8 Teams have declared themselves dope-clean before the Tour and have voted for stricter controls. The other teams are against stricter controls.

It has been watched closely that 9 of the first 10 racers at this time come from the teams who resist stronger controls.

But it has also been noted with amusement that the first dope case (known now, but the test was before the Tour) of this year hits one of the 8 dope-free teams: T-Mobile, formerly Telecom. The perpetrator (Sinkewitz) is in hospital after his accident with a spectator. The spectator is still in coma I have read.

Now to the sport: Astana may have made a big mistake changing captain one day late (which made Kloeden lose about 1: 30 min). But the main sponsor who makes the calls comes from Kazachstan, Vinokurov's country. It took them one more day to realise that Vino cannot win this time after his injury.

Each of the first nine can still win at this time. Valverde and Mayo are in the best position I think. If I narrow my prediction, I say only two others have real chances beyond Valverde and Mayo: Rasmussen and Kloeden (Evans being my dark horse).

Wolfgang