They haven't gone away you know

I'm torn this week. As someone who believes everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip, and who has never been a "throw away the key" type, I've always thought that once you've done your time you should be free to get on with it like anyone else.

So why does the final overall classification of the 2.1 ranked Giro Del Trentino stick in my craw so much?

Here's the top five:

1	Alexandre Vinokourov	(Kaz) Astana	13:50:23
2	Riccardo Ricco	(Ita) Ceramica Flaminia	0:00:06
1	Domenico Pozzovivo	(Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox	0:00:42
2	Michele Scarponi	(Ita) Androni Giocattoli	0:00:44
2	Ivan Basso	(Ita) Liquigas-Doimo	0:00:56

What a list! You could reorder them like this:

Basso - banned for two years in 2007 for "attempted doping" revealed by Puerto case.
Ricco - banned for two years (reduced to 20 months) for CERA use in 2008 TDF.
Scarponi - banned for 18 months after admitting his part in Puerto case.
Vino - banned for one year in 2007 for blood doping in the TDF.

That leaves Pozzovivo as the only one of them not to have been caught cheating in the past few years.

Like I said they've all done their time so what's my problem? Could it be the total lack of remorse, or in three of their cases even admissions of guilt, that get's me so much? In a week that saw RadioShack rider Li Fuyu provisionally suspended for a positive A sample and several current and ex riders implicated in the HumanPlasma case in Austria, it has to be bad for the sport to have these guys filling the top spots in such a big event.

We can only be thankful that Valverde hasn't been going well in the Ardennes.