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Letters to Cyclingnews - September 14, 2007
Here's your chance to get more involved with Cyclingnews. Comments and criticism on current stories, races, coverage and anything cycling related are welcomed, even pictures if you wish. Letters should be brief (less than 300 words), with the sender clearly identified. They may be edited for space and clarity; please stick to one topic per letter. We will normally include your name and place of residence, but not your email address unless you specify in the message.
Please email your correspondence to letters@cyclingnews.com.
Astana & Bruyneel
Cycling vs. soccer
Cycling will survive
Floyd Landis decision
LeMond's comments
Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen
Ungrateful Levi
Why is VAM a benchmark?
Astana & Bruyneel
News of Discovery's Bruyneel considering an offer to run Astana, surprisingly, is perhaps one of the most positive developments in cycling this year. It shows his commitment to renewing the sport.
With his record, and Discovery's strong stance against doping/cheating--witness Armstrong's recent strong commendation of cycling's anti-doping efforts- and their demonstrated expertise and history of consistent professionalism, they really could clean up Astana. Like Liberty and Phonak before, it is Astana that has sullied cycling's reputation. Fixing Astana would help ensure cycling's future. Bruyneel knows this.
If anyone could, it's Bruyneel, with his consistent professionalism, who could clean up the morass at Astana and railroad through important reforms from the bottom up. If cycling is ever to recover, we need more of Bruyneel and Discovery's professionalism and expertise, not less. If we did, the crisis in cycling would soon disappear.
William S. Law
Waco, Texas, USA
Sunday September 9 2007
Astana & Bruyneel #2
As much as I have admired Johan's run as a Director Sportif , I will be extremely unhappy about his choice if he takes on the job offered to him at Astana. Given the statements that a sponsor was almost fully on board, to replace Discovery Channel, Then suddenly, Johan makes the decision to pull the plug.
He pulled the plug on a couple of dozen riders, mechanics, support staff and support directors. All on a team that was a real winner. Other than the Ivan Basso blunder,(which, sadly enough, was really the fault of a lying Ivan Basso) which I completely supported, as a fan of the team, and a fan of "due process". Riis's CSC team is certainly stellar, But in the Grand Tour scheme of it all, nobody touched Johan's teams. In nine years, they took eight Tours de France, one Vuelta, and one Giro. Ten of the Twenty-seven contested Grand Tour races over that time period.
Now as the Discovery Channel lays in splinters, all over the road, we are hearing that he is thinking of "rekindling" a career that hasn't taken a moments leave. And after hearing that he was weary of the unrelenting pressure in the cycling world. He is thinking of joining the most disgraceful team in all of cycling. Shame on him if he chooses to head that team. Does it seem like a deserving challenge to him, to see if he can turn that wretched team around? I don't even think that team belongs in the peloton next year. If he chooses to head Astana he will lose a lot of stature and credibility as far as I am concerned. I really hope I'm getting upset about nothing. Although I have always admired Bruyneel, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to see him around the peloton next year. Not after throwing the Discovery Channel Team to the winds.
Ralph Michael Emerson
West Hempstead, USA
Tuesday September 11 2007
Cycling vs. soccer
I recall a tale some years ago when Jap Stam left Manchester United. He left the Premiership, where testing was very limited, and in which he was regarded as a clean player and moved to an Italian club which was subject to tighter regulation. He lasted about ten days before providing a positive dope test in Series A. It is probably fair to say that all professional sport is tainted with the same issue once heavy outside funding is involved.
Tim Henney
UK
Friday September 7 2007
Cycling vs. soccer #2
Amazingly this is the first time I have seen a mention of soccer/football, to date the powers that be have been able to withhold well known information, the question that needs to be asked is on the Fuentes-list there were 200 athletes, 49 of which are cyclists and all have been published, who exactly are the other 151 athletes, why is it that not one of them has been leaked to the media like most of the cyclists were.
What a surprise to the world if they were ever released, if one had to take a calculated guess maybe the sports represented would be football and tennis?.
Stewart Williams
Australia
Saturday September 8 2007
Cycling will survive
There is no major professional sport that has not had problems. Sometimes the problems are widespread and lead to season-ending strikes by the players or lock-outs by the owners. Sometimes the problems exist within a single franchise and lead to that franchise relocating to another city or completely restructuring their organization. Sometimes the problems can be isolated to an individual who may suffer a fall from grace and eventually lose a career or recover and return to glory. Examples for all of these scenarios are too numerous to mention, and exist in every sport.
