Could I Make This Stuff Up?

OK, where do I start?
There's just too much news to ignore:

Why am I not surprised?
Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin Richard, told Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday that their four-year marriage was anything but smooth, that she felt "smothered," and that the experience turned her from an opinionated career person into a "yes" woman. Not Our Boy Lance! Richard said that her role was strictly to cheer on Armstrong. "It wasn't Lance saying, 'You should be like this' or 'Do this.' It wasn't him making a mandate and me being a mouse. It was me trying to emulate whatever I thought would be the perfect wife or the perfect mother." And: "We think we're trying to please somebody for the sake of our marriage, but then if you ask Lance today if he appreciated that, I think he would probably say, 'Well, that wasn't the woman that I fell in love with.'" And the first time they met: "He had just finished up his chemotherapy. He was bald and cute."

Why am I reminded of Joseba Beloki?
Italy's Alessandro Petacchi's Tour de France dreams are over for this year after fracturing his left kneecap in a nasty fall at the Giro d'Italia on Monday. "Even if I recover from surgery, I will never have time to get fit," Petacchi told French sports daily L'Equipe. The injury will sideline him for two months; an operation has been set for Wednesday in Italy. "This is the worst injury in my career. I must abandon the Giro and won't be able to ride at the Tour, either," he said.

Who does OBL like now?
"At the moment I would say it has to be (Ivan) Basso," says Our Boy Lance, who has dropped Jan Ullrich yet again. Sometimes, OBL likes his former Discovery Channel teammate and defending Giro d'Italia champion Paolo Savodelli. "However it is tough to say what could happen in the coming six weeks." Keep those options open, Lance!

Whither Bettini?
There are rumours in the Belgian press that Paolo Bettini has been offered a contract by German T-Mobile, who are reported to be looking for a new Classics leader. The Italian rider has been thinking that he would like to move out of Tom Boonen's shadow to be a sole team leader at the Classics.

And the latest on the silliest controvery of the Classics season ...
One month after Paris-Roubaix, disqualified riders Leif Hoste, Vladimir Gusev (both Discovery Channel) and Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) still hope for a rectification of the commissaire's decision following their riding through a railway crossing with 15 kilometres to go. The three riders were chasing eventual winner Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and would have fought for second, third and fourth placing, then taken by Tom Boonen (QuickStep), Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank). The complaint that the disqualified riders' respective team managements had filed to the UCI has been granted.