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. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

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Even without the Tour...
Editors:
I'm in total agreement with your selection of Floyd Landis as TopNorth American male cyclist. His 2006 results which, even excludingthe contested Tour de France outcome, were head and shoulders above hisNorth American peers make it a no-brainer. And about that contestedTour de France outcome; I'm not one to accept the pronouncements of thosein authority (UCI) simply because they are in authority.There is also the smell test, and something about the Landis affairjust doesn't smell right to me. How can there be no adverse findingtwo days before and two days after the day of the positive result?And how can a high T/E ratio occur while at the same time the actuallytestosterone levels are normal? And what, then, is the competitiveadvantage of low epitestosterone? I can see why Floyd is seizingon the recent reversal of Iñigo Landaluze's positive Dauphiné result tobuoy his case. It would appear his contention that the Châtenay-Malabrylab is incompetent may indeed be his best defense.
Mark Cheney
San Diego, CaliforniaAre you nuts?
Dear VeloNews,
An utter travesty to pick Landis. Hormone levels just don't get towhere his were at, unless you take stuff that make them that way. He mayget off, but it will be on a technicality, it won't change the fact thathe injected testosterone.He has put a black blotch in the tour de France history book. He costMany, many people their jobs. He is just another doper from a doping team(so why the surprise that he was caught). But you still pick him. Verystrange behavior on your part.
Warren Devoy
Auckland, New ZealandLandis is a great choice
Editors,
You get my nod for not dumping Landis until he is proven guilty.Good work on not totally joining the "Nuevo Righteous" of doper/witch burnerswho's motto is "so what if we burn a few innocent riders as long as welook trendy?"
Sherman Lugzan
Lafayette, LouisianaStrange, but true
Dear Editor
You realize that the cycling world is in trouble when Patrick O'Grady'scomments seem like a reasonable critique of the whole stinking mess calledprofessional cycling (see "The2006 O'Grady Awards").

If I laughed, it was in bitter resignation. As far as Pro Cycling in2007 is concerned, I live in hope.
Ian Sharp
Wollongong AustraliaKudos
Editors,
Sometimes it feels like the collective cycling journo crowd gets alittle too close to the subject matter.Hey, we're all in it because we "get" the sport and we appreciate themen and women in it, right? But O'Grady always (or nearly always) bringsus all quickly to the heart of the matter. He hits hard when and whereit's warranted, and he gets my vote for whatever "office" he seeks. Butdon't "waste" his talents on the copy desk, dear VeloNews colleagues.Plead with him to write more.He may piss off a few advertisers and sponsors, and it could hurt VeloNews'sproverbial wallet. But having O'Grady as a VeloNews wordsmith doesthe sport well. He provides an instant reality check, at least in my opinion.And that's always good when sport often takes itself a little too damnseriously.
James Raia, Editor/Publisher
Sacramento, CaliforniaBeneath our standards?
Editors,
I am not a prude and I think I have a good sense of humor, yet I havethis nagging feeling that O'Grady is beneath the dignity of your magazine.I would respectfully suggest that VeloNews concentrate on coveringcycling in a fun but mature way, and resist the temptation to compete withMAD magazine for their type of readership. Just my $.02 worth.I devour your magazine and website, and appreciate both, but I have nouse for O'Grady.
Steve PatersonDignity? Maturity? Us? Hey thanks, Steve, but we all grew up reading MAD. Do you reckon that's why old O'Grady weaseled his way into these offices? - Editor

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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. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.