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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.Pictures worth a thousand words (or more)Editor:Thanks for continuing with the "Photo Gallery" pictures that you guys run. In an age where the majority of headlines focus on doping-related issues, your photo gallery captures the essence and excitement of this beautiful sport and is a

Botero, seen here at last year's Tour, is now able to ride... but his team has disappeared in the interim.

A week after busting open the world road championships to spring compatriot Alejandro Valverde onto the final podium, Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) punched his way to victory in Sunday’s rainy Züri Metzgete classic. Sanchez took the initiative again, jumping away from the lead breakaway with about 12km to go in the 241km hilly course and held off a fast chase featuring Stuart O’Grady and world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (both CSC), Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) to snatch his first classics victory. “The weather didn’t bother me

Solo win: Sanchez rides in on his own

A wet, wet day in Switzerland

Sanchez takes another last-minute chance... and this time he gets the benefit.

Bettini had a busy week

Discovery's Beppu leads the charge

CSC had two in the lead... but watch the orange jersey.

The Pfanensteil climb set up the day's most effective break..

Sanchez gets away...

... and stays away

Geoff Brown has seen some of the biggest stars come and go during his 14-year stint as one of Europe’s top professional mechanics, but he still loves the thrill of a bike race. For the first time since 1993 when he heads back to North America at the end of the season, he’ll stay there. Brown has decided it’s time to change gears. He’ll leave Discovery Channel to join the Canadian Symetrics team on the North American circuit. VeloNews.com: How did you get started as a mechanic? Geoff Brown: I started working in a department store putting bikes together. I come from a cycling family. My dad

Success in Las Vegas is all about playing the odds. Of the hundreds of thousands of people who gamble in the Nevada desert city each year, only a handful will hit it big. Similarly, of the thousands of new bikes and related products that crop up at Interbike each year, only a few will become huge hits. Only time will tell which will fly and which will eventually flop. As this year’s Interbike bicycle industry trade show wrapped up in Las Vegas on Friday evening, the display booths came down, bikes, products and clothing got packed into boxes and our crew headed back to the Rockies. Here’s

Brown is wrapping up his 14th season as a Euro-based pro wrench

Instant city. The whole show goes up in a few hours and disappears just as quickly

Crumpler, maker of packs and bags, had a completely recyclable booth. Made entirely of cardboard, the booth nonetheless displayed the products nicely in individual compartments.

FSA promoted ceramics by setting up two identical drivetrains on a stand. One utilizes ceramic bearings - rounder, and more uniform in diameter than steel - and the other using standard bearings. We noticed a big difference.

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis was absent in person but not in image.

Speedplay’s booth carried the roughened steel look down to the rotary-sanded refrigerator upstairs. “You know who built this booth with me?,” asked company president Richard Bryne. “Floyd Landis,” he said of his friend and San Diego neighbor.

DeFeet's Earth-E-ator socks are made from corn fiber in the cuff and the forebody and use minimal packaging.

Mike DeSalvo makes about 150 custom steel and titanium frames each year, painted in whatever design the customer can dream up.

The Floyd Bike. The things that look like green balloon tires are actually fenders – the fully functional wheels are hidden underneath.

Seigler Imports now imports carbon components from Karbona, a Taiwanese manufacturer that builds parts for many American owned companies. Its house brand full carbon clincher wheelset retails for $1299

Speaking of Seigler, the company now has its own line of bikes, built at the same factory that manufacturers BH Bicycles.

The Arko retails for $2799 as a frameset.

– Scott Peterson designed the $499 Rock and Roll Kinetic trainer, which allows the bike to tilt side to side, imitating road riding conditions like climbing or sprinting.

Dirt Dog MTB makes stems that probably wouldn’t look right on a Colnago.

continues to lead the charge of stylish cruisers.

You want color choices? They’ve got ‘em by the mile.

Interbike isn’t all about bikes. Every year there are always more than a few, um, innovative ideas shown

Most remote controls are used from your seat. This (silver lever) remote is used for your seat. Maverick’s Speedball telescoping seatpost’s remote lever is now available as a handlebar mount.

Travis Brown was inducted into the Mountain-Bike Hall of Fame this year

The miracle comeback of Saul Raisin took another step forward as he returned to Europe this week for the first time since nearly dying in a crash last April in France. Raisin, 23, hasn’t ruled out a return to the professional peloton next year if he continues to make positive steps in his recovery. He’s back in Europe this week for a month-long visit and he’s already climbed some of the big cols near his home in Monaco. “My goal is to move back to Europe in January and do some intense training and see how far I can go,” Raisin told VeloNews. “There’s no guarantee I can race again, but

Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon didI've got what I paid for now. . . ."Tom Traubert's Blues" by Tom Waits LAS VEGAS, Nev. — It’s easy to go cyborg at Interbike. After a long day of stalking the show floor, translating MarketSpeak® into English, and even longer nights spent consuming volatile liquids and denouncing various Enemies of the People, you don’t sleep so much as crash. Come morning, you reboot, hoping that your RAM reorganizes itself along tidy, functional little lines. This almost never happens. Thus, breakfast is a must, preferably within walking distance,

