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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.Lance Armstrong: Time to call Dick Pound to accountTo those Interested in International Sports:On August 23, 2005 the French tabloid L'Equipe published an article alleging that I used performance enhancing drugs, based on a research report leaked out of a French laboratory. I knew

The wind storms are over as all riders are across the Mississippi. RAAM multiple choice: Solos and teams decide between Attrition, Appalachians, or Finish Line. Solo Enduro rider ROB LUCAS called RAAM HQ earlier this evening to announce his withdrawal (DNF) from the 2006 race due to his inability to make the race-mandated cutoff times. Rob was somewhere in near the Mississippi River and had completed nearly 2000 of the 3,043 mile course. Solo Traditionl rider GUSS MOONEN had a wild ride near Time Station 42 in Troy, Ohio. The intrepid RAAM media staff reports that Moonen skirted past the

Basso comes to Strasbourg with a solid team... and more Americans than any other Tour squad.

The horror

Two weeks ahead of the Tour de France, Jan Ullrich of the T-Mobile team is the winner of the 2006 Tour of Switzerland. The German endured bad weather to conquer the final stage of the nine-day race, a 30.7-kilometer time trial into the Swiss capital of Bern. “It’s so close before the Tour de France, and it proves to me that I have the performance and I’m ready for the Tour,” he said. “It’s the last little bit. It’s really the last polishing…Now I already feel that I’m at 90 percent and I can work on the last 10 before the Tour de France.” Hearing the sound of the thunder, the German star

Each and every rider with the gumption and training base to line up in Oceanside is hero. Whether a rider makes it to Atlantic City in first, or twenty-first, or succumbs to fatigue or injury in Arizona, or Kansas or Maryland, each of those riders, the winners and the also-rans owe a portion of whatever success they achieved to the minor heroes staffing the timing stations along the way. There are fifty-seven time stations in this twenty-fifth annual Race Across America. And while some are merely a point on the map at which a rider’s crew is to phone in an arrival time, many have become

Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) scored what he terms "the biggest win of my career" in the final stage of the Tour de Beauce on Sunday when he outsprinted breakaway companion Will Frischkorn (TIAA-CREF) after 132 kilometers of racing. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Navigators) easily hung onto the Yellow Jersey after finishing with the main peloton 58 seconds behind Pinfold. In the final stage riders faced 12 laps of an 11 kilometer circuit through the host town of St Georges. In addition to a steep 2.8 kilometer climb each lap, riders had to contend with 30 degree (Celsius) temperatures and humidity

Phonak is putting everything on Floyd Landis to win the Tour de France as the Swiss team announced its Tour lineup on Sunday. Landis will be the lone leader for Phonak in what will be the American’s second Tour start as an outright team leader. Last year, Landis finished ninth in the Tour and has roared through the early part of 2006, racking up wins at the Tour of California, Paris-Nice and Tour de Georgia. “The objective of the season doesn’t change – that’s to go to the Tour with Floyd to win,” said team manager John Lelangue. “It was important to find a good balance between good

Nothing snaps a rider out of a funk better or faster than logging his first ever big win, and doing it with some flair doesn’t hurt either. Ryan Trebon (Kona) nabbed his first NORBA series win with a dominating solo win in the pro men’s Short Track at the Mt. Snow NORBA, Sunday in West Dover, VT. Trebon set off of his ultimately race-winning odyssey with the sort of early-race flyer that often punctuates a short track but seldom leads to anything. Trebon opened a small gap after less than a full lap of the undulating circuit, but by the fourth lap the margin had swelled to over 20 seconds and

Enduring a painful shoulder separation in the final technical section proved no match for the skill and panache of former DH World Champion Greg Minaar (Team G-Cross Honda) at Sunday’s Mt. Snow NORBA downhill in West Dover, VT. Punching the pace, trying to make up for some lost time on the upper wide-open speed sections, Minaar ricocheted off one rock, an impact that dislocated his left shoulder, but hit the next rock hard enough to put the socket back into place. Likely not how he had drawn up the finals while riding the lift to the top, but good enough all the same to win the race from

