Loyalty, jerseys and the good fight

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A question of loyalty

Dear Sir,
I read with interest and a certain amount of amusement of some people’s irony and partiality of Brad Wiggins’ move from Garmin to Team Sky.

No mention is made of the poaching by Team Radio Shack of the riders from Astana, no mention made of conflict of loyalties in that team between Armstrong’s followers and Alberto.

There seems to be little or no cognition of the long association that Brad has had with British Cycling in turning him in to an Olympic athlete and then a Grand Tour contender, through diet, nutrition, training and coaching. A great deal seems to be made in hoping that he will fall flat on his face. However, it is given that the back-up, research & development, coaching, assistance and attention to every possible gain, however marginal, that has seen British cycling move from to being the pre-eminent force in track cycling, will be applied to road racing. Team Sky’s goal is to have a winner of the Tour de France in five years. Methinks that goal will now be achieved far sooner.

Jon Porter
Frimley, United Kingdom

The not-so-good doctor

Dear Velo,
Have there been any updates in the trial of Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson? He was scheduled to be sentenced on December 3rd; however it seems that it may have been pushed back.

Thanks,
Dave Warner

Yes, Doctor Thompson’s sentencing date has been changed to January 8. – Editor

Fighting the good fight

Dear VeloNews,
In response to several recent letters lately I just want to say that I embrace the whole current battle being fought in cycling against the old-school drug culture.

Many times it is bloody, attacks innocent riders without apparent just cause and has other important issues that deserve to be addressed. Floyd Landis comes to mind for me. Many times it seems both “sides,” if you will, have valid points and its all too common for each side to ignore the other’ valid issues.

But at least our sport is making an effort and not afraid to bloody its own nose a bit to make real progress. Despite our sport taking it on the chin in the public’s perception and its subsequent life-blood of endorsement money,
we are trying.

As a counter point, take the NFL and NBA, to only name a few groups. Their main efforts involve hiring a team of lawyers to coordinate picking up as many rugs as possible and sweeping away. It’s painful at times, but at least I can work at promoting cycling to kids and new riders and not feel ashamed were our current policies, actions and energy are pushing the sports future. Personally I could not feel the same if I was standing in front of the local little gridders with a whistle in hand. It may be cliché, but sometimes you have to fight the good fight and take your lumps along with progress.

Greg Troyer
Waterford, Pennsylvania

Who gets the jersey?

Dear Editors,
I was wondering who will wear the pink Jersey after the team time trial first stage of the Vuelta. I assume that the winning team will all get the same time (or at least the ones who finish together) and so several team members will have the same first place time. Who gets the jersey?

Jason Dunlap
Nashville, Tennessee

It’s pretty straightforward. When a stage race opens with a team time trial, the first rider from the winning team to cross the line gets the jersey. Sometimes, things don’t go quite as planned. You might recall the 2007 Giro, when Danilo Di Luca expected to grab the maglia rosa when his Liquigas team won the opening team time trial. Di Luca – and others – were surprised when Enrico Gasparotto slipped across the line first. – Editor

Flags v. colors

Dear Explainer,
Italy does the same thing as Australia: its national flag is three vertical bars of green, white, and red, but its national sports kit is azzurro.

Jeff Thomas

A question of order

Dear VeloNews,
I love that you put a quick link to the womens results for the UCI Cyclocross rankings, but seriously, why even make me hit the anchor link? You know all we care about is Katie Compton. Put the men down below. After all, as Arlene Blum once noted, a women’s place is on top.

Sincerely,

Steve Rempel
Los Altos, California

FILED UNDER: Mailbag

Charles Pelkey

Charles Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994 after serving as press secretary for former GOP Whip Alan K. Simpson in the U.S. Senate. Pelkey has worked as a journalist since 1985 and held a number of editorial positions at VeloNews including Senior Editor of VeloNews.com. Pelkey earned a JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law and lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with Diana, his wife of 25 years, and their two children, Philip and Annika, whose presence serves as a constant reminder of what really matters. Pelkey left VeloNews in July, 2011, but continues to be a regular contributor. Charles can now be found at liveupdateguy.com

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