Fred R.R. wrote>Even the hostel up in Montréal is something of a haze to me right now. I remember the façade (the place must have once been a very grand town house or small hotel), and the strict "Matron" who ran the place, but not much else. (Well, there are aspects of the neighborhood I do remember well, but those aren't related to cycling. Suffice it to say, the place was located near McGill University and the "counter-culture" section of town...) < I recall staying at this hostel for the 74 Worlds. The place was not sufficiently "counter culture" for me to be allowed to share with my wife! But with Eddy winning, I for once had other things on my mind. We called the warden Mama Rigatoni but don't ask me why all lost in the mists of time. I recall in the pro race an American guy was out the back door (as Sean Kelly would say) on the first couple of laps. The fans were shouting "OK lets go (as if) and we Brits were smirking at the dopey yanks. Who is laughing now? The best break in last weeks Paris-Nice was 50 % Americans Ray Green, Harrow, Middlesex