Letters to Cyclingnews - October 14, 2005

Get on with your life

I couldn't be in more agreement with Mr. Bernstein, Chris. I have been a Cat 1 for almost 10 years, racing in Europe against the "Juice". Anyway, I never took any performance enhancing drugs and have the lack of results to prove it! Even so, I don't care what other people choose to imbibe in their pursuit of stength and speed. For me, it was always a health concern, pure and simple.

But if others want to accept the risks of possible health problems and/or failed dope controls, that's their business and I don't think about it. I've never felt robbed losing a race to someone who later failed a control...I focus on my performance and what I could have done differently...well, I guess the whole point is: don't kick your own ass too much over it (cycling is hard enough!). You made a mistake, no big deal. And if you never doped for your good results, you needn't worry...it will come back.

You need to let your injuries heal, brother. Maybe it's all a giant blessing disguised as your woe. You'll not be allowed to race, so you can focus on healing (traumatic injuries can take many months before all residuals are gone), and then come back and really hand it to them! I don't know how long your suspension is, but unless you want it to be, cycling as a career is NOT over for you. You've got some booty to punt yet, mate. Besides, think of how many guys have gotten popped, suspended and come back well...so many! Don't worry! Your friends and family don't think any less of you, and who cares what the rest of them say-it's all conjecture anyway...AND, you will have no problem eliciting sponsors when you are ready to gallop again, that's a fact.

So be easy on yourself in your mind, don't be sucked into the vacuum of doubt and self-loathing. You are different than the general populace; don't be discouraged if a few of the Stupid Sheep cry "Wolf!". Return to the fold, and again stalk the high results.

Adam Simms
Thursday, October 13, 2005

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Doping. What else?

After reading way too much whining and wailing from the "recently disillusioned by a doper" to the "recently beat by a doper", countered by the "my hero would never dope" arguments and accused by the "sell the story about dopers", I would like to comment that I'm tired of it.

Having grown up in the United States and watching 90 pound freshmen doughboys turn into senior high school football stars, starting fights in small town McDonald's, date raping girls at parties and being recruited by Division 1 college sports programmes, I've known for a long time that to have an impact in sport requires performance-enhancing drugs. Cyclists who still cling to the sense that all a professional rider needs is a banana and a yogurt post-ride to feel good enough to race competitively are not keeping in mind that Banesto is the Citibank of Spain. I realise that Banesto is not sponsoring a team anymore after 15-20 years and multiple tour wins in the sport, the point is that there is real money in there. It's a big sport.

I recently read that bicycle racing is second only to Formula 1 auto racing as the most watched sport in the world. That's the whole world, not just the United States. Large corporations fund cycling and the draw to make some of it is as tempting to Hope To Be Lance Armstrongs as any little steroid-pounding dribbler dreaming of dunking on Jordan. Or the 15 year old batter thinking he's going to be the next Barry Bonds. Personally, I don't care. I automatically assume that Beckham is on drugs. Bonds. Giambi. ALL football players - in fact, all athletes, period.

I don't feel they necessarily grew up playing for the money. They played for the glory of winning, of course, until someone showed them the money. So why is WADA all up in the UCI to crack down and not on the NBA to fire for life doping basketball players ? Why isn't L'Equipe hiring Dr. Moreau to test Beckham's urine samples? I wish WADA and L'Equipe would turn its tenacity upon the corporate world, or level their ethics on major political figures [is there a difference?] and really give people something to get disillusioned about. At the very least, they could be even handed. And why are some cycling fans so heart broken? I would like to offer these tear-stained tifosi solace in the fact that it's a sport with athletes who want to give me a good show, and that they do. I will continue to focus on the most important, exciting and inspiring thing about bicycle racing. Bicycle races. They are the coolest thing in the whole world and I won't stop watching or competing in them.

Dan Jenkins

United States
Friday, October 07, 2005

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Pound versus Armstrong, Hamilton, etc

Nobody's quite come right out and said it yet, so here goes. Dick Pound must go.

This has nothing to with any particular rider or case. In order for the fight against doping to succeed, it has to be credible. Pound is a cowboy without a shred of respect for justice or due process; he runs his anti-doping crusade like it was a terrorist campaign.

UCI has a well-timed opportunity for a fresh start with Pat McQuaid. It would be nothing but good for the sport if WADA would do the same.

Eric Coppock

Boulder, CO
Friday, October 7, 2005

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L'Equipe forgot - or not

L'Equipe forgot - or not

Wouldn't want to tell anyone how to run their newspaper, least of all the French. Freedom of the press and all that.

