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Letters to Cyclingnews - January 6, 2006

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.

Each week's best letter gets our 'letter of the week'. We look for for letters that contain strong, well-presented opinions; humour; useful information or unusual levels of sheer helpfulness.

Please email your correspondence to letters@cyclingnews.com.

Recent letters

The Tour hypocrisy
Pat McQuaid
McQuaid
Bart Wellens
Urine testing
Dope so you can

 

The Tour hypocrisy

If the Tour de France banned any company and/or sponsor that has been tainted by a drug scandal at any time in its history than there would not be too many left: would riders be unable to send personal mail to the USA because U.S. Postal sponsored riders have been implicated in doping? Would hearing impaired TDF officials be banned from using Phonak hearing aids because of Tyler? Yes, ridiculous...like not using Festina timing devices today because of a drug scandal by the cycling team they sponsored eight years ago.

I also don't think Festina was "thumbing their noses" at the TDF organisation when they said they sold more watches than market forecasts because of the drug scandal. They were simply stating a fact. I think the important idea to draw from that Festina statement is the social commentary about consumers and cycling fans: THEY (we) were the ones thumbing our noses at the doping scandal when we flocked to buy up Festina watches that we otherwise wouldn't have!

Rob Found

Jasper, Canada
Wednesday, January 4, 2005

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The Tour hypocrisy #2

I remember how odd it seemed to see Festina commercials featuring Richard Virenque througout the TV coverage of the1998 tour, but the fact of the matter is the Festina (the company, not the team they sponsored) did the right thing - they yanked the sponsorship from Prosport SA, put the team under new management, set up a foundation to help fight doping and remained throughout a strategically important sponsor of pro cycling. To infer from a remark taken out of context that Festina benefited in some opportunistic way from the scandal is ludicrous, as evidenced by the tone of Mr. Olson's letter.

Alex Duke
Santa Monica, CA USA
Thursday, January 5, 2005

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Pat McQuaid

Tommy Lamb makes a good point in his letter, and I agree that Pat McQuaid deserves a chance to prove himself. But Tommy overlooks two important points about this situation.

1. Pat knew what he was getting into and his chance will be short as he knew he had to hit the ground ‘with wheels turning’.
2. Why should cycling be different? (And this is where most comments miss the mark).

Cycling is different because it is the only high dollar sport in which the teams do not control the revenue. The organisers get the money. Neither Pro Tour nor tour organisers are right here. But the cyclists and teams are forced to take the money from whichever direction it comes most and most often. The sport will become more balanced when the TV rights money begins to arrive, equitably, for the teams, and the developmental teams at the next two levels. Why should cyclists have to beg?

John Williams

California
Tuesday, January 3, 2005

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McQuaid

Though the idea of the Pro Tour is good let’s face it, the big tours and the other one day classics are what really interest the public and cyclists. Certainly Mr McQuaid is being rather a hypocrite when he talks about the commercial interests of the three grand tours. He seems to forget that he and his fellow businessmen brought and personally profited a great deal from bringing the Tour de France to Ireland. It was not a Cycling Ireland venture.

Come on Mr McQuaid, get real! Just because you have been instated by Hein in some election to a governing body doesn’t mean you can dictate. Go and learn some diplomacy and management - it is after all cycling that you are there to promote. That sort of attitude disappeared after WW2. Cycling is even bigger than you.

Peter Miller

Co. Dublin
Thursday, January 5, 2005

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Bart Wellens

The recent Bart Wellens incident echoes that Indian Pacers fight last year in Detroit, when several players charged the stands because a fan allegedly threw beer or food at a player.

Like cycling, basketball allows the fans to be literally nose to nose with the players; there are little to no barriers between the players and the fans, unlike hockey or other stadium sports. I would argue that this intimacy adds a lot to the experience of following these athletes. It is unfortunate a few jackasses in the stands would jeopardise this for 10 seconds of infamy or because they haven't the sense to follow standards of common decency.

That being said, I believe that the responsibility remains with Bart to keep his cool since he is the professional athlete. He is being paid to ride and also being paid to keep his cool and stay out of the stands. It could be argued that perhaps race officials should have kept a closer eye on the fans and turfed the idiot...it could also be argued to ban beer from these races...it could also be argued to limit access to only certain parts of the course - a tragedy.

