So Lance is/was in New York to make a couple of appearances and appease the patriotic wolves and yellow journalism, second-rate newspapers about his preferences for the 2012 Olympics. Some New York Post writer has discovered that trashing Lance causes a lot of stir, so he is making manure while the sun shines, so to speak. Journalistic wheel-sucking is what I call it...

The AP (who is not among the YJ’s mentioned above) reported that Lance was asked about retirement, and he responded that it is a possibility, and that he is still thinking about it. He said he’d have enough to do with his cause for the fight against cancer to last for 50 years, and he wants to be a full-time father. So if you want to see Lance ride the Tour for sure, maybe you’d better get it together and plan that dream Tour trip of a lifetime now!

So Roger Hammond did get banged up in the crash at Flanders - I had a feeling it wasn’t good - he broke his thumb and banged up his knee and legs. Probably will be out of commission for Paris-Roubaix. That’s a real bummer for him and for the team. George will likely still be recovering from his flu bug or whatever it is... The DC team is not having the greatest luck, health-wise so far this year.

I see where the SF Board of Supes (or is that Stupes) finally agreed on a decent amount to charge the SF Grand Prix promoters (formerly the T-Mobile International, originally the SF Grand Prix) for city services. Asking a cycling race promoter to pay almost a half-million dollars for city services is a death sentence for a cycling event. Duh...how difficult is it to see that it’s not like a NASCAR race or a football game, where fans pay some ungodly amount of money for admission fees, and then the promoters can cover their costs and make a profit. The only thing that covers the costs of cycling races (and those costs are astronomical and unbelievable, no matter how large or small the race) is sponsor dollars.

What we need are some dedicated sponsors, like Discovery Channel, Wachovia or Dodge, to step up and take over title sponsorship of these cycling events. I work as an independent contractor for Threshold Sports, and they are the most dedicated and hard-working bunch of people you could ever know. What a shame it will be, if cities do not realize the potential income and tax revenue that these races bring to cities, and drive the promoters into the red to pay for services. One thing I know for sure, is that promoters do not make big bucks and get rich on cycling races.....