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Letters to Cyclingnews - August 7, 2008
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.
Riccò confesses to using EPO
Carlos Sastre
Contador
A question for Susan Westemeyer
Confused
Lance and the doping debate
Accountability and cycling teams
Crank length formula
Bring back bonus seconds to liven le Tour
Yet another...Manual Beltran
ASO, doping and Astana
Riccò confesses to using EPO
Once more we've gotten it straight from the horse's mouth: "Of the 10 controls taken," said Riccardo Riccò, "only two were positive. In theory all the tests should have been positive," he said.
We now know for certain what we should have known all along: Simply because a rider passes a control, even many controls, we cannot conclude that the rider is clean. Cheaters have beaten the system consistently for years. They themselves have told us so: yellow jerseys, green jerseys, polka dot jerseys, and those with team jerseys only, have admitted to cheating and to getting away with it.
You'll forgive me, then, for my continued disbelief, when I am not convinced by a rider who is wildly successful for many years, and who not only soundly and repeatedly defeats not just the world's best riders, but the world's best riders on dope, when that rider tries to establish his innocence by pointing to passed controls. That defence simply won't work; its proof that doesn't prove.
Fair or not, suspicion falls on everyone -- on those who win and on those who do not. The 2008 cadre of TdF dopers, you'll recall, were both winners and losers, were both young and old, and were both famous and unknown. Even the losers, those who have virtually no chance whatever of winning any race over the length of an entire career, cheat. That's another way of saying that pro cycling is still in the toilet, and there's no way to flush it clean. We've flipped the handle over and over, but the disgusting stuff never goes away.
Against my better judgment, I did what I swore I would not do: namely, I watched the Tour. While watching, I repeatedly saw commercials about "taking back the Tour." It hasn't happened yet, and I have no solid reason at all to believe it ever will. If you have a solid reason, I'd genuinely, sincerely, gratefully, intensely like to hear it.
But at this moment I remain deeply sceptical. Perhaps it is only a coincidence, and perhaps it is not. But this year's winner comes from the very team directed by "Mr. 60," a man who admitted to doping his way to the yellow jersey, a man whose team also has this year's white jersey winner, a man whose team also won the team competition.
Short of a solid reason to do otherwise, all I can do now is to swear off pro cycling, get back on my bike, and root for the only rider I'm sure is clean.
Dr. Michael Bauman
Hillsdale, Michigan
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Riccò confesses to using EPO #2
What a selfish, self centred, useless little bastard!
"I made a mistake of youth," he said.
No you made a country, the biggest race in the world, your boss, his staff, your team-mates, their sponsors and the rest of the cycling community look like a bunch of morons because you made us believe you were part of a renaissance of clean cycling amongst the youth coming through the sport today.
Riccò has the height to think his only error was taking the drug when he thought he was not going to be competing! Ever heard of out of competition testing chum?
He then says he feels most sorry for his team’s staff who may have lost their jobs and his team-mates who had to withdraw because of him. Something you could have considered before you took the drug had you possessed the decency to think about someone other than yourself for once, but you can't and you didn't. Now everyone else pays.
Good riddance!
Ryan Sorensen
Sydney, Australia
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Riccò confesses to EPO use #3
Riccò said "Of the 10 controls taken, only two were positive. In theory all the tests should have been positive.."
A 25% detection rate is not the kind of success that ASO and AFLD should be bragging about. It certainly adds weight to the findings of the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center study that indicates that many positive EPO samples are not detected at WADA labs.
and the comments of Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard: Obvious'
EPO positives being ignored by WADA.
A study is one thing, but to hear a rider prove the point through experience makes it very real.
They caught 4 but you have to wonder who the other 12 are.
Leen Tuk
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Carlos Sastre
Wake up Jeff!
Have you ever riden for GC or are you just a would be if you could be?
Lance Armstrong resorted to similar things during his winning years with the help of a very strong team. However Cadel had to do it all on his own, so heroics are the last thing he would be attempting.
Jan Ulrich was not that exciting to watch .When a rider jumped he just ground it out at 70rpm until he regained contact. Where is the excitement in a twenty minute chase as opposed to one minute gut wrenching all out chase to have it done repeatedly all the way to the finish line .
Cadel's smart race craft will eventually be rewarded with the win he chases, and then you will probably be singing all of his praises.
