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Monday's mailbag: BMX?!?!? Helmets, T-Mobile and the payout for No. 6

Published: Jun. 13, 2005

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.


A mistake of Olympic proportion
Editor,
I can't believe the kilois being dropped from the Olympic games in favor of BMX!Is this decision absolute? I've got nothing against BMX.In fact, I raced BMX as a kid before I grew up and raced on thevelodrome. What are the tree-trunk-legged kilo specialists to do in 2008?
Erik Voldengen
Portland, OregonErik, the UCI says the decision is final, but who knows if thereis enough of a hue and cry.... As for the riders, they will at least havethe opportunity contend for a world championship jersey. As for us, heywe're still trying to get over the elimination of the 100-kilometer four-manteam time trial from both the Olympics and world championships. Now therewas a great event. - EditorFred views it right
Editor
I just wanted to say Right On!! to "AFred's-Eye View: That one-in-a-million risk." Fred's observationsare absolutely on the mark and every rider out there who even thinks aboutgoing on the road without a helmet needs to have his head checked for brains(or lack thereof). His stories of those who were hit, especiallyfrom behind, bring my own "incident" back to mind: something that I thinkabout each and every time I hit the road.

It was 9:00 in the morning, on an absolutely clear Sunday when I wasalmost peeled off my bike by a van's side-view mirror. My ridingpartner and I were just about 10 miles into our 40-mile hitch to Tampafrom St. Petersburg and were riding along a very straight section of approachto the Howard Franklin bridge that connects the two cities. Thereis a four-foot-wide section to the right of the white line that usuallyaffords safe riding alongside the 55+ mph traffic. I was down onmy bars with my partner about 10 seconds ahead of me when I heard the soundof glass breaking and felt a searing pain in my left leg and lower back.At first I couldn't figure out what had happened: I was still on the bike,my leg and back now screaming in pain, and I was just kind of coastingto a stop because I couldn't move my leg. Some people who were bathingalong the causeway heard the "hit" and saw me slowing down, ran over tome when I finally came to a stop in the grass. I don't know how longI sat in the saddle before the pain subsided enough for me to move andassess the damage. I thought sure that the guy who hit me had shatteredmy kidney. He never stopped.

I was fortunate that I only ended up with a grapefruit sized, bull's-eyeof a bruise on my left butt cheek and two weeks worth of stiffness.I firmly believe that if I had been up on the hoods instead of down inthe bars, he would have peeled me off the bike. The angle of thebreeze bars got pushed down almost two inches from the force of the impact.I was also fortunate that the van's mirror was of the newer fold-back design,the glass I heard breaking was the mirror as it was thrown against thevans' body. If it had been the one older rigid mounts, we might notbe having this conversation.

Back in the saddle, but with an always wary eye,
Benjamin J Barany
St. Petersburg, FloridaNo he doesn't
Dear Fred,
While the death of Scott Kornfield is certainly very saddening, I'mtrying to understand your compulsion to turn it into a pro-helmet diatribe.As you said yourself in your conclusion, "all of the protective clothingin the world of organized sports couldn't have saved Kornfield from a runawaySUV..." yet, you spent the previous two paragraphs expressing your disgustat riders who choose to ride helmetless.A helmet didn't protect Scott Kornfield, and the evidence is prettyconvincing that increased helmet usage does not lead to reduced head injuriesacross the general population of bicyclists, what's the big deal
about riders exercising their free will and choosing not to wear whatis at best a minimally effective piece of protective gear?
Scott Hendricks
Denver, ColoradoT-Mobile
Dear Velo
I appreciated the article "WhyT-Mobile Fails" very much. Thanks to Sebastian Moll for fillingin the blanks of this American's knowledge of the team. It's good to seethe insiders adding to what riders like Kevin Livingston and Bobby Julichmade perfectly clear about that team in past interviews.In watching CSC's success with Bjarne Riis in charge, the followingoccurred to me last year: Jan Ullrich may have never won the Tour in '97at all if it wasn't for Riis' coaching him along. Perhaps I'm nottotally right, but from what you write, Ullrich certainly seemed to havethat extra umph when Riis was there.
Peter CarltonDitto
Dear Editor,
VeloNews has always impressed me as a great cycling magazine,one that goes beyond the riding to discuss some of the politics atwork behind the scenes.Sebastian Moll's article on T-Mobile took your magazine to the nextlevel of journalism. Simply phenomenal work.
Rhett Roback
Easton, ConnecticutP.S. Have that guy write more stuff!Rhett, we plan to. - EditorI sue you, you sue me
Dear VeloNews,
Did Lance Armstrong ever receive that disputedmulti-multimillion dollar insurance payout for winning TourNo. 6? The company held it back citing drug allegations. It was all overthe news at the time, but nothing since. Does he have a similar policyregarding Tour No. 7?And what about the MikeAnderson suit? Is that settled?
Thanks,
Becky WaringBoth suits are still pending. We're going to go out on a limb here,Becky, and assume that if there is a similar policy for win No.7, it's probably not with SCA Promotions Inc., as was the last one.- Editor
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.