THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Friday's Mailbag: Cheers to Floyd (and to his beer, too)
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.
Land-IS the man!
Editor:
That should be the copy for the first issue after the Tour: "Land-IS the Man.” Or better yet, maybe you should have some contest for the title! Thanks for the coverage.
Sean Rees
Portland, Oregon
Any relation to Lazarus Long?
Editor:
I have a new nickname for Floyd, based upon today's dramatic resurrection: Lazarus Landis! You heard it here first (and I want credit).
Ron Gilcreast
San Jose, California
Happy Landismas!
Editor:
Hey guys, I just wanted to let you and everyone know, my friend Jonah and I created a new cyclists' holiday today in celebration of nothing short of a momentous day in cycling history: Landismas. But for some reason, Wikipedia keeps deleting it. We want to celebrate, and help bring our already dispersed community closer together.
Why is this so hard? What will it take? The endorsement (or even recognition) of Bob and Phil? If so, can you pass this along? And for the record, we raise our glasses to all our friends in the lead, the peloton, or in chase groups.
Will Trufant and Jonah Langenbeck
New Orleans, Louisiana
A true champion
Editor:
While watching the Tour de France with interest this year and especially after the results of the past two days, I want to thank Floyd Landis for bringing back the excitement of a true champion. His exploits during the race have restored a bit of faith in the sport and how desire, motivation and sheer guts can drive one athlete to a stellar performance. Thanks, Floyd!
Brian Hitchman
Folsom, California
Regarding the rant
We got a couple cases’ worth of letters responding to Patrick O‘Grady’s latest Foaming Rant, in which he wondered what magic potion (i.e., beer) could have so dramatically revived a sagging Floyd Landis. Yuengling was far and away the most popular guess, being that Floyd was raised in Pennsylvania, home to America’s oldest brewer. But he lives in the San Diego area now, which led one reader to suggest Stone Vertical Epic Ale. Other suggestions included Bells Oberon, Kronenbourg, Aventinus Weizen Eisbock … the list, like O’Grady’s own fabled thirst for the hops, was endless. But it seems Floyd enjoyed a beer with a closer connection to cycling, according to one correspondent from the Netherlands. — Editor
Editor:
The Landis beer thing got quite a bit of attention from the Dutch and Belgian press as well. One of them is obviously on your wavelength because someone asked about his beer and he said, “By the way, that was an Amstel.” They showed that clip on the nightly Tour round up on Flemish TV and the announcer said that therefore Landis had not been drinking beer at all (because weak Dutch beer is not quite beer - get it?). It was pretty funny.
Rick Canavan
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.