Mitch
Sydney, Australia
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Carlos Sastre #2
I like that Jeff. Cadel in the Beige jersey. Has he ever actually been physically in the front of the TDF field? I've never seen him anywhere but sucking wheel. C'mon Evans, attack someone!
Alan Schiff
Snowbird, Utah
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Carlos Sastre #3
Jeff, in regards to your comments towards Cadel Evans, I have to ask if you were indeed watching the tour this year? Cadel was often in the headlines for his off-the-bike actions, couple that with his sprinting for stage wins (Stages 1 and 6) and the ride up l'Alpe d'Huez when no-one else would do any work. Other members of that group (Vande Velde, Menchov and Kohl) also lost the tour on that day and I think you'll find he was nowhere near the most boring GC contender.
The way he continued after such an intense crash and with a team that seemed one of the weakest in the race to still finish second showed enormous courage and spirit. If there was one rider who did not seem to do a lick of work at the front or animate any of the action it would be one Christian Vande Velde in my mind.
In saying this I do not mean to detract from an amazing ride by Carlos Sastre and I feel he deserves the yellow as much, if not more, than anybody. Well done Carlos and Cadel!
Tom
Brisbane, Australia
Friday, August 1, 2008
Carlos Sastre #4
Beige Jersey; great idea, Yes Cadel and his squeaky jockey voice would be the winner every year!
I recently looked back thru several years of Tour video's to find the last time Mr Evans actually had 'Tete de la Course' next to his name was 2005. I don't understand how he can possible think he is able to win without ever seeing the front of the race once except the customary roll out at the start!
Boring and not that popular except in the media.
Stu Thomas
Dunedin, New Zealand
Friday, August 1, 2008
Carlos Sastre #5
Well, well, well, here we have yet another observer who thinks it is reasonable to take a shot at an elite athlete (Cadel Evans), focussing not on their performance, but on their personality!
You just might want to consider what your own faults are before you sit in judgement of others.
Jack
Mildura, Australia
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Contador
The bottom line is that we will never know if Alberto would have won the Tour, and Levi and Kloden were screwed out of a chance when their careers are coming to an en; a right they did not deserve to lose.
It’s pretty clear the French used a different measuring stick for Astana vs. other teams (even thought Astana leads the way with High Road and Slipstream in policing their own riders). Let’s hope Festina never wants to sponsor a team again. As much as I enjoyed the Tour, it was and always will be second rate without Astana’s presence.
Geoffrey Finley
Friday, August 1, 2008
A question for Susan Westemeyer
A question for Susan Westemeyer, regarding her ratings of the Le Tour teams.
What do you have to do to get a 10? I would have thought that:
- A Yellow Jersey
- A White Jersey
- The Team Classification
- Two stages (and another if you disqualify the Saunier-Duval riders)
- And a 6th place overall…
would be enough. It was certainly better than the performances of either Columbia or Gerolsteiner (good through they were).
James Millar
Perth, Western Australia
Monday, August 4, 2008
Confused
I would like to add one more comment to the on-going debate about Lance. In interviews Linda (his mother) has said that she believed that when Lance climbed he went back to when he was on chemo and recalled the pain and discomfort that was associated with it. Well anyone who has had a kidney stone knows how painful those can be. And having spoken with a few women who have had both kidney stones and given birth, many would opt to give birth again before going through the pain of passing a kidney stone. My point is that perhaps the pain and discomfort of chemo was greater than the climbs in the tour and thus he went back to those memories as a reminder.
As for the weight question, I can recall seeing a photo of him finishing a race in his Motorola years and he definitely weighs a lot more than he ever did during his Tour years. His face is fuller, arms bigger and he is stockier overall. No one wants to believe that hard work and dedication pays off, maybe in this age of the trust fund celebrity, whose only claim to fame is a large inheritance and poor behaviour, it is easy to call into question the results of something so amazing. In the end as we have seen those that cheat get caught and yes I imply with this statement that because he didn’t get caught he didn’t cheat. A single-minded focus on winning the biggest race in the world allowed him to dominate.
Sadness and bitterness only accrues and does not age well.
Anyway – something to consider and that is my two cents.
Chris Wright
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Confused #1
If I remember correctly, Lance reported that his illness finally allowed his upper body, which was over muscled, to atrophy. Following recovery Lance was then able to rebuild his body as a pure cyclist, and bring his weight back up to pre-illness levels by adding muscle in only the right places.
