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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.A matter of perspectiveDear Editor:My route to work is eleven miles of rural roads and trails, and oneof the bonuses of the ride is being able to brag to my colleagues aboutthe various "hazards" I encounter. Usually it's a 25-mph headwind, oftenit's ornery redwings, sometimes

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryan during the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currently stationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq. Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as well as offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded). As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site...

Whew. That was a busy three weeks. For those of you who missed it, there was a ton of bicycle racing going on over the past few weeks, and much of it was on those heavy bikes with fat tires that them hippies ride around on dirt. The UCI mountain bike World Cup hit the meat of its season, with five big events in the last month. First, the world’s best cross-country racers hit the dry, dusty, urban course in Madrid on May 14. A week later they were in Belgium, splashing around in the freezing rain and hub-deep mud at Spa Francorchamps. Another week saw the endurance crew in the Scottish

Team CSC’s Dave Zabriskie did what he did best to lead an American sweep of the top four places in Wednesday’s 43km individual time trial at the 58th Dauphine Libere. Zabriskie was fastest to win for the second time in four days, but it was an American showcase in cycling’s Tour de France dress rehearsal, with Floyd Landis (Phonak), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) finishing two-three-four. “For some reason, the Americans are talented in time trialing,” said Zabriskie, who’s now among the best in the world now in the race of truth. “I have a theory.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEVELONEWS RELEASES 2006 OFFICIAL TOUR DE FRANCE GUIDEBiggest Ever Guide Available Now from Velo® GearBoulder, CO, June 7, 2006 — With less than a month to go beforethe July 1 start date, VeloNews has just released the OfficialGuide to the 2006 Tour de France. The Official Guide is a licensed collaboration with the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and offers an insider’s look at the world’s most prestigiousbike race. This year’s guide features:Exclusive interviews with Tour hopefuls Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Dave Zabriskie,

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryanduring the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a dedicated cycling fan, is currentlystationed at a U.S. military compound, south of Mosul, in Iraq.Bryan's firstsubmission to VeloNews.com generated an overwhelming response, as wellas offers of components, bikes and even socks (all of which have been forwarded).As a result we offered to make Major Bryan's Iraq diary a regular featureon this site... at least until he comes home, something we're all hopinghappens quite soon.Well, it’s official. Like Navin R. Johnson, I am

Frischy -cross-country's Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going and going and...

Adam Craig

Erwin Bakker at Angel Fire

Der Kaiser a.k.a. Jan

Zabriskie again showed that he is among the world's best time trialists

Great form - Zabriskie's form matches his strength

Landis got a big boost by Wednesday's ride

Third-place Leipheimer is in good position, too.

Valverde comes in 9th

Just back from the Giro d’Italia, I thought I’d give you a few photos from the Pontedera-Pontedera time trial and that you might not have seen elsewhere, including from the Piaggio (Vespa) museum in Pontedera, where the time trial (won by Jan Ullrich with Ivan Basso a close second) started and finished. David Millar came to the time trial to hang with his Saunier Duval teammates. He is very lean to the point that his pants also hang, ready to fall down at any time. My guess is he will be fit for the Tour prologue. It seemed to take me forever to ride from the 5K to go sign to the Monte

Christian Vande Velde (CSC) enjoyed a nice chilled bottle of Spanish cava Sunday night after his overall victory at the five-day Tour of Luxembourg. The win marked his first in Europe and signals a rebirth for the 30-year-old’s racing career. With new freedom to attack and hunt for victories at Team CSC, Vande Velde said he’s having more fun than ever racing a bike. The Luxembourg tour perfectly reflected this new attitude and Vande Velde’s aggression in Friday’s stage paid off when he attacked for a stage-win that put him in position to win the overall. “I was thinking about it.

Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) joined an early breakaway effort in the 203km second stage of the Dauphiné Libéré Tuesday and not only managed to stay away but now holds a solid five-minute lead in the traditional warm-up race for the Tour de France. Gilbert finished more than five minutes ahead of the peloton on a generally flat stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier in eastern France. Gilbert, winner of this year's Het Volk in Belgium, joined a three-man break with teammate Sebastien Joly and Quick Step's Cedric Vasseur at the 44km mark, but was the only survivor,

The United States Cycling Team captured a continental title on Tuesday as Amber Neben (Irvine, California) rode to a win in the time trial at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Cabreuva, Brazil. Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colorado) earned her second medal of the week, riding to a bronze in the race against the clock. On Sunday, Seehafer gave the U.S. its first medal of the championships with a silver-medal performance in the 87km elite women’s road race in Indaiatuba. Seehafer finished behind Ymari Gonzalez of Cuba among a final group of 15 riders. Teammates Sarah Uhl (Philadelphia,

Ivan Basso thoroughly trounced the field to the mountaintop finish of Monte Bondone using a 36-52 in front and an 11-23 in back.

