“I don’t really care who you are. Maybe it’s for the best I don’t know. I’m happy with the situation,” said Klaastens. “Even if I have to accept some riders at the last minute who I can’t even converse with, since all they speak is Chinese. We’re a poor cycle team from a poor country. Why Azerbaijan needs a cycling team, I don’t know that, either, but Kazakhstan has one, and they wanted one, too. Which was very lucky for me, because I was out of a job. When I heard we would have our whole season taken care of, I was even more happy. Someone told me that the government got money from outside and they’re very happy to take the credit for having a successful team. What it meant for me was no more chasing down cell phone providers in Belgium for ten thousand euros of sponsorship. That kind of thing is not fun for a man, particularly given my age and experience.”

“So how are the new men doing?” Berman had asked to try to steer Klaastens’s conversation into a more neutral arena.

“They are doing very well.” The coach looked closely at Berman as he spoke. “Extremely well. Maybe a little too well.”

“If they are performing beyond your expectations, I don’t think that should be a problem. The reverse, in fact.”

“The fact is, they are so good, they make our team leader nervous. I don’t know how much you know about our sport, but when a team’s leader is entering a race with anxiety, it is not good. The leader is a little past his best, I know, but he has a following in France, and our team wants to win a stage at the Tour in July. No one thought anything when I put these two guys in the pack because, to be frank, you and I could have got a place on the team. But these guys are fast, and strong. And no one knows who they are.”

“They have been training in China. I heard about them by chance when I was in China on business. I ride myself, I have always been interested in team cycling, so I made some introductions. If these guys are good, then, well . . . good. This is the first time they are in international competition.”

“It shows. They never talk to anyone and they have their own doctors.”

“Chinese people are suspicious of Western medics. There is a lot of herbal medicine, all perfectly tested and legal, that they use. And these two guys have never been outside of China. Even being in Italy makes them nervous. I’ve been through this all before with the team president.”

“I know you have,” Klaastens had said. “But I know more about cycling than he does. What is that phrase in America? I’ve forgotten more about it than he knows. Is that right?”

“Very good.”