Tuesday’s mail bag: On ‘cross, religion and Lance

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More Olympic ‘cross
Dear Editor;
Cyclo-cross in 2006? Yes!Dan Kerner (see Monday’sMailbag — “Why Not?”) is on to something with his suggestion thatcyclo-cross be introduced to the Winter Olympics. As a citizen of Winnipeg,Canada, where it is not uncommon to reach -30 F in the winter (for therecord it reaches 100 F in the summer), I feel qualified to speak aboutall things related to the cold.To my fellow Canadians, I’m sorry but hockey and downhill skiing justdon’t turn my crank, not that I’m disputing the athleticism or legitimacyof those sports. What about figure skating? Sure, a few cyclists have beencaught using drugs, but the bigger question is to figure out what thoseskating judges are taking.Let’s yank the completely illegitimate sport of figure skating and replaceit with cyclo-cross, where it’s every man (or woman) for himself and thefirst one to cross the line wins – a tough sport to be influenced by backroompolitics. To appease the figure skating community we could keep the judgeson board to score the dismounts and bunny-hops, awarding secondary ‘style’prizes to the cycling competitors.Scott Wiebe,
Winnipeg, CanadaSure, you say that now, but wait until the Bulgarian judge only gives Sven Nijs a 5.3 for that last run-up. — EditorLove and appreciation
Editor;
O’Grady is preaching to the Seattle Choir.(see “Friday’sFoaming Rant: Losin’ my religion“)Cross without barriers is like baseball without bats. As a regular participantand spectator of the Seattle Metro Cyclo-cross series, I truly appreciateand love barriers.Every weekend we are treated to a great show, with the likes of JonnySundt, Dale Knapp, Anne Grande and many others pounding through the barriers.Whether it is Jonny’s bunny hopping, Dale’s fluid running style or someback of the packer trying to survive without falling flat on his face,the barriers always bring big thrills and spills for the fans. Long livethe barrier!!!!!Nathan Kiger
Seattle, WAThe Life of Brian
Editor;
It is obvious to me that Brian (see “O’Gradyis offensive to Christians“) is a person without a sense of humor.Brian, no person with a sense of humor would take the time to writea letter such as yours. As far as your accusation that no Christian wouldever joke about worshipping Satan, you’re wrong. I know a few that would.If you become offended reading O’Grady or anything else, just stopright there. By not continuing to read, you are thereby saving yourselffrom further offense. Perhaps if you had stopped reading such an offensivepiece of work, you would never have written your letter and could havefreed up a few more minutes of your day for Rush Limbaugh or judging afew extra people.Have a nice day,
Erik Borling
Flagstaff, AZAnother Tour de… yawnnnnn?
Editor;
Will it be another predicable tour win for Lance? Doesn’t this stuffget boring?Is Lance really that great and everyone else is that sub-par? I wouldlove to see a Tour de France where we were not sure of the winner untilthe end, like to the Tour of Spain or Tour of Italy. Or, back in the mid-and late-eighties when Stephen Roche or Greg LeMond won. That was whenthe leaders had a couple of “bad days”, something that Lance never hasencountered since ’99.No wonder the French media think that he is on something. He may doa lot of training, but does that mean his rivals do not train as hard,or do not want to win the greatest bicycle race in the world?Maybe as Americans we need to stop being so patriotic about Lance andUS Postal, and really listen to the questions about his performance. Forthe record, I am happy that he wins because it creates much needed televisionexposure. When we can get drug tests that can detect all of the illegaldrugs in cycling, then I will give Lance his kudos. Eddy Merckx is thegreatest cyclist ever, didn’t he get busted for substances in his racingdays?Steve Duffy

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VeloNews.com welcomes your letters. If you run across somethingin the pages of VeloNews magazine or see something on VeloNews.comthat causes you to want to write us, dropus a line.Please include your full name and home town. By submitting mail tothis address, you are consenting to the publication of your letter.