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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.The truth... the whole truthDear VeloNews,Thanks to Frankie for opening this box, now please find the courageto spill the contents. When did you do it? How often? Other drugs? Whogot them for you? Who else did it? Did the team know? Did Lance know? Wasit encouraged? How much did it help?

Tuesday’s thrilling 17th stage of the Vuelta a España was a lesson in conviction. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) stormed into the race leader’s gold jersey on the strong belief that he could simply will his way to overall victory while stage winner Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) buried two weeks of frustration with the joy of his biggest pro win. "I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was perhaps even more special because the beginning of the race was such a disaster," said Danielson, who’s jumped from 12th to sixth overall in two days. "So many people lost faith in me and

Raids were carried out Wednesday in private houses and offices in Germany and abroad in the framework of a crackdown on doping in cycling, the Bonn prosecutor's office announced. "In total, 10 private houses and offices were raided in Germany as well as overseas," the office said. "These raids follow the investigation of a complaint lodged in Bonn for fraud after the investigations by Spanish authorities into people suspected of having had access to banned products to improve their performances in cycling." The German daily Focus reported Wednesday that one raid took place in

Tom Danielson won’t win this Vuelta a España, but his dramatic stage victory in Wednesday’s 159.2km 17th stage from Adra to Granada bolstered his belief that someday he might. The 28-year-old finally delivered the big victory that everyone has been expecting from him since he came to Europe to race in 2004 with Fassa Bortolo. VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Danielson at the finish line in Granada (portions of this interview are from the post-race press conference). Here are excerpts of what he had to say: VN.com: This is the win you’ve been looking for since

Tom Danielson came into the Vuelta with big ambitions, but he struggled a little in the first week, unable to find his potent pedal stroke in the mountains, and losing time to his rivals on terrain where he usually excels. He persisted, kept his head together, and today he achieved a big objective with an impressive stage victory on one of the Vuelta's toughest days. Two days ago, on the rest day, we rode the first climb of today's stage: a 17-kilometer ascent from the coast to an altitude of 1300 meters (4265 feet). As we climbed the mountains in training one thought persisted-if

Danielson gets the stage . . .

. . . and Vino' gets the gold

Vino' and Danielson rocket toward the finish

Danielson and Martinez working the earlier break

Paulinho and Danielson in the break

Kash' goes up the road

Valverde attacks

Valverde puts Sastre in the hurt locker

Vino' on the march

The race leader got no help in the hunt

Two former U.S. Postal riders admitted taking EPO in preparation for the 1999 Tour de France, the first of seven one by their teammate Lance Armstrong, the New York Times reported Tuesday. In a story posted on its website, the newspaper said Frankie Andreu, a now-retired lieutenant of the U.S. Postal Service team, and another rider who did not want his name disclosed both admitted wrongdoing in interviews with the Times. "Everybody's afraid to talk because they don't want to implicate themselves but there are guys out there who love the sport and who hate doping. They are the guys

With the futures of Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia uncertain for the Euskaltel-Euskadi team, Tuesday’s victory by youngster Igor Anton in the wet and mountainous stage 16 couldn’t have come at a better time. The 23-year-old counter-attacked an elite group of six leading riders through pounding rain with 4km to go in the 145km stage to win his first professional race. Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) sprinted to second place, picking up a valuable time bonus to further tighten his grip on the overall lead with just five days left of the 2006 Vuelta. "Today was a lot more than we could

Following news reports that he admitted to the use of EPO early in hiscareer, former U.S. Postal team, rider Frankie Andreu released the followingstatement explaining his reasons for his admission. Turning the sport around.As hard as it is, sometimes putting something on the line is the onlyway to help. My confession of taking EPO when I was younger is not meantto drag anyone down but to raise awareness of the problems that existedand still exist. I don't have to tell you this because in the last fewyears some big profile names have brought this to all of our attention. I took EPO to help

Gerolsteiner rider David Kopp has been forced to pull out of the German national squad for the world road race championships after crashing heavily in training on Monday. The 27-year-old had been named in a nine-man team for the September 24 road race in Salzburg, Austria alongside veterans Erik Zabel and Andreas Klöden on Monday. However he has now been ruled out for at least three weeks with a fractured wrist, according to Gerolsteiner. Kopp will now be replaced by one of four substitute riders: Christian Knees (Milram), Ronny Scholz (Gerolsteiner), Stephan Schreck (T-Mobile) and Marcel

