Maybe the biggest news about this year's Giro d'Italia — starting Saturday — isn't who is riding in it, but who isn't.
American cyclist Tyler Hamilton, fresh off a two-year suspension for doping, is not on the starting roster released Monday. Also last year's winner, Ivan Basso, won't be returning to protect his title.
Both have been caught up in the Operacion Puerto blood doping affair, which is cutting into cycling's ranks as it did during last year's Tour de France.
For his part, Basso resigned from the Discovery Channel pro cycling team and has admitted to his involvement with the blood-doping doctor, although he says he never actually doped.
Hamilton joined the Tinkoff Systems cycling team after serving a two-year sentence for doping during the 2004 Vuelta a Espana, a charge he still denies. He had planned to make a big splash in this year's Giro.
But his name was subsequently linked to Operacion Puerto, and organizers of the race had agreed to exclude any cyclist who had been linked to the probe. Nothing at the Tyler Hamilton website this morning.
More at Daily Camera and CyclingNews.
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