Letters to Cyclingnews - November 13, 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.

Taking it seriously
Basso's diary
David Walsh article
Gerdemann vs Armstrong
Boonen, Armstrong and Gerdemann
Germans pull the plug
Lifetime bans
Chasing Fabian

Taking it seriously

If the many letter writers who have been so vocal about doping were actual (or potential) participants in the business of professional cycling then I think they would have every right to be so angry about cheaters in their midst. As such, the current doping climate could significantly damage their ability to follow their passion as well as curtail their real or potential income.

As it is however, the overwhelming majority of cycling fans have no real personal or financial stake in the business of professional sport. They (we) are simply non-participating, passive spectators of an entertainment event. As such, I am constantly amazed at how "personally" people seem to take each new doping revelation, as if they have been individually betrayed or wronged in some way. Some writers have even gone so as far as to declare they are "through with cycling" and "will not watch the Tour again" or other such dribble.

For all intents and purposes the professional cyclists are (as far as the passive spectator is concerned at least) in essence two dimensional moving images on an electronic screen. We don't know them. We don't have investments that depend on them. We don't ride with them, and for most people, have never even seen them in person. I just don't get how people get so worked up about it all.

Do I condone doping or other forms of cheating in sport? Of course not. It is an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise wonderful event, but the seemingly constant stream of positive doping tests will no more take away from my watching professional cycling, then it would to find out that Pamela Anderson's assets were the result of surgical augmentation or all those folks on "Lost" aren't really marooned on an island somewhere.

Let's move on, suspend your disbelief, let the UCI, WADA, ASO et al worry about the dopers and remember the Tour is only eight months away!

Eric M. Filippino
Geneva, Switzerland
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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Basso's diary

Let me be at least one voice in support of Daniel Benson's decision to feature an Ivan Basso diary for 2009. As he notes in his 10 November piece, it will inevitably bring down a storm of electronic wrath from one segment of the Cyclingnews.com readership, but CN is, as he states, fundamentally a news organisation, not a lobbying group, and as such should present all sides of a story if it is to be true to its mission and its readers.

I for one am interested to see how IB does in 2009, having served his appointed ban and now legally able to return to racing. Will he end up like David Millar, a decent mid-pack rider but unable to deliver world-class goods without the juice? Or will he show that he had the talent to win big all along, and was going to the doping doctors out of unfounded fear that he could not win unless he did what "everyone else" was doing?

Good on Cyclingnews.com for sticking with the journalistic mandate to report the news to its readership!

Alex Parker,
Boston, MA, USA
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #2

My first reaction to your decision to print Ivan Basso's diary on cyclingnews.com was one of dismay that another drug cheat has been forgiven and legitimised by the cycling world.

Despite the harm and ridicule these riders have caused this great sport over the last few years, it seems that the old thinking regarding their transgressions still persists. It seems that as soon as a rider of stature tests positive, they firstly maintain their innocence despite overwhelming evidence. They try to discredit those trying to rid our sport of these cheats. Next, instead of being pariahs, they have team managers clamouring to sign them up once their suspension is over. Next, media such as you gives them a forum to protest their harsh treatment. As far as I know Basso has never owned up and admitted his complicity.

What kind of message does this send to young riders? It is OK to cheat because you will still be thought of as OK in this sport. It is part of the game and if you can get away with it you should try. Recent events from this year's Tour de France show how lessons are not being learned.

So now we will be treated to Basso's smug supercilious face as he rides and maybe wins as well as his 'diary' where he will crow how he has got away with it. I truly love this sport and have followed it as reader and racer for 30 plus years. I also believed that your website was the best by far to keep me informed from anywhere in the world. Obviously ethics are less of a priority than 'news'. So I either stop using your site and advise others likewise or skip over Basso's fatuous writings and pray that he punctures in every race he starts! Probably I will do the latter as I do believe in free speech and shouldn't punish myself over this matter. I will always remain saddened that there is no longer a place in cycling for morals and ethical behaviour. C'est la vie!

Philip Wyllie
United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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Basso's diary #3

I think it's something great for Cyclingnews' readers to get a diary from Ivan Basso. Each person will make his mind about Basso, may be change opinion about him, I don't find that you take position by giving him the chance to find redemption.

