Horner chases beret in Vuelta al País Vasco.

Yummy Basque beret. Horner wants one.

Chris Horner can taste the beret.

“I want one of those hats,” said Horner. “I might never wear it again, but I want to wear it tomorrow.”

Exactly, Hincapie wants to hoist the cobbled rock and Horner wants the crazy basque beret which goes to the winner of the Vuelta al País Vasco this Saturday.

All he has to do is beat Alejandro “borrowed time” Valverde, the man the UCI simple can’t or won’t or is too afraid to stop racing after CAS ruled he was doping.

But despite Valverde and the UCI’s apparent inability to stop the Spaniard from racing, Horner thinks he has a pretty good shot.

“Valverde is the No. 1 rider in the world and he wins a lot of races, but I am feeling confident for the time trial,” Horner told VeloNews. “I would give myself 50-50 odds of beating him. I’m on very good form right now.”

That’s right, enough form to do to Valverde what blowhard UCI president Patrick McQuaid just can’t do. Put some time into Valverde. Not two years, global, but you know, enough to win the time trial.

Chris, it’s beret time. Just do it.