The attorney for Floyd Landis is questioning the accuracy of the positive testosterone tests attributed to the Tour de France winner and asks that doping charges be dismissed. In a letter sent to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, attorney Howard Jacobs disputed the accuracy of the carbon isotope ratio tests performed on Landis' urine sample at a lab in France. Jacobs also argued that the analysis of a different test, the testosterone-epitestosterone analysis, "is replete with fundamental, gross errors," including mismatched sample code numbers. Jacobs said the positive finding on the backup

A year ago Thomas Frischknecht ended one of cycling’s longest streaks, becoming the first foreign rider to triumph at Costa Rica’s famed La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain bike race. Fast forward 12 months, and the Swiss legend will try to make it two in a row in November when he returns to defend his title at one of the world’s toughest stage races. Among the Swisspower rider’s chief challengers at La Ruta’s 14th rendition will be Colombian Leonardo Páez and American Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen). Páez is currently No. 1 in the UCI’s marathon rankings, while Bishop is coming off a

San Juan, Puerto Rico – This year’s Tour of Puerto Rico (UCI 2.2) promised to be a longer, harder and – its promoters said – a much more organized race. Unfortunately, the more than 100 riders and 17 teams who were scheduled to start the four-day, five-stage event on Thursday will never know. At noon Tuesday, the Puerto Rican Cycling Federation held a press conference to announce the race had been cancelled. Alexis Cruz, federation president, said the race organization failed to gather the $30,000 needed to cover expenses and prizes. “The Tour cannot occur,” Cruz said. “It’s a financial

Following news reports that former U.S. Postal team rider, Frankie Andreu admitted to the use of EPO early in his career, his former teammate Lance Armstrong released the following statement charging the New York Times with efforts to impugn his reputation: Today’s article in the New York Times was a blatant attempt to associateme and implicate me with a former teammate’s admission that he took bannedsubstances during his career. The recycled suggestion that former teammatestook EPO with my knowledge or at my request is categorically false anddistorted sensationalism. My cycling victories are

Andreu - seen here at Paris-Nice in 2000 - said his brush with EPO use was limited, but wanted to come clean to help the sport.

A sweet, if slightly soggy victory

Vinokourov is now in second on GC, but that 1:42 might be a tough hurdle.

The climb up the Calar Alto is among Europe's great climbs.

Danielson is riding back into form - and the top-10

On the way to the Atlantic

Will there be a La Ruta repeat

Bishop was 5th in 2005

Coast-to-coast racing

Cuesta drives hard for Sastre... but they couldn't shed Valverde.

Then, Sastre tried on his own...

...and again.

Stage 1 profile

Stage 2 profile

Stage 3 profile

CSC turns up the heat

Martinez is closing in on the climber's jersey.

.. but there was no interest in seeing an early break get anywhere.

Landaluze works to bridge the gap...

Big win for Euskaltel's new guy.

Discovery Channel scored an important milestone last week when Egoi Martinez won the 11th stage into Burgos. With Janez Brajkovic’s run in the Vuelta’s gold jersey, the team has won a stage and held the leader’s jersey in all three of this year’s grand tours. That’s motivating stuff for a team that long grew accustomed to wearing the leader’s jerseys at the end of the season’s grand tours. Times have certainly changed for Discovery Channel following the retirement of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Discovery Channel boss Johan Bruyneel is far from nostalgic, however.

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis blames his positive doping test on the French laboratory that examined his sample, according to a story in a Pennsylvania newspaper published Sunday. In a story posted on the website of the Intelligencer of suburban Philadelphia, Landis confirmed plans to ask Monday that the result be thrown out because of "contradictions" between his "A" and "B" samples. "On Monday we'll submit a request for the case to be dropped because, based on the 'A' and the 'B' sample, there are too many contradictions for the two to be the same sample," Landis

USA Cycling has announced the elite teams that will represent the United States at the 2006 UCI Road World Championships September 19-24 in Salzburg, Austria. In the elite men’s division, the United States qualified the maximum nine riders in the road race and will field a team consisting of six UCI ProTour veterans and three domestic-based pros. ProTour riders Chris Horner (Bend, Ore./Davitamon-Lotto) Fred Rodriguez (Emeryville, Calif./Davitamon-Lotto), Christian VandeVelde (Boulder, Colo./CSC), Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash./Cofidis), Patrick McCarty (Allen, Texas/Phonak), and Guido Trenti

