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Schleicher beats the often-unbeatable

Two world champs, Mactier and Arndt

No time to enjoy the scenery

Azevedo took a skidder, too, but finished strongly

Levi in yellow

The Philly race has always been a crowd-pleaser

Mayo celebrates atop La Toussuire

Boonen resumes his winning ways

Menchov following his crash

Moreau, Piepoli and Leipheimer

The Spanish armada: Sevilla, Valverde, Arroyo and Mayo

Valverde and Mayo

The Galibier

Moreau laying it down

Ludovic Turpin celebrates one of the biggest wins of his career

Moreau's move forced Menchov's hand

Leipheimer followed the wheels and preserved his lead

Gerolsteiner at the front

Landis didn't have the legs today

Leipheimer had plenty of American company

Hincapie rips the descent

It wasn't Vino's day

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Just look at the numbers?Dear Editor,The general public won’t appreciate it yet. In the eyes of the averageAmerican there are no pro cyclists other than Lance. Maybe thatwill change now. Just look at the impressive results with American riders taking thetop four spots in the TT at

Madrid (AP) – Manolo Saiz, the team director at the center of a major doping scandal in Spain, has resigned his position effective immediately. Astana-Würth, which took over sponsorship of the team formerly known as Liberty Seguros, announced Saiz's resignation in a brief statement. He will be replaced by Herminio Diaz Zabala, Marino Lejarreta and Neil Stephens. Saiz said he decided to quit in order not to damage the team and Spanish cycling going into the Tour of France. "I've taken the decision to guarantee the continuation of the team and welfare of cycling in

Bruyneel, earlier this week at the Dauphiné Libéré

The early break seemed doomed from the start

Sevilla wants to make an impression as Tour selection nears.

Azevedo

With Leipheimer setting the pace, Azevedo would soon fade back

Finishing nearly 10 minutes back, Landis's attention is now on July

Hincapie looks primed for the Tour... as does Valverde.

Henderson takes the win

Henderson came out of Mt. Hood feeling strong

Experience the 2006 Tour de France by riding it… from home!Carmichael Training Systems Launches New Interactive Training LineWithDo the Tour…Stay at Home.™ Audio Workouts, Presented by AMD COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – This July instead of sitting onthe couch watching the Tour de France on OLN, set your bike up on an indoortrainer and “ride” the Grand Tour itself. No plane ticket or world-classfitness level required. All you need are Carmichael Training Systems’ (CTS)Do the Tour…Stay at Home.™ audio workouts, presented by AMD, which canbe downloaded onto a digital music player directly

Taking third on the day, Lagutin now leads the Triple Crown standings

Menchov Takes It: The 2005 Vuelta winner narrowly edged the hard-charging Moreau

Leipheimer has the lead

Johnson at the front fot Health Net

Zabriskie, with race leader Gilbert and KOM leader Joly, finished 50th

Ina makes these things look easy

Mayo moved past Landis, who took the final stretch at a moderate pace

Like Trenton... with a hill

Menchov narrowly beat a hard-charging Moreau, but he did.

Moreau set an early tempo on the climb

Teamed up with Moreau, Mancebo could make trouble in coming days.

Der Kaiser a.k.a. Jan

Zabriskie again showed that he is among the world's best time trialists

Great form - Zabriskie's form matches his strength

Landis got a big boost by Wednesday's ride

Third-place Leipheimer is in good position, too.

Valverde comes in 9th

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.A matter of perspectiveDear Editor:My route to work is eleven miles of rural roads and trails, and oneof the bonuses of the ride is being able to brag to my colleagues aboutthe various "hazards" I encounter. Usually it's a 25-mph headwind, oftenit's ornery redwings, sometimes

Whew. That was a busy three weeks. For those of you who missed it, there was a ton of bicycle racing going on over the past few weeks, and much of it was on those heavy bikes with fat tires that them hippies ride around on dirt. The UCI mountain bike World Cup hit the meat of its season, with five big events in the last month. First, the world’s best cross-country racers hit the dry, dusty, urban course in Madrid on May 14. A week later they were in Belgium, splashing around in the freezing rain and hub-deep mud at Spa Francorchamps. Another week saw the endurance crew in the Scottish

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEVELONEWS RELEASES 2006 OFFICIAL TOUR DE FRANCE GUIDEBiggest Ever Guide Available Now from Velo® GearBoulder, CO, June 7, 2006 — With less than a month to go beforethe July 1 start date, VeloNews has just released the OfficialGuide to the 2006 Tour de France. The Official Guide is a licensed collaboration with the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and offers an insider’s look at the world’s most prestigiousbike race. This year’s guide features:Exclusive interviews with Tour hopefuls Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Dave Zabriskie,

Frischy -cross-country's Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going and...

Adam Craig

Erwin Bakker at Angel Fire

Who thought this one up?

Ivan Basso thoroughly trounced the field to the mountaintop finish of Monte Bondone using a 36-52 in front and an 11-23 in back.

Vespa did make a car, too...

Basso and his CSC domestiques were not the only ones riding Monte Bondone on compact chainrings. Among others were the Bouygues Telecoms...

...although it may not do well...

... and some Euskaltel-Euskadi riders (inexplicably using FSA compact chainrings on Shimano compact cranks); Euskaltel-Euskadi's Anton Luengo Celaya stuck with a 39-53, though.

... in an encounter with a Hummer inyour local WalMart parking lot.

Carlos Sastre's TT rig. Riding the identical bike, Basso turned in a strong performance, finishing second only to Jan Ullrich

Them's the breaks... and sometimes an early break succeeds

Little man, big solid wheels. A potato chip in a crosswind?

The break built up a substantial advantage, but only Gilbert was able to hold it.

Leonardo Piepoli may be tiny, but don't mess with his big friend, Mario Cipollini.

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: A Giro Gallery

Gerolsteiner's chase came a bit too late

Millar won't be racing until July

...but he's not fighting off-season weight issues, is he?

Barry and Hincapie are both back after injuries

Michael Rasmussen relaxing after the time trial... not his favorite event.