Giro d'Italia -06/11/2009
Saddles: Giro States case
What's next - the Tour of Britain starting in Afghanistan with a showpiece prologue around Kabul?
On paper, it seems crazy that a bike race around Italy should start 6,800 kilometres and one ocean away in what is clearly the next step in a war of one-upmanship that is infiltrating the grand tours.
First we had the Tour commencing in Ireland (1998) and London (2007). Then we had the Vuelta riding its first four stages through the Netherlands and Belgium last summer - with both the Giro and Tour following suit in 2010.
But surely leaving Europe and going to the States is a step too far? Besides the logistical nightmare of an eight-hour flight back to Milan, there's the small matter of the six-hour time difference. And for a sport that purports to be green, that's a load of unnecessary carbon emissions.
It would be quite a spectacle, mind. Taking in the US capital and White House before finishing alongside the Washington Memorial would be stunning - and certainly give the motor-racing track at Assen, or the streets of London for that matter, a run for their money.
Tom Boonen (pictured) would like it: his coach would just tell him to head at top speed for the big white line that juts into the sky.
Two road stages would follow, including the mouth-watering possibility of a sprint finish in New York. What's there not to like? Granted, a rest day on day four of a three-week race would be a bit frivolous, but it can never get as bad as the Milano No Show earlier this spring.
The man supposedly behind the whole idea, the ridiculously young Mayor Adrian Fenty (just 36!), has an Italian-American mother, while his brother Shawn is a bicycle expert. Fenty is a keen rider himself and competes in triathlons to maintain his muscular physique (having no hair, he has no need for a swimming hat).
Come to think of it, Saddles is all over a bit of Soprano Cycling in the Giro; the sooner, the better. And while we're at it, it's about time the Tour visited one of France's outré-mer departments and started in Guadeloupe with a prologue up the Souffriere volcano. Take note, Monsieur Prudhomme.
TEAMTALK: Like most of you, Saddles was surprised by Cadel Evans's switch to Team Big Mac (more commonly known as BMC). One Australian newspaper - in fact The Australian newspaper - reported on the same morning that Evans was joining Garmin-Slipstream.
The paper in the same article then used a load of quotes from Robbie McEwen about how Evans would be well suited to a place on Team Sky. Talk about confusion.
Anyway, the truth soon came out: the world champion will ride for the same second-tier American outfit as Big George Hincapie and the previous rainbow jersey Alessandro "The Nose" Ballan. The obvious problem is that without ProTour status, BMC are not guaranteed an invitation on the Tour, which puts Evans's plan of fighting for the title into jeopardy.
It seems a trifle unfair that Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team has ProTour status when BMC doesn't but, then again, the Tour needs Lance as much as the Texan needs the Tour. The 2010 race has already been billed as the Contador-versus-Armstrong-but-this-time-in-a-team-of-their-own Tour - a kind of Rocky VI on wheels if you will.
The presence of John "Phonak" Lelangue at the helm may prove a stumbling block for BMC with the memory of Floyd "The Bionic Man" Landis still fresh in the minds of the ASO. But with Evans, Hincapie and Ballan, BMC should be at the start of the race in Rotterdam.
Saddles just hopes that BMC's likely inclusion is not at the expense of Vacansoleil and their star riders Brice "Not From Nice" Feillu and Johnny "Testosteronny" Hoogerland.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "This may be the only chance to ever see two legends, in Lance Armstrong and Cadel Evans, compete against one another on Australian soil." South Australian state premier Mike Rann gushes ahead of next year's Tour Down Under.
It's funny how one race can put you on the same plane as a seven-time Tour winner.
Feast on some splendid pictures of Jan Ullrich and follow Blazin' Saddles throughout the day on www.twitter.com/saddleblaze .