There are six days to go in the Vuelta – five if you don't count the last stage into Madrid, which is essentially a parade. Nonetheless, on today's rest day we are still resting, napping and lounging around with our legs up, as the three days ahead of us are some of the hardest of the twenty one we will have raced. Yesterday, the stage was controlled, the peloton lethargic in the strong headwind, and the final outcome one we could have all predicted: a sprint finish. The day was, however, a long one as the race started early so that we could fit in an afternoon plane and bus transfer

American Jill Kintner (GT) had the 2006 four-cross World Cup title sewed up before she even set foot in Schladming, Austria, for the finals. It was a good thing — a nasty crash at the Jeep King of the Mountains finals in Beaver Creek, Colorado, left the 24-year old two-time world champ with a shredded shoulder. The injury kept Kintner out of the race, but allowed her to do some reporting for VeloNews.com.—Editor The dream team did it again, as Sam Hill and Sabrina Jonnier (Monster-Iron Horse) took wins Sunday at the final round of World Cup downhill racing in Schladming, Austria. Jonnier

Bruyneel is overseeing some big changes at Discovery.

Brajkovic could be the new star of the future.

View from the Bench: Injured Kintner covers World Cup gravity finals

Sunday’s mostly downhill 182km run from Spain’s central plateau to the sunny Mediterranean coast went according to script, with a brave breakaway falling short and German ace Robert Forster winning a frenetic mass sprint. The Gerolsteiner rider outkicked Stuart O’Grady (CSC) to take the first mass gallop in a week while Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) retained his 48-second grip on the overall leader’s jersey. “It was very dangerous,” said Forster, who won the final stage of the Giro d’Italia this year. “I thought that Petacchi would make the sprint and that is why we tried to get

Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi has pulled out of the Vuelta a Espana with a broken finger after punching the Lampre team bus following a row with Danilo Napolitano, organizers said late Sunday. Petacchi believed Napolitano, who finished third in Sunday's 15th stage, had blocked him on the final run-in. After fruitless complaints to race officials, Petacchi continued the dispute with the Lampre team, ultimately punching the side of the rival team's bus and breaking his finger in the process. Sunday marked the first time Petacchi seriously contested a stage finish since he left

Förster snags the win

Rodriguez crossed ninth, Horner 21st

Garcia's solo was doomed

Valverde and the other favorites can smell the finish line

Carlstrom and Garcia enjoying their moment in the sun

The long and winding road

There was plenty of celebrating going in Cuenca, with Saunier Duval-Prodir toasting David Millar’s remarkable comeback victory in Saturday’s time trial and Caisse d’Epargne quietly putting the champagne on ice after Alejandro Valverde widened his overall lead with just a week to go in the Vuelta a España. Millar exorcized two years worth of doping demons with each pedal stroke Saturday to win for the first time since his the end of racing ban while Valverde tightened his grip on the gold jersey on a day when many expected the Spaniard to cede terrain. Millar beat CSC’s Fabian Cancellara by

Unlike past Vuelta time trials, which tend to be run on courses that don’t attract spectators and are mainly on highways, the 33 kilometer Time trial today was somewhat technical, varied in terrain and scenic for both the television spectators and those at the side of the road. The course was technical as we had to climb two kilometers on a cobbled road, and then descend to the finish on a road that was fast with a few tight corners. This morning my roommate, Jani Brajkovic, got up at nine to preview the course with Tom, Gusev and Stijn. The rest of us had the morning to sleep in and have a

Navigators second-year pro Shawne Milne closed out the North American UCI season in style, taking a close victory in Souderton, Pennsylvania’s Univest Grand Prix. Milne came around breakaway companion Fausto Munoz (Tecos-Alderfer Auction) in the steep uphill sprint to the line following an arrow-straight, screaming downhill.

The 2006 World Cup cross-country series finished up in Schladming, Austria, Saturday.Taking the win in the women’s race was Canadian Marie-HélènePrémont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects), who took the fourth WorldCup win of her career and her second of 2006. The victory bumped her up tofinish second place in the overall, behind world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja of Norway (Multivan Merida). The 4.9 kilometer circuit consisted of about one-fifth asphalt, andran through the town, including through the local brewery, Schladminger.The women raced seven laps of the circuit. After the first

Is Millar coming close to his old form?

