Ricco was caught with a new generation EPO (a blood booster), called cera. Apparently, some numbskull thought that maybe with a new strain of EPO, it might go “under the radar” (I’m really liking the “quote un-quote”). He’s been pulled from the Tour, and he’s got us wondering how deep this doping goes.

I’m glad they caught him; I’m glad the testing is working; I’m glad they’re holding their line; I’m sad there are so many desperate cyclists out there. I can’t imagine what might have happened had Floyd Landis won his appeal.

Now, Ricco’s entire team, Saunier Duval, has exited the tour.

“It’s a team decision not to start the race,” sporting director Matxin Fernandez told AP. “He’s our leader, we can’t act as if nothing happened. We suspend the activities of the team until we know what happened.”