Basso and his CSC domestiques were not the only ones riding Monte Bondone on compact chainrings. Among others were the Bouygues Telecoms...

... and some Euskaltel-Euskadi riders (inexplicably using FSA compact chainrings on Shimano compact cranks); Euskaltel-Euskadi's Anton Luengo Celaya stuck with a 39-53, though.

Carlos Sastre's TT rig. Riding the identical bike, Basso turned in a strong performance, finishing second only to Jan Ullrich

Little man, big solid wheels. A potato chip in a crosswind?

Leonardo Piepoli may be tiny, but don't mess with his big friend, Mario Cipollini.

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: A Giro Gallery

Millar won't be racing until July

...but he's not fighting off-season weight issues, is he?

Michael Rasmussen relaxing after the time trial... not his favorite event.

Milram has a friend watching over things

Basso fans come in all shapes and sizes

Now you know where they get those delicious cuts of beef from.

You may recognize this as Maxwell Smart's Vespa helicopter.

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn: A Giro Gallery

Who thought this one up?

Vespa did make a car, too...

...although it may not do well...

... in an encounter with a Hummer inyour local WalMart parking lot.

Them's the breaks... and sometimes an early break succeeds

The break built up a substantial advantage, but only Gilbert was able to hold it.

Gerolsteiner's chase came a bit too late

Barry and Hincapie are both back after injuries

Alexandre Vinokourov will race the Tour de France one way or another, but said he supports team manager Manolo Saiz despite allegations that the Spanish director is linked to an alleged blood-doping ring. Saiz was detained two weeks ago by Spanish authorities after making an alleged exchange of suitcases with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in a Madrid café. Police later found one suitcase with $60,000 in cash while another was an insulated bag allegedly filled with containers of blood and doping products. Vinokourov spoke to reporters ahead of Sunday’s start at the Dauphiné Libéré, where

We know that it’s been a while since our last weekly contest and we’ll try to get these back on track, folks. Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. Of all of the submissions several of us – and many of you – kept coming back to Kenneth Alan’s “Work Vehicle,” a nicely composed tribute to the bikes some of us actually use to earn a living. Congratulations Mr.

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.Drug-raid stats astoundingEditor:After reading the articles regarding the recent Liberty Seguros drug bust I was completely surprised by the magnitude of the findings. Found were more than 200 containers of blood and a few thousand capsules of EPO. Are that many riders risking their

Monday’s longest stage of this very mountainous Dauphiné Libéré looked to be one for the sprinters. The 207km course from Annecy to Bourgoin-Jallieu was only interrupted by three rather innocuous Cat. 4 ripples late in the course profile. Early on, a lone avenger, in the form of Frenchman Nicolas Inaudi (Cofidis), stole away at 15km and at one point boasted a lead of nearly 18 minutes.CompleteResults That prompted Team CSC and Credit Agricole to cooperate, with Bjarne´s Army anxious to either keep prologue winner Dave Zabriskie in the race leader’s jersey or bounce Stuart O´Grady, who

Editor's Note: We began corresponding with Major Jason A. Bryan during the Giro d'Italia. Bryan, a fan of VeloNews.com's Live Coverage, is currently deployed to Iraq.As you can see from Bryan's most recent e-mail, the major is a cyclist, a fan of the sport and a guy just trying to maintain his legs despite some rather unusual obstacles.The perimeter is 18.5 km. My goal for June is 1000 km, which means many, many 18.5 km intervals. I’ve been riding a lap every morning and night to steadily eat away at the target. It is way too hot now to even think about riding during the

Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni on Monday retracted accusations that new champion Ivan Basso asked him to pay for a win during the 20th stage of this year's race. Last month, Simoni claimed Basso had asked for money to let him win the 20th stage of the Giro after the pair were left alone on a breakaway to slug it out for victory. Basso went on to win the stage by more than a minute but was stung by his fellow Italian's accusations after the finish. But after being grilled for more than an hour by an Italian disciplinary commission in Rome, Simoni retracted his