The fact remains that people love sport, both as participants and as spectators. People also love riding bicycles. Riders love racing, commuting, exploring trails, cruising on the beach, doing tricks, touring a local century, spinning in the gym and just about anything else that can be done on a bike.
Our sport is experiencing growing pains, to be sure. Many racers and teams have made poor decisions for any number of reasons. As a result, sponsors are now withdrawing from the sport resulting in a financial shake-up. Purses in races, numbers of teams and salaries of pros will likely shrink as a result, but that is okay.
Cycling will survive, just as every other major sport has through their troubled times, as long as people love riding and people love sport.
David Suro
Sunday September 9 2007
Floyd Landis decision
Laboratory methods must survive the scrutiny of peer review. Currently a for profit system uses methods that consistently suffer from true university experts some of which came only for expenses paid charging that non peer reviewed methods and arbitrary levels of positive levels. Laboratory methods do not meet any lab that I have been associated with and your suggestion that this is respected lab seem to be your own.
Athletes are not represented in the process making defence beyond the scope of average people. WADA does not maintain its own standards which are too loose. There has been a period of cheating with largely blood expanders like EPO and frozen self given blood that is thawed and transfused back before an event. Both these methods can now be detected using methods far more sensitive and accurate then Heamatocrit.
Heamatocrit is an example of incorrect thinking on the part of the UCI. It leads to a high level of false positives. This number which is the percentage of spun packed red blood cells to the liquid part of your blood has been limited to an arbitrary number of 50%. Reasons for this number to fluctuate: dehydration, stress and swelling into the large extremities like the legs of a cyclist to name of few. If the number is followed in normal males it will fluctuate by as much as 10 points. Since the normal male is in the mid 40's? Yet this has been used to literally end the career of several famous cyclist most notably Marco Pantani.
Meanwhile a legitimate test exists for accurately measuring the blood volume exists. This test would cost a little more and require investment in the equipment to do the test in the field. It uses a very small sample of blood that is exposed to carbon monoxide. It is re-infused and allowed to redistribute in the blood steam. Then another sample is drawn. The level of the mixed blood can then be measured against the total and a very accurate measure of the true blood volume. Abnormal levels can then be measured without the dilution problems of Heamatocrit. In EPO the percentage of "new" red blood cells to "old" red blood cells is very abnormal. So why aren't these methods used?
The levels used for Mr Landis are subject to many reasons for false positively and handling of the samples, methods of testing and the lack of knowledge of the technician were all violated in this case. The B sample was known to be that of Landis and the initial results were erased! You are a lawyer not a scientist. These are the holy issues of legitimate laboratory analysis and the case clearly fell apart whether or not you wish to believe he is guilty. The calibration of the mass spec was poorly understood by the technicians and likely was in error. The level used as positive was at threshold and often negative. If you believe this non human substance existed it would always be positive.
The weight must be placed on these labs to use proven tests by peer review methods that are followed with excruciating methodology by well trained technicians. Any impropriety or error out goes the test whether or not the test may have been positive. If "leaks" to the press happen the license of the lab should be questioned. The legitimacy of this mans whole career is now gone! And by these massively sub standard methods! Did you read the same transcript that I did? So be mad about the disruption of the sport but demand that that the agency that is profiting from the perceived scandal is doing work that can be trusted and demand that the athletes have representation and defence against a one sided system of prosecution. Our tax payer dollars are paying for many of these labs!
In the case of Hamilton two UCI panel members voted against an American scientist who wrote a scathing review criticizing this very lab. This was ignored and we now face the same issues with Vino. So at what point do we say enough of this lab. Give the work to a University lab that will provide a case that does not suffer from even a hint of self interest. How about Non UCI audits of lab methods that are as random and unquestioned as those "audits" required of the athletes.
In the mean time I would say this great brutal sport based on the last TDF is dead. Burn the witch was a very popular sport 250 years ago. I think you would have enjoyed the unquestioned evidence in those cases and would have been equally righteous.
