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The bikes come in all shapes and sizes here at Crested Butte Fat Tire Week

Three members of the 16-rider Crested Butte FD relay team that won the 24-hour townie race.

With Mount Crested Butte in the background, a racer heads toward the finish during the Wildflower Rush downhill race on Sunday.

A racer holds on for dear life during the downhill race at the Wildflower Rush at Mount Crested Butte.

Bike racks packed with clunkers and cruisers of all shapes and sizes are commonplace in Crested Butte.

Riders in the 24 hour townie race head down Elk Avenue in Crested Butte toward the finish, where much beer drinking quickly commenced.

Crested Butte local Than Acuff was the only rider to complete the 24-hour townie race as a soloist. He claimed that his secret to success were Backwoods Cigars, which helped him stay awake in the wee hours of the night.

Chris MacDonald suffers in the heat

With Whetstone Serving as the backdrop a rider tackles Saturday's cross-country

Heras played it cool at the Dauphiné

The town of Crested Butte seen from the Red Lady Chairlift up on the ski hill

Mighty mites at the start of the boy's 10-12 crit

A wet winter and spring has led to an abundance of skunk cabbage. Fortunately it doesn't smell

Riders in the women's 17-18 crit

A racer heads into the woods along some of Crested Butte's ubiquitous single-track

TIAA-CREF surrounds the eventual winner in the U-23 crit, Kyle Gritters (Seasilver)

A racer slices his way through a throng of Aspen trees during Saturday's cross-country

Riders pass the flags at the entrance to Deer Valley

The long grind up one of several fire road climbs

An outnumbered Farrar takes a corner in the U-23 crit

Three mountain-bike racing's legends made the Hall of Fame cut in 2000

Geist leads the 17-18 crit

This is just one of the countless classic photos that can be seen at the MTB Hall. Can you find Gary Fisher? Hint: He doesn't have an afro

Gritters corners during the U-23 crit . . .

MacGregor defends

. . . en route to winning over Macgregor

MacGregor figured the day's last climb was where he could beat Farrar

Sarah Huang in the 10-12 race

Mike Lange and Stu Gillespie on the final climb, after helping MacGregor ride to victory.

Molly Mulch and Rebecca Much in the U-23 event

Jay Ku leads the peloton on the chase.

Karla Lopez wins the 10-12 title

National pursuit champion Bobby Lea leads the survivors on the final climb.

Cesar Lopez Jr. in the boy's 10-12 crit, astride a very nice bike

Nicholas Reistad of Advantage/Endeavor shows the effects of the day's effort

Much leads the U-23 crit

The tree-lined opening climb of the Wildflower Rush in Crested Butte

Team 5280 and Hot Tubes marshal the 17-18 race

Rodic races eastward

Danielle Haulman wins the 15-16 junior women

Koch leads the pack on the final climb

Koch solo on the climb

Koch edges the selfless Geist for the win

Stetina wins with teammate Van Garderen second

. . . and unveils a popular sentiment atop the podium

. . . before displaying the stars and stripes

While Friday's festivities were in downtown Crested Butte, events head up to Mont Crested Butte for the weekend where cross-country, downhill and Super D races will be contested

Lance Armstrong has been quick to point out that while he holds the record for the greatest number of overall victories by any rider at the Tour de France, Johan Bruyneel has the best winning average of any directeur sportif in the history of the race, having started his career as a director in 1999, when Armstrong earned the first of his six consecutive Tour wins. He’s been the man behind the wheel of the team car ever since. Six-for-six. Indeed, the 41-year-old Belgian was the first to believe Armstrong could win the Tour and the pair has been inseparable in their passion, focus and, some

Bikes (and their pilots) come in all shapes and sizes

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.It’s almost time to put up or shut upEditor:The time between the finish of the Tour de Suisse and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré seems to bring out all the talk. Every race director thinks his guy will be on the podium in Paris. Well, only three gentlemen get that honor, and we

The next Olympic cycling discipline?