It's all in the details. Below you'll find links to each stage of the 2006 Tour de France. Each page contains maps and details of the course. LIVE COVERAGE LINKSTAGE DETAILS LINK Prologue - July 1Strasbourg (7.1 km) Stage 1 - July 2Strasbourg > Strasbourg (184.5 km) Stage 2 - July 3Obernai > Esch-sur-Alzette (228.5 km) Stage 3 - July 4Esch-sur-Alzette > Valkenburg (216.5 km) Stage 4 - July 5Huy > Saint Quentin (207 km) Stage 5 - July 6Beauvais > Caen (225 km) Stage 6 - July 7Lisieux > Vitré (189 km)

Tune in every day throughout the Tour de France for live, up-to-the-minute coverage of all 21 days of the world's greatest sporting event. VeloNews.com will continue its long tradition of providing insightful commentary throughout the final three hours of each stage, including interviews from the starting line, observations from current and former pros and updates from our reporters in the field. Check in with VeloNews.com every day at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern time in the U.S.). There will be a link right off the front page. LIVE COVERAGE LINKSTAGE DETAILS LINK Prologue - July

Vinokourov wants to race

Work Vehicle

Major Bryan, in his team kit...

Wegmann nails it

With sprinters' teams nipping at his heels, even an 18-minute lead wasn't enough for Nicolas Inaudi

Voeckler on the attack, wih Wegmann on his wheel.

Zabriskie and Landis

Spring in France

... and dressed for a day at the office.

Course Details

Course Details

When it’s straight and flat, there aren’t many better against the clock than Dave Zabriskie. On a 4.1km out-and-back course Sunday in Annecy, the American picked up where he left off in last year’s Tour de France, beating George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) in the opening prologue of the Dauphiné Libéré by two seconds – the same margin he had over Lance Armstrong last July. "Two is my magic number," said Zabriskie, after his first win of the season. "I won the Tour’s opening time trial by two seconds last year, and now I’ve beaten George by two seconds as well." Zabriskie won in 4 minutes,

Christian Vande Velde (CSC) secured the biggest victory of his European career Sunday after locking up the overall title at the five-day Tour of Luxembourg. Vande Velde grabbed the lead in Saturday’s difficult climbing stage and finished with the favorites Sunday to secure the first European stage-race victory of his career. Team CSC put four teammates to support Vande Velde in the winning 15-man break to ensure victory for the American. "I was a bit nervous before the stage, but as soon as we started, I was okay," Vande Velde said. "Right from the beginning of this race I've been

Jackson Stewart (KodakGallery-Sierra Nevada) scored a breakthrough win at Sunday’s Lancaster Classic ahead of Toyota-United’s J.J. Haedo and Navigators’ former U23 world champion Sergey Lagutin. With the win at Lancaster, Stewart becomes the leader of the newly-created Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling, which continues with the Redding Classic on Thursday and the Philadelphia International Championship on Sunday. Contested over 13 laps of its traditional 6.5 kilometer circuit from the town’s historic downtown to the Lancaster County Central Park, Lancaster is known as one of the

Hood River, Oregon -- If the men's race was predictable, the women's was anything but, Sunday at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic near Hood River, Ore. Symmetrics rider Leah Goldstein, still recovering from a crash from almost ayear ago, rolled clear of race leader Alison Powers of the Rio Grande/SportsGarage team on the last of three climbs to win her first big race in 2006. "I've won some local races, but this is the first NRC race I've done since crashing at (the Cascade Classic in Bend, Ore.) last year," Goldstein said."I needed 45 seconds to win (the overall) and that's

Zabriskie dons the first yellow jersey of the Dauphiné

Hincapie took the runner-up slot

O'Grady slotted into third

A surprise winner for sure

At the start

Sayers on the attack

Toyota at the front

The Union Cycliste Internationale hit back at the World Anti-Doping Agency Saturday amid ongoing hostilities over a report that cleared Lance Armstrong of 1999 Tour de France doping allegations. In a statement, the UCI called on WADA to clarify whether it had put pressure on a French laboratory to take steps that would have enabled the identification of athletes in subsequent research on doping samples. Moves to bypass confidentiality and conduct research without an athlete's consent would have violated the World Anti-Doping Code, it added. "WADA should not be allowed to divert the