But, if anyone wants to hold up L'Equipe as a shining example of crusading un-biased journalism, consider this: It's been five days now since Dr. Prentice Steffen's letter appeared in which he retracted his statements to L'Equipe about Armstrong and Hamilton doping and the general hopelessness of a cycling career for any rider who doesn't. I haven't seen any sign of Dr. Steffen's retraction on L'Equipe's website.

I log on to L'Equipe pretty much every day. I'm not good at French, but Google has a "translate this page" option that gets the essence of the articles out even if "Saul Raisin" does end up "Saul Grape."

For a paper that seems so good at finding nobodies who think they can become somebodies by defaming great athletes, you might think they'd just lap up a scoop spoon fed to them like Steffen's retraction letter.

L'Equipe is still posting the stale week-old interview with Bouygues Telecom manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau in which he endorses starting line blood tests so those pesky foreign racers and their dirty, dirty, ways will be brought to heel. So, you can't exactly excuse L'Equipe forgetting Steffen's letter because it's been a big news week in the world of cyclisme.

I believe if you dig deep enough into the paper's history you'll end up back at the infamous Dreyfus case when an innocent Jewish French Army officer was convicted of espionage in the press and by a kangaroo court which sent him off to Devil's Island.

It seems some things haven't changed. Controversy sells newspapers. Jew-baiting worked a hundred years ago. The French lapped up fabricated treason as an explanation for the national malaise. Today slamming a foreign super star like Armstrong makes L'Equipe jump off the newsstand into the hands of cycling fans looking for the only possible reason a French rider hasn't won a Tour de France in 20 years.

I doubt they forget much at L'Equipe. I wonder if they have a sign above the newsroom door that says: Dreyfus was guilty. Maybe now they've added: and Armstrong too.

Phil Van Valkenberg

Hayward, Wisconsin
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

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John Lieswyn

I'd like to add my compliments to the pile for John Lieswyn. He is a class act and his diary will be sorely missed for its insight, honesty and wonderful observations. All his fans were jumping like mad that he'd pull out the big win in SF. He richly deserved it for everything he's given back to the sport.

While John brought a real insight to the inner workings of a race, the best part was always his observations about life and people and the places where he was spending his time. Clicking on an entry by John, you always knew you were getting the real race and a whole lot more besides. In the pro peloton, there have only been two great writers: Jonathan Vaughters and John Lieswyn. I miss them both.

Matt Walsh

Fairfax, California
Friday, October 07, 2005

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Eddy Merckx

It wasn't until this year that I was able to read books and articles about Eddy. What I noticed in almost all of the pictures of Eddy racing is that he was always at the front of the pack, pulling every one else- from the Tour to M-SR to Paris-Roubaix! I have yet to see him at the middle of the pack or at the tailend.

If anyone still wants to argue about who the greatest cyclist in the universe is, just look at the pictures.

