someone like Sven Nys impressive. He is always at the front no matter if they are sandy races, hilly races or muddy races. He is good." - Ryan Trebon SlowTwitch "Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati did not start Stage 3 of the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. He is still recovering from his crash on Sunday." RockRacing "I finally asked to have direct contact with Michael Ball. I sent him a message asking what was going on, and the next day he rang me and said that there is no budget, no team, no bikes…nothing. He said that 'the team is done, but I am going to personally put in enough money for the team to go forward for six months. In this time we hope to find a sponsor. So, what I guarantee you is six months of your contract, six months racing, and if we get a sponsor, I will pay you all of it [the two year deal]. If we don't, you have nothing." - Baden Cooke CyclingNews "The Anti-doping-establishment believes that it has won and that the Landis case will be conveniently forgotten. Cyclists and those that govern the sport may have been silenced, but it will be harder to shut up the bona fide scientists and legal scholars, who are outraged by the treatment dished out to Landis and the mockery that the procedure made of scientists’ quest for the truth." - Die Weltwoche "A descent which Basso described as "truly dangerous" follows the Passo del Termine, and the stage finishes on a short climb. Basso estimated finishing times around 1 hour, 30 minutes, if there is no wind. "In my life, I've never seen a course so demanding," concluded Basso. He is talking to his bike sponsor, Cannondale, about making a special bike just for this stage. The roads are very technical and for a crono, 61.7 kilometers is a monstrous length. Certainly, a rider can lose the Giro here." - PodiumCafe Quotes prior to 2009

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