Honestly, after reading lots of stuff on his new philosophy and trainings, it will be a great boost for cycling, because I hope medias won't introduce him as a cheater but as a former doper, now clean rider, who just uses his enormous talent at 100 percent.

I hope every reader will give Basso a chance, and benefit from his insight to believe in cycling.

Vincent Chaigne
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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Basso's diary #4

Amongst my cycling friends and colleagues there is nobody who believes Ivan Basso's account of his involvement in Operation Puerto. That doesn't mean we can prove anything; perhaps we are all just cynical. And it is true that he has never failed a dope test. He has served his suspension and is free to race again.

That he should be given a year's worth of publicity and the chance for more self-justification on your website however, is another thing. It is just staggering and depressing that you should wish to be connected in any way with a rider who has clearly lost the trust of so many fans and who is, to us, just as much a symbol of a discredited era as Ulrich, Landis et al.

Basso can never be a figure of hope in cycling and for him to be given space on your pages is a set back in the struggle to improve the image of our sport.

Will Melling
London, UK
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #5

You make a reasonable attempt to justify publishing the Basso diary on the basis of letting the reader make up his own mind. However, I think it is more pertinent that cycling journalists, ten years after Festina, finally make up their mind where they stand viz a viz doping, and act accordingly. By act, I mean refusing to give airtime to cheats, and indeed taking lead responsibility to demand a clean, transparent sport, keeping the authorities focussed on delivering this.

If Pierre Bordry's recently expressed view that "80 percent of the peloton is clean" is a reasonable estimation of the health of the professional peloton, then now is the time to be re-doubling efforts for a clean sport, not for demonstrating weakness. I'm assuming here of course that this is what you want for our beautiful sport - it may not be of course!

Journalists have for too long - with some honourable exceptions - developed a cosy relationship with teams and DSs, not reporting the doping which they know to be going on in the sport, and in effect misleading their readers; trading access to teams and riders for a sympathetic journalistic silence.

No doubt Basso wants to make the most of his mea culpa moment, and unfortunately you are obliging him far too easily by providing a platform for this. It is very disappointing indeed.

Michael Flood
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #6

For many years I have followed the news of my favourite international cycling races by visiting cyclingnews.com. I will no longer enjoy your website. Your first decision was a poor one and I would think you readers would agree with me. No one will have no interest in Basso's career. Basso would never had confessed (if that is what you want to call it) his involvement in attempting (I think we can agree he most likely did dope) to dope. Rewarding these weak moral characters is inexcusable and detrimental to the sport. Shame on you.

Ross Barbieri
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #7

No doubt, this is one many letters in outcry of the Basso column. I wouldn't mind so much if he had come clean publicly, talked extensively about the problems in the sport and exposed at least a few accomplices, but to deny, lie and still never have come clean means that he can't just draw a line in the sand and talk to us like some born-again Christian. It's hard enough for us that he is back in the peloton at all.

We are getting to the point where the Italian and Spanish dailies are at last coming around to the idea that maybe doping shouldn't be accepted, and suddenly you decide that we should hear from an Italian who continues the omerta of old by not owning up to his past; that he never doped and only had the intention to dope prior to the 2006 Tour is ridiculous.

Basso is no David Millar; while neither should have been allowed back in the peloton ideally, at least Millar owned up somewhat and took a great deal of flak for a number of years before he, for some reason, became a sought-after opinion on doping. Ironically Millar made his comeback via the now-disgraced Saunier Duval.

I can't believe Cyclingnews would represent this guy... it's hard enough to stomach your new obsession with Armstrong! Educated people are supposed to be leaders not followers of the mainstream. Are you telling us that you couldn't find a more entertaining and plausible rider than Basso? You have sold your soul, Basso is tabloid journalism at best... this is very frustrating and very disappointing. I hope you put a disclaimer on each of his columns to say that you are not liable for the views of Basso as he is a known liar and a convicted fraud.

This is tabloid journalism at best, he's not even funny for God's sake.

Mark Gill
Dublin, Ireland
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #8

I just wanted to show my support for the Basso Diary on Cyclingnews.com.

I'm a big fan but I'm also in America. Since leaving CSC and Discovery it is hard to find his news in English. I've enjoyed his website during the suspension but the translations through Babel Fish aren't the same as a well-translated script. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Polly Hunter
USA
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Basso's diary #9

I understand that everyone deserves a fair chance in life, and that some people make mistakes. I also understand how we can all become better persons for learning to forgive those who have erred.