Jake,

England, UK
Thursday, October 13, 2005

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Recent letters pages

Letters 2005

• October 7: John Lieswyn, Bravo, Lieswyn, 1999 Tour de France urine samples, Allan Butler, Tyler Hamilton, Doping versus biomechanical enhancements, Doping control, McQuaid's image, Comment on Chris Horner at Zuri Metzgete, Scientific proof, Thank goodness Moreno lost, What has happened to American Cycling?, Pound versus Armstrong, Hamilton, etc, French bias
• September 30: Petacchi and McEwen's reactions, Ale-Jet, Ale-Jet blasts his critics..., Petacchi's class, Petacchi, Bravo, Lieswyn, French bias, Tom Danielson, What has happened to American Cycling?, Quote of the year, At the heart of the matter, Lance's EPO tests, Doping control, On Pound and the like, Pound Ill informed, Verbruggen is wrong, Doping and apparel
• September 23: A quick thanks, Australian worlds team, Go Mick!, Infighting, Pound Ill informed, WADA mess, Heras and the Giro, Verbruggen is wrong, Chris Sheppard busted for EPO, Explaining increases in performance, Quote of the year, Vuelta rest day observations
• September 16: Vuelta rest day observations, Australian worlds team, Explaining the increases in performance, Debate settled, doping lives on, Samuel Sanchez, Scientific proof, The perfect crime, Another topic please, CYCLINGnews.com, Doping, Illegal motivation, Illegal motivation - another possibility, Lance and the Tour de France, Drug use, Alternate Universe, WADA, Chris Sheppard busted for EPO, Just Do It
• September 9: The debate rages, Bad for cycling, Lance and the Tour de France, EPO Testing and Haematocrit, Doping, Illegal motivation, Lance the Man, Armstrong and doping, Question for Dick Pound..., Land of the Free, home of the Brave, Lance, I have a better idea, Where are the results?, Armstrong's Tour comeback, Don't make that mistake, Lance, Response to the test
• September 2: Lance Armstrong, all-American boy, Doping, Claude Droussent lies, L'Equipe credibility, Lance versus Jan, Jan versus Lance, Cold fusion and Lance, The perfect crime, EPO and the Wink Wink Standard, Germany owed four yellow jerseys?, Lance, cycling and cancer, Lance issues, The whole Lance doping issue, Neither defense nor attack, The test, Land of the Free, home of the Brave, Armstong couldn't come clean, Summarising the Lance situation, Lance's tests, Keep an open mind, Lance and doping, Check results before you wreck yourself, Seeing is believing, L'Equipe and ASO, and Lance, Lance and EPO, Aussie perspective on the upcoming worlds, A rave rather than a rant
• August 26: Lance and LeBlanc, Lance versus France, Can of worms story, The Test, Benoit Salmon wins the 1999 Tour, The perfect crime, Armstrong tests positive, L'Equipe and ASO, Lance rubbish, Lance and the French yellow press, Armstrong, EPO and WADA, Lance Downgrading Armstrong victories, Lance doping garbage, Lance versus Jan, Doping, Six stages to win the 99 tour, EPO test under scrutiny, Lance irony, Lance as a spokesman, Cyclists and politicians, Verbruggen's campaign to elect his successor, John Lieswyn, Can of worms, Americans in Paris
• August 19: Ned Overend, Guidi positive, What is going on at Phonak?, Ullrich's riding style, How about credibility from both sides?, Lieswyn's gesture
• August 12: Pro Tour 2006, Credibility from both sides?, Zabel leaves T-Mobile, Chris Horner, Ullrich's riding style, Well done Wayne!, Armstrong and class, Possible correlations
• August 5: Zabel leaves T-Mobile, Thanks from a survivor, Bicycle safety, Message for Chris Horner, Perspective, Discovery in ninth, Tech, Armstrong and class, The King of July!, Heras through rose colored glasses, Possible correlations
• July 29: Perspective, France and Lance's Legacy, Armstrong and class, Best Wishes to Louise, Levi's Diary, Heras through rose colored glasses, The King of July, Here we go again!, Treat Lance like the others, Tech, Lance Armstrong's time trial equation, Life begins at 30
• July 22: McEwen - villain to superhero, Underdogs and overdogs at the Tour, Big George, George Hincape, Hincapie's stage win, Cadel's Tour memory, What the fans would love to see, Is Godefroot really NOT the man?, A true classic, Phonak's poor sportsmanship, Phonak double standards, My new hero, Discovery Channel tactics, Lance Infomercial?, Treat Lance like the others, TdF sprint finishes, Leaky Gas?, Little black box
• July 15: The best seat in the house, Joseba Beloki, Message for Chris Horner, Treat Lance like the others, Lance Infomercial?, McEwen defense, Rail lines in the TdF, Ruse Discovered?, Discovery's unanimous breakdown, IS Jan really the man?, Cycling socks, Patrick Lefevre quit your whining, Armstrong and class, Leaky Gas?, TdF sprint finishes, Who is in charge of the UCI?, Tires and slippery roads, Response to the Vowels of Cycling, Little black box
• July 8: McEwen defends himself, Tires and slippery roads, Random test on Lance Armstrong, French Government dope controls, The Pro Tour and Grand Tours, Tour de France's early finish?, Here we go again!, Thank you, Ed Kriege, Lance Infomercial?, No, the other Merckx!, The Vowels of Cycling, Armstrong's pre-Tour communiqués, Armstrong and class
• July 1: No, the other Merckx!, Armstrong's pre-Tour communiqués, The Vowels of Cycling, Figures of merit - TdF tipping, Lance Infomercial?, Daily Terror, Sydney article, Why Michael Rogers will be awesome with T-Mobile, I love it!, MTB news, Twins
• June 24: Sydney article, Hit and run on cyclists - Australia's new blood sport?, Another fatal hit and run on Australian cyclists, How can Ullrich win the Tour?, Drop Verbruggen, The second American, When the Tour heads up, Droppin' the Kilo!, Kilo or no go, What is Michael Rogers thinking?, Rogers to T-Mobile, For the love of god don't do it Mick!, The first yellow jersey, Horner Impressive, Leave T-Mobile/Fassa Bortolo, renew your career!, Horner's stage win at the Tour de Suisse, Bobby Julich, Daily Terror, Hell on Wheels review
• June 17: Droppin' the Kilo!, Killing the kilo and 500, The kilo, Axing the Kilo?, The track Time Trials, The first yellow jersey, Armstrong and Class, The year of the comeback, Horner's stage win at the Tour de Suisse