Brennan
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Confused #2
Friday 25th July Keith Luzzi said: "Get the facts straight and stop providing bad data. In the 1995 Tour de France Lance finished the Tour in 36th place and he took stage 18 in honour of team-mate Fabio Casartelli who crashed and died on stage 15."
This may be true Keith but in the same Tour Lance Armstrong was also caught in the time trial by his 5 minute man, Miguel Indurain. Yet he was able to become a world beating time trialist in later years; amazing.
Lance also finished ten minutes behind his soon to be mentor Johan Bruyneel on GC and 1hr 28 mins behind Miguel Indurain.
Happy Cycling
Andrew Steele
Victoria, Australia
Monday, August 4, 2008
Lance and the doping debate
I've been reading with interest the debate going on over Lance's post cancer physiology and why he was so successful after cancer. Dedication? Fitness? Goal oriented? Tour de France specialist? Yes to all. No one was more focussed on success in a singular cycling event, though it is the most prestigious one.
Lance's oft quoted refrain of being the most tested athlete and still never having failed a doping test no longer holds water with me. It has long been obvious that the testers and testing procedures lag far behind the drugs that athletes are taking. The evidence from this year's Tour and expulsion of Riccardo Riccò shows that the testers are finally catching up. The confessions of Bjarne Riis and Erik Zabel of EPO use cast some shadow on Lance's assertion. They never failed a doping test either.
Ivan Basso, Michael Rasmussen and Jan Ullrich did not fail a drug test. They were censured for guilt by association or not being forthcoming about their whereabouts. If the same policy were adopted by USPS/Discovery, Lance may have suffered the same fate because of his association with Dr. Ferrari.
Since Lance retired in 2005, it seems that the burden of proof (at least in the arena of public opinion) has been lowered. I wonder if Lance apologists and fans are still in the camp that Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton did nothing wrong.
Lance was the best Tour de France cyclist of his time. No doubt. If you think he is 5-10% better clean than all the Euro drug taking competitors, well, I know of a great real estate deal for you too!
Peter Leyser
Stonet Creek, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Accountability and cycling teams
The observations made by Dick Wright regarding the abysmal team strategy employed by Silence-Lotto must be applauded. How can the management of this team survive such a disaster both in sporting and business terms?
In the Giro they apparently only just then ‘discovered’ a new climbing star in the form of Jurgen van den Broeck who finished 7th overall. He was ably supported by Matthew Lloyd who finished 30th. Surely someone in the team management must have realised that these two riders should have been available to support Evans in the Tour – even if this meant withdrawing one or both of them from the Giro in order to save form.
Why a team with the hottest favourite would line up with another two riders aiming to finish last (truly a joke) and another trying to win sprints is beyond any sensible person. And, considering his form over the season, how could anyone have believed that ‘Popo’ would have been of any use to Evans also defies belief.
Greg Cremen
Luxembourg
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Accountability and cycling teams #2
Dick, they're not robots. It's not a computer game. Popovych didn't fire as we had all expected, but that's part of the sport- he had not gotten his prep right and had peaked too early in his training. Sometimes that happens, even when you try desperately not to make it so.
As for your comment on the Lantern Rouge, remember you're talking about the big Belgian who busted himself pulling on the front of the peloton as hard as he could for as long as he could, doing a fantastic job for the team on several stages. He was not going for a high placing overall - his job was to smash himself to bits for the team. The last placing is a representation of his efforts for the team at the expense of his GC placing.
Remember the stage to Alpe d"Huez? Only Wim and Mario Aerts were assisting towards the base of the climb. If Cadel had had two more climbers with him, he would have been able to drag Sastre back to the Group, and maybe counter with an attack of his own. As it was he had to vary his rhythm the whole way, chasing down attack after attack. You can't bring them all back on your own. Hopefully next year the Silence-Lotto team will re-structure and have better support for Cadel.
He's going to need it with Astana coming back to the fray. Chucking out the management would be a move that epitomises the disposability of modern Australian, American & British society - treating team managers and riders like boxes that are either selected to the pallet or dumped as seconds. A sordid state of affairs. Adjustments need to be made, not wholesale throw-outs. Its okay to come second in the TdF - it was a brilliant effort. Stop sobbing into your beer, and get ready for the Olympic road race!
