Tour talk -- Spoiler alert

[ny biker]

As for Lance...is this Lance racing clean? With such a dramatic decline, that's just about all I can think of to explain it. Kindof puts a damper on the all that Lance-Alberto hype that was stuffed down or throats at the beginning of this. I hope it's not true, but I see no other explanation, unless he just totally slacked and ate cake and ice cream instead of training.

No, he's mentally checked out and ready to go home. Has actually said as much. He was in good form at the Tour de Suisse and many people thought he could finish on the podium this year. But once he was too far behind for that, he moved on in his head.

If it were because he suddenly stopped doping, it wouldn't make sense to do it up to the beginning of this race and then stop.

[Crankin]

I like that expression, "biking old."
That's what's wrong with me!
Seriously, I think you are right, here. Even if you are the fittest athlete around, eventually, something's gotta go south as you age. And yes, I think Lance has mentally checked out, which is fine. I like him, but I also like several of the other riders and I have learned a little more about some of them, without all of the focus on Lance.