• June 10: The year of the comeback, An open letter to Cadel Evans, How Ullrich can win the Tour, USPRO/Liberty, Lance, the Tour and the Giro, Lance and the Tour, Show us your discards Godefroot!, Armstrong and Class, Ivan's training ride, Giro comments
• June 3: Giro comments, Giro excitement vs Tour blah, Ivan Basso, Ivan's training ride, Discovering the future, Jose Rujano, Savoldelli vs Simoni, How Ullrich can win the Tour, Eddy Merckx Interview, Johan Bruyneel, Show us your discards Godefroot!, Improving Pro Tour Team Rankings, Lance and the Tour, Armstrong and class
• May 27: Giro excitement vs Tour blah, Great Giro!, Double or nothing..., Colle delle Finestre and a Cipo farewell, Joseba Beloki, Ivan's training ride, Hell on Wheels, Matt Wittig, How Ullrich can win the Tour, UCI fines, Armstrong and class, Eddy Merckx Interview, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, You have let us down Paolo
• May 20: Colle delle Finestre tactics, Rogues, It just keeps happening, Davis Phinney, Joseba Beloki, Australia - number one, You have let us down Paolo, Bettini/Cooke, What's up with pro cyclists these days?, Cipo, Cipo, Cipo, A question about team names, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, Go Eki!
• May 13: Hit and run, Bettini vs Cooke, Bettini's Illegal sprint, You have let us down Paolo, Giro, Bettini/Cooke, Cookie's crumble, Bjarne's right: There's only one Jens Voigt!, Jens Voigt and the blind, South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, It just keeps happening, Liberty Seguros, The disappointment of Viatcheslav Ekimov, Go Eki!, Australia - number one, Irresistible in July, UCI weight rule
• May 6: South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton and the facts The USADA decision on Tyler Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton, Tyler, Testing and the Virenque Comparison, How do dopers live with themselves?, General view on doping, Hamilton guilty regardless of the facts, Hamilton verdict, Tyler is good going uphill, Hamilton interview, Klöden comments, Tyler H, Simoni, Grazie Mario, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono
• April 29: South Australians protest against hit-and-run death, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton and the facts The USADA decision on Tyler Hamilton, Tyler Hamilton, Tyler, Testing and the Virenque Comparison, How do dopers live with themselves?, General view on doping, Hamilton guilty regardless of the facts, Hamilton verdict, Tyler is good going uphill, Hamilton interview, Klöden comments, Tyler H, Simoni, Grazie Mario, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono
• April 22: Lance Armstrong's retirement, W is for Witchhunt, Tyler's mishandling defense, Not for real, is it?, Bad Science, Blood testing issues, Hamilton - finally a decision, Regarding the Tyler Hamilton decision, Tyler Hamilton, Satisfying Verdict for Hamilton Case, How do dopers live with themselves?, Hamilton's case, Tyler Hamilton's case, Hamilton, Hamilton verdict and a call for outside expertise, Tyler Hamilton saga..., Tour de France preview...2006!, Klöden comments, Tour de France Training, The New Dynamic Duo, Sheryl Crow, or should we say...Yoko Ono, Random Musings
• April 15: Glenn Wilkinson, USADA and Hamilton, Bergman; so sad, ProTour leader's jersey, That's a Jersey?, Too many chiefs?, Track World Championships, What do you think?
• April 8: The New Dynamic Duo, Boonen's Hairdo, Viral infections and antibiotics, George Hincapie, What do you think?, Track World Championships, VDB?, A little bit more about blood doping, Blood testing issues
• April 1: Well done Ale-jet, Eyes of tigers..., Viral infections and antibiotics, Let's talk about cycling…, What's worth talking about in cycling?, First Ride of the season, The New Dynamic Duo, Blood testing issues, Sydney Thousand, UCI Pro Tour Grand Theft, not Grand Tour
• March 18: The Forgotten Hero!, Way to go Bobby, Bobby J, Lance has lost the ‘Eye of the tiger’, Blood testing issues and Hamilton, With all Due Respect, All this Lance Talk..., Is Lance getting soft?
• March 11: Blood testing issues and Hamilton, Cycling on TV, In Defence of UCI president Hein Verbruggen, Defending the Pro Tour?, Is Lance getting soft?, Lance has lost the "eye of the tiger"
• March 4: In Defence of the Pro-Tour, Grand Tours back down...for now, Armstrong and Simeoni,Help - what’s on the TV?, Cycling on TV, Lance Defends His Title!, Hamilton movie role downplayed, Blood testing issues and Hamilton, I really don't know when it happened
• February 25: Lance Defends His Title!, Build it and tear it down?, Build, dismantle and donate!, Lance's Hour Record attempt, I really don't know when it happened, Can't get enough!, Dream on
• February 18: Build it and tear it down?, Remember Marco, One Reason I Love Cycling, The ongoing Hour Record Saga, Lance’s Hour Record attempt, Can't get enough!
• February 11: One Reason I Love Cycling, Francisco Cuevas, F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Armstrong and the Hour, Can't get enough!, Greatest of all time
• February 4: F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Armstrong and the Hour, Armstrong and Simeoni, Can't get enough!, Help, Greatest of all time Eddy is King, but who is second best?
• January 28: "I am the greatest of all time", Armstrong and the Hour Record, F-One - Come down to earth Lance!, Lance Drug Probe, Armstrong and Simeoni, Can’t get enough!, Help, NBC's 2004 RAAM Coverage, Doping, Crash distance from 1km to 3km, Eddy is King, but who is second best?
• January 21: Professional Cyclists, Der Kaiser's Goals, Jan Ullrich's problem = Lance, Rider of the Year, Crash distance from 1km to 3km, Help, Lance vs. Eddy
• January 14: Der Kaiser's goals, Help, Foreign stage races, Lance vs. Eddy, Tour '05, Rider of the Year, Best bikes for heavy riders, Quick Step helmets
• January 7: Death of Dmitri Neliubin, Der Kaiser’s goals, Rider of the Year, Best bikes for heavy riders, Who's Greater? Come on now!, Virenque "most charismatic"?, Downhilling, Downhill time trial, Trendy cyclists, No flat tyres, Spring classics trip advice, Bettini's trainer
• January 3: Spring classics trip advice, Big Bear ends downhilling, Armstrong and Simeoni, Holding teams accountable, Downhill time trial, Trendy cyclists, Bettini's trainer, No flat tyres

