Two Notent Notables

• For a shorter, better editted, MUCH better informed wrap of the Tour, here's Bonnie DeSimone of ESPN.com. I wasn't a huge fan of the first two or three of her articles that I read, but I like her realism here. Here's another of her articles on one rider we can trust.
  
• My newest thought on Beckham is that if there is one thing that is true time and time again is that Americans are suckers for individual stars. I don't think there are only "non-soccer fans" and "soccer fans" in America. I think there are a lot of people in the middle who sometimes bash soccer but every four years they get swept up to varying degrees in the World Cup if the games are on at a reasonable time to watch. Those are the people I think the MLS is going attract via television for Beckham games. If they turn on ESPN, and David Beckham is on screen, they are going to watch much much longer than if he wasn't. Of course, I haven't managed to watch a single Beckham game yet...

P.N.N. I didn't want to make a whole new post about this, but Iban Mayo tested positive for blood doping. Mayo is known as an inconsistent cyclist. A few years ago, in the first Tour I watched, he was a top contender. After that he never came close again, but would have occasional excellent stages. I suppose that might be a sign of a doper. Certainly inconsistency was Vinokourov's profile this year, and Landis's last year.