Richard Foulkes MD
Illinois, USA
Thursday September 6 2007
Floyd Landis decision #2
Let me get this right, a lawyer, from Australia, stating that the lab that did the test is "one of the most respected laboratories in the world." If this is so, why is that same lab the one that is suspected of leaking information, multiple times, to news sources before the cyclists even get the results? Isn't that the lab that ran unauthorized test on samples taken from Lance Armstrong in 1999 and then leaked the information, again, to news sources before anyone knew about the test? Leave it to a lawyer to think this way.
I also believe that there were some much respected experts that called into question the results and testing procedures that were used by the lab. I seem to remember that one of them actually had something to do with the manufacture or the equipment. But again, leave it to a lawyer to forget about actual evidence. And now it looks like the panel is calling on someone that was not involved with the case?! So, where does it go from here?
Marshall Brinson
Pensacola, USA
Thursday September 6 2007
Floyd Landis decision #3
Obviously, as a lawyer, you too subscribe to the old adage - for those who did not read his comments, the adage was "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit". What should the Landis legal team have done to prove the results were incorrect - maybe bring in an ex-cyclist to say how nice a guy Landis is? Well I can personally tell you Floyd seems to be a nice person, but that doesn't mean he did or did not dope. Even the guy whose company produced the equipment the lab used, said in no uncertain terms that LNDD did not know what they were doing.
How can you call that one of the most respected labs in the world? If you can, that is a sad comment on the state of the labs. Quite clearly your opinion is not based in much factual information; rather like most of us it is quite subjective. I was not able to see where USADA produced much if any information that proved their side. I have long respected Mr. Lemond and still do, but he was hardly able to bring pertinent facts to the hearing.
As another writer indicates, the use by the panel of an employee of the same system that is trying to find Mr. Landis guilty, is the end of the last bit of credibility LNDD, USADA & WADA have ever had. The even bigger problem is that they have no credibility with much of the public and even fewer riders. They really are the fox guarding the hen house!
Chet Ritchie
USA
Friday September 7 2007
Floyd Landis decision #4
Most respected laboratory in the world? If you are a cyclist, then you surely have read that the majority of PROFESSIONAL cyclists who are subjected to testing by this "respected" lab do not share your opinion. They have repeatedly been proven to make juvenile mistakes in their handling of the controls, leaked "confidential" information on several occasions and most importantly, one of the techs handling Mr. Landis' B sample acknowledged she knew exactly whom the sampled belonged to.
You seem to be "dazzled with your own brilliance...and bullshit". Deeming yourself an expert in this arbitration due to the fact that you are capable of riding a bike and happened to have obtained a law degree.
Kimberly Grassedonio
Corpus Christi, Tx
Saturday September 8 2007
LeMond's comments
I agree with Ken. He was the owner of the first racing team I competed with in Good Ole Iowa City, and a great judge of character. I agree that everyone needs to stop pointing the finger. I'd personally recommend they point towards teams like Slipstream, who are doing something radical. CSC also gets the nod from me. Furthermore, banning a cycling icon like Zabel for admitting wrongdoing in the past is a bunch of old-school frontier justice. Lets all stop bitching, start riding, and re-embrace the greatest sport in the world.
Christopher A. Fore MD
Concord NH
Friday September 7 2007
Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen
The day after Rasmussen was kicked out of the tour, I was struck by the look on the faces of Denis Menchov and Michael Boogerd. A number of other events combined to give me a glimmer of hope.
Let me lay out the building blocks:
1. Menchov and Boogerd - (Rasmussen's team-mates): I am pretty sure they were thinking "I wasted all that work. I got suckered into giving my best and the guy just threw it away. I am not very happy with Michael Rasmussen." Based on recent comments by Menchov, he still is not very happy with Rasmussen. "I felt betrayed by him. I worked very hard for him, just like the rest of the team."
2. The whole Astana team gets the boot because of Vinokourov and the whole Cofidis team goes home thanks to Cristian Moreni.
3. A number of commentators, coaches and even riders have said they can tell when someone is doping. They say they can just tell.
4. In the 2004 Tour, Lance Armstrong made a dramatic statement on the road when he chased down Filippo Simioni and refused to allow him to be part of a breakaway group. Basically saying "I am the boss of you and I can make your life miserable." (Perhaps for more personal reasons than anything else)
So, here is the picture that comes into my mind:
Make a rule stating that when a rider gets caught cheating, lying, doping, etc. not only does he get kicked out, so does the whole team. Apparently, many riders will risk it all for a chance at success. How many riders will risk it all for someone else's chance for success?
