• Mailbag

Wednesday’s Mailbag: Riis, punched in the (Jelly) Belly and more mysteries, please

by VeloNews.com

• March 28, 2007
• Comments Off

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications, Inc.

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Riis and the burden of proof
Editor,
I wanted to make a comment regarding this article today (see “Riisresponds to doping claims” in Tuesday’s EuroFile). I see that formersoigneur Jef d’Hont said several Telekom riders used the banned blood boosterEPO, including Bjarne Riis. I remember back when Bjarne won the Tourand wondered if this was the case. Having read a lot about all the Dutchriders dying of heart attacks back then I thought it was rampant in thepeloton and wondered how could someone that is not taking these drugs havewon such an event. At the time I think he was 35 and was pretty ripe forwinning the tour.Now to my point. Bjarne and his CSC team fired Ivan Basso over allegationsand simple suggestions that he was doping. Basso never tested positiveand almost went the way of poor Jan Ulrich. Now that these suggestionshave been made why isn’t CSC relieving him of his job until he canprove that this isn’t true? The problem these days is that suggestionsare becoming truths. How can Bjarne and CSC hold one standard for ridersand not for themselves. Why hasn’t Bjarne been sidelined until the realtruth comes out?If anyone from the UCI and WADA is reading this please wait until arider tests positive and then ban them. Stop the ban-by-rumor attitudeand get on with it. I hate drugs but I also like justice where it is deserved.Prove it and then publish it. Not the other way around!
Ron Jawanda
Brampton Ontario CanadaPut your invitations where your mouth is
Dear VeloNews,
So let me get this straight. The Tour of Georgia has decided to notinvite Jelly Belly, a team of clean riders, with an independent Americansponsor – who justwon Redlands with amazing teamwork – and has instead chosenTinkoff Credit Systems, a team financed by a Russian banker and comprisedof more than one rider convicted of a doping violation (Tyler Hamilton),Prodir-Saunier Duval, a team headed by a convicted doper who has proclaimedhis desire to win the overall (David Millar), and Colavita-Sutter Home,a team whose main GC rider is also a confessed doper (Adam Bergman)!?!?!And to think that I was gullible enough to believe that in the wakeof numerous doping scandals over the past few years, this sport had actuallychanged. Silly me. Are promoters of big races like the Tourof Georgia consciously going out of their way to reinforce the publicperception that the majority of pro cyclists are doped up cheaters?It makes a lot of sense, especially given that this race could barely securefunding due to lack of a primary sponsor.
Sincerely,
Micah Thompson
Boulder, ColoradoAnother vote for Will Ross
Editor,
Amen and amen to Will Horning’s comments that GregMoody needs to be strapped to a chair and forced to produce anotherin a sequence of page-turning, side-splitting, great reads (see “GetMoody off the bike and back to writing” in Monday’s Mailbag).I’m in mourning over Will Ross’s losses, and even more so over his absence.Get Will back in the saddle (I bet he could produce a Landis-like comeback),which means that Greg is back in front of the keyboard.Heck, I’ll come ride Colorado, if it’ll get Greg writing again!
Dr. Chuck Roberts
Peachtree Presbyterian Church
Atlanta, Georgia

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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you havea comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen incycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write toWebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name andhome town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writersare encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.The letters published here contain the opinions of the submittingauthors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policies or positionsof VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, InsideCommunications, Inc.