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The Mail Bag 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.Arndt’s childish display hurts the sportEditor:After seeing the salute Judith Arndt decided to give the world Sunday, I felt a comment was needed. The Olympics occur only every four years the last time I checked, which makes election for them and representing your country a great honor.

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to another installment into the all-encompassing grab bag known as my weekly Web column. It’s been a busy time for me, as the “neighborhood” has twice in the past two weeks extended to California — two trips that reconfirmed my view of my native state as simultaneously the best and worst in our nation. (I think Robert Pielke put it best in the epilogue to his 1996 book “You Say You Want A Revolution” when he wrote: “California has been cursed and blessed with virtually every paradox imaginable. Physically, the state is an incomparable paradise as well as a

Mike “Bling-Bling” Jones

As the Olympics head into their second day here in Athens, doping has been the big story with the focus on Greece’s top two sprinters and their infamous moped accident. But now comes news that cycling has been dragged into the law-breaking fray — albeit on a much smaller scale. The tawdry tale came to light late Saturday when Greek police announced that they’d arrested Anthony Cooke, father of top British cyclist Nicole Cooke. Apparently the senior Cooke ran afoul with the law when he and a friend were nabbed during a clandestine graffiti operation on one of the streets of the road course.

The contrast couldn’t have been greater as the latest batch of cycling medalists faced the media shortly after the conclusion of the women’s Olympic road race on the downtown streets of Athens on Sunday. In the center seat of the raised podium sat Sara Carrigan, a starry gaze striped across her youthful face. Moments earlier the Aussie had grabbed gold, after pushing away from Judith Arndt on the last lap of the 118.8km race. Meanwhile, Arndt looked downright disgusted despite the silver medal swinging from her neck. The German was still seething over the Olympic-team exclusion of former

Och’ fined for water handup outside feed zoneU.S. Olympic road coach Jim Ochowicz was fined Sunday for giving a bottle of water to a rider outside the approved area during the men's road race on Saturday. Ochowicz was fined the equivalent of about $162 by the UCI. No rider was named or fined, officials said. Temperatures topped 100 degrees on parts of the course Saturday, so race officials allowed team cars to pass water and food to riders over an expanded stretch of the course. Temperatures were cooler for the women's road race Sunday along the same 8.2-mile course, but the more generous

Casey Gibson was at it again in Athens on Sunday, enjoying the women's road race and its surprise ending. Below you'll find a sampling of what he saw.

Team doctors working with Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel said that it is still uncertain whether the Dutch cycling star will ride the Olympic women's individual time trial after a sickening tumble in the road race in Athens on Sunday. The 34-year-old world and Olympic champion badly bruised her shoulder, elbow and hip when she crashed from her bike two laps from the finish in the road race won by Australian Sara Carrigan. Zijlaard-van Moorsel was badly shaken and was unable to rejoin the race after landing heavily in a crash just as the race was beginning to sort itself out. "She is

There are victory salutes ...

Then Van Moorsel and Brandli hit the deck after a touch of wheels

Van Moorsel and Arndt led the charge past Huguet

Arndt was relentless

The podium

... and then there are other salutations

A leisurely start on a hot day

The women hit the road in Athens

But not before the Yanks had their morning java

Dede's fans were in town ... and they weren't getting arrested for painting the road like some riders' fans

Thorburn hustles despite the heat

This Armstrong chose to race in Athens ... and cracked the top 10

Bessette, sadly, was taken out in a crash and DNF'd

Cooke and Melchers missed out

But Carrigan didn't miss a trick

Palmer-Komar had a go, but wilted in the heat

Officials used this shot to justify the penalty.

