Andy is worried about bad press: “I am frightened that we will not be presented in the press in the same light as before,” he said, noting that two months ago it was rumoured that five CSC riders had tested positive during the Tour de France. Those rumours have been laid to rest, but “there have never been any apologies for the reports,” Schleck told sportwereld.nl.

OK Andy, I’m sorry I even mentioned the rumours. Hang on, the rumours weren’t really about Andy, they were fairly broad-brush affairs that tainted just about anyone who rode out of their skin, or pulled out of the Worlds. And the Schlecks themselves came into it because of father Schleck’s car being searched during Le Tour – which was just one of those things that starts people thinking and talking, but was discounted quickly as random. Then we had Frank and Andy doing so well in Le Tour itself, which also sets tongues wagging in a normal fashion, but not necessarily in a bad way. But then we had Frank admitting that he paid a doctor he didn’t even know for some training advice he didn’t really need. Well that was sloppy, and we can’t really not talk about it, can we? That was brought about by brother Frank himself.

Now if Frank hadn’t been so sloppy we may not have even thought about the car search again (and nothing was found, let me add). And if Frank’s riding hadn’t been so good, when he previously wasn’t so flash, maybe we wouldn’t have thought any more about it. And if they weren’t brothers, and Riis wasn’t a Tour winner and admitted doper maybe – just maybe – we wouldn’t have even wondered about any of this. But Riis will always have a cloud over his head – just as surely as he gets a huge dose of respect, both for his riding and management as well as his courage in admitting the truth.

In any event it appears that we have caught all of the dopers we are going to get from the 2008 Tour, and that case is closed. So the riders who rode under the cloud of suspicion, and those who pulled out of subsequent races like the Worlds, are indeed presumed innocent. If they truly are innocent, as we think or hope they are, then they also have to be innocent – or naive – to think that riding for Riis is going to be plain sailing. That cloud is there, the topic has been raised and it’s out there forever. It’s a shame, but it’s human to look at the dark side and imagine the abyss, to expect the worst.

We shouldn’t apologise for being human, for speculating and wondering; but we should also accept the truth as we know it. For now, Frank is in doubt and has to do some explaining; for the rest of them, they have no known case to answer. But they can’t expect us not to wonder.

Andy is worried about bad press: “I am frightened that we will not be presented in the press in the same light as before,” he said, noting that two months ago it was rumoured that five CSC riders had tested positive during the Tour de France. Those rumours have been laid to rest, but “there have never been any apologies for the reports,” Schleck told sportwereld.nl.

OK Andy, I’m sorry I even mentioned the rumours. Hang on, the rumours weren’t really about Andy, they were fairly broad-brush affairs that tainted just about anyone who rode out of their skin, or pulled out of the Worlds. And the Schlecks themselves came into it because of father Schleck’s car being searched during Le Tour – which was just one of those things that starts people thinking and talking, but was discounted quickly as random. Then we had Frank and Andy doing so well in Le Tour itself, which also sets tongues wagging in a normal fashion, but not necessarily in a bad way. But then we had Frank admitting that he paid a doctor he didn’t even know for some training advice he didn’t really need. Well that was sloppy, and we can’t really not talk about it, can we? That was brought about by brother Frank himself.

Now if Frank hadn’t been so sloppy we may not have even thought about the car search again (and nothing was found, let me add). And if Frank’s riding hadn’t been so good, when he previously wasn’t so flash, maybe we wouldn’t have thought any more about it. And if they weren’t brothers, and Riis wasn’t a Tour winner and admitted doper maybe – just maybe – we wouldn’t have even wondered about any of this. But Riis will always have a cloud over his head – just as surely as he gets a huge dose of respect, both for his riding and management as well as his courage in admitting the truth.

In any event it appears that we have caught all of the dopers we are going to get from the 2008 Tour, and that case is closed. So the riders who rode under the cloud of suspicion, and those who pulled out of subsequent races like the Worlds, are indeed presumed innocent. If they truly are innocent, as we think or hope they are, then they also have to be innocent – or naive – to think that riding for Riis is going to be plain sailing. That cloud is there, the topic has been raised and it’s out there forever. It’s a shame, but it’s human to look at the dark side and imagine the abyss, to expect the worst.

