THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » News and Features »

Monday's Mailbag: Cultural insecurity; too much Vino'?

Published: Dec. 10, 2007

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. 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 should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

Tour DAY Georgia?
Like Stefan Wawersik, I have been forever embarrassed by the inclusion of the French preposition, “de,” in the title of Georgia’s tour. I can only assume thata deep-seated, and probably not inexcusable, cultural insecurity causedthe organizers of the Tour ‘de’ Georgia to add a little ooh-la-lato the title of their race. Who are the organizers attempting to impress? The French? Yankees? Somebody’s girlfriend?

I am grateful that my geographical colleagues have chosen “of” to link ‘Tour’ and ‘California’ here in… California.Were I slightly drunker than I am at this moment, I might have wished that they filed with the UCI as “Tour of Cali-f#@&*%g-fornia,” or some printable facsimile thereof.
Peter Krogh
Nevada City, CaliforniaArizona has the cultural roots, though
Dear Editor,
How about La Vuelta de Bisbee? Great racing that we alllove down here.
Pat O'Brien
ArizonaDon't let the door hit you on the way out
Dear Editors,
"I am stopping competition ... It's a definitive decision," Vinokourovtold a news conference. "I don't want this sport anymore... I'm slamming the door and I'm leaving."Please lock the damn door behind him! Don't let him back in! Wedon't want him anymore!
Michael Martens
Grafton, WisconsinThat win/loss record
Dear VeloNews.com,
It's kind of sad commentary on cycling that I'm writing you to discusspro-cyclists' lawyers.Is Maurice Suh the only attorney out there that does high profile anti-dopingcases? It seems so strange that not only do so many big name riders haveaffiliations with the same sketchy doctors (didn't Vino get "only nutritionaladvice" from Dr Ferrari or someone like that?), but when they get bustedthey use the same lawyer. Is the world really that small?No offense to Mr Suh but, he is 0-2 in very high profile cases and maybethe appeals courts and arbitrators, consciously or subconsciously, willassociate Mr Suh with guilty riders trying to scam the system (I am notsaying whether Tyler and Floyd were guilty or not, just that Mr. Suh representedthem and lost). I am not a lawyer but maybe Vino should look into otheroptions if he really wants to clear his name by starting with a lawyerwith a clear name and a different approach. Besides, at least Kashechkin'slawyer scores points for creativity.
Al Parker
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaActually Al, the world really is that small. Only afew high-profile attorneys specialize in what is a very new area of law.WADA has been around for just eight years and the WADA Code itself was approvedin 2003, so the number of lawyers who have taken the time to specialize in it remains relatively small. That may change. While at the WADA conference in Madrid last month, we noticed a large number of attorneys there with "observer" badges, focusing on learning about the Code and the process. Just as a point of clarification, though, we don’t believe Suh was directly involved in the Hamilton case. Hamilton was represented by Howard Jacobs, who also worked on the Landis case with Suh. In addition to Landis and Hamilton, Jacobs has defended several other high-profile athletes accused of doping, among them Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones. At least domestically, any lawyer - no matter how much of a specialist - faces a tough fight in these cases, as USADA’s undefeated record might indicate. We remain unconvinced, by the way, that the "creativity" shown by Kashechkin's lawyer is going to do his client much good, either. – EditorConfession is good for the… sport
Editor,
We need more riders like David Millar in the peloton. I applaudhis appointment to WADA's Athlete Committee as recognition of his commitmentto clean competition and WADA's knowing at least one good thing when theysee it.In particular, Millar represents what I consider to be cycling's besttrack to recovery: riders strapping on a pair, owning up to pastillegal practices, taking their lumps, getting back on the bike as cleanriders and encouraging others to do the same. The more riders whotake such action, the better off the sport as a whole will be.Considering the overwhelming disincentives riders currently face todo so, Millar's recent additions to his curriculum vitae are even moreimpressive. We cannot and should not wait around for some idealized,ostensibly pristine rider to rise up from the juniors as savior of oursport. Its salvation is in the hands of those already sullied.I doff my helmet to Mr. Millar, who, right now, is one of the few cyclistsI consider a hero.
David Neale-Lorello
Rockville, MarylandLooking to the future
Dear Velo
It is depressing how many people have doping issues. As a junior inthe sport of racing, I am disappointed on how many "pros" rely on drugsto do well. They are robbing people who actually work hard.It is especially disappointing when they deny the facts when - hello- the samples prove it. T-Mobile has every right to pull away from a teamwho does not race honestly, and I support them fully.I intend to keep racing and hope that one day, I can race in an environmentwithout the doping scandals.
Sincerely
Hannah Hayduk
Kutztown, Pennsylvania

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. 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 should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications