VeloNews readers weigh in on Landis’ Tour, the AToC field, Gary Fisher road bikes and more

Do you want to contribute to Mailbag, a regular feature of VeloNews.com? Here's how: Keep it short. And remember that we reserve the right to edit for grammar, length and clarity.Include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Send it to webletters@insideinc.com. How about "Mr. Landis"? Editor,

Landis on the podium. Formerly.

Landis on the podium. Formerly.

Photo: Graham Watson

Do you want to contribute to Mailbag, a regular feature of VeloNews.com? Here’s how:

  • Keep it short. And remember that we reserve the right to edit for grammar, length and clarity.
  • Include your full name, hometown and state or nation.
  • Send it to webletters@insideinc.com.

How about “Mr. Landis”?
Editor,

Please, please, please, stop referring to Floyd Landis as the former winner of the 2006 Tour de France.”

Check the official results if you have to. Floyd cheated, was caught, and was rightly disqualified. Calling him a champion is an insult to your readers and the other clean racers.
John Wood

The greatest American field ever?
Editor,

After reading the press release for the Amgen Tour of California, they bill it as the greatest field ever assembled on U.S. soil.

Looking at Armstrong, Leipheimer, Basso, Sastre, Boonen, Cancellara, et al, I agree it is a pretty daunting lineup, and should make for some very entertaining early season racing.

It brought me to mind, though, of the field assembled for the 1986 Coors Classic, which was a precursor for the World Championships, held in Colorado that year. You had that race headlined with a 5 time Tour winner in Bernard Hinault, 3 time(future)winner in Greg LeMond, champions like Phil Anderson, Andy Hampsten, Dmitry Konyshev and Moreno Argentin, as well as great domestic riders like Raul Alcala, Davis Phinney, Ron Kiefel, Alexi Grewal and Jeff Pierce.

You could make the argument that this field was up to par with the one we will see in California next month. Looking at some of the fields for the Tour du Pont/Tour de Trump, there have also been some other world class fields, as well. Given the proximity on the calendar in 1986, the Coors race (and later the World Championships) might have even provided better racing than we might see in California, when the best riders are still in early season form.

I am totally excited to see the race in California, and I acknowledge that greatness of the field. Whether the California field or the Coors field is better is certainly debatable, and if nothing else, it brings back nostalgia, and a realization of just how far cycling has come in America.
Matt Gilchrist
Centreville, Virginia

More AToC stoke:
Editor,

The Tour Down Under has been great to see where Lance is at this point in the season; however, when the Amgen Tour of California fires off in mid February, that’s when we’ll see who’s head really falls off the chopping block.

Levi has a title to protect. Landis has been fermenting for two years, and Lance, well, he’s not one to roll over (especially to Floyd). The California tour is going to be a three-way cage fight between America’s finest. Enjoy the TDU, but the gloves come off in February.
Jason Shueh,
Walnut Creek, California

Costa Rican in the ProTour
Editor,

Re: Andrew Hood’s story on Caisse d’Epargne and Valverde

Just want to point out that (to best of my knowledge) Caisse d’Epargne’s new rider Andrey Amador, is the first Costa Rica rider in a major ProTour team … (Previously Jose Bonilla was at the Continental level with Comunitat Valenciana)

Since Costa Rica is a small country, we are all very excited about young Andrey’s incorporation to Caisse d’Epargne and look forward to see him racing for CdE’s stars in a grand tour in the years to come.

Gracias,
Alex Mata

Fisher road bikes?
Editor,

I was looking at your gallery of the Kelly snow camp and it looks like they have the Gary Fisher logo on the front of their jerseys. Is that indeed what logo it is and are they riding Fishers this year?

Thanks,
Riley

Editor’s note: Riley, we checked with team director Jonas Carney, who confirmed that the team, which rode Lemond bikes last year, has switched to another Trek-owned brand, Gary Fisher, for 2009.

“Obviously, Fisher is a brand more associated with mountain, but Gary is a die-hard road guy too at
heart, and we can’t wait to get on them,” Carney said. “Plus, for us, it’s keeping it in the Trek family. We have a lot of lot of respect for our friends over there and they’re huge supporters of everything we’ve done so far.”

The strongest rider?
Editor,

Dear Editors,

Expanding on Sean Buur’s letter (in the Jan. 26 Mailbag) asking about the lack of “Levi Love.” Last year’s Vuelta proved two things: Contador is clearly the better climber. Levi is clearly the better time trialist. And yet it was decided that Contador was going to be the team leader.

Flash forward to this year’s Tour de France. Armstrong is oft quoted as saying he will support the “strongest rider.” In all likelihood, Contador will continue to reign supreme as the peloton’s king of the mountains. But something tells me (barring an exhausting Giro), when Armstrong crushes Contador in the Tour’s time trials, he won’t hand over the “strongest rider” title to his teammate quite as “smoothly” as Leipheimer did in 2008’s Vuelta. PR disaster be-damned. I expect an epic showdown on the Ventoux.
Marc Bertucco,
New York, New York

Unloading on the new kits
Editor,

I just have to unload on the new kits for both Garmin Slipstream and Columbia High Road. After the unveiling of an awesome kit in 2008, Garmin has reverted back to that visually grating orange and blue. I understand that the title sponsors have changed, but they should have maintained the white, black, and blue color scheme of last year. With regard to Columbia High Road, I was never a huge fan of the washed out blue jersey/black shorts combination to begin with, but this year’s Saunier Duval knockoff is even worse. I will take my hat off to the Cervelo TestTeam and Saxo Bank, however. These two teams have done great jobs with their sharp looking kits.
Matt Nowak,
Washington, D.C.

Lance Fatigue
Editors,

Editors,

I agree with some of the recent Mailbag contributors, I too am sick of reading about every aspect of Armstrong’s life.

Please keep in mind that not everybody is a fan of Lance. I am not and haven’t been for years. While I am not anti-Armstrong, I don’t hold him in any higher regard than any other dedicated cyclist. Certainly he was wise in focusing on winning “The Tour” (as if it’s the only one that really matters) and has marketed himself very successfully.

Anybody that has followed cycling for more than 15 years knows that L.A.’s palmares can’t hold a candle to The Cannibal and possibly some of the other past two wheeled warriors. Lance, much like Oprah, knew where the money was and went for it. Obviously they have both succeeded financially and apparently from honest and legal means. Kudos for that.

But, and it’s a big BUT, does that automatically give them more integrity and/or value as human beings than any other honest hard working person? Or should they be revered as gods?

If you are short on news sometime, how about some updates and insights on Big Mig, The Badger, Moser, Graham Obree, Pete Penseyres, Jure Robic, LeMond, etc.

Keep up the good work.
Tim Fellman,
San Diego, California

Fairy tale
Editor,

To the Editors,

How many more letters do you intend to publish based on the fairy tale that David Millar is different from other dopers because he “admitted it?”

Perhaps those who feel compelled to write this kind of nonsense could take a few minutes to read the Wikipedia entry on Millar and doping, and then read some of the articles it references. Millar is no better than anybody else. He doped because he didn’t like losing.

Millar only admitted doping after a long police investigation, which included Millar’s phone being tapped for four months, resulted in EPO and syringes being found in his house. In addition to doping himself, Millar’s former teammate Phillippe Gaumont testified that Millar encouraged the Cofidis team doctor to help other riders on the team dope. This is hardly the kind of saintly behavior some of his fans attribute to him.

It doesn’t really take much courage to “admit it” when you’ve been caught red handed.
Kevin Earls,
Somerville, Massachusetts

Popular on Velo