Raisin is cautious, but his recovery has been spectacular

The Casino of the Living Dead

Yeah, this looks like the Riviera to me, too

Careful with the vitamin dispensers, boys

Big square knobs on the Raze

The Masi CXR is black like my aura

The Surly Cross-Check is gray like the remains of my hair

The Jamis Supernova

After two days of railing the trails in Bootleg Canyon, most Interbike attendees are ready to get out of the sun. Some are battered and some are bruised, but most are just looking forward to a day without dust and sweat. The inside show also ushers in a different feel, where the Outdoor Demo is about the ride, inside Interbike is much more about the business. Exhibitors and attendee’s break out their branded button down shirts and they caffeinate early. For a day on the Interbike show floor is somewhat akin to a hard stage of a week-long race. During our first day, we covered quite a bit of

Liquigas sticking by PaoliniLiquigas will not suspend Italian rider Luca Paolini despite allegations he’s part of a new doping investigation underway by prosecutors in Bergamo. Earlier this month, Italian authorities raided several homes, including Paolini’s, and a fitness center as part of an investigation dubbed “Operation Athena.” Authorities rounded up some $300,000 worth of alleged banned substances. Under rules outlined in the ProTour’s Ethics Code, riders under investigation are meant to be suspended from their respective teams. Nine riders from four teams were left out of the 2006

Embattled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is back at his California home after undergoing two-hour surgery Wednesday to repair his damaged hip. Doctors say it’s conceivable the 30-year-old could return to competition next year in time for the 2007 Tour de France – that is, if Landis can beat back doping allegations clouding his 2006 Tour victory. “If all goes well and according to plans, he would be able to come back in 2007 to competition,” Landis spokesman Michael Henson told VeloNews. “It’s unprecedented. None of the medical team can say just how this is going to play out, but they

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

Interbike heads back to the great indoors.

With a successful surgery, doctors say it won't be his hip that keeps Landis out of the 2007 Tour

The second and final day of Interbike’s Outdoor Demo began has it has for the past few years, the annual 8 a.m. “Hangover Road Ride” sponsored by the trade show and by Scott USA. A hearty group of 100 riders showed up, heading immediately downhill for a good quarter of the 24-mile out-and-back loop, with the remaining half of the out leg being rolling, yet continuing to lose altitude. We rode into the park at Lake Mead and turned around at the point where the Colorado River first flows into the huge reservoir. Nice and cool relative to the heat of the day, once that truly settled in, and

Beleaguered Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is scheduled to undergo hip replacement surgery today. According to his personal web page, Landis will focus on his pending surgery and recovery while his legal team prepares his defense against charges that he tested positive for irregular testosterone levels en route to his overall Tour victory in July.“Floyd is going to undergo a state-of-the-art procedure that will maximize his chances of returning to racing at the top level,” said Brent Kay, M.D., Landis’ physician and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Loma Linda University

This clearly shows the intended purpose of Bootleg Canyon's trail system.

A new - albeit marginally functional - variation of the classic cow horn TT bar.

Landis in Madrid, visiting old teammates on the last day of the Vuelta.

The Hutchinson Fusion 2 and Atom Road Tubeless clincher tires can only be used right now with Shimano's Scandium Dura-Ace wheel.

Hed's Bastogne CX is a tough, strong, and light cyclo-cross wheel.

Interbike 2006: Another day in the dirt

Scott's Spark 10 frame has a welded carbon frame with the top tube, down tube and head tube molded in a single piece and a three-position lever on the bar to lock out the shock or to give it 70mm or 110mm of travel.

Twenty-five years ago, the first Interbike trade show opened its doors with 135 exhibitors under the roof of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Steve Ready and Herb Wetenkamp took it upon themselves to position and plan Interbike for the early fall of 1982; their hope was that dealers would have more of an influence on manufacturers. At the time, there were four other domestic industry shows, all of which took place between January and March. On Monday Interbike kicked off its 25th anniversary with its Outdoor Demo exhibition. This outdoor segment of Interbike has steadily gained steam since

Recently crowned Paolo Bettini will debut his rainbow jersey this weekend as he’ll line up to defend his title at the Zuri Metzgete on Sunday in Zürich and again at the Giro di Lombardia to conclude the season on October 14. Bettini hasn’t stopped partying since winning the world championships Sunday in Salzburg. “My career is perfect now. I’ve won everything I’ve ever dreamed of winning,” Bettini said. “I will wear an important jersey and I can’t imagine that I will just be in the back of the bunch.” Bettini also confirmed he’ll race at least through the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, where

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 26, 2006Boulder CO – As it prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary issue, Inside Triathlon has named Greg Thomas as publisher and professional triathlete Jimmy Archer as interactive editor, effective immediately. Thomas is a four-year veteran of Inside Triathlon's parent company, Inside Communications. Thomas managed the Company's various web brands and served most recently as chief operating officer, a position he holds concurrently with his new position. A 20-year veteran of all types of multisport events from XTERRA to Ironman to Eco-Challenge,

Editor at large Patrick O'Grady is roaming the halls of Interbike again this year and threatens to send occasional updates whenever he finds a tavern with wireless Internet access. Here's the first installment. — Editor LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It beats me how they always manage to assemble this monstrous trade show in time for opening day, especially considering that some outfits (not VeloNews.com) can't even arrange a hotel room for barnstorming libel artisans who turn up at dark-thirty with a Subaru full of electronica, drawing tools and attitude. After sorting out my living

Moonscape: A perfect spot to test out new off-road rigs