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.

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Will Americans ever be ready for a great bike race?
Editor:
I may be being overly dramatic and Euro-worshipping, but don't you think the residents of Roubaix or Flanders may have had to "subsidize" those races a couple of times?

This feels to me like another reminder that Americans may tolerate cycling, even understand it a little better than they did before the Lance Armstrong era, but are not, and may never be, ready for a great event. I thought the people of Philly got it.

Let's hope the tours of California and Georgia have a better understanding.

Rob Kristoff
Fairlee, Vermont

San Francisco was the wrong place
Editor:
San Francisco is not a bike-friendly community and the route of the Grand Prix, while challenging, is not that viewer-friendly. A race with high-caliber pro riders needs someplace better.

San Jose? Maybe. They have some nice riding locations, but you're still dealing with Bay Area mayhem. I'm thinking smaller cities or less congested locations, like Santa Barbara, Eugene, Spokane, Austin, Olympia, Boise, somewhere in upstate New York. Those locations offer a nice variety of terrain and can host a race without major impact on traffic. Those locations may also be more willing to work with the sponsors since they are not tourist communities.

And make the GP a stage race, with a circuit road race, time trial and a point-to-point. This would challenge the riders and give you a true all-round champion.

San Francisco is too much a tourist town to disrupt the Embarcadero for a race. I chose not to go downtown because it's a nightmare to drive in, find parking, and leave the city on the weekend as it is without adding the race.

Jeff Keeton
Sacramento, California

No race? No money
Editor:
This has to be one of the signs of the American cycling apocalypse. First, Lance retires. Then America’s premier race leaves Philadelphia. Then, due to the bullheadedness of a San Francisco supervisor we are deprived of the best of American and some European stars of cycling.

USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia said that the San Francisco Grand Prix was "the best race in the country," and I certainly agree. Though the Philly national championship had some clout and stars, it never had the big names from Europe that draw interest from outside the cycling community. Seeing George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong or Chris Horner climb the hills in San Francisco was a thrill, not only for cycling fans, but for sports fans as well.

Not all of the blame should go to City Hall. But comments like Aaron Peskin’s, that the city is simply getting rid of "a bad actor that has repeatedly refused to pay its bills, or pay them on time" is something we all should punish San Francisco for. Giving someone a bill late, then saying that they don’t pay their bills promptly, shows us what kind of a class act the city officials are. If it really were an issue, the organizers would never have received a permit.

City officials seem to forget that the cycling community spends money. I flew to Paris for Lance’s last ride and spent a pretty penny there. I went to Philly for the national championship (a bed and breakfast on Lemon Hill costs a lot, but darn, it has quite a view).

Perhaps the cycling community should take the approximately $10.2 million that we spent with San Francisco businesses and spend them elsewhere. Perhaps we can spend in Greenville, South Carolina, where cycling is welcome, a national champion will be crowned, and the hospitality has that southern charm.

In the meantime, it will be a long time before I see the Golden Gate again.

John Nelson
Alexandria, Virginia

Greenville has a lot to live up to
Editor:
I am truly saddened by the USPRO move from Philly to Greenville, not only for cycling but also for the race and the spectators. I have attended the event in Philly every year since 1991 when I got my driver’s license and was old enough to drive to it. I have made a habit of touring the course by bike, taking in the sites of Manayunk, Lemon Hill, the art museum, Boathouse Row, etc.

I have been to Greenville, and I doubt they can offer the dramatic visual and cultural experience that Philly provides. And I think Bobby Julich has a home in Philly. Maybe you have heard of him? Oh, Floyd is from Pennsylvania too, as is Marty Nothstein.

As for sprint finishes, I witnessed the attack on Lemon Hill in 2005, I saw Fred Rodriguez attack with a mile to go in 2001, and I saw Lance Armstrong win the million in 1993. San Remo still has its race, right?

And on a final note, I dare anyone to point out a single year when the weather in Philly on the first Sunday in June was not sunny and 80. Greenville has more to live up to than they can possibly imagine.

Adam Switzer
Richmond, Virginia

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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.