My recent letter to Velonews RE: Belek Turkey

Dear Velonews,

Today's article called 'Kash' caught with Vuelta cash contained a somewhat misleading representation: "Last year's third-place Vuelta podium-man was located in the remote Turkish town of Belek"
Please take note that the town of Belek is just a cab ride from a major city- Antalya, and is a very popular tourist destination of people from all around the world, especially Russia and Germany. Belek, and all of the other coastal towns surrounding Antalya Turkey contain a large number of all-inclusive "holiday villages" that are beyond rating and cost between 100 and 250 Euros a night. Use of the word "remote" gives an unfavorable image of Kash's whereabouts at the time of his "catch and release" testing. The word "remote" is more aptly used to describe positions in Afghanistan and Iraq, not Turkey.. He was obviously on holiday taking some quality rest in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. I will be vacationing in Belek/Antalya at the end of this month as well.. with road bike.

Murat Altinbasak
Providence, RI

PS: There are breath taking mountains in the background and Turkey's International Presidency Tour passes through this region (Antalya). This is the same UCI event where Joe Papp was tested and caught using testosterone in 2006.