Check out Chris Horner’s latest blog post with his account of “getting that call” informing him he wouldn’t be riding this year’s Tour. I think they should rename this team ASStana. The Kazakh sponsors don’t pay the team riders’ salaries while they are competing in the Giro, but then they pay up and mandate that a Kazakhi rider makes the Tour Team. Then they let Contador have some cronies, because he is a basket case and too worried the Yanks will gang up on him from within the team to support Lance. All of the sudden, there’s no room for Horner. I think the race just got less interesting with that one decision.