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The Mailbag - Nice kit, old faces and clean tires
Do you want to contribute to Mailbag, a regular feature of VeloNews.com? Here's how:
- Keep it short. And remember that we reserve the right to edit for grammar, length and clarity.
- Include your full name, hometown and state or nation.
- Send it to webletters@insideinc.com.
Uniform acceptance
Hello!
I know there will be different opinions, but I liked the new Columbia uniform. Looks to me like a blend of 85 percent Saunier-Duval, 10 percent Rock Racing and five percent Lazy Town.
Looking forward to seeing it on the podium all year.
Jesus Nieto
Cancun, Mexico
Enough already
Come on Velo,
Armstong in the news again! I can't believe it. It is January, he hasn't even started a race and I'm already sick of seeing Lance's face every time I look at your Web site.
I know Lance is "good for cycling" and his face sells copies of your publication but please, don't follow his kids to their first day of school and tell us what they are going to eat for lunch.
Chris Ragusa
Bend, Oregon
P.S. Kudos for putting Lars Boom on the cover of your last issue, it being cyclocross season and all.
Chris, turns out one of the kids had macaroni and cheese and the others went for sloppy joes, and they reported favorably on the quality of their school lunches, before returning to class for story time. Stay tuned for further updates - Editor.
A clean 'crosser?
Dear Editor,
I enjoyed the the cyclocross cover of world champion Lars Boom on the last issue. As a masters XC'er in the rainy and muddy Northwest, I simply cannot understand how Lars tires look so pristine though the bike is muddy.
Did he just pit or is he using some sort of Pam-like spray on his tires? This knowledge might be helpful for the rest of us.
Pete Krumins M.D.
Tacoma, Washington
Pete, It looks like he may have made a bike change, jumping on a rig that had its wheels replaced, but one that wasn't in the pits long enough to be power-sprayed. It’s either that or Lars' wheels are just turning too dang fast for the dirt to stick on to his tires. - Editor.
Rockin' da house
Dear Velo,
It's not surprising to read about Baden Cooke's experiences with Rock Racing. Nothing new has been posted on their slick Web site since November, and for all of the blustering and posturing we had from Mr. Ball in 2008, I don't get the sense they have (or had) a team strategy, a team philosophy, or any idea beyond marketing Rock Racing of what they were doing. Great that some riders were given a second chance, but what is their future now?
Contrast this situation with the latest profile of Bob Stapleton and where Team Columbia-High Road is going, or Garmin-Chipotle, or numerous other Pro Tour teams, for example. In my humble opinion, this is a house of cards. Mr. Ball may think we are all idiots for buying into this charade, and maybe we are. But I don't think this team will be here a year from now.
Cadillacs and chicks in hot pants and heels aren't what the sport is all about, thankfully.
Wayne Holzkamp
Tigard, Oregon
That '90s show?
Hey Velo,
Sorry If I'm a little confused here, but I just cannot get my head around the race schedule for next year.
So there is no more NMBS series, and instead a U.S. CUP series, but with the same races, but without a title sponsor? Or is that not correct ...
There is a Kenda Cup east/west series?
Which is the national series? What is going on?
What are all those USA Cycling officials going to do to get free condos at Deer Valley?
I miss the nineties.
Dave Williams
Port Angeles, Washington
Dave,
Yes, there is a pro/am US Cup series, with an East and West division. There also is a national pro series of UCI-sanctioned events, the USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Tour. Many of the US Cup and pro tour events share venues and dates. But no, I don't believe Deer Valley is part of either calendar. -Editor