We shouldn’t apologise for being human, for speculating and wondering; but we should also accept the truth as we know it. For now, Frank is in doubt and has to do some explaining; for the rest of them, they have no known case to answer. But they can’t expect us not to wonder.

With the testing complete, the speculation stops. Kohl was the big catch, no more to come. Even F. Schleck must be considered in the clear. For now, at least.

The French anti-doping agency AFLD has concluded its re-testing of the 2008 Tour de France samples. Bernhard Kohl was the last to be caught and no other cases have been found, L’Equipe reported.

With the testing complete, the speculation stops. Kohl was the big catch, no more to come. Even F. Schleck must be considered in the clear. For now, at least.

The French anti-doping agency AFLD has concluded its re-testing of the 2008 Tour de France samples. Bernhard Kohl was the last to be caught and no other cases have been found, L’Equipe reported.

The suspense is killing me. There are more tests underway on those 2008 Tour samples and the only thing we know for sure is that they have already caught Ricco (twice more), Schumacher and Piepoli. What we are guessing is that there are more positives to come, and that they are likely to be riders who were in the results. We can also speculate that their behaviours will betray them. They will have become nervous and will limit their exposure by actions such as avoiding the World Championships. We can also guess that they are riders who display uncanny ability, perhaps an ability that comes and goes and is inconsistent. They will also be smart, with a lot to lose.

High on that list must be Sastre, winner of Le Tour. Now he seems a decent guy, and he was on the best team, so it didn’t seem impossible that he should win. He’s been consistently “up there” on GC. But never so close before. He was also supported by Frank Schleck, now tainted by a transfer of funds to Dr Fuentes. If Sastre is caught it’ll be a major blow to Le Tour, but good news (in a sense) for Cadel Evans, Bernhard Kohl and Denis Menchov. It may also may help explain why CSC stopped funding Riis’s team. But that’s just idle gossip.

It may be that Frank Schleck is the one, given the as yet unexplained transfer of funds. Smoke and fire, y’know.

Alas, we only have this statement so far: Tour de France director, Christian Prudhomme, expects more positives to come from the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) blood testing. The Frenchman thinks there will be one or two more riders, according to Reuters.

We shall see.

The suspense is killing me. There are more tests underway on those 2008 Tour samples and the only thing we know for sure is that they have already caught Ricco (twice more), Schumacher and Piepoli. What we are guessing is that there are more positives to come, and that they are likely to be riders who were in the results. We can also speculate that their behaviours will betray them. They will have become nervous and will limit their exposure by actions such as avoiding the World Championships. We can also guess that they are riders who display uncanny ability, perhaps an ability that comes and goes and is inconsistent. They will also be smart, with a lot to lose.

High on that list must be Sastre, winner of Le Tour. Now he seems a decent guy, and he was on the best team, so it didn’t seem impossible that he should win. He’s been consistently “up there” on GC. But never so close before. He was also supported by Frank Schleck, now tainted by a transfer of funds to Dr Fuentes. If Sastre is caught it’ll be a major blow to Le Tour, but good news (in a sense) for Cadel Evans, Bernhard Kohl and Denis Menchov. It may also may help explain why CSC stopped funding Riis’s team. But that’s just idle gossip.

It may be that Frank Schleck is the one, given the as yet unexplained transfer of funds. Smoke and fire, y’know.

Alas, we only have this statement so far: Tour de France director, Christian Prudhomme, expects more positives to come from the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) blood testing. The Frenchman thinks there will be one or two more riders, according to Reuters.

We shall see.

Well it sounds weak, but there’s some evidence, if the reports are true… The newspaper further stated that research shows that Schleck is the one identified with the name “Amigo di Birillo”. Birillo has been identified as Ivan Basso, Schleck’s friend and former teammate, who confessed his involvement with the Spanish doctor last year.

So there’s Riis, Frank Schleck and Basso, all caught up in a web. Should be fun seeing this one proved, or not.

Well it sounds weak, but there’s some evidence, if the reports are true… The newspaper further stated that research shows that Schleck is the one identified with the name “Amigo di Birillo”. Birillo has been identified as Ivan Basso, Schleck’s friend and former teammate, who confessed his involvement with the Spanish doctor last year.

So there’s Riis, Frank Schleck and Basso, all caught up in a web. Should be fun seeing this one proved, or not.