I guess my blog posting and photo of Matt White on October 14th foreshadowed today’s good news. Johan called Matt and asked him to come back to the team. That is just the greatest news - Whitey is a great, hard-working rider and a really cool guy. He got the shaft when the Sony team deal fell thru, and was left without a contract for 2006. It seems that Johan came up with some new sponsor money and called Whitey right away. Of course, Whitey jumped at the chance...

We’re gonna have a super strong team again this year. On one hand, Johan is saying that it will be a while before the team can be a real contender at the Tour. But on the other hand, he is also saying that they have been preparing to win the Tour for seven years, and he’s not gonna change that now. I think he kinda welcomes the pressure being taken off, but he is a real competitive guy, and he doesn’t take insults lying down. He’s like Lance in that way, it just becomes a driving force toward victory....

This photo was taken of the guys and me at Interbike 2003. Kenny Labbe, me, Matt White and Damon Kluck.