I would love to see the time when riders would not only refuse to pull for someone they think might possibly be the cause of expulsion but they would actually sabotage their chances.
Suppose Menchov was pretty sure that Rasmussen was lying/cheating. Suppose Klöden know Vino was injecting blood instead of leaking it.
Before the problem becomes a real problem, they quietly ride the suspect into the ditch. Run him right off the road. Run him out of the tour. Run him out of the sport. Instead of pulling, they push. They "clean house".
Peer pressure is by far the greatest pressure. Not the pressure to win, but the pressure not to let the others down.
It would take a whole other level of jerk to risk the scorn and hostility of his peers. Imagine if a suspected cheater could not get away because his own guys were chasing him down! Now that would be a dramatic statement.
Maybe cycling teams need to have a sprinter, a climber, a grand tour GC rider and an enforcer. Like hockey used to have. Lots of hockey fans feel that it was better to let the player's sort it out on the ice rather than rely on a referee to give appropriate punishment. Often a couple of rights to the head were much more persuasive than a couple of minutes in the penalty box.
It appears that we cannot make a punishment severe enough to stop some riders from gambling with their careers. The old risk-reward equation. Big risk for a big reward.
I think however, we can make a punishment severe enough to make riders resist someone else laying down a bet on their behalf of big risk-small reward.
We still need testing and rules and punishments, but the most effective solution will be when the riders themselves conclude that even winning is not worth the consequences.
The fight for clean cycling will be won when the dopers have no friends in the peloton.
It sure looked to me that on that day, Menchov was thinking "I should have buried the bastard."
Leen Tuk
Hamilton, ON
Wednesday September 12 2007
Ungrateful Levi
After Levi sat in the wheel of George Hincapie most of the Grand Tour or the whole year for that matter, it would have been a nice gesture to give the Stars and Stripes Jersey to him. But no, a win in the Tour of Cali and a third in France is not enough. It pains me to see such a hard working domestique not get a little break, although he was very close to a couple of stage wins this year. He also sought after what Hincapie deserved after serving his captains all year long. I know who I am rooting for next year, captain or not. Go Big George.
Noel M.
Los Angeles, USA
Wednesday September 12 2007
Why is VAM a benchmark?
VAM (Velocity Ascended, metres per hour) is recently touted as a way of suggesting whether a rider is doping or not, but its use for this purpose has little basis in fact. If I cycle at 22.5kph up a 10% climb for 1 hour, I've climbed 2250m, but if I cycle at 60kph up a 3% climb for an hour I've only climbed 1800m. It's more likely (to me) that the 3% rider has a case to answer, despite having a lower VAM. VAM perhaps attempts to take into account the steepness of the route, but clearly fails to do so.
Ian McLaughlin
Edinburgh
Wednesday September 12 2007
Recent letters pages
Letters 2007
- September 7: Cycling vs. soccer, Floyd Landis decision, UCI, ASO, LeMond, et al who cares? Riders, Lawyers in the Landis case, LeMond's comments, Riders taking the fall?, US Postal/Discovery R.I.P.
- August 31: LeMond’s comments, Farewell De Peet, Cycling needs a Norma Rae, Vino & human rights?, Cadel was robbed, Floyd Landis decision, Market beliefs, Sinkewitz Positive.