By a hair: Cancellara was but a fraction of a second back.

Danielson improved his GC position by a bit

Kashechkin lost ground to Valverde

Valverde held his own and then some

Sastre held on to third on GC

Floyd Landis’s solo Stage 17 victory at the Tour de France at Morzine-Avoriazeasily ranked as one of the most mythic comebacks in the history of cycling.This stage win and Floyd’s subsequent Tour de France victory confirmedthe vibrancy of American cycling après Lance.Of course, all that changed when Floyd’s positive test for testosteronewas revealed. Now the elation turned to horrendous disappointment and disbelief.The issue of Floyd’s Tour win is hardly a closed book; Floyd may well stillprevail and I hope that he does.Regardless of the outcome, though, the damage has been done to the

Move over, Paolo Savoldelli. Euskaltel’s Samuel Sánchez is ready to give the Italian – nicknamed “the Falcon” for his fearless runs down Europe’s steepest mountain roads - a run for his money as road racing’s king of the downhill. Sánchez put down a kamikaze attack with 5km to go on a harrowing descent off the Cat. 3 Alto de Castillo to claim victory in Friday’s hilly 180km 13th stage thanks to fearless descending skills. “If you don’t take risks, you won’t win,” Sánchez said after just holding off a lead group of 30 riders from the busted up peloton. “I’ve always been good in the

It’s been a season of close calls and falls for Fred Rodriguez. The three-time U.S. champion has piled up a armload of seconds and thirds as well as gotten caught up in his fair share of pile ups this season, including one that sent him tumbling out of the Tour de France. Rodriguez, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, is back in action at the Vuelta a España where he’s looking for a stage victory to save what he’s called a “sour season.” The Californian came into the Vuelta to help teammate Robbie McEwen to hunt for a stage victory in the first week. The Aussie sprinter missed the

French anti-doping chief Pierre Bordry has branded the number of cyclists taking authorized doping products on the Tour de France as “suspicious.” Bordry said in comments to be published in Saturday's edition of Le Monde newspaper that 12 of the 13 cyclists who tested positive for banned substances at this year's Tour had a "Therapeutic Use Exemption" (TUE) to permit their use of otherwise-banned substances. Most commonly, riders have prescriptions for Salbutamol and other asthma drugs, which are banned because the drugs improve a user's ability to breathe. World Anti-doping

German prosecutors charged Friday that former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has been taking banned substances since 2003. Ullrich was sacked by his T-Mobile team and kicked off the Tour this year after being implicated in a doping probe launched in Spain. In July, German officials took up the investigation, which linked Ullrich to tainted Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, and now they seem convinced that Ullrich, who continues to protest his innocence, is guilty. "Since 2003 unauthorized products were bought by Ullrich," said a spokesperson for Bonn prosecutors. "These are not

Floyd Landis’s attorney Howard Jacobs said Wednesday that he intends to request the dismissal of the doping case against client based on “inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology” used to show that the 2006 Tour de France was positive for testosterone. Jacobs said he will file a formal request with USADA on Monday, September 11 asking that the anti-doping agency drop the allegations against Landis and cease further disciplinary action. In a press release issued Friday, Jacobs’s office noted that upon “review of 370 pages of documentation provided by the LNDD laboratory at

Frenchman Stephane Auge of Cofidis claimed the 192km fifth stage of the ProTour's Tour of Poland from Legnica to Jelenia Gora on Friday.Auge edged out fellow escapee American AaronOlson (Saunier Duval) with Max van Heeswijk (Discovery)  leadinghome the peloton 21 seconds back.Italian Daniele Bennati held on to the leader's yellow jersey after finishing sixth.Auge broke away from the peloton after just 12km and was soon joined by Olson. The pair gradually increased their advantage to over 14 minutes before the peloton put on a serious chase, but the pair just held off the pursuit

The stage to Cuenca is a Vuelta classic as the finish is challenging, picturesque and always provides and exciting finale with a cobbled climb, a fast descent and a slightly uphill sprint to the line. The last two stages have been fast, uncomfortably fast, and the peloton has spent much of the races lined out in single file. The attacks in the first hour are relentless as everybody still wants to get into the breakaway that makes it to the finish. Yesterday’s break made it, so why not again today? In my last diary I think I mentioned that the 12th stage to Guadalajara would be flat and a

'If you don't take risks, you don't win,' says today's winner.

Coming into Cuenca.