According to AP, United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a press release that his office was closing the investigation, but did not disclose the reason.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygert said in a statement that his organization would pursue documents from the investigation.

“Unlike the U.S. Attorney, USADA’s job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws,” said Tygart. “Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling is continuing and we look forward to obtaining the information developed during the federal investigation.”

The Armstrong investigation grew out of two seemingly unrelated events: the reported discovery of PED’s in the apartment of former Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande and the accusations made by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis regarding systematic doping at U.S. Postal during the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. In his interviews with the Wall Street Journal and ESPN, Landis accused Armstrong of masterminding organized doping during his reign atop the sport’s most prestigious event.

As he has done for more than a decade, Armstrong fought the accusations in the press. Meanwhile, Novitzky built a case quietly over the summer of 2010. A Los Angeles grand jury subsequently subpoenaed a number of Armstrong associates, including teammates Frankie Andreu and Tyler Hamilton, physiologist Dr. Allen Lim and Oakley’s Stephanie McIlvain.

In August 2010, Armstrong hired a powerful team of attorneys and strategists, including former White House special counsel Mark Fabiani and former assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Daly.

The story remained in the news as leaks emerged from the investigation and Novitzky led a group of agents on a discovery mission to Europe in late 2010, meeting with French anti-doping lab directors at Interpol headquarters in Lyon. Sports Illustrated published new details of the investigation in January 2011, but Novitzky was dealt a blow in April when his high-profile investigation of Major League Baseball homerun king Barry Bonds ended with a mistrial on steroids-related charges.

The storm built, however, and Hamilton appeared on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” just after the finale of the Tour of California in May, corroborating Landis’ accusations. The program also reported that former teammate George Hincapie had testified to the grand jury that Armstrong had used PED’s, a claim Hincapie did not dismiss, though he did say that he had never spoken with “60 Minutes” staff.

Armstrong called for a probe of leaks in the investigation in July 2011 and the case went quiet. In court documents, Armstrong’s team claimed that, “The leaker in this case has, from the beginning, acted with the obvious intent of legitimizing the government’s investigation of a national hero, best known for his role in the fight against cancer… Each leak has been designed to propagate public support for this investigation by smearing Armstrong and tarnishing his reputation. The tactical nature of these leaks cannot be ignored as it strongly suggests an underlying partisanship inherent in government agents.”

With the grand jury set to expire, anticipation has built over the outcome and Friday’s announcement closes the almost-two-year-old investigation of the most popular — and controversial — figure in modern cycling.

“This is great news,” said Fabiani said in a statement. “Lance is pleased that the United States Attorney made the right decision, and he is more determined than ever to devote his time and energy to Livestrong and to the causes that have defined his career.”

Longtime Armstrong detractor — and wife of former Motorola/U.S. Postal rider Frankie Andreu — Betsy Andreu was disappointed by the decision.

“Our legal system failed us,” she told the Associated Press. “This is what happens when you have a lot of money and you can buy attorneys who have people in high places in the Department of Justice.”

The March issue of Velo magazine, the Nations Issue, is unlike anything Velo has done before. From tip-to-tail, we profile the changing currents in global cycling, just in time for the London Olympic Games.

European correspondent Andrew Hood profiles Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimonot and with just six months until the Olympics. Editor Neal Rogers explores the potential U.S. road team — including cover athletes Evelyn Stevens and Taylor Phinney — and finds that both the men’s and women’s squads are wide open.

Former Velo editor-at-large John Wilcockson previews the London cycling events in “Britain Takes Center Stage.” The Olympic road race course, with its featured Box Hill climb, runs past Wilcockson’s childhood home, and the British ex-pat queries whether his home nation, with Mark Cavendish and Sir Chris Hoy at the helm, can repeat its historic eight-gold-medal haul in 2008.

Britain’s top billing in London is telling of the British Isles’ rise to the heights of the sport, but Britain’s big-dollar ascension isn’t the only move atop the international peloton. In “State of the Nations,” we rate the traditional powerhouses like France, Italy and Russia, which have lost ground over the past decade, while Australia has built on the legacy of Phil Anderson to become perhaps the next contender to assume a place atop cycling.

Globetrotter Gregg Bleakney profiles efforts by the UCI to globalize the sport from Colombia to China and back, tracing the rise of the McQuaid family over the last 30 years. Australian attorney Lloyd Freeburn provides the counterpoint to “Cycling Gone Global,” claiming that at the heart of the federation is a deeply flawed constitution that favors the European continent.

Velo tech editors explore your origins of the goodies hanging on your local shop wall. Their efforts to assemble a bike built entirely in the U.S. falls short, but with a little creativity, an all-Italian rig proves that while hard to find, a high-quality bike is still available “Prodotti Italiani.” In Training, coach Trevor Connor outlines a plan to have you primed for the national championships.

General Classification results

Judith Arndt donned the leader’s golden jersey in the howling wind after the final stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar as the 2012 race winner. Arndt went into the stage with a two-second lead over fellow German Trixi Worrack, but finished six seconds ahead of Worrack after a windy battle.

