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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Science of performance enhancement still not understood
Editor:
I'm amazed how many readers are still tying their Floyd Landis hopes to the "innocent until proven guilty" defense. The identical finding on the second sample removes almost all doubt in the eyes of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The chance of testing or handling errors of both samples is remarkably small. Although the process used by the UCI to announce Landis's initial positive result was completely FUBAR, it does not diminish the certainty of the test results.

What is clear to me in all this is that the science of how performance-enhancers metabolize or remain in athletes at a cellular level is not well understood, especially by the athletes. I think the Landis case will turn out to be a shot over the bow at those who think they can successfully mask the use of recovery agents like testosterone during out-of-competition periods, and who assume there is no chance that it will pass out of the system in urine weeks down the road.

That said, I do think the pro riders should demand that both the initial and backup samples be tested in a manner that discriminates between a natural and synthetic testosterone finding. Having the ratios out of whack is one thing; having them out of whack because of the presence of synthetic substance is damning.

Ted Grace
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Another nomination for cyclist of the year
Editor:
I know you’ve gotten a million of these but why not one more? I would have selected Major Jason A. Bryan as cyclist of the year. He truly embodies all that is good and right about why people ride and expressed those sentiments in an enjoyable and often touching manner. I certainly will never forget that diary.

Jay Corgiat
Glen Ellyn, Illinois

That was a great letter
Editor:
Thanks for printing the letter from Linda and George Wells of New Jersey (see Wednesday’s Mailbag: "It’s not about the pros"). That was one of the best letters that I've ever read in the VeloNews mailbag!

Dawn Wright
Corvallis, Oregon

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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.