nor Edita have been back to
France following her release.  Attorney for Rumsas, Alexandre Varaut, said in a statement that, "Rumsas formally contests accusations from the press concerning the use of doping products" .  Rumsas claims that his team has set him up to remove him from their roster and later commented, "If the results of the second analysis are positive, I will be very surprised, but the physicians would be under suspicion too" .   He then added, "Everyone knows that I am under special observation.  How could I take EPO after what happened at last years Tour de France."   Not one to miss out on a good quote, when asked for his thoughts on the latest Rumsas incident, Lance Armstrong commented "Rumsas is an idiot to take drugs after what happened last year and knowing that the UCI is watching him" .

Finishing at the weekend, the Dauphine Libere has provided a valuable insight in to the form of fancied riders for later this summer.  Armstrong again came out on top with Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) in 2nd place and David Millar (Cofidis) in third.  Following the opening prologue where he finished third, Armstrong silenced his critics who said that he wasn't as strong as in previous years by reminding us that, "Last year I came 5th [in the prologue], now I'm third.  Is that enough to answer the questions about my condition?"   Armstrong went on to win Wednesday's 33km time trial beating Millar by over 1 minute and providing the Scotsman with the opportunity to claim quote of the race: "I'm going to sit on his wheel and see how I go."   Stage 5 on Friday saw the race leader involved in his first competitive crash for some years although his US Postal team was immediately by his side to pull him back into contention.  Armstrong later required two stitches in his right elbow.  He also had a few choice words for Patrice Halgand (Jean Delatour) after the Frenchman attacked whilst the American was down.  "But for some reason, I have no idea what, this ####ing guy Patrice Halgand attacked, two times whilst I was on the ground" .  One rider impressed by the American's resilience for the remainder of the race was Millar who said, "He never showed he was suffering.  He wanted to show everybody that he was still there and still the strongest" .  Clearly Armstrong is coming into form just in time to go for his fifth victory in Paris and as noted by himself, Millar has certainly got his "Climbing legs on" and could be a good outside bet this year for a top ten finish this year before aiming for the podium next year. 
Go on then Lance, you can have the final word this week: "Call me a favorite but don't say it as though I've already won the tour" .

Make sure you don't miss out, read the Roadcycling.com exclusive interview with Armstrong's former team mate Steve Bauer now.

The Tour de France is just around the corner, why