Duncan
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Accountability and cycling teams #3
All teams were shown how to win the tour 7 years in a row with Armstrong and US Postal/Discovery so Silence Lotto really have no excuse about not recruiting riders to assist Cadel to win.
CSC did a fantastic job in controlling the race the last week. Evans’s team should have given up the yellow jersey to save the teams energy in the middle week. In the end he had to revert to his wheel sucking ways to stay in contact with the leaders. It was made clear to Robbie they were going for GC but they could have tried to set him up in the early stages for a win – gee, wonder why he is leaving?
Andrew Cook
New Zealand
Friday, August 1, 2008
Crank length formula
Sorry, but this formula (simple linear relationship of height to crank length) is ridiculously inadequate. What the formula describes is a range of crank lengths for people:
5'0" -> 147mm
5'2" -> 154mm
5'6" -> 164mm
5'10" -> 175mm
6'2" -> 185mm
6'6" -> 190mm
This range may "fit" the higher end of this scale (as I'm 5'10" and could maybe use 175mm cranks on my 'cross bike), by this formula, my 5'4" wife would use 160mm cranks, which is crazy. And I'd like to see someone who's 5' use 147mm cranks.
The bigger problem here is that for people of equal height, but different leg length, the formula would have them using equal size cranks, which cannot be right. Leg length, torso length and neck/head length are not simple linear relationships w/ height; therefore, a simple linear relationship of overall height to crank arm length cannot be right. Maybe Leonard Zinn or Michael Sylvester would be a better person to respond to this, but I hope that no one takes this formula too seriously.
Matthew Klahn
Portland, OR, USA
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Crank Length Formula #2
Joe, you’re nuts. I’m not riding 179 cranks (do they make such a lever) to have my knees pounding my chest like a poor man’s Tarzan. I’ll stick with my 172.5s and spin to win.
Sean P. Morris
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Crank length formula #3
Joe,
That's an interesting rationale! I'm curious to know why you chose to use rider height as opposed to the length of some measurement of just the leg/hip?
I don't really have an alternative to offer. Since leg length, and proportions of the thigh/calves, can differ so greatly among people of the same of similar height, I would think that the part of the body that's responsible for doing the work is what should be considered. Is there a way to work backwards from the crank length, to determine the optimal, circle/size and leg length for each different crank?
This is an area where I have no experience, so I'm just super curious.
Quenton
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Bring back bonus seconds to liven le Tour
I like the idea of bonus seconds in the first week, even for intermediate sprints, as it offers the sprinters some hope of taking yellow. Bonus seconds in stage finishes are fine throughout the race as it encourages competition to the line even for the GC contenders. What I hope to never see again is GC contenders contesting intermediate sprints for time in week three as we saw in 2003 between Armstrong and Ullrich.
For the GC riders to contest the intermediate sprints disrespects the competition which was designed for the fast men. If GC riders race the intermediate sprints it's more difficult to make the case that the strongest rider wins the race. That is much simpler if intermediate sprints past week one are for points only. After that the seconds shouldn't matter much to the sprinters.
Ben Foxworth
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Yet another...Manual Beltran
Greg from Melbourne wrote: "Manual Beltran, Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, Roberto Heras is there a common link?
And, the answer is, they were all busted for different doping infractions, after having ridden for USPS/Discovery at different times. If, they were busted for the same infraction, there might be some suspicion of a systemic history, but different infractions would tend the unbiased observer to conclude that these riders are on their own, and not being doped systematically by past team associations.
Isn't it odd that these guys were so smart as to never get caught while with USPS/Disco and now that they've moved on, they've forgotten how to beat the dope testers? The more likely reason is that while with USPS/Disco, they were Lance's support riders, and that having moved on, they are now team leaders, or at least 3 of the 4 are/were. With the pressure of having to produce team leader results, they coped as best they could and doped.
The association that intrigues me the most is the one linking Dr. Cecchini to Bjarne Riis, Tyler Hamilton, Ivan Basso, and Jan Ullrich. Who else has Dr. Cecchini trained? He seems to me to be far more notorious than Dr. Ferrari.
Ken Cheng
Gardiner, ME
Thursday, July 31, 2008
ASO, doping and Astana
So Brian,
Because you can't find confirmation of a team statement after a rather cursory search it must be false?