- August 23: Biting the hand that feeds you, Cadel was robbed, Congratulations to grand tour organizers, Cycling needs a Norma Rae, Discovery folding, Drugs and cycling, Fewer ProTour teams, Floyd Landis decision, Petacchi’s asthma, Science of doping, Sinkewitz positive, Tailwind withdrawal, The good news...., Unibet, what a shame, World’s exclusion, Vino: "a clear violation of human rights"?,
- August 17: Dying from within..., Cadel was robbed, Biting the hand that feeds you, Discovery folding, Astana-Tour cover-up?, Christian Moreni, UCI may lose it all, Drugs & cycling, Aussie proTour team, Valverde and the worlds, Klöden: are things getting out of control?, Congratulations to grand tours organizers
- August 10: Smarter Drug Testing, Cassani and Rasmussen, Bruyneel: take doping seriously, The dubious Disco boys, Spanish ethics, Who's to blame for doping?, Untrustworthy authorities, Insurance for pro riders, Science of doping, It's working?, State of cycling, Less mountain stages, Positively false, Sinkewitz positive, Team suspensions, Tour ethics, Vino response, Editorials call for ending Tour, Revoking le Tours jerseys, LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, WADA vigilantes
- August 3, Part 1: What about team suspensions?, WADA vigilantes, Vino response, Vino excluded, but why the whole team?, Unanswered questions, Tour de France doping "scandals", State of cycling, Spanish ethics and the A.C. joke, Sinkewitz positive, Secondary testing?, Editorials calling for ending Tour, Rasmussen's location, Quality control and anti doping, Positively False, McQuaid: not the Godfather of cycling, Less mountain stages
- August 3, Part 2: LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, Le Tour, L'affaire Vino, It’s the culture, IOC questioning cycling in Olympics, Greg LeMond is not surprised, Greg LeMond, German TV, Due process, Evans v Contador - the real margin of victory, Doping, the media and the MPCC, Doping, Evans, Dope tests and the tour, Different perspective on doping, David Millar, Cycling revolution, Cadel was robbed, Bruyneel a 'man in black'?, Another drug test result leaked, Andy Hampsten
- July 27 Part 1: 80's style back in fashion?, A great few days for cycling, Vino excluded, but why the whole team?, Another drug test result leaked, ASO discretion in administering Tour justice, Astana in stage 5, Astana’s tactics, Bad day for Australia, Bloody dopes, Cadel Evans, Catching Vino is good news, Conspiracy?, David "what a joke" Millar, Doping, Doping controls, Tour ethics, German TV, LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, How many big bastards in the peloton?
- July 27 Part 2: How will cycling survive, Kazahkstan Pie, Kessler's lie, Landis and lie detector, Landis testing, Le maillot jaune is gone, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, The'Vino' scene, Losing time and bouncing back, Losing my religion, Moreau, No, not Vino, Out of season testing and baseline tests, PED's, Revoking le Tours jerseys, Petacchi out
- July 20: What about team suspensions?, Tyler Hamilton, Stuttgart Worlds, Sinkewitz positive, Petacchi out!, Bad day for Australia, Kessler's lie, Landis and lie detector, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Intestinal problems, Greg LeMond, the voice crying out in the desert, Fair doping tests, Drug testing and sequence of recorded results, Revoking le Tours jerseys, Advice for Stapleton and Sinkewitz, Astana in stage 5, Crashes, bike changes & team cars
- July 13: Fair doping tests, Tyler Hamilton, Tour downright exciting!, Stuttgart(?) Worlds, Rocketing Robbie v tormented Tommy, Armstrong's comment to ASO, Petacchi out, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Intestinal Problems, Incentive for doping, Imagine, UCI agreement, Does the UCI test for blood transfusions?, The real heroes, Bicycle options,
- July 5: Tour de France boring!, The real heroes, The flying Scotsman, Signing the contract, No Zabriskie?, LeMond and mitochondria myopathy, Incentive for Doping, Bicycle Options, Anti-doping charter, Sale of the century
- June 29: "The Flying Scotsman",Cancellara,The real heroes, Categorised Climbs, Tour for Devolder and Zabriskie?, Tour de France, boring!,Nationalistic pride, Anti Doping Charter, Bicycle Options, Doping, Doping Coverage - Enough already..., Who dopes? Who doesn't? Who cares!
- June 22: Anti Doping Charter, The real heroes, Basso's "suspension", Categorized climbs, Bicycle options, Greg LeMond and record ITT's, It is about us!, Finding the clean winner of the TdF?, Tour de France, BORING!, Prudhomme and the 1996 Tour farce, Riis, the '96 Tour and Prudhomme, Amnesty for doping..., Cycling, doping....???, Who dopes? Who doesn't? Who cares!
