Una Copa de Vino

It looks like this year's Tour de France is going to be more troublesome than last year's Tour. Alexandre Vinokourov has tested positive for a banned blood transfusion. His A-sample showed two types of red cells--indicating blood from another individual--and prompted the expulsion from the race.

My first thought was "last year..." However, I'm not going to lie, as an American, and as you've seen me write here, I still don't think Landis is guilty. Why is it so easy for me to convict Vino? I've decided to step back and wait until the B-sample, but when your team pulls out, it suggests complicity. Vinokourov had ALL the weight on him this year. He didn't race last year because too many of this teammates were implicated in the Puerto scandal, so Astana couldn't field nine riders, and he had finished on the podium in the past--having kept up with Lance in 2003. This was his Tour to lose.

And lose it he has.