Why don't you prove Astana is lying? Your inability to find "data... specific...results..." is not proof of the absence of a testing programme.
Mike
Thursday, July 31, 2008
ASO, doping and Astana #2
Mr. Trudell,
I would refer you to Astana firing Vladimir Gusez for irregular values in an internal test as reported by cyclingnews on July 26.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jul08/jul26news2
It seems pretty clear to me that they have adopted such an anti-doping program and that it is working.
Jobe Rodgers
Lubbock, TX, USA
Thursday, July 31, 2008
ASO, doping and Astana #3
Joe,
You comment that “Dopers now stick out like sore thumbs”, citing Riccò and Vinokourov as examples of this, yet Riccò’s winning margin over all the major contenders at Bagnerres de Bigorre was 1 minute 17 seconds, whilst Vinokourov won stage 15 of the 2007 Tour by 51 seconds. By comparison Sastre’s margin of victory on L’Alpe d’Huez was more than 2 minutes over all the other GC contenders. If any of these result sticks out like a sore thumb it has to be this one. Prior to his victory on 23 July Sastre had won just 6 races in an 11 year career and the KOM classification in the 2000 Vuelta.
I personally believe that Sastre rides clean and would contend that significant winning margins and exceptional performances are possible and not an indication per se of doping. After all, how many times do we see a yellow jersey wearer defying expectations by riding out of their skin in its defence, and are we therefore to assume that they are all doping?
Aaron Cripps
Swindon, UK
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Recent letters pages
Letters 2008
- August 7: Riccò confesses to using EPO, Carlos Sastre, Contador, A question for Susan Westemeyer, Confused, Lance and the doping debate, Accountability and cycling teams, Crank length formula, Bring back bonus seconds to liven le Tour, Yet another...Manual Beltran, ASO, doping and Astana
- July 31: A bike by any other name, Accountability and cycling teams, Andy Schleck "killing moves", Anti-doping chief calls Tour tests a success?, ASO, doping and Astana, Bad blood, Boycott le Tour and Olympics, Carlos Sastre, Bring back bonus seconds to liven le Tour, Canadian eh! Ryder Hesjedal, Cleaning up cycling, a suggestion, Confused, Crank Length Formula
- July 25: Confused, Consistency please, Damages paid, Dave Russell passes away, David Miller on Riccò, Do you believe?, Doping, ASO vs UCI, what is going on?, Evans to wear number one in Tour, How does Andy Schleck "kill all the moves"?
- July 24: Gerrans, One question & two predictions about the Tour, A bike by any other name, ASO, doping and Astana, Beating a dead horse, but..., Boycott le Tour and Olympics, Cascade Cycling Classic accident, Cleaning up cycling, a suggestion
- July 17 - Edition 2: The effect of time bonuses, Cascade Cycling Classic accident, Confused, Boycott le Tour and Olympics, Alison Starnes diary, Is McQuaid interested in Cycling at all?, More involvement needed from CPA, Teams ditch UCI, Yet another...Manual Beltran, LeMond: Cycling doesn't need UCI, Dave Russell passes away
- July 17 - Edition 1: Tour mountain cats, Is Pereiro getting a bum wrap?, Popovych! Where the bloody hell are you?, Evans' team-mates, Evans to wear number one in Tour, Poor quality of competition, Tour climbs, What if…, Riccó uses outdated bike in ITT, Fabian Wegmann's electronic Dura Ace problems?, Hushovd's Look, Stage 10 coverage was a treat!, Tour de France accident, EPO is back on the menu boys!, Consistency, please
- July 15: Tour de France: Stage 3 - The Badger is back!, Thor Hushovd's Look, Riccó uses outdated bike in ITT, Boycott le Tour and Olympics, Astana and the Tour, Romain Feillu, Cascade Cycling Classic accident, LeMond: Cycling doesn't need UCI, Tour de France accident, We Might As Well Win Review, Evans shoe covers, Pure climbers, Why on earth Danielson?, Historical information, Stefan Schumacher loses yellow, Sylvain Chavanel, Yet another...Manual Beltran, Stage 10 coverage was a treat!