- June 15: Bicycle options, New Trek Madone, A week of confessions, Cycling - not yet a real professional sport, Di Luca's finest win..., Three Tour wins for Ullrich?, Ullrich getting screwed, Giro fever, Amnesty for doping offenses, Greg LeMond and record ITTs, Is drafting a known doper cheating?, Let's sort this mess out, Doping hypocrisy, Cycling, doping....?, Prudhomme and the1996 Tour farce, Simoni goes 1850 meters / hour
- June 8: Di Luca's finest win, Simoni goes 1850 metres / hour, What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Andy the Dandy, Three Tour wins for Ullrich?, Ullrich getting screwed, Percentage of pros with asthma, Amnesty for doping offenses, ling - not yet a real professional sport, Doping and cycling, Greg LeMond and record ITTs, Meaningless defense, We are out of denial - Let's look forward
- June 1, part 1: A thought for cycling's true heroes..., A cunning plan, A great opportunity for the UCI, Admissions of guilt, Let's have some real confessions, Amnesty is the way forward, Suggestions for an amnesty, Amnesty, Amnesty or punishment?, ASO's double standard, Tour Clowns, Bjarne Riis, Bjarne Riis confession, Riis must go, Riis, Basso, Zabel, et al..., Repairing the Magenta Express, Tip of the iceberg, Riis and winning the tour on EPO
- June 1, part 2: Confessions?, Honour - Seemingly rare in cycling, How deep do you go?, Who do we give it to?, A week of confessions, Peer pressure, Mind boggling hypocrisy, Pro cycling - Sometimes you make it hard to love you, Meaningless defence, Riding with Lance, Lucky Lance, Cheating by proxy, LeMond trying to tear down US riders , So, if Floyd is right..., Thank you Floyd, Floyd Landis hearing, Mr. Young's closing arguments, Something more important..., What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Percentage of pros with asthma:
- May 23: Landis case live coverage, LeMond a true champion, Questioning LeMond's motives, LeMond trying to tear down US riders, Saint LeMond, Landis and his character, Landis has made cycling a joke, Landis had his drink spiked?, Landis in a corner, Landis polygraph?, Landis' disclosure of information, The quality of Landis' character, Landis' behaviour, Joe Papp
- May 18: Armstrong can defend himself, Di Brat, Chris Hoy's world kilo record attempt , Hoy in sixty seconds, What ever happened to Iban Mayo?, Hypocrisy of the cycling world, Italian Reactions to Basso, Who's telling the truth?, Basso + Ullrich = Armstrong?, Basso still a legend, Simoni vs Basso, Basso, Landis etc The new mafia?, Landis to ask UCI to boot Pound, Vinokourov to claim second in '05 TdF?, Percentage of pros with asthma, Unibet at Dunkerque
- May 11: An attempt at doping?, Almost as bad as Ullrich, Basso admission, Hats off Basso, Basso still a legend, Basso's attempted plea bargain, Basso and Discovery, Discovery's PR, Basso vs Simoni , Truth and Reconciliation Commission, A means to an end, Hypocrisy of the cycling world, Vinokourov to claim second in '05 TdF? , New Puerto plan, Where is the Puerto money?, Time to start re-stating race results, The morals and math of cycling, Chris Hoy's world kilo record attempt , Unibet at Dunkerque, Davide Rebellin
- May 4: Call that a race?, Reflecting on Schumacher's win, Pose with Landis, at a price, Danielson should leave Discovery, Davide Rebellin, The year of the clean Classics?, Basso and Discovery, Basso this, Landis that, Ullrich the other..., Basso, DNA and whatever else, Basso's DNA, Say it ain't so, Johan, Let's cut them some slack!, Armstrong, head and shoulders above?, Landis, Armstrong vs the Lab, It's not all about the Tour!, Puerto Affair
- April 27: The year of the clean Classics?, David Rebellin, Call that a race?, Reflecting on Schumacher's win, Danielson should leave Discovery, Inspirational O'Grady and those cobbles, L'Equipe does it again!, Tour de France speaks out, The morals and math of cycling, Basso and Puerto, Puerto, part deux, Gilberto, you were right!, Landis, Armstrong vs the Lab, Pose with Landis, at a price?, Taking blood, Gent-Wevelgem and the Kemmelberg, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles
- April 20: Stuey wins Roubaix, O'Grady Rocks!, An Aussie in Arenberg, Deep-dish carbon versus the cobbles, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles, Unibet/FdJ/Lotto - Help!, U.S. Open Cycling Championships, Racing in America, Retesting Floyd's B-samples, Taking blood
- April 13: Thoughts on Flanders, Crashes at Gent-Wevelgem, Gent-Wevelgem and water bottles, What about that loose water bottle?, T-Mobile one-two, Popo for the Classics, Racing in America, U.S. Open Cycling Championships, Unibet/FdJ/Lotto - Help!, French hypocrites?, Bjarne Riis, Floyd Landis 'B' sample fiasco, Taking blood, Ullrich DNA match
- April 6: April Fools, Ullrich DNA match, Taking blood, T-Mobile and Puerto, The song remains the same, Ullrich and Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton and flu, Unibet and access into France, Bjarne Riis, Popovych, The death of irony, Armstrong boring?, Ullrich/Armstrong comparisons
- March 30: Basso wind tunnel testing, Bjarne Riis, Riis' response, Drugs in other sports, Dominquez at Redlands, Armstrong boring?, Ullrich/Armstrong comparisons, Popovych - the new Armstrong?, ASO wildcard selections, ASO-UCI split, Boys atop the sport, Cycling at two speeds, Puerto shelved, Tyler Hamilton.