Letters 2004

• December 24 letters - Why are cyclists so trendy?, Business and cycling, Big Bear ends downhilling, Off-bike weight gain, No flat tires, Armstrong and Simeoni
• December 17 letters - Business and cycling, Tom versus Axel , Big Bear ends downhilling, Shane Perkins, Spring classics trip advice, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Mark Webber interview, Armstrong and Simeoni, Injured and missing it: an update, Clyde Sefton
• December 10 letters - Why are cyclists so trendy?, Big Bear ends downhilling, Floyd's choices?, Merckx, fit and trim, Pound must go, Spring classics trip advice, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Punishment: Vandenbroucke vs Hamilton, Prosthetic hip, Armstrong and Simeoni, Dave Fuentes, Homeopathy, Jeremy Yates, TDF coverage for Australia, Weight limits and maintenance, Mark Webber interview
• December 3 letters - Domestiques vs Lieutenants, Tyler Hamilton, Phonak and the UCI, Dave Fuentes, Santa vs Hairy Guy, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Mark French and homeopathy, Shane Perkins, Jeremy Yates, Weight limits and maintenance, UCI regulations, Armstrong and Simeoni, Prosthetic hip
• November 26 letters - Mark French and homeopathy, Two big guns in one team, Tyler Hamilton case, Bartoli's retirement, Dave Fuentes, Shane Perkins, Merckx and Armstrong, Training like Lance, Lance Armstrong, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Phonak gets what it deserves, Armstrong and Simeoni, Bike weight, Spouseless riders, Mary McConneloug, Adam Craig, Mark Webber interview, Santa vs Hairy Guy
• November 19 letters - Tyler Hamilton case, Phonak gets what it deserves, Are you there Mr Coates?, Bike Weight, Merckx and Maertens make up, Heart troubles, Where to find cycling spouses, Mark Webber interview, Lance Armstrong, Where's Greg?, What ever happened to..., Why are cyclists so trendy?, Armstrong and Simeoni, l'Etape du Tour registration, Still Laughing
• November 12 letters - Why Armstrong will ride the 2005 Tour, Scott Sunderland, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Armstrong and Simeoni, Where to find cycling spouses, Lance on Italian selection, Heart troubles, l'Etape du Tour registration, Tour 2005 team time trial, What ever happened to..., Love and a yellow bike
• November 5 letters - Love and a yellow bike, Tour 2005, Where to find cycling spouses, Why are cyclists so trendy?, Lance on Italian selection, Armstrong and Simeoni, Tour of Southland, Construction technique for veloway, Heart troubles, l'Etape du Tour registration, Rahsaan Bahati
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