For Immediate Release Boulder, CO--Inside Communications (ICI) announces that Express Messenger International (EMI) will be handling all Canadian and international subscription distribution for its publications VeloNews®, Inside Triathlon®, and Ski Racing®, effective immediately. The move should improve Canadian and international delivery times by two to five business days. The faster service is a result of expedited pick-up and transit to the host country's postal system. For example, an EMI truck will pick up VeloNews at its printer in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

That's 30 pounds of rolling resistant weight

Bruyneel and Armstrong at the Dauphiné

Prepping for the downhill? Actually this was the first leg of the team relay race

The junior men hit the road in the Kaman Valley with the Little Alps in the distance

Balance is key in leg two of the relay race. He didn't drop it

The junior women's leaders, with Koch in the middle and Crowell out front

Race ready complete with playing cards in the front wheel

The 15-16 junior men climb with the reservoir in the background

The winning ride in the limbo. Notice this youngster's mechanical advantage. Smart kid

ARVESEN Kurt-Asle - N Age 30Turned Pro 1999 BASSO Ivan - IAge 27Turned Pro 1999 JULICH Bobby - USAAge 33Turned Pro 1992 LOMBARDI Giovanni - IAge 36Turned Pro 1992 SASTRE Carlos - ESPAge 30Turned Pro 1998 SÖRENSEN Nicki - DKAge 30Turned Pro 1999 VOIGT Jens - GAge 33Turned Pro 1997 ZABRISKIE David - USAAge 26 USATurned Pro 1999 ROBERTS Luke - AUSAge 28Turned Pro 2002 Sponsor: Computer systemsWeb site: www.riis-cycling.com2005 budget: not availableDirecteur sportif: Bjarne RiisTeam created: 2001Past Tours: 5th year participating, 6 stage wins, 2 KOM classification (Laurent Jalabert,

BOOGERD Michael - NLAge 33Turned Pro 1994 DEKKER Erik - NLAge 34Turned Pro 1992 KROON Karsten - NLAge 29Turned Pro 1999 LÖWIK Gerben - NLAge 28Turned Pro 2000 MENCHOV Denis - RUSAge 27Turned Pro 2000 POSTHUMA Joost - NLAge 24Turned Pro 2004 RASMUSSEN Michael - DKAge 31Turned Pro 2002 WAUTERS Marc - BAge 36Turned Pro 1991 WEENING Pieter - NLAge 24Turned Pro 2004 Sponsor: Banking CorporationWeb site: www.rabobank.nl2005 budget: $19.4 million (approx.)Directeur sportif: Theo De RooyTeam created: 1996Past tours: 10th year participating, 12 stage wins EQUIPMENT:Bike: ColnagoComponents:

Illes Balears

Veloswap.com launches online bike marketplaceBoulder, CO - Veloswap® announces the launch of the veloswap.comwebsite, an online marketplace for bicycle suppliers, retailers, clubs,teams, event directors, and individual cycling enthusiasts. The veloswap.comsite also offers banner advertising and other promotional opportunities. Veloswap.com utilizes a classified format enabling sellers to post productsand services and communicate via email with interested consumers. Productlistings cost as little as two dollars per item per month, with no additionalfees or commissions. The veloswap.com

CAÑADA David - SPAge 29Turned Pro 1996 BERTOGLIATI Rubens - SWIAge 26Turned Pro 2000 FRITSCH Nicolas - FAge 26Turned Pro 1999 GARATE Juan Manuel - SPAge 29Turned Pro 2000 GOMEZ Angel - SPAge 24Turned Pro 2004 ZABALLA Constantino - SPAge 27Turned Pro 2001 HORNER Chris - USAAge 33Turned Pro 1995 QUINZIATO Manuel - IAge 25Turned Pro 2002 PIEPOLI Leonardo - IAge 33Turned Pro 1995 Sponsor: Heating company, pen purveyorWeb site: www.saunierduvalteam.com2005 budget: $4.3 millionDirecteur sportif: Mauro GianettiTeam