Victor Ching

Toronto
Wednesday, January 4, 2005

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Urine testing

Happy New Year,

It is about time that someone who knows calls into question the motivation of the testers in the interpretation of the urine tests for EPO. This will go round and round for years, I am sure, but just to know that there are questions of accuracy in the mind of someone who is Director, Division of Epidemiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and that urine tests are not the all and end all of the drug tests for EPO.

The fact that he kept his discussion to the specificity and made it understandable to the layman, is a step in the right direction. Some one who is comparable to Director, Division of Epidemiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine needs to call into question the WITCH HUNTERS, before they ruin the careers of everyone who ever wizzed in a cup.

Thanks for your insight, Christopher Whalen, much appreciated and a step in the "right" direction. Let's quit ruining careers on "suspect" samples. Let's get it right, somehow.

John Williams
Tuesday, January 3, 2005

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Dope so you can

The mental pressure of battling the best riders in the world could lead one to dope, I suppose. Or even to fetch water bottles or receive a modest salary. In any case, physical, mental or luck elements aside, only weekly performances over a brutal nine-month schedule matter. Medication seems to make this possible, as a work ethic and talent alone cannot compete with powerful dope, talent and work.

Those champion riders to which you attribute so much mental class and tenacity would read like an in-patient census at a sanitarium;

Johan Museeuw, David Millar, Tyler Hamilton, Roberto Heras, Manuel Beltran, Marco Pantani, Alex Zulle, Frank Vandenbrouke, Sean Kelly, Gert Jan Thernisse, Christophe Moreau, Richard Virenque, Laurent Brochard, Pascal Herve, Neil Stephens, Laurent Dufaux, Didier Rous, Philippe Gaumont, Jesus Manzano, Stefano Garzelli, et al...

All these athletes denied doping until circumstances went beyond their control.

These are but a very few of Lance Armstrong's competitors, peers and former teammates. Are his recent EPO confirmations inconsistent with those of his peer group?

The abuse of illegal drugs amongst the very best winners and the very best domestiques is quite obvious. Many appear to cheat and use illegal dope; for injuries, to speed recovery and for specific performance gains (stimulants, corticosteroids, blood doping, and ancillary products) AND, the team staff and riders all lie about it for the sake of the corporate sponsor. The fans are free to believe these lies of course. That's exactly what the sponsors want. Image is what they sell to the public. And advertising should never be accepted as a full disclosure.

Whether these drug addicted athletes are of a strong mental state is highly debatable. Strong or weak - they must dope to get paid in professional sport. Bi-polar disorders seem to follow many pro athletes as time goes by. Fans can believe in the illusion of pure sport if they prefer, but the real beauty of cycling is found at local races - not at the Tour de France.

It is what it is. The doping embarrassments and disclosures will continue as it is a daily problem in all sport - but American sports seem to cover it up better - as they have the media advertising budget to do so; e.g. - trying to convince us that NFL players do not use steroids!