- March 23: Popovych - the new Armstrong?, A few years ago, Tyler Hamilton, Operación Puerto not complete, Puerto shelved, ASO-UCI split, Drugs in other sports, Basso wind tunnel testing, Water bottle and cage sponsorship, Bates' article on Jan Ullrich, Ullrich's retirement, The current state of cycling
- March 16: Don Lefévčre, Lefévčre tries to reinforce omerta, Spring fever, Ullrich's retirement, UCI has no power, Puerto shelved, Who's been taking what?, ProTour a flawed competition?, UCI-Grand Tour organizer dual!, ASO-UCI split, ASO needs to see benefits in ProTour, Sponsorship, drug use and dinosaurs, The current state of cycling, New Pro Cyclist Union, Congratulations to Unibet, Unibet situation, Unibet.com marketing, Tour of California mistake
- March 9: ASO - UCI split, UCI has no power, UCI vs. ASO, UCI vs. the world, ProTour and contracts, The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?, Unibet and French law, Unibet situation, Pete Bassinger's Iditarod Trail record ride, Bates' article on Jan Ullrich, Ullrich's retirement, Tour of California expenses, Discovery's profile in Europe, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Floyd's big ride
- March 2: Ullrich's retirement, Altitude tents and EPO, Home-made altitude tents, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, The agony of Unibet?, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Upside down Disco solved, Tour of California mistake, Graeme Brown, Hats off to Dick Pound?, Grand Tours, who really cares?, ProTour and contracts, ProTour vs wildcards, RCS' decision, UCI vs. the world, Floyd's big ride, Asthma everywhere
- February 23: Altitude tents and EPO, Tour of California mistake, Chavanel's training regime, Discovery's reasons for pulling sponsorship, Discovery's world upside down?, Tyler Hamilton and drug testing, Grand Tours, who really cares?, The Unibet fiasco: is it that bad?, A solution to the Unibet situation, UCI and the ASO, UCI vs. the world, Will the fight never end?, Paris Nice and others, Pro Tour and contracts, RCS decision, Hats off to Dick Pound, Armstrong owes Dick Pound nothing, Graeme Brown, Asthma everywhere, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 16: T-Mobile, Adam Hanson and doping, Unibet's new jersey, Double standards for Unibet?, RCS decision, A letter to ASO, Hamilton and Tinkov, Discovery Channel, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the cross worlds, Best moment?, Crowd control at the cross worlds, Doping reconciliation, Get into 'cross racing, Pound still wants answers from Armstrong, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- February 9: Unibet show they won't be put down, Double standards for Unibet?, Unibet's new jersey, Asthma everywhere, Bart Wellens' comments at the Cross Worlds, Crowd control at the Cross Worlds, Jonathan Page's mechanic beaten, Cheers to Bradley Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins' comments, Jaksche lashes out, Get into 'cross racing, Le Tour was created to sell newspapers, The stakes are too high, Doping reconciliation, Best moment of 2006?, Ivan Basso interview, Ullrich's DNA sample, Ullrich to Relax-GAM?, Ullrich partners with sports-clothing company, Still love to ride, My perfect state of mountain biking, A terrible model for cycling
- February 2: The sanctimonious need to be taken out back, Confidentiality of test results, Oscar Pereiro cleared, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Riders' nicknames, Doping reconciliation, Help for Floyd Landis, Museeuw's insults, Sven Nys, The Floyd Fairness Fund, The sorry state of pro-cycling
- January 26: Drug testing methodologies, Museeuw the PR man, Museeuw's insults, Johan Museeuw and Tyler Hamilton, Sven Nys, Conduct in the pro peloton, McQuaid unhappy with Pereiro, Put doping in the correct context, Moreau wins 2006 TDF, Who wins the 2006 Tour now?, Drapac Porsche's exclusion from the TDU, Bike sponsorship, Compact geometry, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 19: Drapac-Porsche and the TDU, Bettini to win the Ronde?, Frame geometry, Phil Liggett's recently stated views, Prudhomme's zealotry, 3 cheers for Christian Prudhomme, Deutschland Tour, 3 cheers for Saunier Duval, Dick Pound, Fairness in Operation Puerto?, Do the maths, The Floyd Fairness Fund