The women had battled wind throughout the race, but Friday saw strong headwinds the entire first half of the stage. Nonetheless, at 14km American Kendall Ryan broke away and stayed off the front for 40km in the wind. At 20km she had a 3:25 lead and took the first bonus sprint.

Arndt won the second bonus sprint in a bunched sprint. After this point, 16 favorites broke off the front, but were caught again at 57km. The peloton rode together with a tail wind heading into the final sprint, where Wild dominated in similar fashion to stage 1. She finished third in the GC.

Worrack took home the silver points jersey, and Chloe Hosking was named the best young rider. Specialized-Lululemon was named the best team.

Arndt in gold  after stage 2

Wind brings out Wild in stage 1

• 1. Pierre ROLLAND , (FRA) Euc, in 3:55:54
• 2. Franck VERMEULEN , (FRA) Vru, +0
• 3. Nacer BOUHANNI , (FRA) Fdj, +7
• 4. Stéphane POULHIES , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 5. Kris BOECKMANS , (BEL) Vcd, +7
• 6. Marco MARCATO , (ITA) Vcd, +7
• 7. Sébastien CHAVANEL , (FRA) Euc, +7
• 8. Jean-Luc DELPECH , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 9. Bobbie TRAKSEL , (NED) Lan, +7
• 10. Benjamin GIRAUD , (FRA) Lpm, +7
• 11. Armindo FONSECA , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 12. Anthony RAVARD , (FRA) Alm, +7
• 13. Gediminas BAGDONAS , (LTU) Skt, +7
• 14. Yannick MARTINEZ , (FRA) Lpm, +7
• 15. Gijs VAN HOECKE , (BEL) Tsv, +7
• 16. Fabien SCHMIDT , (FRA) Rlm, +7
• 17. Pieter GHYLLEBERT , (BEL) Skt, +7
• 18. Jimmy ENGOULVENT , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 19. Davy COMMEYNE , (BEL) Lan, +7
• 20. Samuel DUMOULIN , (FRA) Cof, +7
• 21. Romain MATHEOU , (FRA) Vru, +7
• 22. Gael MALACARNE , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 23. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER , (LUX) Acc, +7
• 24. Julien EL FARES , (FRA) Tt1, +7
• 25. Renaud DION , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 26. Georg PREIDLER , (AUT) Tt1, +7
• 27. Romain BACON , (FRA) Big, +7
• 28. Yukiya ARASHIRO , (JPN) Euc, +7
• 29. Alexandre PICHOT , (FRA) Euc, +7
• 30. Simon GESCHKE , (GER) Pro, +7
• 31. Anthony DELAPLACE , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 32. Maxime BOUET , (FRA) Alm, +7
• 33. Andy CAPPELLE , (BEL) Acc, +7
• 34. Rémy DI GREGORIO , (FRA) Cof, +7
• 35. Tom STAMSNIJDER , (NED) Pro, +7
• 36. Davide MALACARNE , (ITA) Euc, +7
• 37. Dirk BELLEMAKERS , (NED) Lan, +7
• 38. Staf SCHEIRLINCKX , (BEL) Acc, +7
• 39. Daniele COLLI , (ITA) Tt1, +7
• 40. Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK , (BEL) Tsv, +7

• 1. Kirsten WILD , (NED) Ned, in 2:38:36
• 2. Eleonora VAN DIJK , (NED) Slu, +0
• 3. Adrie VISSER , (NED) Ski, +0
• 4. Judith ARNDT , (GER) Gew, +0
• 5. Chloe HOSKING , (AUS) Slu, +0
• 6. Giorgia BRONZINI , (ITA) Dpz, +0
• 7. Monia BACCAILLE , (ITA) Mcg, +0
• 8. Jessie MACLEAN , (AUS) Gew, +0
• 9. Trixi WORRACK , (GER) Slu, +0
• 10. Elena CECCHINI , (ITA) Mcg, +0
• 11. Marta TAGLIAFERRO , (ITA) Mcg, +0
• 12. Charlotte BECKER , (GER) Slu, +0
• 13. Loes GUNNEWIJK , (NED) Gew, +3
• 14. Shelley OLDS , (USA) Usa, +8
• 15. Sara MUSTONEN , (SWE) Hpu, +9
• 16. Cherise TAYLOR , (RSA) Lbl, +9
• 17. Aude BIANNIC , (FRA) Fra, +9
• 18. Alessandra BORCHI , (ITA) Mcg, +9
• 19. Sarah DÜSTER , (GER) Rbw, +9
• 20. Janneke KANIS , (NED) Ski, +9
• 21. Liesbet DE VOCHT , (BEL) Rbw, +9
• 22. Romy KASPER , (GER) Ger, +9
• 23. Pascale JEULAND , (FRA) Fra, +9
• 24. Roxane KNETEMANN , (NED) Rbw, +9
• 25. Xin LIU , (CHN) Gpc, +9
• 26. Amy PIETERS , (NED) Ski, +12
• 27. Marta BASTIANELLI , (ITA) Mcg, +12
• 28. Linda VAN RIJEN , (NED) Ski, +12
• 29. Maria giulia CONFALONIERI , (ITA) Ita, +12
• 30. Anna VAN DER BREGGEN , (NED) Ned, +12
• 31. Regina BRUINS , (NED) Ski, +12
• 32. Aurore VERHOEVEN , (FRA) Fra, +12
• 33. Kaat HANNES , (BEL) Lbl, +12
• 34. Valentina SCANDOLARA , (ITA) Ita, +16
• 35. Lise NÖSTVOLD , (NOR) Hpu, +16
• 36. Fröydis WAERSTAD , (NOR) Hpu, +16
• 37. Madeleine SANDIG , (GER) Ger, +16
• 38. Samantha SCHNEIDER , (USA) Usa, +16
• 39. Li CHEN , (CHN) Gpc, +16
• 40. Noemi CANTELE , (ITA) Ita, +16