Tom Morris

San Ramon, Ca.
Tuesday, January 3, 2005

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Recent letters pages

Letters 2005

  • January 3: That damn Lance, Bart Wellens, Cyclists in South Australia, EGO Mania, King Pound, Urine testing for rEPO, The Tour hypocrisy, Dope so you can, Give McQuaid a chance, Elimination Tour de France
  • December 23: McQuaid and the UCI, Cyclists in South Australia, Bart Wellens, That Damn Lance, Patrice Clerc Interview, Don't accuse every top athlete, Dope so you can, Sanctions for doping - episode 99, Allan Butler tribute
  • December 16: An embarrassment of riches, The chickens have come home to roost, McQuaid and the UCI, UCI vs Grand Tour organisers, At least they have something in common, Back to the seventies, Basso at Giro 2006, Cycling is best at what it does, Dope so you can, Cycling one dimensional, Don't accuse every top athlete, Heras and drugs, Where are all of Heras' supporters?, Dick Pound, Chasing an inevitable high, SF Grand Prix
  • December 9: Basso at Giro 2006, Heras EPO test procedure, The Heras case, Where are all of Heras' supporters?, Heras and drugs, Do you have to ask why?, Dope so you can, Global doping, The burden of proof, Chasing an inevitable high, EPO, Colorado State Patrol, SFGP - Bring it back!
  • December 2: Heras EPO test procedure, Heras - three times lucky, The Heras case, Another profile in disappointment, SFGP - Bring it back!, San Francisco Grand Prix, San Francisco GP, Tyler Hamilton, Chasing an inevitable high, Circumstantial evidence, The burden of proof, Global Doping, Graeme Obree, Moron or marketing genius, Exciting again
  • November 25: San Francisco GP, San Fran Grand Prix, San Fran GP, San Francisco city supervisor responds, A tale of two cities, Tyler Hamilton - UCI leaks, Wire in the blood part II, Tyler Hamilton, Hamilton wait time, Heras - three times lucky?, What is the UCI doing?, Exciting again, Le Tour will live on without Armstrong, Moron or marketing genius, A modest proposal, Weekend club racing world championships
  • November 18: Heras - three times lucky?, What is the UCI doing?, Exciting again, 2006 Tour de France, Positive urine EPO tests, Le Tour will live on without Armstrong, LeBlanc's Tour snub of Armstrong, Tour of Southland, Schlimmer response, Exercise-induced asthma
  • November 11: LeBlanc's Tour snub of Armstrong, Exciting again, Le Tour will live on without Armstrong, Armstrong, the TdF, etc, The 2006 Tour de France and Lance, Lance, Le Tour and Ethics, Armstrong snub at Tour presentation, Pro wrestling and cycling, Swimming and Cycling, What TdF?, Fair justice, Another doping letter, Where has common sense gone?, Technology in cycling, Schlimmer
  • November 4: LeBlanc's Tour snub of Armstrong, The 2006 Tour de France and Lance, Le Tour de malcontent, Tour de France 2006, What TdF?, Le Tour wounded, Gossip ruins cycling, EPO, Exercise-induced asthma, Dick Pound and soccer, Tour of US, Tour of California, Swimming and Cycling
  • October 28: Le Tour de Malcontent, LeBlanc's Tour snub of Armstrong, Caution needed, TdF 2006, Has cycling become a honky tonk sport?, Tristan Hoffman, UN effort to fight doping in sport, UCI ProTour, Cam Jennings, Exercise-induced asthma, Chris Sheppard is a class act, Why?, Crocodile Trophy - worlds' toughest race?
  • October 14: Infallible doping tests?, Get on with your life, Doping. What else?, Pound versus Armstrong, Hamilton, etc, L'Equipe forgot - or not, John Lieswyn, Eddy Merckx
  • October 7: John Lieswyn, Bravo, Lieswyn, 1999 Tour de France urine samples, Allan Butler, Tyler Hamilton, Doping versus biomechanical enhancements, Doping control, McQuaid's image, Comment on Chris Horner at Zuri Metzgete, Scientific proof, Thank goodness Moreno lost, What has happened to American Cycling?, Pound versus Armstrong, Hamilton, etc, French bias
  • September 30: Petacchi and McEwen's reactions, Ale-Jet, Ale-Jet blasts his critics..., Petacchi's class, Petacchi, Bravo, Lieswyn, French bias, Tom Danielson, What has happened to American Cycling?, Quote of the year, At the heart of the matter, Lance's EPO tests, Doping control, On Pound and the like, Pound Ill informed, Verbruggen is wrong, Doping and apparel
  • September 23: A quick thanks, Australian worlds team, Go Mick!, Infighting, Pound Ill informed, WADA mess, Heras and the Giro, Verbruggen is wrong, Chris Sheppard busted for EPO, Explaining increases in performance, Quote of the year, Vuelta rest day observations
  • September 16: Vuelta rest day observations, Australian worlds team, Explaining the increases in performance, Debate settled, doping lives on, Samuel Sanchez, Scientific proof, The perfect crime, Another topic please, CYCLINGnews.com, Doping, Illegal motivation, Illegal motivation - another possibility, Lance and the Tour de France, Drug use, Alternate Universe, WADA, Chris Sheppard busted for EPO, Just Do It
  • September 9: The debate rages, Bad for cycling, Lance and the Tour de France, EPO Testing and Haematocrit, Doping, Illegal motivation, Lance the Man, Armstrong and doping, Question for Dick Pound..., Land of the Free, home of the Brave, Lance, I have a better idea, Where are the results?, Armstrong's Tour comeback, Don't make that mistake, Lance, Response to the test
