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A month later, and its spring in Connecticut. Very green and rainy for the Tour of Connecticut's climbs.

Start 'em young.

Bobby Julich joins Mark McCormack on one of his patented late attacks during the Wachovia Invitational in Trenton, NJ

Lyne Bessette cleans up before her podium appearance.

Thousands of fans and flags welcome the peloton to Ben Franklin Parkway in the last USPRO Championship in Philadelphia.

With mud like this...

Chris Wherry puts the hammer down and takes the last corner on his way to winning the USPRO National Championship.

...power washers are a necessity.

With the grasses of the Great Salt Lakes' Antelope Island providing a background, Chris Baldwin wins the time trial national championship.

This blonde definitely has more fun.

Stage three of the Tour de France takes the peloton through some beautiful rural scenes.

Discovery Channel rolls through the green hills of California, with their best season ever ahead of them.

George Hincapie stalks Oscar Pereiro up the final climb of Stage 15 for the biggest win of his career.

A young Malay girl entertains the crowd with music at the start of a stage of the Tour of Langkawi.

While Johann Bruyneel takes a question during the final press conference of the 2005 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong lets his guard down for one brief second as he contemplates the end of his career.

Michael Barry toils in the fog on the climb to Genting Highlands.

Riders take a corner at twilight during the Charlotte Criterium.

The San Dimas Stage race provided a great opportunity for crit photos, and Gord Fraser the perfect subject.

Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder take a corner together and go on to dominate and win the Women's criterium championship.

Step 1: Breakfast and coffee.

Step 2: Write my diary for VeloNews.com.

Step 3: Go for a ride.

By now you’ve probably seen the VeloNews 2005 awards issue. If you are a subscriber, you received an issue with Tom Boonen on the cover; newsstand copies featured Lance Armstrong.If you have seen the issue, regardless of which cover it wore, then you know who and what the VN editorial staff has deemed best and worst from the past year in cycling. If you haven’t seen it yet, well, shame on you. Get on out there and pick up a copy — or better yet, do yourself a favor and start up a subscription for 2006. For everyone else, the proverbial cats are long since out of the bag: Boonen was voted our

Step 4: Clean the bikes.

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: The best, worst and weirdest of 2005

Step 5: Rehydrate!

A must-see for cycling fans

Frazz, decked out in 2006 Health Net-Maxxis team gear before the team's riders even have it

Doctor, is there anything we can to do save this crappy episode?

So, uh, what'd you do with your winter break?

Liam Barry to the world: Yeah, I'm cuter than you.

The time-trial gods must be crazy

Two, two, two gloves in one

How much is that German in the window?

The next Paris-Roubaix winner? Naaaah ... but he did enjoy his ride

She's a fine cyclist ... a fine cyclist

Friends in Morbegno: Giuseppe and Norma Morelli

Mussels, frites and beer. All we're missing is the chocolate!

Besides racing cross, this is another way to keep warm in Belgium.

This little guy goes number one 365 days a year.

Every year about this time, we discover a curious e-mail buried deep within the quarantine folder here at VeloNews.com. Crawling with viruses, worms and other virtual cooties known to infest the less than fastidious in our dreadful digital age, it invariably is a communication from beyond the pale — to wit, a note from foaming rantist Patrick O’Grady, announcing his season-ending salute to the sport. Though relief should be but a stroke of the delete key away, O’Grady has squirreled away in various safe-deposit boxes some grainy yet regrettably saleable photographic portraits of senior Inside

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.Keep Brandon's stories comingDear VeloNews,Hey I'm really enjoying Brandon Dwight's diary entries. Keep ‘em coming.As far as the Lion of Flanders flags; it was explained to me by a Belgianfriend of mine that the flag with the red claws and tongue is the provincialflag of

A new stage race, La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Ondimba, will make its debut next month in Gabon, organizers announced Friday in the African nation’s capital of Libreville. The race, scheduled January 12-15, will include 15 teams comprising some 90 cyclists, according to technical director Philippe Crepel. Among those set to take the start include Française des Jeux, Jartazi, Luxembourg, Capec Kazakhstan, VC Roubaix and VC La Pomme Marseille. Eight African teams also will participate, representing Angola, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Bénin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Sénégal and the host nation,

How come you never call me any more?

