"This is probably the funniest year I had racing bikes," he said, talking about not only his performance in the Tour but also his participation in the Tour de Georgia, his first appearance in an American race in years.
For a sport continuously battling its image as one filled with dopers, Contador's participation in the Tour ushers in yet another awkward period for cycling.
There was a tradition of spectator participation in the Tour's very early days, but it wasn't frivolous or fun: just strewing nails on the road, beating up the opposition, that kind of thing.
Rather, he said, "it's our way, and our fans' way and our sponsors' way of pleading with the organizer to make a consistent and a fair decision regarding our participation in the Tour".
Millar said that the conundrum of Contador's participation in the Tour was not the fault of one person or entity, but a fundamental flaw of the antidoping movement.
Instead, on the morning of 20 March, Dr John Meehan, a consultant psychiatrist at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, dictates and signs a formal certification stating that Stuart Goddard is suffering from clinical depression and that participation in the tour would place him under extreme mental stress.
However, an extension to his contract with Team Sky may leave Thomas facing a difficult choice over his participation in the Tour in 2012.
A final decision on Hartley's participation in the tour will be dependent on the outcome of any potential appeal by the England hooker.
His recovery and participation in the tour will be monitored in the coming weeks, but Cricket Ireland say there is no plan to replace him in the touring party at this stage.
We were not professionals, we were amateurs, we had to go back to work after the Test match -me to school and the others to their jobs!" Man-of-the-match Emburey, along with Gooch, would not play Test cricket again until 1985 after serving three-year bans for their participation in the tour of South Africa a month later.