Nevertheless, I disagree 100 percent with your choice to have Ivan Basso write a diary for your site. IF Ivan Basso was an honest person, who did the right thing by coming clean about his involvement regarding his dealings with Dr. Fuentes, then it would be much easier to give him the forgiveness that we should give to others who have chosen to tell the truth. But Ivan Basso selfishly chose to lie (I'm 100 percent convinced of this), and I am deeply disappointed that you have chosen to be affiliated with a person so devoid of moral character.

I had so much respect for you and your site. But now I feel just a little bit sick to my stomach. There are SO many other pros that deserve the recognition, but yet you have chosen to dig deep into the bottom of the barrel for your poor choice.

Michael Dow
Toronto, Canada
Monday, November 10, 2008

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David Walsh article

This is good news to see an article with Walsh's perspective. I have never read his work before. How meaningful that you offer this important insight and arm the readers with his hope and skepticism. I would welcome seeing more work from him in your news.

Chuck Barth
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Gerdemann vs Armstrong

Geez, Lance! Give yourself a fighting chance. Cycling is changing. Comments like "He better hope he doesn't get in a breakaway with me because I can still ride hard" will not help endear you to the new crowd of riders and supporters. Remember the Simeoni incident and the repercussions and innuendo it caused?

LA may be a legend but he'll never be a politician.

Andy Parker
Felixstowe, UK
Monday, November 10, 2008

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Boonen, Armstrong and Gerdemann

Gerdeman suffers from the negative athmosphere spread by Schumacher, Kohl and others this year. His big victory in Germany was almost spoiled because of that never-ending story of doping in cycling, and everyone is still depressed as Jan Ullrich has still failed to clarify his situation.

It is a shame that Armstrong disregards the current situation in cycling where young professionals lose their dreams bit by bit and fail to get contracts or whatever they should be honoured for... all caused by former friends and collegues who don't stop betraying the sport. In this situation, Armstrong should respect the fears and concerns of younger racers who have lost any trust in their collegues.

Cycling is not like it was before. If you want to gain for Livestrong or for yourself, you have to come back respecting others. Statements like, "Who is Linus Gerdemann?" are not in the style of wise champions bringing back the positive image for cycling. On the other hand Linus has tried to stop that silly topic he introduced without any need. That was a big mistake and a waste of time; hopefully he will never repeat it again.

Anyways, I´d like to see Armstrong cycling clean in the breakaway group on the Koppenberg and for him and Linus to shake hands before it. But the proof is still in the pudding - or a laboratory near Paris - and everyone who supports cycling waits for good news after Armstrong's first races next season. And I hope for all the Belgian cycling fans that Boonen makes it through the winter without drugs and cars to see him in front after the Mur of Gerardsbergen.

Frank Schweinheim
Germany
Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Germans pull the plug

I have to respond to Stephen Davison's letter as he seems quite desperate to miss the point. At the very least, Stephen misconstrues, or assigns more altruistic reasons for, sponsors' involvement in cycling. Of course, ARD/ZDF and team sponsors have no real wish to change cycling; that is not why they got involved in cycling in the first place.

Their involvement in the sport is of a purely commercial nature and for their own benefit. It is not even their responsibility to change cycling. Their only responsibility is to their bottom line and their shareholders. It is ludicrous to criticise them for taking action to protect that, particularly when they are dropping out because of the public's disapproval of doping in cycling.

Also, while deriding ARD/ZDF for taking the money while the going was good, Stephen ignores the fact that cycling has grown exponentially since the advent of commercial sponsorship and television coverage. As just one example of the benefits, riders no longer have to race 260 days a year every year, take 'pot belge' to keep going between races, just so they can eek out a living. They can make a good living precisely because sponsors' money eases the pressures on them to race constantly. The entire edifice of professional cycling is built on sponsor's money. And this leads to my central contention.

Responsibility for fighting doping lies with the sport itself, with the UCI, race organisers, and the riders. Every year since 1998 we have heard that they have turned the corner and that doping is being beaten, only to be met with another raft of positives. Even this year prior to Le Tour, we had the trope about a generational shift in the peloton and a therefore a clean future for the sport, and again we have had that myth blown out of the water by Ricco and Kohl.

