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Gutierrez and Hamilton at the Dauphine

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Do Americans never cheat?Editor:Is it my almost-European persecution mania or am I right in the impression that some of your correspondents believe that European cyclists are all dirty drug users and all American riders are clean,

Lennard Zinn does it again! With the release of "Zinn’s Cycling Primer: Maintenance Tips and Skill Building for Cyclists" American cycling's übergeek brings our favorite pastime to a new level.Zinn,the author of the best-selling "Zinnand the Art of Mountain-Bike Maintenance" and "Zinnand the Art of Road Bike Maintenance," takes a comprehensive approachwith an understanding that successful, enjoyable cycling depends on a hostof factors, including a well-tuned bicycle, a balanced and healthy bodyand the proper interface between the two.Zinn takes the reader through the essentials of bicycle

The late Charles Bukowski and friend

Still Postal's main worry

Six returning riders from last year’s Tour de France team will line up for U.S. Postal Service to support Lance Armstrong in his quest to win a record sixth Tour. There’s an added emphasis on strength in the mountains as Armstrong will be looking to get all the support he can in a decisive second half of the race, which starts July 3 in Liège, Belgium. “We will have a very strong team in the mountains, stronger than last year,” said U.S. Postal Service sport director Johan Bruyneel in a team press release. “We have six riders from last year and two new guys. Lance is confident he has a

Aiming for six.

Aiming for six.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) banned Australian cyclist and former world junior champion Mark French for life on Monday over doping offenses, including the trafficking of banned substances. French, 19, was found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month of trafficking gluco-corticosteroid and equine growth hormone and was handed a two-year suspension. Trafficking, however, attracts a lifetime ban under AOC rules. The AOC noted that the lifetime ban, the first time such a penalty has been imposed, could be reduced to a minimum of eight years if French gave evidence

A French judge on Monday rejected a bid by attorneys representing Lance Armstrong to insert a denial of accusations of doping published in a book released last week. Armstrong, 33, seeking a record sixth consecutive Tour de France in July, has vowed to take legal action over the new book "L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong" which alleges he used banned drugs. Armstrong's lawyer Christian Charriere-Bournazel told AFP on Monday he had filed an appeal of the ruling. "I am very disappointed," he said. "I don't share the court's view." Charriere-Bournazel said he hoped the

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.O’Grady isn’t a puppetEditor:Patrick, thank you for not joining the "Lance is a cycling god" chorus of the press (See "Friday's foaming rant: Shooting the messenger). Being a cyclist and a racing fan I have enjoyed watching Lance win the Tours

French in better times.

Olson closes out Beauce with a win

Ullrich won the TT and took the overall by a single second

Rowney bows out with a win

Sydor skips the cross country and rules the short track

No one even came close to Pruitt

Minaar bounced back from an early miscue to win

As did Killeen

Meanwhile, Green was happy to simply finish

The winner — McCartney, once again, with a late solo attack

Armstrong scores the stars and stripes

Athens bound

Armstrong and Thorburn worked up front as T-Mobile controlled the chase

Thorburn said she was feeling the effects of winning Thursday's time trial

An early break went in the men's race

But McCartney has a habit of attacking such breaks

The break which hesitates has lost ...

Brozyna put the hurt on the field in defense of his leader's jersey, working with countryman Romanik

... as had Horner, who was not at all happy about it

Tuft had an early go with a small group, only to be caught at the base of Megantic

The Poles went to work on the final grind

O'Neill seems to have left last year's injury behind him ... way behind him

Race leader Brozyna finished third on the day and retains his yellow jersey

Koerber scores a breakthrough victory

David Walsh declines to answer when asked if he truly believes thatLance Armstrong has used performance-enhancing drugs. The Irishman, co-author of the just-released “LA Confidential — TheSecrets of Lance Armstrong,” suggests that "it is not relevant what I think. (Pierre Ballester and I) have done what journalists are supposed to do: we have asked questions. Many, many people have helped by providing answers. We then write a book and the reader gets the chance to make up his or her own mind. What matters is the evidence of those who worked and rode with Lance Armstrong. The people who have

With the greatest spectacle in cycling just around the corner, VeloNews is pleased to announce the publication of its 2004 edition of the Official Guide to the Tour de France. Published in cooperation with the Société du Tour de France, the Official Guide puts everything you need to know about the race in one handy place for the month of July. The Official Guide includes detailed rider profiles of all the top American pros, including Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, Bobby Julich, Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie, who discuss their preparations for the Tour and their view of the race. The

Marblehead, MA. – The Tyler Hamilton Foundation (THF) today announced that it will host a live viewing of stage 13 of the Tour de France on movie screens across the United States. Scheduled for Saturday, July 17, 2004, the nationwide fundraiser’s two lead sponsors are Outdoor Life® Network (OLN®) and Regal CineMedia™. The event will be presented in nineteen Regal Entertainment Group (REG) movie theatres, and marks the first time that U.S. cycling fans will be able to view a live European cycling race on high-definition screens. For a complete listing of cities and Regal Entertainment Group