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It’s an oft overused expression, but in this case it really did apply. Getting the chance to watch the Opening Ceremonies from a seat inside the Olympic Stadium was truly a once in a lifetime deal. The pre-Athlete procession show was like Cirque du Soleil on steroids with a Greek history lesson thrown in for good measure. My vantage point was a lower-level seat on the opposite end of where the torch was eventually lit. Not the greatest spot to see all in the action in the middle of the giant “lake,” but a good place to catch the expressions on athletes faces as they made their way around the

In the aftermath of the brutal 224.4km men’s Olympic road race run on the historic downtown streets of Athens on Saturday, the sentiment toward race winner Paolo Bettini was nearly universal. For a man so marked to still pull off a gold-medal victory was testament to his vast abilities on the bicycle. Outside of a stacked Spanish squad, Bettini’s name was the one most proffered when the favorites list was compiled, yet the Italian still managed to pull one of his trademark late-race escapes, earning him the first cycling gold of the 2004 Summer Games. Bettini grabbed victory by slipping away

Ian Macgregor (TIAA-CREF/5280) won the under-23 national championship road race Friday at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort, attacking a 13-man breakaway and then fencing with Blake Caldwell (U.S. National) over the final kilometers. Macgregor and Mike Cody launched the first serious break of the day just 15km into the 193km race, run on the same circuit on which Lance Armstrong won his first road title 13 years ago. Soon, a second group of six riders bridged up, followed by another group of four that included Caldwell and U.S. National’s Stuart Gillespie. Then TIAA-CREF’s Todd Yesefski, Jay Ku, and

It was a hot one out there in Athens on Saturday, and not just for the riders – Casey Gibson found himself schlepping a few jillion pounds of camera equipment around the men's road race in 90-plus temps and using public transportation: "Way too hot and the first race I ever covered using the subway," Casey reports. After a day like that, what could we do but run everything he sent us?

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The Greek flag goes up

Playing with fire.

Bettini wins the gold

Running men.

Canadian pride.

The calm before kickoff.

The media vantage point.

The photographers perch.

Excitement piqued.

Athletes of the world.

The U.S. men's hoops squad.

The ATHOC president addresses the world.

Stoneface prior to his metamorphosis.

Macgregor takes the title

The podium

Bettini and Paulinho work their gap

Merckx gave it all he had, but had to settle for bronze

Germany chases

Racing past the Acropolis

Laurels for the podium

The big man, Backstedt, had an early go

And then there were three

A wiseguy suggested that the course was designed to show off the monuments ... like the Acropolis

It certainly suited Paolo Bettini

Defending Olympic champ Jan Ullrich crossed 19th

Just in front of Ullrich was Tyler Hamilton, the top U.S. finisher

Bobby Julich had himself a go

As did Levi Leipheimer

The Germans and Aussies chased everything with a pulse

The top three and their laurels

Four years ago she was the toast of Olympic cycling, after winning three gold medals at the 2000 Games in Sydney. But this time around Dutchwoman Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel brings more modest goals to the Games in Greece, where she’ll focus on the time trial and individual pursuit. “I don’t want to take too many risks [in the road race] because the other races are more important to me,” said Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, three days before the women’s cycling events kicked off with the 118.8km road race in downtown Athens on Sunday. “The individual pursuit is my first aim for sure. That’s what I

My bosses may not approve, but I took a little me time on Thursday to check a few of the sights in Athens. And that meant a trip to the Acropolis. Set on a rocky hill, high above the city center, this is definitely one of the most amazing places you’ll ever come across. It’s dubbed the sacred rock in the brochure they hand out at the entryway, which also tells you that for centuries this was one of the most important religious centers in all of Athens. Parts of it date back to the Neolithic period, and it’s centerpiece, the Parthenon, was built in the middle half of the fifth century BC.