The wellbeing of professional cycling is acutely sensitive to the existence of commercial partners willing to fund their programmes. My argument is that the sport will be forced to deal more forcefully with doping as commercial sponsors walk away, and this is actually a good thing because finally the threat doping poses to the sport is brought into sharp and immediate relief. To criticise ARD/ZDF for hypocrisy is to miss the point entirely and is actually self-indulgent given what the withdrawal of media companies and other commercial sponsors would actually mean for the sport.

Hugh Mooney,
Glasgow, Scotland.
Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Lifetime bans

The main difference between a lifetime ban and a death sentence is the state of the punished post punishment. With a death sentence, the punished ends up dead, as in not able to ride, work, breathe, or do anything but rot in the ground. A lifetime ban from cycling leaves the punished able to ride (albeit not professionally), work, breathe, or do anything else they want, including rot in the ground if they choose to do so. A lifetime ban does not take away a right (as in the right to life), but rather a privilege (to ride within the system overseen by the UCI).

A lifetime ban is a lot more similar to a teacher that molests kids not being allowed to work around kids anymore (after a little jail time, of course). Second chances are nice and all, but there are plenty of areas where a second chance is not given, and I don't see why racing bikes professionally should be one of them. If I were to get caught stealing from work, would you expect my boss to give me a second chance? I wouldn't.

Antoine Rollin
Atlanta, GA, USA
Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Lifetime bans #2

I agree with Sojar Voglar. Lifetime bans will not be a deterrent for doping in sport. The death sentence was meant to act as a deterrent for murder, but it has done no such thing. If you allow dopers back in after they have served their time, then I think these riders can be great ambassadors for a doping-free peloton.

Look at David Millar - he is like a rabid ex-smoker fervent in extolling the dangers and unfairness of doping. He has doped and done his time, and is the most vocal and effective individual against doping (and put his money and time where his mouth is with the development of the very antidoping and refreshing Garmin-Chipotle squad). Like everyone in life who has made a mistake, give the convicted dopers a second chance and it just may work out positively for professional cycling. There is no way a lifetime ban will be positive for the sport.

Julius Liptak
Ottawa, Canada
Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Lifetime bans #3

I am incredulous that 'lifetime' bans for sport professionals caught cheating are being compared with life-term prison or even death sentences for convicted criminals. Get real everyone; a life ban for sport professionals prevents them from competing in a race. Restraint of trade? They are not restrained from trading in anything other than a sporting career which is finite anyway, and generally over by the early thirties. Perhaps they should think of that before they cheat. I am certainly of the opinion that sport professionals caught cheating in any way be permanently banned from 'competing'; the ruination they bring to sport is immense and irreparable.

Adrian Grose
Perth, Western Australia
Friday, November 7, 2008

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Chasing Fabian

It's beyond comprehension what the media can do to undermine and destroy the reputation of one of our greats.

As an expatriate living in Switzerland , recently my bemusement eventually turned into utter distain for the media as they developed their case in supporting the doping allegations involving Fabian Cancellara.

Whatever happened to objective reporting and letting the facts come to the service as the evidence becomes available. In the absence of 'evidence', it is the not the role for journalists and the media to fill this gap.

Luckily for Fabian he was vindicated, as all of the re-testing supported his claim from the outset that he is 100 percent not involved in doping. But have any of us taken a step back and thought about the consequences of this type of journalism. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to work so hard in a season and achieve what Fabian did, only to finish the year in a cloud of suspicion. If l were a professional cyclist and this was my reward, I'm not sure if ld be so motivated to go to work each day. What are we trying to do these guys.

When he was vindicated, I saw very little to counter the appalling and misinformed reporting that had run a muck throughout the months of September and October.

At a time when cycling is crying out for a true leader, on and off the bike, to take us beyond the present haze of hope and disillusion, my money doesn't go any further than this guy. What I admire about Fabian is that he seems to have the right balance of self-awareness, enduring commitment and colossal talent. Combine these qualities with his easy-going and relaxed nature, and it's hard to imagine a better role model and representative for the sport in such troubled times.

Get behind the guy or leave him alone. Don't create something out of nothing and tarnish his reputation along the way.

