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Whenever Blazin' Saddles is uninspired he turns to Cadel Evans's blog to inject a bit of va-va -voom back into his veins.

Besides convincing his Silence-Lotto team to ditch Jaroslav Popovych, it seems the Australian's been rather busy in the off-season. For starters, his website is completely revamped, showing pictures of him frolicking in the Swiss snow, mending his handlebars, and walking with his wife Chiara (what a lovely umbrella-bag combo).

There are also succinct write-ups after each day of this year's Ruta del Sol race, including literary references to the inspiring author Paulo Coelho and musings about the state of the world's economy. BS never knew Cadel was so deep.

Like Lance Armstrong, Cadel is also a regular poster on the social networking site du jour, Twitter. But a swift surf on the 'officialcadel' Twitter page does not provide instant rewards. You learn that our hero is "just about to sit down and eat some rice and vegetables" or that he's "washing the dishes :) - what fun".

Pulses rose last weekend, however, with Cadel having "a social Sunday, airport pick up with an Ugg boot delivery on the way". Gee, the Evans household sure knows how to let its hair down.

Maybe Cadel's MySpace account will provide a better insight into the man behind the dimple? A quick perusal of his newly set-up page saw BS learn that Chiara is a classical pianist, that Cadel's best band is called My Friend The Chocolate Cake (other fans include, reportedly, Jan Ullrich), that he likes Dances With Wolves and the original Mad Max movie, and that his favourite "books" are Tintin ones - "all of them".

Fans of the rider who finished runner-up in Paris the last two years will be concerned to learn that Cadel's social networking may be throwing a spanner into his priorities. His first wall entry reads: "I am working on that tour thing but now discovering the world of MySpace."

He's also discovering that some nasty, vindictive people online - no, not Blazin' Saddles - like to make him a mild subject of ridicule. It turns out that a prankster has started a 'fakecadelevans' Twitter page with, you have to admit, instant comedic effect:

- Just finished bowl of fruit sprinkled with powdered Yak bone. 4:12 PM Feb 5th

- Off to the gym soon. Focusing on quad and chin muscles today 6:11 PM Feb 5th

- Sleep time. Rest day tomorrow. I'll probably just spend the day chanting and meditating. Might group meditate with Lotto boys over Skype. 4:58 AM Feb 6th

Skype now there's an idea. Cadel, have you tried that one?

Not the only Twit on two wheels

Armstrong has been a regular user of Twitter since his return to the fold, the American even finding his stolen bike thanks to a vigorous online campaign.

The seven-times Tour winner uses his site to update fans about his progress both on the bike and in promoting the global awareness of cancer. He also posts links to interesting videos and articles, and gives regular 'shout-outs' to other professional riders.

A recent entry says: "Just found out Levi won the ToC with a fractured sacrum. Happened on stage 3. He's a tough dude to be able to pull that off."

And how did Lance find this out? Well, just one hour 24 minutes earlier, Levi himself had posted on Twitter: "Looks like I fractured my sacrum in that stage 3 crash, was wondering why the pain wouldn't go away! It's not bad but no Paris Nice for me."

Indeed, Twitter has become a bit of an old boys reunion for the former Discovery team-mates, with Armstrong and Leipheimer regularly "giving props out" to the likes of David Zabriskie and 'Still Pretty Big' George Hincapie.

A recent Zabriskie offering: "If anyone out there sees anything you think might be mine, let me know. Thanks..."

Hincapie, not preoccupied with recovering stolen watches, cars and Marvel cartoon figurines, simply muses about hard training sessions ("Pretty much laid in bed all day today. Had to do a one-hour photo shoot at the Hincapie office. That was the only thing I did all day"), sleepless nights ("Feel like I went to war with my body last night, good news is I think I won. Gonna ride a bit today") and - it seems - ladies' winter underwear catalogues ("Checking the fall 09 women's line out. It's super cool").

Magnus's coffee break

Following his retirement from top-level cycling, Big Magnus Backstedt has bean - sorry, been - pouring his time into another passion of his: coffee. Click on the 'store' section of Maggy's website and you will be confronted with adverts for 'Viking Blend'.

Rather than the Scandinavian equivalent of Pot Belge, Viking Blend is in fact the Wales-based Swede's own brand of coffee, 'Magnus Maximus'. "Coffee is a passion of mine as it is of all pro-bike racers. MAGNUS MAXIMUS is the result of many hours of research drinking coffee and eating cakes (not too many and only in the off-season)," he says.

Proceeds from sales go to developing talent in Backstedt's new second-tier cycling team, Cyclesport.se-Magnus Maximus Coffee.com. It's a bit of a mouthful (the team, not the coffee), but one BS is proud to endorse.

Ban of the week

Portuguese road champion Joao Cabriera has been suspended for two years for trying to alter a doping control sample with the enzyme protease. Protease, which can break down EPO in urine to help cheat a test, is commonly found in detergents. BS suggests that on his return, Cabriera be known as 'Mr Muscle' in the peloton. Failing that, he could always be called 'Toilet Duck'.

Spotted

Lance Armstrong in a pristine white shirt alongside sullied former team-mates Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis at the Tour of Mexico inauguration. The Astana rider is not taking part in the race, but made an appearance as part of his global cancer awareness campaign.

Still, it's a sight that would make Paul Kimmage turn incandescent with rage - especially seeing that the guy who looks the most embarrassed of the three is Landis, with a trademark 'OUCH' emblazoned across his chest.

Talking points

With the spring classic season underway, there are lots of interesting things to address. With victory in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (formerly the Het Volk), Thor Hushovd crowned a more-than-solid start to the season for new team Cervelo. With Hushovd going for green, Carlos Sastre for yellow and Heinrich Haussler in the picture, are Cervelo a force to be reckoned with this year?

And what about the proposed all-British Team Sky, which has been set up by David Brailsford and secured the services of former CSC director Scott Sunderland? Do you really think the team can deliver on their promise of joining the ProTour and putting a rider atop the Tour podium in just five years?

Finally, French sports paper l'Equipe will host a debate on the use of team radios in its hallowed pages this week. On the one side you have issues of safety and on the other the degeneration of impulsive racing. Personally, BS thinks there should be a ban - or at least restrictions to just one team member. Anything to make the racing more interesting and to add more of a human element.

Felix Lowe / Eurosport