June 8, 2020 - The new UCI calendar is taking shape and we might see the Strade Bianche. Rider comments on the latest Giro & Vuelta news. Roubaix beets, Colombians fly in, Jakobsen talks sprinters, Ventoux Challenge, Androni, Lefevere, transfers, doping, Riis/NTT and Bruyneel on the LANCE documentary.

It’s the biggest response we’ve had in 10 years of PEZ – and the letters continue to pour in from readers on all sides of the Lance affair. Lance has always been a great topic for reader response, but Ed Hood’s Comment certain has readers’ keyboards aclatter with opinion.

It seems (around the chat room at least) there’s no middle ground on either the Armstrong or Contador cases – we’ve read the decisions of the powers that be, and while both cases remain clouded in gray, a lot of fans see black & white – even without real knowledge of the reasons behind either decision.

The absolute coolest moment of the 2009 Nevada City Bicycle Classic was seeing a kid slap five with Lance Armstrong. Toward the end of the race, a slightly bored kid across the course from me began high-fiving riders. Lance, of course, maintained a laser-like focus, ignoring everything in his path – the crowd, the cow bells, the effort, the kid. He even ignored riders as he passed them going uphill – like he was a freight train with a tail wind and they were riding in mud.

It’s not every day Lance Armstrong lines up for the local, Sunday crit in small town USA. Ok, so the Nevada City Classic isn't your typical local Sunday crit, but it sure is a long way from the the opening stage Tour time trial in Monaco. Lance and friends were present and accounted for on Father's Day in Nevada City. The end result? Lance's first win in a long, long while.

There’s nothing like a bone of contention – no matter what size – to inspire emails from the valiant PEZ-Fandom. And that’s just what Mike Schatzman’s comment on Astana’s participation at Gila did, although we took cover under the veritable barrage of digitized dialogue. Here’s just a sampling of what readers said…

With his return to the Pro Peloton it seems the whole cycling world is once again interested in Lance Armstrong. While the headlines ponder the will he / won't he of Le Tour, Armstrong is focused on his training and lucky for us, he let PEZ-man Ted Arnold tag along on a recent 5-hour Hill Country Training Ride. Here's a look from shotgun…

A scroll through the PEZ archives turns up some good times and defining moments - like when Lance granted us our first interview. It was 2004 and we were nervous as a U23 in his first ProTour race... but Lance was cool and the conversation is definitely worth another read...

Lots of us have had a chance to meet Lance, George, Eddy, and Phil, but for most it’s only been a quick hello. Imagine spending two full days riding, relaxing, and actually talking with these guys – as part of a small group of only 30 other people. Here’s how you can join ‘em and the fight against cancer…