  • September 2: Lance Armstrong, all-American boy, Doping, Claude Droussent lies, L'Equipe credibility, Lance versus Jan, Jan versus Lance, Cold fusion and Lance, The perfect crime, EPO and the Wink Wink Standard, Germany owed four yellow jerseys?, Lance, cycling and cancer, Lance issues, The whole Lance doping issue, Neither defense nor attack, The test, Land of the Free, home of the Brave, Armstong couldn't come clean, Summarising the Lance situation, Lance's tests, Keep an open mind, Lance and doping, Check results before you wreck yourself, Seeing is believing, L'Equipe and ASO, and Lance, Lance and EPO, Aussie perspective on the upcoming worlds, A rave rather than a rant
  • August 26: Lance and LeBlanc, Lance versus France, Can of worms story, The Test, Benoit Salmon wins the 1999 Tour, The perfect crime, Armstrong tests positive, L'Equipe and ASO, Lance rubbish, Lance and the French yellow press, Armstrong, EPO and WADA, Lance Downgrading Armstrong victories, Lance doping garbage, Lance versus Jan, Doping, Six stages to win the 99 tour, EPO test under scrutiny, Lance irony, Lance as a spokesman, Cyclists and politicians, Verbruggen's campaign to elect his successor, John Lieswyn, Can of worms, Americans in Paris
  • August 19: Ned Overend, Guidi positive, What is going on at Phonak?, Ullrich's riding style, How about credibility from both sides?, Lieswyn's gesture
  • August 12: Pro Tour 2006, Credibility from both sides?, Zabel leaves T-Mobile, Chris Horner, Ullrich's riding style, Well done Wayne!, Armstrong and class, Possible correlations
  • August 5: Zabel leaves T-Mobile, Thanks from a survivor, Bicycle safety, Message for Chris Horner, Perspective, Discovery in ninth, Tech, Armstrong and class, The King of July!, Heras through rose colored glasses, Possible correlations
  • July 29: Perspective, France and Lance's Legacy, Armstrong and class, Best Wishes to Louise, Levi's Diary, Heras through rose colored glasses, The King of July, Here we go again!, Treat Lance like the others, Tech, Lance Armstrong's time trial equation, Life begins at 30
  • July 22: McEwen - villain to superhero, Underdogs and overdogs at the Tour, Big George, George Hincape, Hincapie's stage win, Cadel's Tour memory, What the fans would love to see, Is Godefroot really NOT the man?, A true classic, Phonak's poor sportsmanship, Phonak double standards, My new hero, Discovery Channel tactics, Lance Infomercial?, Treat Lance like the others, TdF sprint finishes, Leaky Gas?, Little black box
  • July 15: The best seat in the house, Joseba Beloki, Message for Chris Horner, Treat Lance like the others, Lance Infomercial?, McEwen defense, Rail lines in the TdF, Ruse Discovered?, Discovery's unanimous breakdown, IS Jan really the man?, Cycling socks, Patrick Lefevre quit your whining, Armstrong and class, Leaky Gas?, TdF sprint finishes, Who is in charge of the UCI?, Tires and slippery roads, Response to the Vowels of Cycling, Little black box
  • July 8: McEwen defends himself, Tires and slippery roads, Random test on Lance Armstrong, French Government dope controls, The Pro Tour and Grand Tours, Tour de France's early finish?, Here we go again!, Thank you, Ed Kriege, Lance Infomercial?, No, the other Merckx!, The Vowels of Cycling, Armstrong's pre-Tour communiqués, Armstrong and class
  • July 1: No, the other Merckx!, Armstrong's pre-Tour communiqués, The Vowels of Cycling, Figures of merit - TdF tipping, Lance Infomercial?, Daily Terror, Sydney article, Why Michael Rogers will be awesome with T-Mobile, I love it!, MTB news, Twins
  • June 24: Sydney article, Hit and run on cyclists - Australia's new blood sport?, Another fatal hit and run on Australian cyclists, How can Ullrich win the Tour?, Drop Verbruggen, The second American, When the Tour heads up, Droppin' the Kilo!, Kilo or no go, What is Michael Rogers thinking?, Rogers to T-Mobile, For the love of god don't do it Mick!, The first yellow jersey, Horner Impressive, Leave T-Mobile/Fassa Bortolo, renew your career!, Horner's stage win at the Tour de Suisse, Bobby Julich, Daily Terror, Hell on Wheels review
  • June 17: Droppin' the Kilo!, Killing the kilo and 500, The kilo, Axing the Kilo?, The track Time Trials, The first yellow jersey, Armstrong and Class, The year of the comeback, Horner's stage win at the Tour de Suisse
  • June 10: The year of the comeback, An open letter to Cadel Evans, How Ullrich can win the Tour, USPRO/Liberty, Lance, the Tour and the Giro, Lance and the Tour, Show us your discards Godefroot!, Armstrong and Class, Ivan's training ride, Giro comments
  • June 3: Giro comments, Giro excitement vs Tour blah, Ivan Basso, Ivan's training ride, Discovering the future, Jose Rujano, Savoldelli vs Simoni, How Ullrich can win the Tour, Eddy Merckx Interview, Johan Bruyneel, Show us your discards Godefroot!, Improving Pro Tour Team Rankings, Lance and the Tour, Armstrong and class
  • May 27: Giro excitement vs Tour blah, Great Giro!, Double or nothing..., Colle delle Finestre and a Cipo farewell, Joseba Beloki, Ivan's training ride, Hell on Wheels, Matt Wittig, How Ullrich can win the Tour, UCI fines, Armstrong and class, Eddy Merckx Interview, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, You have let us down Paolo
  • May 20: Colle delle Finestre tactics, Rogues, It just keeps happening, Davis Phinney, Joseba Beloki, Australia - number one, You have let us down Paolo, Bettini/Cooke, What's up with pro cyclists these days?, Cipo, Cipo, Cipo, A question about team names, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, Go Eki!