I'm da boss, I'm da boss ...

Friday's mailbag: Diaries, Flags and Belgian brew

Friday's mailbag: Diaries, Flags and Belgian brew

Cold and snowy, but beautiful, too.

The food that made Belgium famous.

Weeeeee!

Several bridges on the Azencross course in Loehout course made it fun for riders and spectators.

U.S. U23 champion Troy Wells, throwing elbows.

There's Frishy on the front. Still fast and strong!

What the heck are those yellow flags for?

This ain't your typical recovery shake.

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.To subscribe or not to subscribeEditor;There have been several times I've wanted to write, but Mr. Kessler's comment inMonday's Mailbag irritated me enough to finally put fingers to keys.To not subscribe to a magazine because of one individual is ludicrous. It's like not

Lance Armstrong takes fewer bike rides these days. He even describes himself as out of shape since retiring after his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory in July. But he remains unbeatable. Armstrong was honored Wednesday as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth straight year. He is the only athlete to be selected by sports writers four times since the honor first was awarded in 1931. Armstrong received 30 of the 83 votes cast. Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush of Southern California was second with 23 votes, and Indianapolis Colts quarterback

Lance Armstrong takes fewer bike rides these days. He even describes himself as out of shape since retiring after his seventh consecutive Tour de France victory in July. But he remains unbeatable. Armstrong was honored Wednesday as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth straight year. He is the only athlete to be selected by sports writers four times since the honor first was awarded in 1931. Armstrong received 30 of the 83 votes cast. Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush of Southern California was second with 23 votes, and Indianapolis Colts quarterback

My first taste of Belgium mud and, no, it doesn't taste like chicken.

Lyne Bessette makes friends with Orion.

It was below freezing and even the spectators rode to the race.

Kashi and I enjoy a warm cup of coffee at registration.

A few members of the Allez allez Zimbabwe Cyclo-cross Team, front and center.

Doing something no one else has done.

Bread Winner in Cairo

Do you think Sven Nys pins on his own race numbers?

The frites stand was busy all day long.

Starting at the back. Wait for me!

Fans lined every section of the course.

Look at that crowd!

Leffe Blonde. Yummy.

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. After reviewing the beautiful collection of last week’s entries, we settled upon Marvin Dong’s “Bread Winner in Cairo,” which reminds us that what we usually regard as the key to our favorite pastime can mean much more to many around the world. Congratulations Marvin! Drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out

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.Boonen a worthy cyclist of the yearEditor:Kudos on your selection of Tom Boonen as cyclist of the year. With his show of force from the beginning of the season to its conclusion, Boonen showed he was the strongest. It pleased me to see Boonen's young mug prominently displayed in the

Please see Part 1 of this interview.“This is my favorite room in the building,” says Pat McQuaid as he takes a large key from his trouser pocket and unlocks an unmarked door in the basement level of the World Cycling Center. Unlike the rest of this sleek modern structure’s steel, glass, aluminum and concrete, the “secret” chamber is lined with rough-hewn timber and natural rock. “It’s called a carnotzet,” explains McQuaid, the recently elected ninth president of the Union Cycliste Internationale. “It’s a bylaw in this part of Switzerland that every public building must have one.” It’s a

UCI president McQuaid: Globalizing the sport – Part 2

Pat's father Jim McQuaid (left) placing second to future Tour de France yellow jersey Shay Elliott (right) in the 1953 Irish national road championship.

A young Pat McQuaid being shown the ropes by his dad Jim.

French cheese...

... and Belgian chocolates.