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In 45 days of racing, Lance Armstrong has been dope-tested 22 times. "Pretty tough to get away with anything that way or find anyone who is tested as much," said Armstrong. But still the critics snipe. Armstrong's open letter to Dick Pound, president of WADA, led to a 'what, me?' response from Pound, and then Armstrong countered again, saying his open letter was not just personal but a "defence of our sport."

UPDATED: In an open letter to French, Spanish and American newspapers, Lance Armstong has hit back at the 'all Tour de France riders are drug-cheats' claim by Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The claim was made in Le Monde a month ago. Armstrong admits cycling has had its problems with drugs, but is cleaner now than ever before. As the most tested bicycle rider on the planet, Armstrong is keen to squash any and all allegations that his five Tour de France victories to date have been dope-fuelled.

Brad Graham of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has been building one-off bikes since the 1980s. Following a record-breaking attempt in July 2003, his SkyCycle has now been officially recognised as the world's tallest rideable bicycle by the Guinness Book of Records. His stable of 'garage hack' bike designs range from elongated Choppers to the SpinCycle (it does what it says on the tin) to a variety of normal-looking recumbents (normal to recumbent owners, that is).

The bidding starts at $46 000. All monies raised will go to the Leukaemia Research Fund. The Nike cycling shoe was given to Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former director of communications. Campbell, training for the Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon on 1st August, interviewed Armstrong for an article in The Times.

Pacific Cycle's US relaunch of the Schwinn Stingray (apparently, it took a year to redesign, the Raleigh Chopper took 9 months...) will be in April. News on this was carried on BikeBiz.com in January. US newspapers are now carrying the news of the relaunch. Will the relaunch reach the same levels of excitement as the Chopper relaunch in the UK?