Vuelta 2012

The twentieth and decisive stage of the Vuelta today. All the main contenders on another cripplingly hard day performed (reasonably) as expected. Maybe Rodriguez and Valverde should have attacked earlier - but who can blame anyone on those gradients at the finish. But Contador finished well adrift. Enough to stay in pole position for the overall win, but where was the superhuman elan he produced two stages ago? I remain conviced that his erratic performance reflects the selective use of chemical assistance. Time will tell.

Vuelta a Espana 2012

I'm very suspicious of Alberto Contador. For the last two weeks of the Vuelta he has been struggling to keep pace with the other leaders of the race. Then all of a sudden, today he takes off from out of nowhere and puts enormous amounts of time between himself and his nearest rivals. This is classic doping behaviour. It might take a year or two to become proven, but since he's only just emerging from a previous ban for doping, my money is on a longer term revelation.