Lampre-Caffita

AERTS Mario - BAge 30 Turned Pro 1996 BRANDT Christophe - BAge 28Turned Pro 2000 EVANS Cadel - AUSAge 28 Turned Pro 2001 McEWEN Robbie - AUSAge 33 Turned Pro 1996 MERCKX Axel - BAge 32Turned Pro 1994 RODRIGUEZ Fred - USAAge 31 Turned Pro 1996 VAN BONAND Leon - NCAge 33 Turned Pro 1993 VAN SUMMEREN Johan - BAge 24Turned Pro 2003 VANSEVENANT Wim - BAge 33Turned Pro 1995 Sponsors: Pharmaceutical company, national lotteryWeb site: www.davitamon-lotto.be2005 budget: $7.8 millionDirecteur sportif: Marc SergeantTeam created (under current name): 2005Past tours: 15th year participating

ULLRICH Jan - GAge 31Turned Pro 1995 GUERINI Giuseppe - IAge 35 Turned Pro 1993 KESSLER Matthias - GAge 26Turned Pro 2000 KLÖDEN Andreas - GAge 30Turned Pro 1998 NARDELLO Danielle - IAge 32Turned Pro 1994 SCHRECK Stefan - GAge 26 Turned Pro 2000 SEVILLA Oscar - SpAge 28Turned Pro 1998 STEINHAUSER Tobias - GAge 33Turned Pro 1996 VINOKOUROV Alexandre - KzAge 31Turned Pro 1998 Sponsor: Telecommunications CompanyWeb site: www.t-mobile-team.com2005 budget: $23.3 millionDirecteur sportif: Walter GodefrootTeam created: 1991Past tours: 14th year participating; 2 overall wins (Bjarne

Liberty Seguros-Würth

ARMSTRONG Lance - USA Age 33 Turned Pro 1992 AZEVEDO José - P Age 31 Turned Pro 1994 BELTRAN Manuel - SP Age 34 Turned Pro 1995 HINCAPIE George - USA Age 32 Turned Pro 1994 NOVAL Benjamin - SP Age 26 Turned Pro 2001 PADRNOS Pavel - CZ Age 34 Turned Pro 1996 POPOVYCH Yaroslav - UKR Age 25 Turned Pro 2002 RUBIERA José Luis - SP Age 32 Turned Pro 1995 SAVOLDELLI Paolo - IAge 32 Turned Pro 1996 Sponsor: Television programmerWeb site: team.discovery.com2005 budget: $15 millionDirecteur sportif: Johan BruyneelTeam created: 2005Past tours: 9th year participating, 21 stage wins, 6 overall

Ag2r Prévoyance

Liquigas-Bianchi

BERTOLINI Alessandro - IAge 33Turned Pro 1994 CORTINOVIS Alessandro - IAge 27Turned Pro 2000 FURLAN Angelo - IAge 28Turned Pro 2001 VALOTI Paolo - IAge 34Turned Pro 1996 GRIVKO Andriy - UKRAge 21Turned Pro 2005 HONCHAR Serhiy - UKRAge 35Turned Pro 1996 IGLINSKY Maxim - KAZAge 24Turned Pro 2004 LUDEWIG Jörg - GAge 29Turned Pro 1997 NURITDINOV Rafael - UZBAge 28Turned Pro 2002 Sponsor: Travel agency and developerWeb site: www.dominavacanzeproteam.it2005 budget: not availableDirecteur sportif: Gianluigi StangaTeam created: 2003Past tours: 1st year participating EQUIPMENT:Bike:

Bouygues Télécom

Phonak

ARTETXE Mikel - SPAge 28Turned Pro 1999 CAMANO Iker - SPAge 26Turned Pro 2002 ETEXEBARRIA Unai - VENAge 32Turned Pro 1996 FLORES Iker - SPAge 28Turned Pro 1999 HERRERO David - SPAge 25Turned Pro 2001 LANDALUZE Inigo - SPAge 28Turned Pro 2001 MARTINEZ Egoi - SPAge 27Turned Pro 2002MAYO Iban - SPAge 27Turned Pro 2000 ZUBELDIA Haimar - SPAge 28Turned Pro 1998 Sponsors: Telecom company and Basque regionWeb site: www.fundacioneuskadi.com2005 budget: $7.8 millionDirecteur sportif: Julian GorospeTeam created: 1994Past tours: 5th year participating, 2 stage wins EQUIPMENT:Bike:

Cofidis

Quick Step-Innergetic