- July 10: Stefan Schumacher, LeMond: Cycling doesn't need UCI, Excellent article - ASO v's UCI, Insulting comment, Romain Feillu, Pure climbers are they a thing of the past?, Evans and shoe covers, Evans to wear number one in Tour, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Experience with UST Mountain Tires, Boycott le Tour and Olympics, Astana and the Tour, Riders stuck in the middle, Oval bars, Landis decision
- July 4: WADA, Inconsistent Lab Analysis, and Landis, Rabobank and the Tour, ASO and past Tour winners, Landis decision, Teenager mauled by bear in Anchorage, Evans to wear number one in Tour, Experience with UST Mountain Tires, iPods while riding, Erik Zabel, Oval bars, ASO's hidden agenda, Joe Magnani, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Giro, ASO's world domination, Ban Boonen?, A Hollow Tour Victory
- June 26: ASO's hidden agenda, ASO's world domination, Ban Boonen?, Gilberto Simoni, Giro d'Italia, iPods while riding, Oval bars, Tour without minimum bike weight rule?, What about Friere
- June 19: ASO and the Vuelta, ASO's world domination, Ban Boonen?, Ban Boonen? Beware the inquisition, Boonen, Boonen vs. Petacchi, Boonen's Tour exclusion, Giro d'Italia, iPods while riding, Oval bars, Road rage incident, Tom Boonen exclusion from Tour de Suisse
- June 13: Tom Boonen and his nose, Apologies from Montreal, Chantal's Philly win, Gilberto Simoni, Boring first week of Grand Tours?, Giro d'Italia, iPods while riding, ASO and the Vuelta, Road rage incident, Astana chain choice
- June 5: Apologies from Montreal, Astana chain choice, Bennati and race radios, Race radio?, Gilberto Simoni, Giro winner, Good result in road rage court case, Helmets in the Giro, Lemond vs. Armstrong, Millar, No, no, you can't take that away from them, Oval bars, Review error, Ricardo Riccò, Road rage incident
- May 29: Bennati and race radios, Helmets in the Giro, Review error, LeMond vs. Armstrong, Losing something in the translation, Millar, Petacchi, Race radio?, Road rage incident, Weight work on the bike
- May 23: Road rage incident, How much will it take?, Paralysed cyclist, Fausto Exparza, David Millar, Basso gets a contract, Weight work, CAS and Petacchi, Shortest TdF, Petacchi & Piepoli
- May 15: Sydney road rage incident, Steegmans lashes out at UCI, Steve Hogg's article, World Cup #3 XC, Where is Chris Horner, Slipstream, Astana and Le Tour, Giro stage 5!, US time trial Champion?, Basso gets a contract, Race radios, CAS ruling on Petacchi, Hamilton's integrity? Dude!, Weight work
- May 8: Race radio?, Ridiculous ruling, What a farce!, CAS ruling on Petacchi, Basso gets a contract, Hamilton's integrity? Dude!, French riders had to give up their jerseys?,
- May 1: Race radio?, Basso gets a contract, Advise needed for Alpe D'Huez, LeMond vs. Armstrong, Bottles, Scars of war, ProTour in Russia! China? Ahem... America?, LeMond's 1989 TdF, Mayo?, Stuart O'Grady Team CSC Cervélo R3 Paris, Have any French riders had to give up their jerseys?
