February 14, 2008 - What an unbelievably stupid decision by the Tour de France organisers! Just when cycling is trying so hard to cleanse itself, with Astana at the forefront of that cleansing, the Tour announces the team cannot ride because of past history. Okay, then let's also see High Road and Cofidis and Rabobank out of this year's race, right? Just what the Tour is trying to do to itself and to the sport off which it lives, is hard to imagine. Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer finished first and third in the 2007 Tour, and gave the race a belated touch of gloss after the dismissal of race-leader Michael Rasmussen. Now these two talented men are the victims of someone else's dirty habits, and are being penalised quite unfairly. Cadel Evans must be laughing himself to sleep tonight - the Australian who placed second overall in the 2007 Tour seems to have had the toughest obstacles to victory removed, a full five-months before the Tour even begins. What a ridiculous situation the sport is in right now. The Tour has lost so many of its 'star riders in recent years - through retirement, drug-bans or injury - that there are very few big names left. And now they take out their defending champion, as well as a potential winner in Leipheimer. Whoever does win the 2008 Tour can be declared the winner, but that person will be celebrating a very hollow success.

Of course, none of these political games should affect the Tour of California, which starts on Sunday 17th February - except to make Leipheimer and his Astana team even more determined to win. Until today's breaking news, I would have said that Leipheimer might not have his own way in this year's race, for there is a much taller stack of time trialists asking for attention than in 2007. With a flat Prologue in Palo Alto instead of the hillier one in San Francisco, Leipheimer will be hard pushed to take the race-lead from day one, regardless of how much more motivated he is. Instead, you must also consider the fresh ambitions of the Slipstream and High Road teams, making riders like David Zabriskie, David Millar and George Hincapie ones to watch out for as well. And if you factor in the CSC team, with Jens Voigt and Fabien Cancellara, it would be a brave gambler who bets money on Leipheimer and Astana having everything their own way. And that's before you realise Tom Boonen can race a killer prologue as well, if it means he can take the leader's jersey for Specialized, the generous and enthusiastic bike-sponsor of the Quick-Step team.

This year's route will see a similar race to last year, in that whichever team wins the prologue TT will defend it with ease on stages one and two, allowing the sprinters' teams to take control in the last hour of racing. If it's a Leipheimer or Hincapie who wins the Prologue, or a similarly talented all-rounder, then the race-lead probably won't change after stage three's hilly day in the saddle. But if the muscular Cancellara wins the prologue, it most certainly will! The 2008 stage three has a mighty new climb in it that makes the stage significantly harder than twelve months ago, and which guarantees a big selection will be made on the way in to San Jose. But I don't think Mt Hamilton will put an experienced team-leader in trouble, meaning the most important stage of this year's Tour of California is, as in both previous editions of the race, the midweek time trial at Solvang. Leipheimer won this stage in 2007 to extend and ultimately secure his overall victory, but with the likes of Millar and Zabriskie to contend with, the Californian might have a bigger fight on his hands this time around. It's a great asset for the public to have two time trials to enjoy in this spectacular event, but it does stifle the outcome, and can make the following days racing something of an anti-climax.

I'm so excited to be back in California again, not just for the opportunity to see a great week's racing, but also to meet up with friends and clients throughout the whole week. There's a unique atmosphere to the Tour of California that can only be enjoyed, and although it is the first stage-race of the year when we move on each and every day - making it a week of late nights and sleepy-eyed starts - I know I'll go away with great memories from the trip. Even the annoyance of an organiser planning to charge me $250 per day for the privilege of riding one of the race's photo-motorbikes, won't disrupt my enjoyment, I'm sure of that. AEG is one massively wealthy organisation that has its tentacles in sports and entertainment projects all over the world. Despite its experience in these matters, AEG apparently loses over one million dollars on the TOC each year. More annoying than AEG's attempt to claw back some income by asking money to be on those photo-bikes, is the fact that are only asking money from the three foreign photo-media on this race, not the home-grown photographers who's limits of image-distribution are strictly USA-based. It worries me where a race like the Tour of California is heading when the organisers seem to be penalising the very media that gives them such great worldwide exposure.

At least it is great to see already a hint of a growing rebellion against the Tour de France's decision to leave Astana out. Surely, if any good is to come out of such a ludicrous situation, it is that the teams might finally get some unity around themselves and force the Giro and Tour organisers to think again? It is a very tough decision for a top-level ProTour team to turn down the chance of riding or even winning the Tour - indeed, an entire sponsorship might come crashing down because of it. But imagine if first one team - Evans's Silence-Lotto, for example - refuses to ride the Tour, and is then supported in this stance by several other teams: the Giro and Tour organisers will have to have a re-think. Astana's leader, Johan Bruyneel, has more than his fair share of enemies amongst rival team managers, and is hardly a friend of the Tour de France after its treatment of seven-times winner, Lance Armstrong. But the Belgian has enough respect from amongst his critics to warrant a serious level of support. What's happening now to Astana could happen to one or many other teams in the future. By rounding together now, regardless of rivalries, it is the teams and team-sponsors who could hold all the cards.

Graham Watson