While nearly 100 racers began the day’s race, a group of three riders – Armstrong, Ulmer, and Team Biovail’s Anne Samplonius – broke out in front after the second lap. They would remain out in front by as much as 20 seconds from the chase group, headed by Webcor-Platinum Builder’s Christine Thorburn, until the final lap. Chilkoot Hill proved to be challenge even for the most experienced of riders. “I felt like my heart was going to come out of my chest,” Armstrong said of the push up the hill. With huge crowds on the hill yelling at the riders, Armstrong said she found assistance with her

Sometimes you have to let the race go to win. At least, that is what Health Net thought in the last stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. With three guys sitting one, two and three on the general classification – and another 26 seconds out in fifth place – the National Racing Calendar event was theirs to lose. And while Greg Henderson eventually lost the jersey finishing 12 seconds off the pace, the jersey stayed in the team and gave Karl Menzies the overall victory. And Health Net finished 1-2-3 at the end. “It’s not often you can sweep the podium at an NRC event,” said

Doing what he does best, Ullrich takes the Swiss tour in the TT

Time stations must be manned around the clock to be able to check in riders in the wee hours.

The Camdenton, Missouri station served up a great brisket sandwich!

Your ever-efficient and enthusiastic RAAM time-station is staff is always at the ready for your time recording needs.

Jennifer, a personal trainer from Sioux City, made the two-hour drive to Yates Center to work that station. She wouldn’t let Tinker Juarez without a hug….Tinker graciously agreed.

This string of signs greeted racers in the final feet before the Yates Center station.

Trebon

Nash

Minaar, Jonnier dominate Mt. Snow DH

Minaar, Jonnier dominate Mt. Snow DH

HealthNet controls the race early, but it eventually gets away from them.

Stevic celebrates his win as he crosses the line.

Stevic makes his move on the climb

Henderson suffers on the climb. He eventually lost the jersey, but did so to a teammate

Health Net stayed together

Manion and Stevic knew they had an opportunity

Ulmer gets the win

Armstrong takes the overall... again.

Wrubleski takes second on the day

Armstrong, Ulmer, and Samplonius set an early pace

Ulmer goes on her own

Alberto Contador of the embattled Astana-Würth team won the mountainous penultimate stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Saturday, while the top three spots in the overall standings remained the same going into the final episode on Sunday. “I’m a professional cyclist, and my objective is to keep my cool and stay concentrated,” said Contador, asked how he can achieve good results while his team is embroiled in the sport’s biggest doping scandal. “Everything that happens on the television, or around me, all the hype and disappointment, all the good and bad things I’m hearing, you have to hear

Injury-plagued Brad McGee won’t start next month’s Tour de France because he’s suffering from a herniated disk that could require surgery. McGee – a winner of the 2003 Tour prologue and the 2004 Olympic pursuit gold medalist – has been questionable for the Tour since pulling out of last month’s Giro d’Italia. Efforts to alleviate the pain failed and he was also forced to abandon the Tour de Suisse on Tuesday. “Specialists in Paris confirmed Friday the cause of my sciatica is coming from a small hernia that, under the force of riding, is forcing itself onto the nerve and explaining the

After a day like Friday, when everything was almost perfect for Navigators at the Tour de Beauce, today's race saw two members of the team involved in a potentially serious accident with a car that wandered onto the course. Mark Walters and Glen Chadwick were at the front of the peloton setting tempo on the third lap to keep a six rider breakaway in check, when a car ignored traffic cones and swerved out beside them. Chadwick managed to avoid going down, but Walters was sandwiched between Chadwick and the car and had nowhere to go. The Blue Jersey holder (Top Canadian) went down,