- April 25: Just shut up and ride, ProTour in Russia! China? Ahem...America?, Bottles, LeMond's 1989 TdF, New format for the Vuelta? , Scars of war, LeMond v. Armstrong, No tour for Astana #1, Rock Racing rip off #1, Advise needed for Alpe D'Huez, Stuart O'Grady Team CSC Cervélo R3 Paris
- April 18: Just shut up and ride, USA Track Cycling, Paris-Roubaix, Little Indy 500 - Women's Race Article, Stuart O'Grady Team CSC Cervélo R3 Paris-Roubaix, What's happening to road tubeless?, Thanks Cyclingnews, Bottles, Just think?, Tour of Georgia - Lame, Colavita, No tour for Astana, Clever tactics by McQuaid expose ASO, Suggestions for the little bullies, Rock Racing rip off, LeMond Vs. Trek
- April 10: Suggestions for the little bullies, Pat McQuaid, Clever tactics by McQuaid expose ASO, Just think, Trek vs. LeMond, Rock Racing rip off, Homepage overhaul, Some praise, USA track cycling, Team car order just the first gamble, Come on Greg & Lance, LeMond vs. Armstrong
- April 3: Pat McQuaid, April fools, Carbon Wrap-It System, Sylvain Chavanel, Astana vs. Rabobank vs. Slipstream Chipotle, Cadel Evans, Clever tactics by McQuaid expose ASO, Colavita, Let VDB ride?, Race radios, Rock Racing rip off
- March 27: Riccardo's manner of professionalism, Rock Racing rip off, Chavanel's Paris - Nice shoes, Cadel Evans, Cadel Evans at Paris - Nice, Let VDB ride?, ASO vs. Astana, ASO vs. UCI help me with my memory, Astana vs. Rabobank vs. Slipstream Chipotle, Police kill cyclists,"PRO"cycling teams
- March 20:"Pro"Cycling Teams, AIGCP does have a choice, ASO vs UCI help me with my memory, ASO vs. Astana, Chavanel's Paris - Nice shoes, Kevin van Impe's doping control, Cadel Evans at Paris - Nice, Hamilton, Operacion Puerto, and the ToCA, Paris - Nice: What it could have been, Police kill cyclists, The Astana affair, UCI hypocrisy
- March 13:"Pro"Cycling Teams, ASO vs. Astana, ASO vs. UCI, ASOh well, UCI'll see you later, Cycling fans must let their voices be heard, Denounce ASO's actions for what they are, Hamilton, Operacion Puerto, and the ToCA, Knife between the ribs?, Paris Nice, Police kill cyclists, British track sprinters' helmets?, Rock Racing and Michael Ball, The Astana affair, The real ASO problem, Tour and ASO, UCI - very bad poker players, UCI hypocrisy.
- March 6: Zirbel and the"ride of his life", British track sprinters' helmets, Hamilton, Operacion Puerto and the ToCA, Three grand tours or five monuments?, Rock Racing and Michael Ball, Pro cycling is dead, Paris - Nice, Knife between the ribs?, Doping and the Tour, Astana, the ASO and the UCI, ASO vs. Astana, The Astana affair, ASO vs. UCI vs. AIGCP vs. the non existent riders, The real ASO problem, Denounce ASO's actions for what they are, Sponsorship code of ethics, Where are the other ProTour teams?, ProTour vs. ASO
- February 28: ASO vs. Astana, Passion and sponsorship, Crash or crash through, Pro cycling is dead, Why we must have the ProTour, Rock Racing and Michael Ball, ToC and Rock, The hidden message behind banning Astana, ASO is killing cycling, ASO could be right, The real ASO problem, UCI - draw a line in the sand, ASO has lost the plot, The Astana affair, Astana and ASO/RCS, the Astana decision, Operacion Puerto, Old rider classification
- February 15: Doping controls, Tour of California moving up!, Why I love the Tour of California, Operation Puerto, Astana rejected by ASO, Boycott ASO, ASO - stop the madness, Tour de France, ASO is wrong to exclude Astana, Astana, ASO, and the NFL, Tour de Farce, The hidden message behind banning Astana, Astana exclusion, ASO is killing cycling, Astana out of Tour, ASO has lost the plot
- February 8: Lampre doping controls, Grand Tour Monopoly?, Giro selections, Slipstream Qatar, Allan Davis, Sheldon Brown, Dick Pound to head CAS?, Find out who's leaking lab results, Rock racing
- February 1: UCI vs. Grand Tour war, Best wishes to Anna, The incident, Rock racing & Starbucks, Rock racing Rocks, Rock racing, Landis in NUE, Lance is the best of all time, Sinkewitz logic, Astana for 08 Tour?
- January 25: Rock racing, Time to draw a line in the sand, ASO vs. UCI ProTour, UCI vs. Grand Tour war spills over to European federations, Readers' poll stage races 2007, Cyclist of the year, Team High Road's black kit, Lance is the best of all time, Landis in NUE, Toyota-United abusing USAC team rules?
- January 18: Cadel Evans - returns to training, Cyclist of the Year, DOPING - time to draw a line in the sand, Hincapie in T-Mobile kit, Lance is the best of all time, Readers poll: best stage races 2007, Rock racing, Speaking about Lance, Toyota-United abusing USAC team rules?
- January 11: Armstrong on Landis, Cadel Evans - returns to training, Hincapie in T-Mobile kit, Ivan Basso - why no tough questions?, Reader Poll, Rock & burn racing, Speaking about Lance, Sydor's consistency, The 'Bruyneel philosophy', Toyota-United abusing USAC team rules?
