Friday’s Mailbag: The Landis debate rages on; bicycle as vehicle

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.

Landis was the right choice
Editor:
It would be hard not to name Floyd Landis North American Male of the Year. Has anyone impacted cycling more than Floyd Landis in 2006? No.

You explained the logic behind your decision well. It has not yet been exhaustively determined whether Landis broke the rules. If he didn’t break the rules, he won the top cycling race in the world. If Landis did cheat, he will still be part of the most famous cycling story of last year, if not history.

Fans may not want to face the issues here. However, naming Landis North American Male of the Year puts the issue right out where it belongs — front page, headlines.

Good job.

Gary Gaffney
Iowa City, Iowa

No, he wasn’t
Editor:Floyd Landis? Is U.S. cycling in that bad shape? Are we now to judge our cycling heroes based on “impact?” Does U.S. cycling now mean extra grand-tour stages in courtrooms? Do we now count the lawyers as team members? I was optimistic that at least VeloNews would be more objective, but I can read nationalist rhetoric anywhere. Small wonder Ivan Basso found a home at Discovery Channel.

I would have thought that Saul Raisin would have been the story of cycling sportsmanship and inspiration for 2006, but I guess he really didn’t “win” a tour.

Sad, I’ll just have to drown my sorrow before tomorrow’s ride with two shots of Jack Daniels and four beers.

Ray Truant
Hamilton, Canada

Oh, yes, he was
Editor:
One thing is safe to assume about pro cycling — every major champion uses some kind of performance assistance to achieve his palmares, whether it’s oxygen tents or blood boosting, EPO or vitamin cocktails. No one wins a grand tour or a major one-day without some help.

So, when it comes to handing out awards, what is the duty of our major cycling publication? Should we deny Miguel Indurain his glory because we suspect he used EPO? What about the guys like AndyHampsten, who probably did not use artificial aids? As a fan of great athletic performances like those you routinely see in cycling, I confess I’m flummoxed. I guess we have to go back to the rules, imperfect as they are.

So, until the rules are finally enforced, Floyd’s victory in the Tour is suspended. He did win the other races last year, and that is enough for North American male of the year.

Bob Bresnahan
Taos, New Mexico

Oh, no, he wasn’t
Editor:
What an awful, awful decision you’ve made, to celebrate the tainted accomplishments of Floyd Landis.

How can you possibly pretend to advocate a clean, drug-free sport when you hold up its latest, most blatant cheat as a role model? How do you defend your decision to the promising young teen champions looking to make the radically difficult jump to the pro ranks? With some sort of half-baked legal defense? It’s hard enough for them to stay clean in a system already drenched in drugs, in a culture surrounded by cheats. They now have one more trusted source implicitly telling them that it’s okay, do what it takes to win. Everyone does it, we’ll still love you.

I can only imagine that your motivation was to stir up a little controversy in hopes of selling a few more magazines over the long, cold winter. You have done us all a disservice.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Jake Palmer
Reno, Nevada

The bicycle is not always a toy
Editor:I have a small quibble with Peter Chisholm, who should know better (see Wednesday’s Mailbag: “Keep some perspective”). While it might be true that the racing machines sold in his upscale cyclery in B-town are toys, some of us use our bicycles not just for recreation, but for commuting and for trips around town. I have been commuting by bicycle to work for years, and I commuted to grad school (in Boulder, of all places) for many years before that.

My commuting machine is not a toy. It’s an efficient mode of transit that gets me some exercise and does not pollute the air, emit greenhouse gases or clog local highways or parking lots. Is cycling a “kid’s” pastime? Sure, but it is also much more. Anyone who works at a bicicletteria should be doing his or her best to promote it as such.

As for maturity and VeloNews: Guys like O’Grady (and me) who get fat in winter should not have our maturity called into question. It just isn’t fair.

Kevin McLin
Rohnert Park, California

We couldn’t agree more about the utilitarian value of the bicycle, Kevin. As to the maturity thing, now, we don’t know about your state of physical, emotional and mental development, but calling O’Grady’s maturity into question is not so much a matter of opinion as an objective assessment of the situation on the ground. Case in point: He has had whoopee cushions built into every seat in his house, including the toilets. — Editor

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