The Mail Bag 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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It's more than medals
Editors,
Stephen Burke claims to be mystified by Stuart O'Grady's block in thefinal lap of the Olympic Madison race (see Burke’s letter “O'Grady blockedBrits in Madison” Friday’sMailbag).

Well mate, it shouldn't be too hard to work that one out. Aa any Aussiewill tell you, the greatest satisfaction to be had on any playing field,anywhere, is in beating the mother country.

There has been a quiet war for supremacy between the two track teams leading up to and during these games. Being able to bump the Poms down a place by exercise of will was an opportunity not to be missed.

Wally James
Aussie living in Canada

Now that Tyler is there, can we just get the video feed?
Dear Editors,
I appreciated Neal Rogers' interview with OLN Prez Gavin Harvey speakingabout the network's decision to axe live coverage of the Vuelta (see “Mr.Rogers' neighborhood: OLN's Harvey on Vuelta coverage”).

I wonder, now that Tyler Hamilton is on the start list, if they've reconsideredexpanding their coverage.

Let me take Neal's money-saving suggestion to set up Phil and Paulin a studio to comment on the live feed one step further. How about simplyrunning the last 30 minutes of the flat stages and the last 60 minutesof the climbing stages as is, sans English-speaking commentators? No travelogues, no tech reports, no goofy roadside fan stories, no celebrity girlfriends talking about her man's chamois. Just the racing action, plain and simple.

I've always wanted to learn Spanish anyway.

Considering the the programming decisions they've made this year, it really is hard to reconcile Harvey's closing comment: "It's going to take a massive effort to get people to understand there is cycling beyond Lance and the Tour."Well, here's your chance, Gavin.

Marc Bertucco
New York, New York

Olympic coverage and speedballs
Editors,
Will the nightmare ever end? After the weak (at least during primetime) coverage of the Olympic road races and time trials, I was hoping the mountain-bike coverage would get some day or evening airtime.

Well, I spoke to my mom this morning and found out what they did with the fat-tire set. She told me she couldn't sleep last night, so she turned on the TV (at 3 a.m.) and got to see the Olympic MTB race.

So that leaves me with a couple of explanations:
1) NBC (or any network) doesn't give a hoot about bike racingunless Mr. Armstrong is present. (Likely)
or
2) NBC took a poll and found that most mountain bikers are allinsomniacs? (Unlikely)

Since I am no insomniac, could you guys get me Filip Meirhaeghe’s number?Maybe he can hook me up with some Pot Belge to get me through thenext Olympic MTB coverage in '08. Failing that, maybe Lance can start racingmountain bikes. Then it it’ll be on the tube!

Jeff Landauer
Roseville, California

It could be worse
Editor
While I can be sympathetic to people being upset about the U.S. networks’coverage of only Olympic events involving Americans (well, Americans fromthe USA) it can't be any worse than here in Japan.

If someone from Japan is not in the event contending for a medal, itisn't shown except by some accident. In fact, many times they will showwho won a bronze medal if the person is Japanese, and we have to guesswho won the other medals because the top positions aren't listed as often,if at all.

It is even worse because the games are on after 11:00 p.m. here so it is difficult to stay up and see them. But don't worry, in prime timeand on every station the next night, they show the Japanese medalist'sevents over and over and over and over and....

Mark
Yokohama, Japan

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The Mail Bag 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.