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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.Forget about LA, there’s a race going onEditor:Why are we talking about Lance? Isn't there another grand tour going on right now, with some spectacular racing taking place? What about Heras and his gutsy racing, truly taking risks to take the lead? Not to be outdone, Menchov has

Martinez, with Paolo Bettini at the 2004 Tour (Stage 8 between Lamballe and Quimper, 11 July)

Think Haussler's happy?

Just another day at the office for Heras and Liberty

Vande Velde took a jump to be up front when Sastre needed him

Garcia Acosta gave it all he had only to come up short

You race past one Spanish fortress, you've raced past 'em all

Now that's what we call 'bridging'

Perdiguero and Pereiro work the break

Pereiro and Quesada

Liberty kept the bunch under control

The peloton slithers along

Only Two Days Left to Win Lance signed TdF Jersey and More!There are only two days left in Scott Coady’s online raffle to benefitthe Lance Armstrong Foundation.  For a $50 donation directly to theLAF, you will have a chance to win an amazing Tour de France memorabiliapackage including a Lance and Discovery Channel team signed jersey, Lancesigned LIVEStrong bracelet, a water bottle used by Lance at the Tour deFrance and a limited addition Lance lunchbox produced by Trek.To date, 70 tickets have been sold so your odds of winning are fantastic. The raffle ends THIS FRIDAY, SEPT 16TH AT

No worries for Heras today

The former president of the German Cycling Federation (BDR), Sylvia Schenk, has hit out at the UCI for what she claims is the organization’s willingness to “brush aside” the Lance Armstrong affair. Schenk, who has been at loggerheads with UCI president Hein Verbruggen for the past few months, said cycling's world ruling body is only interested in finding out who leaked information about the alleged positive doping tests of the seven-time Tour de France winner, and not in the case itself. The German official told reporters that Verbruggen is more intent up finding the source of leaks

He looks like a lock for a fourth Vuelta crown

World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound said Thursday that UCI president Hein Verbruggen was the source of documents linking anonymous urine samples to Lance Armstrong, revealed three weeks ago by the French newspaper L’Equipe. A UCI statement issued late Thursday confirmed that the agency had released a single document to L’Equipe reporter Damien Ressiot, adding that it had done so with the permission of Armstrong himself. Where does the finger point?In conference call with reporters on Thursday, Pound referred to an as-of-yet-unreleased letter from Verbruggen that acknowledges

Vuelta Notebook: CVV, Sorensen enjoy a good day; González re-ups; Bettini bails; what's next

The Phonak team has attracted more unwanted publicity after it refused to allow one of its Spanish riders, Santos Gonzalez, to start the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España following an internal doping control. .A Phonak team source told AFP that Gonzalez, who was eighth overall in the general classification, was refused a start "because during a control he was over the permitted limits set by the team." No further details were divulged to the press, although the team's brief statement suggests that Gonzalez's hematocrit (red blood cell count) level may have been near or above the

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong confirmed Thursday that he had granted permission to a L’Equipe journalist to scour doping records from the 1999 Tour de France, adding that he had been misled in doing so. Armstrong held a press conference Thursday on the heels of commentsby World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound, who said that thepresident of the Union Cycliste Internationale had released key documentslinking the American cyclist’s name to at least six positive doping testsfrom the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong acknowledged that he had granted L’Equipe reporter

Stage 18: Should be fun

Vande Velde and compatriot

Sorensen takes the two-up sprint

Heras followed the wheels

Liberty gives chase

Danielson at the finish. He has preserved his top-ten spot.

Vande Velde and Danielson

Devolder leads the first escape

Heras and Beloki make for a formidable pair

Quesada left Mancebo and Gonzalez soon after

Sevilla on the attack

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.How about a non-Tour comeback?Editor:What if Lance did come back, but didn’t race the Tour? How would the French like to see Lance in the Giro or the Vuelta? Television coverage in the States would shift. Advertisers would follow. Everyone loves the Tour de France, but LA fans will watch

Crank Brothers Rolls out U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross Series, Version2.0On the heels of a monumentally successful premiere edition last year,title-sponsor Crank Brothers has returned for a second helping of NorthAmerica’s most dynamic cycling series: the 2005 U.S. Gran Prix of CyclocrossSeries. The six-race series, starting October 8 in Portland, OR, will makestops in the thriving hotbeds of American cyclocross throughout the fallseason, with the overall series champions crowned November 20 in San Francisco,CA. Working in conjunction with USA Cycling, series winners will punchtheir tickets to

Garcia Quesada takes the win

CYCLING COMMUNITY UNITES TO HELP IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINASeptember 9, 2005Boulder, CO - Pro cyclists around the world join VeloNews and 3 CatsPhoto to raise funds for the American Red Cross and Hurricane Katrina.In light of the tremendous tragedy in New Orleans, Mississippi and otherGulf States, cyclists from Ivan Basso to Tim Johnson signed and donatedteam jerseys for an on-line auction on Veloswap.com. Additionally, USACycling has donated an official USA National Champion jersey that is currentlytraversing the USA garnering signatures from Davis Phinney, George Hincapie,Freddie

Digital Production ManagerSports Publisher seeks talented/detail-oriented Digital ProductionManager for VeloNews, Inside Triathlon & Ski Racing magazines. Strong project management and publication production experience required.Must have a minimum of 2+ years experience in print production (magazinepreferred). Excellent organizational, time management, multitasking, problemsolving, project management and strong verbal & written communicationskills. Must be able to proof, postscript and PDF all outgoing pages for4+ publications to various printers. Also responsible for layout of

A Canadian mountain biker has been suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO, the Canadian Cycling Association said Tuesday. Chris Sheppard, 32, showed traces of the drug at an out-of-competition urine test at his home in Kamloops, B.C., on May 29, the association said. EPO is a drug that builds endurance by boosting the amount of oxygen-rich red blood cells. It is the same substance that American star Lance Armstrong has been accused of using at the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong has denied the allegation. Sheppard has competed for Canada internationally and rides

What knee?

The day's only major break never got more than a minute up the road

Another few meters and...

Once the break was caught, the pace mellowed considerably

Heras: Cautiously optimistic?

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 puts his stamp on the Vuelta

Menchov limps to the line

Scarponi was one of four Liberty riders to make the break

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

Mission accomplished for Danielson

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

Imagine your surprise: Dahle wins the finale

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

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

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