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Horner was motivated

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.Simoni can’t face up to his own failuresEditor:Perhaps like most others in recent years, I anticipated this Giro only its completion would bring us that much closer to the start of the Tour. I had some hope that Simoni might do something special and that the “underdog” might get past some

Carter soloes to his second victory in the Iron Horse

Savoldelli toasts his victory

Savoldelli mistakes the winner's trophy for a podium girl

The final podium

Zabel runs out of real estate as Petacchi takes the stage

Ahh - that's more like it

Simoni was critical of defending champ Cunego, saying he could have used more help from his young teammate in the mountains

Dahle was unstoppable once more

Spitz fought her way into second

McConneloug bounced back from a bad start into fifth

The men start . . .

. . . and Bui finishes

Dominguez powers to a win

Woman to woman - Van Gilder gets the edge

Julich gets a good reception at his sponsor's showcase event

And then there were four

ProTour leader Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) did yeoman's work on the gravel steeps of the Colle delle Finestre

But race leader Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) rode his own race and took back time from the attacking trio

When Di Luca cramped and fell off the pace, Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) pressed his advantage, dogged by José Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia)

But it would not be enough - Simoni will finish second in Milan

The stage went to Rujano . . .

. . . and the maglia rosa stays with Savoldelli

The madness of the Finestre

Ivanov and Niermann get an early start on the day's suffering

Savoldelli's fans

Watching the race on big-screen TV at the finish

Jeanson cranks it up

Savoldelli clings to a 28-second lead over Simoni with one stage remaining

It was slow going for much of the day

Rujano wins

Jeanson wasn't sure this one would stick

Di Luca leads the attacking trio on the Finestre

Amber Neben

Savoldelli battles back

Wood now leads the World Cup

Rujano makes his move

Gaggioli tries her hand

Basso rides to his second consecutive stage win

Taking third, Savoldelli padded his lead going into Saturday's crucial mountain stage

Zabriskie raced his stars-and-stripes skinsuit into third on the day

Is Simoni still within stricking distance?

Karpets has been picked to play a big role for Illes Balears at the Tour. He showed why on Friday.

Basso showed fine form

Once dominant in time trials, Serhiy Honchar could only manage sixth

Dario David Cioni takes fifth

Fothen showed great form on Friday

The latest Photo Gallery in our on-going photo contest has now been posted for your viewing pleasure. Last Week's WinnersWell, actually we just couldn't make up our minds... Firstoff, Jeff Schweninger's "VueltaFans 2004" underscores just how spectacular the sport ofcycling can be. Despite the fact that there isn't a single bike racer inthis photo of fans lined up to watch the 12th stage of the 2004 Vuelta,you can sense the anticipation of what will be happening as the pelotonreaches the winding roads that climb to the Observatory complex at CalarAlto. (In case you forgot,

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.Lament for NYC raceEditor:It is very disappointing to hear that the NYC championships have been "postponed.” It was a wonderful race. This is another example that Mayor Bloomberg and his office are only interested in sport and the Olympics as an excuse to bully the city into building the

Cyclist Randy Dreyer of Chapel Hills, North Carolina, has accepted a two-year suspension for using a prohibited stimulant, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday. Dreyer tested positive for phentermine on August 22, 2004, at the USCF-USPRO Criterium Championships in Downers Grove, Illinois. Phentermine is a prohibited stimulant under the USADA Protocol and the rules of the Union Cycliste International (UCI). Dreyer, who had been provisionally suspended since November 1 of last year, accepted USADA's decision Monday. The suspension will be retroactive to November. Dreyer also forfeits

Cunego and Lampre marshal the chase

Schleck and Basso storm onto the final climb

Garate and Savoldelli woked together to minimize the damage

Halgand and Sutherland helped break things up on the Madonna del Colletto

Basso seems fully recovered, no?

Stupidity: stu·pid·i·ty n1. lack of intelligence, perception, or common sense2. extremely rash or thoughtless behavior I have a cartoon on the corkboard above my desk that I look at nearly every single day. Drawn by the great New Yorker cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK), the scene features a man and woman standing at a cocktail party, holding martinis. “I was reading somewhere that people are stupid,” the woman tells her companion. For some reason I’ve always loved that cartoon. Maybe it’s because of the absurdity of one person telling another person that she’s read a book, written by a

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Basso flies to the finish

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

CSC's Cervelo P3 with a third brake lever

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

The right lever cable loops around, up the left extension tube, down the right one and through the third lever to the brake caliper

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede and Michael Barry

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Dede and Lennard Zinn

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

Carpenter/Phinney camper Tracey Adams with Connie Carpenter

Dede's Diary: Touring around the Giro

A track bike, with its clean lines, sans brake levers and cables, is a thing of beauty - unless you've never ridden a fixed gear down a steep hill

Simoni and Rujano scoot out of the gruppo maglia rosa

Basso bounces back to win

Di Luca loses ground

Savoldelli held onto the lead, but by a slimmer margin