Monday Roundup

News
The CyclingNews writes about burgeoning speculation that RCS Sport left Astana and High Road, among others, off the Giro start list for merely political reasons.

The VeloNews' Andrew Hood interviews Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme and asks about the growing assumption that Astana may be left out of the Tour this year. This would obviously eliminate any chance for defending champ Alberto Contador to participate despite Astana's efforts to start with a clean slate. Prudhomme sounds less than positive about Astans's chances, but intimates that Slipstream/Chipotle may get an invite, even though reformed/confessed doper David Millar is a member of that squad.

The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla feels that "justice" prevailed as the "cheaters" lost in the Superbowl yesterday, just like Floyd Landis "lost" his TdF championship.

Blogs
Pommi watched the Superbowl pretty much to see the commercials, and on a completely unrelated subject he guesses that yes maybe Dick Pound IS suited to be head honcho at the CAS.

Rant talks about two "deciders". Firstly, who gets to decide who participates in the Grand Tours? He thinks that IF Astana and High Road are both shunned from the TdF and the Vuelta, as they have been from the Giro, they may not be able to survive. Decider number two is old friend Dick Pound who lusts after the presidency of the CAS.

In comments there, Morgan Hunter connects more dots, and meaningfully suggests a lot of the struggle is The Olympics strategically competing with event promoters -- like the grand tours.

WT Odom has been places, LOTS of them. Along the winding road he says he met Floyd Landis, before Floyd was "officially guilty", and almost broke his Tour de France trophy.