Just 24 hours before some of top European road pros get down to business in the hunt for Olympic medals, confusion was the order of the day after the UCI attempted to conduct drug tests on several high profile teams at the Olympic Village in Athens. According to a report on the T-Mobile Web site, Germans Jan Ullrich, Andreas Klöden, Erik Zabel, Jens Voigt and Michael Rich arrived for the test, but after an hour-long wait it became clear that it wouldn't take place. It was cancelled because the Italian and Dutch team management objected to the UCI conducting drugs tests at the Olympic

Tom Danielson, who returned to European racing at the Tour of Portugal last week, will race in two of three one-day races next week in Italy for his Fassa Bortolo team. Danielson returned to the United States for a mid-season break in July and raced in the tough 10-day Portuguese tour, finishing a solid seventh in the final day time trial en route to 31st overall. Danielson is building his form for a run at the Vuelta a España in September, which will mark his first three-week grand tour. Fassa Bortolo for 84th Tre Valli Varesine, August 17: Dario Cioni, Massimo Codol, Tom Danielson, Dario

Tom Danielson, who returned to European racing at the Tour of Portugal last week, will race in two of three one-day races next week in Italy for his Fassa Bortolo team. Danielson returned to the United States for a mid-season break in July and raced in the tough 10-day Portuguese tour, finishing a solid seventh in the final day time trial en route to 31st overall. Danielson is building his form for a run at the Vuelta a España in September, which will mark his first three-week grand tour. Fassa Bortolo for 84th Tre Valli Varesine, August 17: Dario Cioni, Massimo Codol, Tom Danielson, Dario

The Acropolis.

The Parthenon.

The city below.

The Porch of the Caryatids.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Looking back to the Acropolis.

The U.S. team addresses the media.

The final selection for the U.S. road team has been made, and it will be Christine Thorburn joining Dede Barry as America’s representatives in the Olympic time trial on Wednesday (August 18), a team source confirmed to VeloNews Thursday morning. Thorburn, who rides for the Webcor team back in the States, grabbed the spot ahead of T-Mobile rider Kristin Armstrong. Thorburn is the reigning U.S. national time trial champion, a title she won at the Olympic trials in Moreno Valley, California in mid June. On that day Thorburn stunned the heavily favored T-Mobile squad, taking an eight-second win

Mountain-bike racer Janet Puiggros Miranda was kicked off of the Spanish Olympic team on Thursday after testing positive for erythropoietin (EPO), Spain's Olympic Committee said. Puiggros Miranda failed the test on July 17 at the national mountain bike championships in Candanchu in northern Spain. Puiggros Miranda is the second Spaniard to have been sent home from the Games after a positive test. On Monday, canoeist Jovino Gonzalez was also dropped for failing a random test for EPO. "After notifying the affected party, who waived the right to a 'B' test, the Federation informed the

Jean-Patrick Nazon (Ag2r), winner of a stage in the Tour de France, won the morning sector of Thursday's action at the Tour de l'Ain in France. Nazon won the 83.5km stage from Izernore to Saint Genis Poully ahead of compatriot Jerome Pineau (Boulangère) and Saulius Ruskys. Earlier in the stage, Benjamin Noval (U.S. Postal Service) was part of a breakaway that included David Moncoutie (Cofidis) and Mikel Astarloza (Ag2r) that went over the Col de Cuvery. The trio was reeled in 9km to go to set up the mass gallop. American Tony Cruz, a winner on Wednesday, came through sixth for another fine

Spent a good chunk of Wednesday at the Olympic Village, the main housing location for all the athletes here in Athens. Reporter types like myself are only allowed in the International Zone, but you can still get a pretty good idea of what it’s all about. Besides providing sleeping quarters for most of the athletes, there’s a huge dinning hall, rec room, post office, Internet café, photo shop, flower shop and a big outdoor sound stage. Throughout the day groups of well dressed dignitaries file up onto the stage for pomp-and-circumstance presentations. This forced an NBC TV crew that was there

More sights from the lead-up days to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Tyler Farrar (Health Net-Maxxis) won the national under-23 individual time trial championship on Thursday as the Park City Cycling Festival got under way in Utah. Farrar outpaced a pair of TIAA-CREF/5280 riders to win the title on the hilly, 36km course at Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse, finishing nearly 45 seconds up on Timmy Duggan with 11-time national champion Blake Caldwell third. On Friday, the U-23s tackle the 193km road-race championship on the same course used in 1991 when Lance Armstrong won his first national title. Stay tuned to VeloNews.com for more on the racing in