Ho-Ho-Ho and Alberto

Yes, it's Christmas morning, and my little sugar plums all came out of their room. I put the snowball in Dada's bed but he was unmoved. Never mind. We went to the kitchen and they got their morning feast. Mama tried spreading the cashew butter on her bread. (At this point, near the bottom of the jar, I think I'd be just as well off taking whole cashews and mashing them up. 'N you think peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth??)

Breakfast at hand, computer in lap, Mrs. Santa sat down to peruse the news. What news? you ask. NPR? Nope. BBC? Nope. Heaven forbid, the Tyler rag? Yikes! Cyclingnews.com? Oui! But alas, Australia is half a day ahead of us, and since I'd already read the first edition last night (our time), there was nothing new to read. No news flashes like "Piepoli admits guilt" or even "Armstrong to father seven babies by seven girls". (Yeah, wasn't that a surprise! Don't you know after all the girls he's been...er, dating over the past few years, the fact that he could actually knock one up came as a shock? But the fact that he could still produce viable little buddies probably boosted his male ego quite a bit.)

No, nothing new on cyclingnews.com. So I switched over to Velonews.com. The only story there was a little column by one of the writers--a list of thing he wanted to Santa to bring this year. Top of the list was his wish to see a Hinault v. Lemond type battle between Lance and Alberto at this year's Tour de France.

Curious how nostalgia and competitiveness render wishes so bizarre. I wish to see no such thing. However, it did raise the whole issue of Alberto Contador's future with Astana, something I have been musing over for months--ever since LA announced his comeback. Alberto has one more year left on his contract with Astana, and despite the appeal of working with Bruyneel and Astana's deep pockets, I think Albert is going to be looking for a new home for 2010.

But where?? That question fuels all kinds of speculation. First of all, it has to be a team with deep pocket to afford a triple-tour winner (and possible repeat TdF winner). In today's shaky cycling sponsorship climate, that's a tough bill to fill. We know Katusha's got the bucks, but I doubt Alberto will want to ride for a dedicated Russian outfit, or that Andre Tchmil as directeur sportif can inspire the sort of managament confidence for one used to riding for Bruyneel. A Spanish team would be very nice, but Caisse d'Epargne already has Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Pereiro, plus, their sponsorship has been on fairly shaky grounds in recent years. Seems three years is the max for sponsors these days, and next year is CE's third (for what was previously known as Balearic Islands [can't remember the French name] team). Euskatel-Euskadi is a wash: they're almost entirely Basque, and while containing great mountain goats--and Sammy Sanchez, their one Spaniard--they are not a team that can provide support for a grand tour.

And so we can go down the list. Ag2R? Are you kidding? A French team??? Erstwhile Boygues Telecom, ditto. Milram: sprinter's team with few GC aspirations, the presence of Linus Gerdeman nothiwtstanding, and shaky sponsorship (Milram nearly pulled the plug a year in advance of their contract). Quick Step: another sprinter's team, and Patrick Lefevre doesn't have the dosh to keep Paolo Bettini, so how could he afford Alberto? Silence-Lotto? They have Cadel Evans, and they can't really support him. Lampre? Forget it. They'll stick to Cunego. Liquigas? Possibilties. They picked up Basso and we'll have to see how he performs this year, but a Basso-Contador duo might be serviceable. Saxo-Bank (erstwhile CSC)? Bjarne Riis has the best management brains after Johan Bruyneel and he won the smash last year with Carlos Sastre. Sastre's gone now to Cervelo Test Team so there is a hole that might be filled. The Schleck brothers are strong, but neither has proved good at the TT yet. I think Frank may be past it anyway, and we'll have to see how Andy performs this year. But there are the sponsorship issues: the team lost a major co-sponsor when IT folded and they are still looking. So.....

Ahh, you see how much time and mental energy can be spent just musing on the possibilities! Who needs the NFL or the college bowl system to challenge the mind?