- January 5: Great day for cycling, Sydor's consistency, Hincapie in T-Mobile kit, CA awards misses national series, Thank you, Ivan Basso - why no tough questions?, Cadel Evans - returns to training, Helmets belong on heads, Armstrong on Landis, Will there be a Tour of Missouri?, Roberto Heras, Speaking about Lance, Mayo's B Sample
Letters 2007
- December 27: CA awards misses national series, Armstrong on Landis, Vinokourov's sentence, Vinokourov, Cadel Evans - returns to training, Mayo's B sample to get B test
- December 14: Sydor's consistency, George Hincapie, Helmet straps must be cinched a bit too tight, Will there soon be a sample"C"test?, ProTour, Vino's joke of a suspension, Mafioso McQuaid, Obee and Health Net, Mayo's B sample to get B test, Campagnolo offers its own 'red' shifter, T-Mobile's withdrawal a blow to Jaksche
- December 6: Tschüss T-Mobile, Anquetil, Mayo's B sample to get B test, T-Mobile drop out, Obee and Health Net, Stefano Zanini
- November 30: Anquetil,Mayo's B sample to get B test, Stefano Zanini, Rider's passport, Betting, Jonathan Page, Wake up!!, T-Mobile drop out, Bike design originality
- November 23: Remembering Jacques Anquetil, Done looking back, Mayo's B sample to get B test, Cross crank, Rider's passport, Blood passports and humanity, Fothen's comments on Bettini, Nathan O'Neill , Sinkewitz, Rasmussen blood values, Sponsorship strangeness, Dick Pound better understood, Bike design originality,
- November 16: Nathan O'Neill, Rasmussen blood values, The Crocodile Trophy, Sinkewitz, Drug testing procedures, Rider's passport, The drug issue, Bike design originality , Sponsorship strangeness, Selfishness will ruin cycling
- November 9: The Crocodile Trophy, A little bit of bias here?, Rider's passport, Kasheckin, Positive tests, Drug testing procedures, Marco Pinotti: Engineering a new path, Bike design originality
- November 2: What does this mean?, Le Tour 08, Mayo's B sample, Bike design originality, Trimble, UCI says Mayo case not closed, Drug testing procedures ... and false positives, Kashechkin: controls violate human rights, Drug testing procedures, Mayo, UCI, Kashechkin, et al... Great, now it's coming from both ends, Positive tests, Why even bother with B samples then?, Mayo's positive EPO test, Falling barriers
- October 26: Rider passports & Cadel Evans, Drug testing procedures ... and false positives, Iban Mayo's false positive, Iban Mayo and Landis, Armstrong on Landis, Mayo's B sample, UCI turns Mayo's case into a debaucle, Great...now they hand pick the results, No justice for Mayo, UCI says Mayo case not closed, Bike design originality, 2006 Tour de France, A bad week for cycling, A fitting end to the season
- October 19: 2006 Grand Tour trifecta!, 2006 Tour de France, A fitting end to the season, Armstrong on Landis, Bike design originality, doping in cycling, Doping numbers, Paris-Tours testing mishap, UCI and the lack of testing!, Vino's other Tour stage win, The absolute best?
- October 12: Armstrong on Landis, Bike design originality, Cycling drama, Doping is unfair; but so is discrimination, It’s not doping that's..., Landis case - everyone's a loser, Length and cost of the Landis case, R & R, The Landis decision, Tour of America
- October 5: Cycle drama, It's not doping that's"killing"the sport, Why is VAM a benchmark, Tour of America, The Landis decision, DYNEPO, Worlds, Rock & Republic's CEO Michael Ball, Please explain, Giuseppe Guerini, FICP
- September 28: Tour of America, World champion zany-ness, The Landis decision, ASO v UCI, McQuaid vs ASO vs the riders, Please explain, Why is VAM a benchmark, Giuseppe Guerini, Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen, ProTour and Le Tour, Where is the due process
- September 21: Astana's future and Bruyneel, Bruyneel's afterlife, Floyd Landis decision, Why is VAM a benchmark, Lifetime bans, Menchov felt betrayed by Rasmussen, Ungrateful Levi, Spanish cycling, Where is the due process
- September 14: 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?
- 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.