  • May 13: Hit and run, Bettini vs Cooke, Bettini's Illegal sprint, You have let us down Paolo, Giro, Bettini/Cooke, Cookie's crumble, Bjarne's right: There's only one Jens Voigt!, Jens Voigt and the blind, South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, It just keeps happening, Liberty Seguros, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, Go Eki!, Australia - number one, Irresistible in July, UCI weight rule
  • May 6: South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton and the facts The USADA decision on Tyler Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton, Tyler, Testing and the Virenque Comparison, How do dopers live with themselves?, General view on doping, Hamilton guilty regardless of the facts, Hamilton verdict, Tyler is good going uphill, Hamilton interview, Klöden comments, Tyler H, Simoni, Grazie Mario, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono
  • April 29: South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton and the facts The USADA decision on Tyler Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton, Tyler, Testing and the Virenque Comparison, How do dopers live with themselves?, General view on doping, Hamilton guilty regardless of the facts, Hamilton verdict, Tyler is good going uphill, Hamilton interview, Klöden comments, Tyler H, Simoni, Grazie Mario, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono
  • April 22: Lance Armstrong's retirement, W is for Witchhunt, Tyler's mishandling defense, Not for real, is it?, Bad Science, Blood testing issues, Hamilton - finally a decision, Regarding the Tyler Hamilton decision, Tyler Hamilton, Satisfying Verdict for Hamilton Case, How do dopers live with themselves?, Hamilton's case, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton, Hamilton verdict and a call for outside expertise, Tyler Hamilton saga..., Tour de France preview...2006!, Klöden comments, Tour de France Training, The New Dynamic Duo, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono, Random Musings
  • April 15: Glenn Wilkinson, USADA and Hamilton, Bergman; so sad, ProTour leader's jersey, That's a Jersey?, Too many chiefs?, Track World Championships, What do you think?
  • April 8: The New Dynamic Duo, Boonen's Hairdo, Viral infections and antibiotics, George Hincapie, What do you think?, Track World Championships, VDB?, A little bit more about blood doping, Blood testing issues
  • April 1: Well done Ale-jet, Eyes of tigers..., Viral infections and antibiotics, Let's talk about cycling…, What's worth talking about in cycling?, First Ride of the season, The New Dynamic Duo, Blood testing issues, Sydney Thousand, UCI Pro Tour Grand Theft, not Grand Tour
  • March 18: The Forgotten Hero!, Way to go Bobby, Bobby J, Lance has lost the ‘Eye of the tiger’, Blood testing issues and Hamilton, With all Due Respect, All this Lance Talk..., Is Lance getting soft?
  • March 11: Blood testing issues and Hamilton, Cycling on TV, In Defence of UCI president Hein Verbruggen, Defending the Pro Tour?, Is Lance getting soft?, Lance has lost the "eye of the tiger"
  • March 4: In Defence of the Pro-Tour, Grand Tours back down...for now, Armstrong and Simeoni,Help - what’s on the TV?, Cycling on TV, Lance Defends His Title!, Hamilton movie role downplayed, Blood testing issues and Hamilton, I really don't know when it happened
  • February 25: Lance Defends His Title!, Build it and tear it down?, Build, dismantle and donate!, Lance's Hour Record attempt, I really don't know when it happened, Can't get enough!, Dream on
  • February 18: Build it and tear it down?, Remember Marco, One Reason I Love Cycling, The ongoing Hour Record Saga, Lance’s Hour Record attempt, Can't get enough!
  • February 11: One Reason I Love Cycling, Francisco Cuevas, F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Armstrong and the Hour, Can't get enough!, Greatest of all time
  • February 4: F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Armstrong and the Hour, Armstrong and Simeoni, Can't get enough!, Help, Greatest of all time Eddy is King, but who is second best?
  • January 28: "I am the greatest of all time", Armstrong and the Hour Record, F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Lance Drug Probe, Armstrong and Simeoni, Can’t get enough!, Help, NBC's 2004 RAAM Coverage, Doping, Crash distance from 1km to 3km, Eddy is King, but who is second best?
  • January 21: Professional Cyclists, Der Kaiser's Goals, Jan Ullrich's problem = Lance, Rider of the Year, Crash distance from 1km to 3km, Help, Lance vs. Eddy
  • January 14: Der Kaiser's goals, Help, Foreign stage races, Lance vs. Eddy, Tour '05, Rider of the Year, Best bikes for heavy riders, Quick Step helmets
  • January 7: Death of Dmitri Neliubin, Der Kaiser’s goals, Rider of the Year, Best bikes for heavy riders, Who's Greater? Come on now!, Virenque "most charismatic"?, Downhilling, Downhill time trial, Trendy cyclists, No flat tyres, Spring classics trip advice, Bettini's trainer
  • January 3: Spring classics trip advice, Big Bear ends downhilling, Armstrong and Simeoni, Holding teams accountable, Downhill time trial, Trendy cyclists, Bettini's trainer, No flat tyres