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.John AdamsArgument in Defense of the [British] Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials [December 1770] Okay, how many of you out there have read “LA Confidential – The Secrets of Lance Armstrong?” Raise your hands. Nobody? Not a single, solitary one of you? Then shut the hell up about it already. Didn’t a teacher ever smack you down for trying to bluff your way through a question about a book you hadn’t read? Never heard the old saw

Pound noted that as of Thursday, the UCI was the last holdout IGB

Walsh and another famous Irishman

Questioning the accuser - We speak with “LA Confidential” author David Walsh

Totschnig

Kintner got the jump from the gate

Robinson just rode like he rides

Fresh off the announcement that the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, will be hosting a road racing series this summer, I summoned up an interview that I’d conducted last month with Rick Sutton, GaleForce Sports Marketing’s chief operating officer and Sea Otter race organizer, regarding the future of motorsports venues in North American bicycle racing. Pieces of the interview made it into my VeloNews story on the Sonoma NORBA National in issue 10 (”Work in Progress: Solid infrastructure not enough to draw crowds to NORBA National at Sonoma speedway”), but I present it to you here in

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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. This reader believes LanceEditor:I find the almost evangelical fervor with which some readers have come to the defense of Lance’s character a little distressing. The reasoning, if cited, for this faith is not, in my view, supported by what

Julich is having his best year since '98

Zabriskie smoked 'em

Vermaut moved to Lotto after his Postal stint

Walker eventually rid himself of the two young guys

Tilford does his best to drive the chase

Elken and Walker

Taylor was getting dropped on the climbs

The hills did their part to sort out the race

The Olive Oilers did their part to close the gap

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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 warning!?!?!?Dear USCF, USADA and AAA/CAS:Thank you so much!I cannot express enough joy and gratitude when I finally heard thatCanadian cyclist, Genevieve Jeanson, was given a mere warning and smallfine after she failed to show up for a drug

Lance Armstrong was on hand at the Discovery Channel world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Tuesday to announce Discovery Communications' deal to take over title sponsorship of his U.S. Postal squad in 2005. But it wasn’t questions of a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal that generated the most heated questioning at the ensuing press conference. At the post-announcement media event, questions inevitably surfaced about “L.A. Confidential,” a new book by award-winning London Sunday Times sportswriter David Walsh and former L’Equipe cycling writer Pierre Ballester. The book,

Lance Armstrong was confident he had found a sponsor his son Luke could endorse when he took the stage to announce that Discovery Communications would assume the title sponsorship of his U.S. Postal team in 2004. “My son would be very proud of me for standing up here with a T-Rex,giving a press conference,” Armstrong said, gazing at the skeletal tailof the life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex reproduction that dominates the lobbyof Discovery’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Perhaps more important to cycling fans than Luke’s approval, Armstrongconfirmed that, unlike the T-Rex and the

Dominguez takes GP Beauce opener

O’Reilly in 2000

The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 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.Kids these days! Hello VeloNews, I just thought that I should tell you about something that happened today that normally would not happen to a cyclist. I live and train in Colorado Springs and I was coming back from a long four-hour Sunday

Snowshoe, WV - Team Yeti showed incredible strength and depththis weekend as it won the men's and women's pro 4x, took 3rd and 5th inthe STXC, and 5th place in the downhill.Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was Ross Milan, a Coloradonative who has been a dominant force on the Colorado race scene for thelast few years, had a breakthrough race winning the men's 4x over someof the biggest names in the sport. "I've have always known I had the potentialto get on the podium at a national event, but I am stoked that it was afirst place finish," said an elated Milan after the race.Milan

Lance Armstrong, seeking a record sixth consecutive Tour de France in July, has vowed to take legal action over a new book about him which alleges he used banned drugs. Tailwind Sports, owner and operator of Armstrong's US Postal Service Cycling team, said Armstrong, 33, will begin libel proceedings against the authors and publishers of "L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong." "Lance Armstrong utterly denies ever having taken any performance-enhancing drugs," a statement said. "Accordingly, Lance Armstrong has instructed his lawyers to immediately institute libel

The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Monday that a three-member panel of the American Arbitration Association /North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrators has found that Rona’s Geneviève Jeanson committed a doping violation when she failed to appear for a drug test at this year’s Flèche Wallonne World Cup in Belgium. A member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic team, Jeanson received a public warning and was fined 500 Swiss Francs. Jeanson, 22, failed to appear for a doping control test at the request of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) following the race in

BERKELEY, Calif., June 14, 2004 — Sheryl O’Loughlin, 37, has beennamed CEO of Clif Bar Inc., the first time the privately-held energy andnutrition foods company has had a CEO outside of the original founder.Founder Gary Erickson, who had held variously the co-CEO and CEO post since1992, will continue his involvement in the company, becoming more activein new product development, package design and disseminating the company’sunique story.As owners, Erickson and his wife Kathleen (“Kit”) Crawford will continueshaping the long term vision of Clif Bar Inc. as well as direct involvementin

Monday's EuroFile: Vino' out of Tour; Hunter scores win in Switzerland

Levi takes a gamble

Moncoutié joins up

Phonak emerged as the top squad

Armstrong at the Dauphiné Libéré