The guys who want to be successful in the summer can't be flying in February. The riders whose minds are set on July (the Tour de France) probably won't be at their best (at the Tour of California).

There are no pure, pure climber's stages, no 10-mile, 14-percent brutes. And there are no bone-flat sprinters' stages, either.

If you take cyclists, runners, cross-country skiers, swimmers and all kinds of endurance athletes across the board, the people who are abusing EPO might number in the lows 100s. Compare that to the thousands of people for whom the drug has been a lifesaving application.

I think he'll be in the mix.

We always put a lot of pressure on ourselves; I mean we never go into a race looking to [do] anything other than win and this is no exception. We've been in the area, checking all the different climbs and hazards that may surprise some of the teams in the middle of the race. We'll be ready for this race.

Radio is changing dramatically. This feels like the loss of a friend that you knew you could always count on and now they won't be there.