Carlyle Ware
Bern, Switzerland
Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Recent letters pages

Letters 2008

• November 6: Boonen, Armstrong and Gerdemann, Doping, Germans pull the plug, Lifetime bans, UCI bans skinsuits
• October 30: Germans pull the plug, Doping, Kohl, Lifetime bans, UCI bans skinsuits, 2009 TdF parcours, LeMond's power test
• October 24: Doping, McQuaid's approach, Re-testing samples, Chris Horner, Germans pull the plug, Basso and Liquigas, Does doping work?, Lifetime bans, LeMond's power test, Rashaan Bahati
• October 17: Attitude to cheats, Doping, Lifetime bans, Solutions to doping problems, LeMond's power test, Rahsaan Bahati
• October 10: Enough is enough, Thomas Bach's comments, Recent positives, Riccò confesses to using EPO, Baden Cooke's comment, Holczer to sue Schumacher, Life bans for doping, Advice to Contador, My own comeback, Better Borat than Vinokourov, Lance has a Michael Jordan complex, Armstrong's busted former teammates, Astana, Lance vs Basso, Say it ain't so, Frank!, Leipheimer's best Grand Tour
• October 3: Another Armstrong Special: There comes a time, Guilty by association, Lance Armstrong returning, Armstrong comeback, Armstrong should be applauded, Lance is back, Armstrong and Astana, Mr Armstrong and SRAM, The resurrection of Lance, Armstrong's return
• September 25: The Armstrong Special: Armstrong obligations, Armstrong comeback, Armstrong riding for Astana, Armstrong's return, Guilty by association, Lance Armstrong and Taylor Phinney, The resurrection of Lance
• September 18: Armstrong come back, All round classification, Madiot's need to explain himself, Does doping work?, Exciting racing!, Contador and the Vuelta, Lance on Astana?, Say it isn’t So Lance!, ARD not looking forward to Armstrong return, Guilty by association, Garzelli, Scott Spark project bike
• September 12: Does doping work?, Scott Spark ultralight bike, Cadel stays with Silence-Lotto?, Vuelta, Giro, Tour triple, All round classification, Editorialising / opinion within articles, Do it twice or until you get it right, Olympic mountain biking, Say it isn't so Lance!, Armstrong come back, BMX....That's all?
• September 4: BMX....That's all?, Olympic mountain biking, Cadel stays with Silence-Lotto?, Head tube logos at Olympic Games, Fabio Baldato's premature retirement, Does doping work?, Cadel Evans and the Beige Jersey, Team Australia helmets, British track team's Olympic Games medals Pro cycling sponsorship
• August 29: BMX, Carlos Sastre, NRC Calendar, U-23 Championship road race fiasco, Therapeutic use exemptions - please explain, Phil Liggett encounter, John Fahey and Jacques Rogge on doping, Aussie Allan Davis?, Pro cycling sponsorship
• August 28: US cyclists and masks, Cadel, Cadel Evans and the Beige jersey, Levi Leipheimer’s Bike, Doping, Team Australia helmets, Lance and the doping debate, British Olympic track medals, BMX....That's all?
• August 22: Spanish federation questions Leipheimer's bronze, Hushovd's Look, Cadel's Injury, NRC Calendar, Phil Liggett encounter, British Olympic track medals, Therapeutic Use Exemptions - please explain, Truvativ HammerSchmidt, Carlos Sastre, Cadel Evans and the Beige Jersey
• August 21: Levi Leipheimers Bike, John Fahey and Jacques Rogge on doping, Cycling out of the Olympics, Team Australia helmets, Scott-American Beef excluded from Vuelta, Doping & money, U-23 National Championship RR fiasco, US Cyclists and masks, World Road race championships national quotas
• August 19: Therapeutic Use Exemptions - please explain, Carlos Sastre, Riccò confesses to using EPO, Lance and the doping debate, Cadel Evans and the Beige Jersey, Bring back bonus seconds to liven le Tour, Crank Length formula, Thank you, Confused
• August 14: Cycling out of the Olympics, U-23 Championship Road Race Fiasco, Phil Liggett encounter, WADA chief John Fahey, Moreno, John Fahey and Jacques Rogge on doping, Beijing Road Race, World Road race championships national quotas, Scott-American Beef excluded from Vuelta, US Cyclists and masks, Team Australia helmets
• 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.

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