For more than 80 miles, dozens of world-class women riders tested there resolve in the wind and heat surrounding Mankato, Minn., in the fourth stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix on Saturday. But the most exciting action of the day came with the final few laps in the city. With Olympic champion Sarah Ulmer of Jazz Apple opening a 20-second gap more than a lap into the finishing circuit, a win seemed assured. That was until the overall leader, TEAm Lipton’s Kristin Armstrong, decided to put her stamp of authority on a victory. Attacking on the third time up the Main Street

On Thursday, KarlMenzies said Health Net’s win was a gift to the team’s director,who was celebrating his birthday. On Saturday, it was Menzies's birthday and apparently, too, it was histurn to receive. The birthday boy fought through four 1-kilometer climbs pitching at14 percent to roll through the finish of the fourth stage of Great RiverEnergy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. Menzies gave all the credit to his teammateand new overall leader, GregHenderson. “I think Hendie wrapped [the victory] up, put a bow on it and deliveredit to me,” the Tasmanian said after the 86-mile road race in

Austria’s Alban Lakata (Specialized) and Finland’s Pia Sundstedt (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) took the second round of the UCI World Cup marathon, held Saturday at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec. The course sent riders from downtown Quebec City spinning along fire roads to the Quebec ski resort, where athletes then tackled a 30 km loop around the venue. The win puts both Sundstedt and Lakata in first place in the marathon World Cup rankings. UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE MARATHON WORLD CUP NO. 2MONT STE ANNE, QUEBECJUNE 17, 2006Men1. Alban LAKATA (AUT); 85 KM in 4:10:422. Peter Riis ANDERSEN (DEN);

Like a pair of comfy old slippers, the ones you just can’t stop wearing no matter how threadbare they look to others, the Mount Snow cross-country course never ceases to evoke praise as one of the best race tracks on the world mountain bike circuit. Despite remaining largely unchanged over a decade of racing, the single-track rich perennial NORBA and former World Cup venue always seems to crown a deserving winner, one with the perfect combo of climbing form and technical descending skill. Race number three on the 2006 NORBA National Series Cross-country, June 17 in West Dover, Vermont, proved

Contador takes the win

The peloton decided that enough was enough

The break was sent off again...

The Nav's protected most of their jerseys

Menzies takes the win

Menzies shares a birthday with Eddy Merckx, who probably also has won on June 17th.

Corbett and crew planning strategy

HealthNet at the helm

The lead group represented a good cross-section of teams

The fan base

Armstrong knew when to make her move

Ulmer takes a dig

Armstrong wins it

Get this woman an iced tea!

McConneloug had it from the gun

Sauser takes the top step

Fresh off his overall victory at the Dauphiné Libéré, it’s no surprise that Gerolsteiner will build its Tour de France team around Levi Leipheimer. Sixth overall last year with a victory at the 2005 Tour of Germany, Leipheimer will be the protected leader for the German team in what will be Leipheimer’s fifth Tour start. Georg Totschnig, seventh overall in 2004 and a winner of a stage last year at Aix-3-Domaines, will also have some freedom to ride for his own GC, but in tandem with Leipheimer in the hunt for the Tour podium. “We will bring a strong squad to help Levi in the Tour,”

Where does life’s long, windy single track take you? If you are 24-year old American mountain-biker Walker Ferguson, the trail zigzags between the high peaks of the Bolivian Andes and the Colorado Rockies, sandy Mexican beaches and, of course, starting lines at NORBA National Mountain Bike Series races.Ferguson has stood atop a world mountain bike championship podium, beaten some of the country’s best athletes on the road and been forced to work his way through a potentially career-ending burnout. And he’s done it all before the age of 25.But Ferguson’s ready for another season of challenging

Relying on stamina and a touch of trickery, three-time world road champion Oscar Freire of the Dutch team Rabobank won the seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Friday. The 30-year-old Spaniard was the sole survivor of an eight-man breakaway after he jumped sideways over the corner of a traffic island in order to cut a corner 3.5 kilometers from the finish. Koldo Gil of Saunier-Duval retained the leader’s jersey, but T-Mobile’s star Jan Ullrich looks ready to pounce with just two days left in the nine-day stage race, considered the final tune-up for the Tour de France. Ullrich is

