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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.Armstrong’s jerking chains with comeback taleEditor:Lance Armstrong is not seriously entertaining the notion of riding in the 2006 Tour de France. He is justifiably furious at the French press and the Tour management and is simply jerking their chains. Johan Bruyneel's perpetuation of

MADRID, Spain (AP)- Three cyclists have denied a French newspaper report accusing them of testing positive for EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. Le Journal du Dimanche reported Sunday that Spanish rider Manuel Beltran, Denmark's Bo Hamburger and Colombia's Joaquim Castelblanco are suspected of being among those whose frozen urine samples reportedly tested positive at a French laboratory. Last month, the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that six urine samples provided by Lance Armstrong were among 12 specimens that were positive for EPO during the 1999 race. Armstrong, a

Danielson had to overcome a stomach bug to keep in the hunt

Heras pressures Menchov

Heras on his own

Beloki was in there, too

Scarponi provides the springboard for Heras

Menchov guts it out

Sastre dogs Menchov before eventually dropping him

Minnaar got the air (and the series win)

But Peat got the press (and the day's win)

Moseley scores one for the home folks

Heras puts his stamp on the Vuelta

Menchov limps to the line

Scarponi was one of four Liberty riders to make the break

Jimenez wins

Menchov sticks to Heras like glue

Jimenez going for the gusto

Charteau leading the escape

Haussler made the break, too

Sastre gave it a shot, but came up short

Covadonga

Scarponi working to launch Heras

Mission accomplished for Danielson

A beautiful day ... for breaking someone's legs in hilly Asturias

Imagine your surprise: Dahle wins the finale

Stage 14 = That last climb is a mother...

"While I'm absolutely enjoying my time as a retired athlete with Sheryl and the kids, the recent smear campaign out of France has awoken my competitive side.” – Lance Armstrong, quoted on the Discovery Channel team’s website, about the likelihood of a comeback Okay, remember, you heard it here first: Lance comes back, Tyler gets off, and with Tyler’s fabled vanishing twin, Skyler – visible at last thanks to the miracle of modern jurisprudence – they tackle the 2006 Tour. No team, no director, and especially no soigneurs. They grab all the usual jerseys, including a couple nobody ever

UCI president Hein Verbruggen said Friday no action would be taken against Lance Armstrong following the recent allegations of doping against the American cyclist. Armstrong, who retired after his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory in July, has been accused of using banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) by French sports daily L'Equipe in an article two weeks ago which showed details of 1999 drugs tests. Armstrong has vehemently denied the allegations, and said he is prepared to make a comeback from retirement just to spite the French organizers of the world's toughest

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.‘Piss off the French’ by ignoring TourEditor:If Lance Armstrong wants to "piss off the French,” he should consider riding the Giro and the Vuelta in 2006, bypassing the Tour de France completely. Given the massive media coverage the follows him on and off the bike, the other two grand

09/09/2005: UCI DECLARATION : 1999 Tour de France samples analysisAs we announced on Monday, August 29, 2005, the Union Cycliste Internationale(“UCI”) is undertaking an investigation into the recent press reports fromFrance. The article published by the French newspaper L’Equipe concernedtesting apparently conducted by a French laboratory of urine samples fromthe 1999 Tour de France. Our initial investigation has identified a greatmany issues and we are in the process of gathering the information we need.The UCI is currently unable to express any judgement on these cases, asit does not have

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong celebrated a legal victory and a UCI statement of support Friday, capping a busy week that included his engagement and hints at a 2006 comeback. A UCI statement said no action would be taken against Armstrong over claims by the French sports daily L'Equipe that his 1999 urine samples tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin). "Lance is encouraged," said Bill Stapleton, an attorney for Armstrong. "They seem to be conducting a meaningful investigation and they seem to be asking the right questions." The UCI

Sanchez celebrates

Baranowski and Steels hit the deck

It was all she wrote for Steels

Horrillo had to pay a visit to the doctor, too

Heras soldiered on with a heavily bandaged knee

Ardila leads

Lara has a go

A new kit for Charles

Michael Barry's Diary: The incredible shrinking peloton

Hoping to help Zabel, Aldag takes a pull

The peloton starts to pick up the pace...

Dear Bob;I read that a bicyclist in California was arrested for failure to produce identification. Are cyclists required to wear ID while riding? Can you explain what legal issues are involved?RJSouth Carolina Dear RJ,So, you read about the case where, as the dissenting judge observed, a bicyclist “was sentenced to a prison term for the trivial public offense of riding the wrong way on a residential street.” Should you be worried? The dissenting judge is. Was a bicyclist actually sentenced to prison for riding against traffic? “Well,” Justice Brown wrote in her dissent, “not exactly.” The

Once again, Petacchi

Heras gets medical attention after the fall

Stage 13: One bump at the end could shake things up a bit

Meandering through the vinyards of Rioja, the stage should have been an easy one for all concerned

Painful... but how serious is it?

Who else?

Pasamontes spent a lot of time on his own.

Menchov believes he can keep that jersey all the way to Madrid

Nox always builds clean rigs.

Saturday's Stage 14 is gonna be a tough one.

Rotwild’s bikes have become more conservative over the years, but the company is still delivering great value.

Impromptu set-ups pop up all over the Eurobike courtyard.

Hot Chili is offering more cross-country designs these days.

Felt fenced off a small BMX arena.

The suspension adjustability on this Nicolai is almost endless.

The Felt Girls attracted an audience, too, with a long line of guys jostling to pose with them.

Nicolai’s suspension designs are fascinating…

Inside the hall, Felt put this concept on display, inspired by the Bonneville streamliners of the fifties.

…as is the machine work.

This cross-country Onion rig has some nice details.

Stage 12

For the Meccano set, there’s this girder structure from Onion.

Or you can have it all with the Onion Berg.

A clean freerider from Banshee.

Orange has been pursuing a folded sheetmetal theme. Orange’s Michael Bonney reports that the bikes may be available in the U.S. next year, pending negotiations at Interbike.

Not the bike to take home to Mom.

Richi’s production machines are just as exotic-looking as this downhill prototype…

…including this one…

…and this one.

PARIS (AP) - Lance Armstrong plans to train with his team this winter, increasing speculation he will end his retirement and attempt an eighth straight Tour de France win. “It's definitely an open possibility, I know he is on the bike," Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday. “He absolutely wants to be part of the training camp in December and wants to get fit to compete with the guys there," Bruyneel said, adding that Armstrong can decide to return as late as February. When Armstrong retired in July after his

A two-wheel drive exercise bike, we’re told. Well... sure, why not?

Heras, Sastre and Menchov were almost inseparable on Tuesday

Pena and Pereiro joined the day's long break