Into thin air

The Volta ao Algarve aka the Tour of Algarve went to the mountains today and Alberto Contador showed his face. The Spaniard, who won the two previous editions, ended up in third for the stage and moved into second overall.  Stephen Cummings of Team Sky is in the lead. Americans may note that young Tejay van Garderen ended up in second place and is now fourth in the overall classification.

Meanwhile the drama engulfing the Arab countries continues unabated. Robert Gesink took today's stage and the overall jersey in the Tour of Oman. It is the third Rabobank victory in that race. Quickstep had to settle for third in Dries Devenyns, who thanked Tom Boonen for all his help. LAy-o-par Trek won the team classification.

The LAY-o-par Trek logo

Former Oman champ Fabian Cancellara, of the Trek LAY-o-par team, who is turning 30 this year, told La Gazzetta dello Sport he dreams of only four things. Two are classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia, while the other two are wearing pink in the Giro and setting a new world hour record.

Cancellara getting ready.

The miserable weather that brought an untimely end to our subtropical early year continues unabated. The storms are now engulfing all of the West or left coast, from Seattle down to Los Angeles and there is no end in sight. Whether this is due to the omnipotent weather gods, or as some crazy scientists maintain, greenhouse gases and human activity, it is for sure that this time around, the weather is lashing out at those who produce the most hot gases.

Sunday marks the official end to the cross season with the GvA cup race in Oostmalle. The world cup ended on January 23, while the Superprestige series had its final race on February 12. In what seems like ultimate fairness, the three top riders each won one trophy of note.

Niels Albert won the world cup, Sven Nys the Superprestige and Zdenek Stybar the world championship race. Nys leads the UCI points and if all goes well he will take the GvA cup too.

Famous Belgian cartoon character suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome

And in the latest health care news, it appears that exercise and psychotherapy is best for what became known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a controversial affliction that started in the mid-1980's at an upscale Nevada Resort Town. In other words, if you constantly feel tired, it is best to have someone whip your butt and get you exercising. The wonders of modern medicine!