The long rumored change in the Phonak team was confirmed Friday, when owners announced that its current “presenting sponsor,” iShares will move into the title sponsorship position in 2007. ARcycling AG, licensee and operator of the Swiss ProTour team, announced that it has signed a three-year contract (2007 – 2009) with Barclays Global Investors N.A., iShares' parent company headquartered in San Francisco. According to a release issued by the team on Friday, both parties have agreed not to name the amount of the new title sponsor's financial commitment. "With iShares we have a new

For many of us, Kansas conjures up images of Dorothy, Toto and howling, swirling winds. Which isn’t too far off the mark for conditions on Thursday and Friday during this 25th Annual Race Across America. As the front runners make their way across the state, they’ve been tormented by constant winds. Those gusts weren’t quite as bad on Friday as they were Thursday, which saw constant 35 mile per hour winds, with gusts much higher than that. Conditions weren’t far off of those that lead to the formation of tornadoes—one of the media crew vehicles encountered storm trackers who were out in the

Tilford tackles elements to take win in fourth stage of Nature Valley Grand PrixBy James Lockwood Officials, spectators and racers knew it was coming, but the question was when. And 17 minutes into the hour-long race for the men’s third stage of Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix, the race was called while sheets of rain drenched a happy Steve Tilford who laughed at the elements and won the Minneapolis Downtown Classic. “It’s like FatBoys at night,” he said, referencing the mountain bike races he also does. “You never know what’s going on. You have to watch the lap

For the third consecutive year, rain played a major factor in the Minneapolis Downtown Classic, the third stage of the Great River Energy’s Nature Valley Grand Prix. Heavy rain and hail hit the course about an hour before the scheduled start, delaying the start of the race by 15 minutes and shortening it from 45 to 30 minutes. The shortened race, though, didn’t short-change the spectators or racers from the drama, as TEAm Lipton’s Laura Van Gilder took the hotly contested finish from Victory Brewing’s Katharine Carroll. Van Gilder’s victory continued TEAm Lipton’s dominance, with overall

As expected, the Navigators Insurance squad recovered from the momentary lapse of attention which saw them lose the yellow jersey on Wednesday at the Tour de Beauce to regain the top position in the 15 kilometer time trial stage Friday morning. Danny Pate (TIAA-CREF) continues to impress with a strong win in the stage, but Valeriy Kobzarenko's second place, 16 seconds behind Pate, was enough to move him back into the lead, after Stefan Parinussa (Sparkasse), the former leader, could manage no better than 23rd. Pate's excellent ride moved him up to second overall, 16 seconds behind

The fifth stage at the Tour de Beauce – formally “Stage 4-b,” since it followed a morning TT - was pretty much a non-factor in terms of the overall standings, however, bragging rights and UCI points were still on the line, so serious racing did take place. The 60 kilometer criterium is a tradition in the host town of St Georges, and takes place on a four corner, 1.5 kilometer circuit, with a sharp climb at the end of the start straight and a steep descent with a 110 degree left hander at the base. Richard Faltus (Sparkasse) took a last lap gamble and attacked the small lead group he was

Gerolsteiner is hoping that Leipheimer has a shot at that other yellow jersey

Walkin’ off the beaten path: A winter spent down south

Walkin’ off the beaten path: A winter spent down south

Walkin’ off the beaten path: A winter spent down south

Freire's gamble paid off and he wasn't caught

St. Moritz

Sprick leads the break

The group stayed together until about 15km to go.

Commesso and Rogers put on a little pressure

..but the peloton is not far behind.

Freire's move paid off.

Freire snags Swiss stage; Gil still in jersey

David Haase, currently 6th in the traditional division, rides through one of the more scenic stretches of Kansas.