- January 12: Dick Pound, Just 'Pound' him, Pound casts doubt on Landis, Pound comments, The Dick and Pat Show, McQuaid starts cultural polemic, Why the Pro Tour model will never work, The Floyd Fairness Fund, Riders' union, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Danny Clark - an inspiration, Allan Peiper, Do the maths, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Justice and America, Lance in Leadville, Tubeless road tires
- January 5: Danny Clark - an inspiration, Legal standards and cycling, Peter Van Petegem's secret, Lance a no show for Leadville, Cyclo-cross reader poll results, Do the math, A fair trial, Tubeless road tires, Manzano's polygraph test, Blind trust in implicated riders, A terrible state of affairs, Armstrong's credibility - the conspiracy theories, Best ride ever
Letters 2006
- December 29: Lance in Leadville, Leadville Trail 100, Manzano's polygraph test, British Cycling and the Tour de France, Tell me, what's the problem?, "Disco" team?, Presumption of innocence, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, American culture, Armstrong's credibility, Back room politics and the IPCT
- December 22: Scott Peoples, Hypocrite?, Landis and the Landaluze case, Landis' defense fund, Rumours and innuendo, Bjarne Riis interview, Enough already, Back room politics and the IPCT, Armstrong's credibility, American culture, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 15: A totally predictable situation?, Armstrong's credibility, Deutschland Tour and Denmark Tour, Back room politics and the IPCT, Holczer and others, Holczer and the Discovery exclusion, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Can't we all just get along?, DNA safety, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Genevieve Jeanson, Mark McGwire, Operación Puerto bungled...deliberately?, Operation Puerto and the UCI
- December 8: Genevieve Jeanson, Floyd Landis on Real Sports, Deutschland Tour, Bjarne's ignorance factor, USADA does it again, Labs and testing, Astana denied ProTour license, Isaac Gálvez, McQuaid, Question about DNA testing, Le Tour de Langkawi 2007
- December 1: Hamilton, Isaac Gálvez, USADA does it again, Bjarne's ignorance factor, Shorten the Vuelta?, Vuelta short, shorter, shortest, Labs and testing, Ullrich to CSC, Clean up cycling's own house first, Fed up with doping, Strange sponsorships, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, What's going on behind the scenes?, Graeme Obree
- November 24: Graeme Obree, What about Leipheimer?, French anti-doping laboratory, Basso agrees to DNA testing, Basso to Discovery, Richard Virenque, UCI are the problem, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 17: Saiz and Tinkoff, Countdown to the 2007 Tour, Improving the reliability of testing, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, Forgetting Tom Simpson, Operación Puerto and national federations, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?. Reverse blood doping, Richard Virenque, What's going on behind the scenes?
- November 10: Forgetting Tom Simpson, Tour Route, Basso to Discovery, Cycling and DNA testing, What is DNA testing?, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Jan Ullrich, Operación Puerto and national federations, Reverse blood doping, What's going on behind the scenes?, Comments on McQuaid
- November 3: Tour Route, Return of a real good guy, Cameron Jennings, Future Australian ProTour team, Neil Stephens, 2007 Tour Intro Video Snub, Richard Virenque, Reverse blood doping, Comments on McQuaid, Marc Madiot, Who's more damaging?, What's going on behind the scenes?, Wada & Cycling's Governing Body, UCI and Doping, The Pope of Cycling and the Spanish Inquisition, Refusing DNA testing - an admission of guilt?, Put up or shut up!, DNA, its so ‘easy', DNA Testing In Cycling
