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Friday's mailbag: Letters praised; Tyler ad; sans Armstrong, what?; The Boss and cycling; NYC; and the ACF
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.
Letter writer praises letter writers
Editor:
It’s encouraging to know that people out there feel the way that I do (see Wednesday’s mailbag). First, Ian Sharp makes a great point about doping and lifetime bans. Only drastic punishments will leave athletes thinking about their mistakes and encourage future ones to think twice.
Ryan Walter’s letter (“Tour needs to be on TV”) is another great point. I hope OLN will listen to its viewers and keep the Tour on TV. Yes, Lance did a lot for the race and got more people involved in it. I got non-cyclists to watch the race and could see the amazement in their eyes. Plus, I believe that if more people are involved in the sport, either riding or watching, then it should be easier to get federal funding and keep more land open to riders.
Chris Bruce’s letter on George Hincapie getting his share of the limelight was great. I think he is a great rider and deserves more of an image. He does great things for racing and busts his ass for his sport and team.
Chris Palombini’s letter on collegiate racing was heart-warming. Being a former collegiate racer myself (University of Georgia), I believe other schools deserve recognition. Georgia does not have a varsity program but has a great team, and with the Twilight Criterium and the Tour de Georgia, UGA’s racers get invaluable insight in the sport.
Collegiate racing is great and deserves more recognition and praise. I wish the magazine would feature towns and their riding scene each issue. I’d love to read about them and have the opportunity to ride with them.
Daniel Morrison
Jacksonville, Florida
Is that ‘I Believe Tyler’ ad a joke?
Editor:
Is this a joke? Tyler Hamilton is advertising on his MS Foundation webpage and the VeloNews.com website, asking for donations to help his cause against his blood doping case?
First, this is absurd. Come clean, Ty. You failed three separate blood tests. You were lucky to hold on to your Olympic gold medal.
Secondly, I can think of a million other worthwhile causes to give my money such as: AIDS, Habitat for Humanity, the campaign against land mines, or Doctors without Borders. Why don't you sell one of your houses instead of asking people to support your cheating? It is absurd.
I was crestfallen when I read Tyler failed two blood tests. I was his biggest fan, even attending a live Tour de France/MS Tyler Hamilton screening in Los Angeles at a movie theater. Now my respect is zero. If you failed your blood tests, then be a man and pay for this yourself.
Linda I'Anson
Santa Monica, California
Can Discovery put Popo’ in yellow?
Editor:
The burning question when the San Francisco 49ers were winning Super Bowls seemingly every year was: Is it Joe Montana or is it the system?
With six Tour de France victories, the question is: Is it Lance Armstrong or is it the team?
If Armstrong chooses to sit the next one out - although the smart money is on Discovery Channel preferring to cash in quickly on its meal ticket - let's find out if Johan Bruyneel and the boys can put Yaroslav Popovych in the yellow jersey in 2005.
Jeff Domingues
Centennial, Colorado
Look to Max, not George, if you want a sprinter
Editor:
A letter writer mentioned that if Lance Armstrong didn't ride the Tour this year that maybe George Hincapie could get some help and possibly win the green jersey or at least contend for it (see Wednesday’s mailbag: “With Armstrong absent, can Hincapie get some help?”).
Come on, people, it's been years since George has been sprinter enough to go against Robbie McEwen, Alessandro Petacchi, Erik Zabel, Stuart O'Grady, and the others. I believe he has said in the past that he has lost his sprint, but has made gains elsewhere – in climbing, for instance. He was throwing it down in the high mountains this year as the Postal train was rolling through.
I'd much rather see Hincapie, and possibly other members of the Discovery team, get more latitude for stage wins than in years past when Lance was at the helm. If you want to talk about sprinting prowess on the Discovery team for 2005, I think you have to look at Max Van Heeswijk, not Hincapie. Max has got some kick.
Also, I would expect Discovery to shine in the classics. Look who they have: Hincapie, Van Heeswijk, Viatcheslav Ekimov, Pavel Padrnos, Roger Hammond, Leif Hoste, Benoit Joachim, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, and a few more that will be able to contribute. It could be a banner year for the team. I am already looking forward to spring.
Tom Arsenault
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Don’t look to George at all
Editor:
Hincapie’s a dad – who cares? (See “VeloBriefs: Hincapie’s a dad”) George doesn't care enough to be nice to fans (my wife) that ask for an autograph, yet he puts his name on a sports clothing line.
Actually I'm surprised he completed this (daddyhood) task as he always seems to come up with some sort of excuse (bad stomach, fever, bad day) for not being able to win when it counts. We should've left him off the Olympic team and sent Freddy. Congrats, unfriendly daddy.
Earl A. Aneas
Nashville, Tennessee
Lance has given plenty to cycling
Whether you like his style or not, he has delivered what he said he would, and he, his team, and his sponsors have reaped the rewards (and in some cases the liabilities) of his success. What does Lance Armstrong owe cycling? Not a thing he hasn't delivered: his best professional efforts and attention. That's what he got paid for. You get paid to report on the sport of cycling. Do your job and let us make up our own minds.
Jeffrey Joiner
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Jeff, the letters section is where opinions – yours and ours – enjoy free expression. As to the witty repartee, well, that’s in our job description, too – whether you like our style or not. – Editor
The real question …
Editor:
Is anyone not doping?
Matt Gunnell
Glendale, California
Bloomberg is not a friend to cyclists
Editor:
It seems ironic and perhaps hypocritical that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is making a big splash about these positive monetary efforts for cycling (see VeloBriefs: New York plans big bucks for bikes) while he continues to arrest and hassle the cyclists of New York City.
There are several lawsuits pending from both sides, with the city currently suing Critical Mass and other pro-cycling groups in court and fighting them on the streets. Since the Republican National Convention there has been a dramatic increase in people having their bikes illegally confiscated by the authorities, entrapment-based arrests, questionable citations and generalized threats directed at cyclists by the mayor’s office. The cyclists have entered a counter-suit, and for now seem to be winning in court, if not on the boulevards.
Spending $21 million to create authorized cycling zones is just another way of controlling the streets and getting bikes off of them. That it is being done in the name of Olympic competition only serves to make it more palatable in the media.
Eric Matthies
Atwater Village, California
So long, ACF
Editor:
Well, sorry to see the ACF go (see “American Cyclo-cross Foundation mails its final check”), but more pissed that it was ever necessary for it to exist. Now, let's see if USA Cycling will step up and increase their support to this rapidly growing (and most fun) sector of our sport. Thanks to Patrick O'Grady, Charles Pelkey, Lyle Fulkerson, Chris Zigmont, et al., and I was glad to help.
Paul Alman
Quick Release Event Promotions, LLC
Michigan
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.
