Abt with Beloki update

IHT.com | Beloki aims to complete a key task

It's not the best of news for Beloki fans, but Samuel Abt chimes in with the latest on Beloki's progress: while most of the other Tour contenders have been competing in major events, Joseba is off training in the Pyrenees with his younger brother Gorka, with no result better than a 42nd at the Clasica Alcobendas. Nevertheless, that result apparently cheered his Brioches La Boulangere manager, Jean-Rene Bernaudeau:

"He's very professional, and he has an obsession about the Tour de France," he said of his rider after the Clasica Alcobendas. "He's sure of himself, and he's passing every test he puts himself through. He's not that far behind where he ought to be."

Abt's comment:

Few would agree with that assessment.