Letters 2004

  • December 24 letters - Why are cyclists so trendy?, Business and cycling, Big Bear ends downhilling, Off-bike weight gain, No flat tires, Armstrong and Simeoni
  • December 17 letters - Business and cycling, Tom versus Axel , Big Bear ends downhilling, Shane Perkins, Spring classics trip advice, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Mark Webber interview, Armstrong and Simeoni, Injured and missing it: an update, Clyde Sefton
  • December 10 letters - Why are cyclists so trendy?, Big Bear ends downhilling, Floyd's choices?, Merckx, fit and trim, Pound must go, Spring classics trip advice, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Punishment: Vandenbroucke vs Hamilton, Prosthetic hip, Armstrong and Simeoni, Dave Fuentes, Homeopathy, Jeremy Yates, TDF coverage for Australia, Weight limits and maintenance, Mark Webber interview
  • December 3 letters - Domestiques vs Lieutenants, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Dave Fuentes, Santa vs Hairy Guy, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Mark French and homeopathy, Shane Perkins, Jeremy Yates, Weight limits and maintenance, UCI regulations, Armstrong and Simeoni, Prosthetic hip
  • November 26 letters - Mark French and homeopathy, Two big guns in one team, Tyler Hamilton case, Bartoli's retirement, Dave Fuentes, Shane Perkins, Merckx and Armstrong, Training like Lance, Lance Armstrong, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Phonak gets what it deserves, Armstrong and Simeoni, Bike weight, Spouseless riders, Mary McConneloug, Adam Craig, Mark Webber interview, Santa vs Hairy Guy
  • November 19 letters - Tyler Hamilton case, Phonak gets what it deserves, Are you there Mr Coates?, Bike Weight, Merckx and Maertens make up, Heart troubles, Where to find cycling spouses, Mark Webber interview, Lance Armstrong, Where's Greg?, What ever happened to..., Why are cyclists so trendy?, Armstrong and Simeoni, l'Etape du Tour registration, Still Laughing
  • November 12 letters - Why Armstrong will ride the 2005 Tour, Scott Sunderland, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Armstrong and Simeoni, Where to find cycling spouses, Lance on Italian selection, Heart troubles, l'Etape du Tour registration, Tour 2005 team time trial, What ever happened to..., Love and a yellow bike
  • November 5 letters - Love and a yellow bike, Tour 2005, Where to find cycling spouses, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Lance on Italian selection, Armstrong and Simeoni, Tour of Southland, Construction technique for veloway, Heart troubles, l'Etape du Tour registration, Rahsaan Bahati
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