In recent months Argos-Shimano's Marcel Kittel has become a beacon of anti-doping with some strong comments via his twitter account - though Kittel is not without Scandal, having been implicated in the practise of UV Light blood irradiation in 2007 and 2008 which remained legal in cycling until January 2011, no crime there then and Marcel Kittel has since been cleared of any wrongdoing German Sports Arbitration court but today the German National Anti-Doping Agency announced it will appeal that decision to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport. So what is 'Photo-oxidation therapy' or 'blood irradiation', and is Marcel in hot water?...

Not all pro's take a break in Winter - here Iljo Keisse hits the boards to win his fifth 'Gent Six'. The road can be a dangerous place but riding a 'six' is a whole new level of 'scary'. If you are unfamiliar with these races, and indeed Keisse, here is an article I wrote earlier in the year that explains just why this was a great win, for an often overlooked but extraordinary professional cyclist.

This week should see the announcement indicating which of the five remaining teams without a WorldTour licence for 2013 gets one. There are three spots remaining and in the running are Argos - Shimano, Lotto-Belisol, FDJ, Europcar and Saxo Tinkoff. However with Europcar deciding not to apply (thanks to financial committments) and instead rely on wildcard entries to next years top races, this is really only a fight of Four and even recent reports are to be believed, it's really only a fight between Argos-Shimano and Saxobank - which has opened a whole new can of worms...

It's been a quiet week, transfer news lessons and talk of 2013 starts to do the rounds, but here's a little catch up of the latest goings on as riders return to training and knuckle down in preparation for the forthcoming season...

Opinion on the 2012 Vuelta a Espana route as a whole varies greatly, with many calling it a work of genius and the best Grand Tour of 2012 and others claiming it was mountain heavy, over the top and ultimately boring. One thing we can all agree on however, is that it was extremely tough with climbs so steep riders ground to a halt and pushed their bikes across the line, and though it made for interesting television, it would be hard not to agree that some of the climbs were overly difficult. So what have the organisers done for 2013?...made it even tougher, obviously.

We are still a long way away from the serious racing in 2013 but over the past week or so riders have blown the cobwebs from their bikes and hit the road in preparation - I've said it before but it really is a hard life. Pictured is Bradley Wiggins getting back into the saddle - he's heading off to Majorca next week for the start of his serious 2013 build-up ending any speculation that he might not be taking 2013 too seriously after his Tour de France win. I've heard people say Wiggins looks chubby here, somebody noted that he is in fact in the small chain ring and the road isn't 'even' heading upwards! Is he puffing for oxygen here too?...Seriously? If this is an out-of shape rider I'm glad nobody is about to photograph me at the weekends....

So cycling has been off our screens for over a month now and the blues are well and truly setting in. If day dreaming about the cobbled classics (or even the Tour Down Under) just isn't doing it for you any longer then fear not: Here's a great little video from Guillermo Rubio with all the best bits from 2012 and it's sure to reignite that cycling fire - it's only eleven and a half minutes long but if you are really struggling then it can be played on a continuous loop.......Enjoy.

It was sad news last month to learn that Wilier Triestina bikes would be missing out on the WorldTour next year as ties with Lampre-ISD were sethered following a fall out regarding 2013 contracts. But things for Wilier are looking up, in fact the split from Lampre could be a blessing in disguise and an announcement that Colombia-Coldeportes will ride Wilier's next year means that the historic Italian bike manufacturer will almost certainly see some Grand Tour action next year...

There is no denying that Team Sky cycling boss Dave Brailsford has been under a lot of pressure recently with his 'sign or exit' no-doping policy at Sky, he has even been described as a 'hard man to please' and come under scrutiny for his numeric, often robotic approach to cycling - but in a dramatic twist it looks as though Brailsford may share more than just a passing likeness to 'Hitman' as his latest bungled attempt to keep Team Sky 'clean' demonstrates...

Compared to recent weeks, this week has been pretty slow on news as is to be expected this time of year though it is a chance for us to get back to 'cycling talk' rather than 'doping talk'. If you have noticed the blog slowing down a little don't worry, things will be back to normal soon, in the meantime though, heres a quick look at the weeks latest cycling news...