• 1. Pierre ROLLAND , (FRA) Euc, in 8:59:35
• 2. Nacer BOUHANNI , (FRA) Fdj, +2
• 3. Franck VERMEULEN , (FRA) Vru, +6
• 4. Bobbie TRAKSEL , (NED) Lan, +13
• 5. Kris BOECKMANS , (BEL) Vcd, +14
• 6. Kurt HOVELYNCK , (BEL) Lan, +16
• 7. Julien ANTOMARCHI , (FRA) Tt1, +17
• 8. Anthony RAVARD , (FRA) Alm, +18
• 9. Jonathan HIVERT , (FRA) Sau, +18
• 10. Dominique CORNU , (BEL) Tsv, +18
• 11. Rémi CUSIN , (FRA) Tt1, +18
• 12. Koen BARBE , (BEL) Lan, +18
• 13. Rony MARTIAS , (FRA) Sau, +19
• 14. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER , (LUX) Acc, +20
• 15. Samuel DUMOULIN , (FRA) Cof, +20
• 16. Yannick MARTINEZ , (FRA) Lpm, +20
• 17. Sébastien CHAVANEL , (FRA) Euc, +20
• 18. Gediminas BAGDONAS , (LTU) Skt, +20
• 19. Renaud DION , (FRA) Bsc, +20
• 20. Benjamin GIRAUD , (FRA) Lpm, +20
• 21. Jimmy ENGOULVENT , (FRA) Sau, +20
• 22. Jure KOCJAN , (SLO) Tt1, +20
• 23. Yukiya ARASHIRO , (JPN) Euc, +20
• 24. Stéphane POULHIES , (FRA) Sau, +20
• 25. Gijs VAN HOECKE , (BEL) Tsv, +20
• 26. Alexandre PICHOT , (FRA) Euc, +20
• 27. Romain MATHEOU , (FRA) Vru, +20
• 28. Tom VAN ASBROECK , (BEL) Tsv, +20
• 29. Julien EL FARES , (FRA) Tt1, +20
• 30. Gael MALACARNE , (FRA) Bsc, +20
• 31. Marco MARCATO , (ITA) Vcd, +20
• 32. Maxime BOUET , (FRA) Alm, +20
• 33. Anthony DELAPLACE , (FRA) Sau, +20
• 34. Georg PREIDLER , (AUT) Tt1, +20
• 35. Armindo FONSECA , (FRA) Bsc, +20
• 36. Daniele COLLI , (ITA) Tt1, +20
• 37. Dirk BELLEMAKERS , (NED) Lan, +20
• 38. Guillaume BONNAFOND , (FRA) Alm, +20
• 39. Fabien SCHMIDT , (FRA) Rlm, +20
• 40. Tom STAMSNIJDER , (NED) Pro, +20

• 1. Judith ARNDT , (GER) Gew, in 8:00:44
• 2. Trixi WORRACK , (GER) Slu, +6
• 3. Kirsten WILD , (NED) Ned, +2:06
• 4. Eleonora VAN DIJK , (NED) Slu, +2:57
• 5. Chloe HOSKING , (AUS) Slu, +3:04
• 6. Loes GUNNEWIJK , (NED) Gew, +3:12
• 7. Alexis RHODES , (AUS) Gew, +3:33
• 8. Jessie MACLEAN , (AUS) Gew, +5:26
• 9. Monia BACCAILLE , (ITA) Mcg, +5:26
• 10. Elena CECCHINI , (ITA) Mcg, +5:26
• 11. Alessandra BORCHI , (ITA) Mcg, +5:35
• 12. Sarah DÜSTER , (GER) Rbw, +5:35
• 13. Liesbet DE VOCHT , (BEL) Rbw, +5:35
• 14. Dong Yan HUANG , (CHN) Gpc, +5:49
• 15. Amanda SPRATT , (AUS) Gew, +5:49
• 16. Iris SLAPPENDEL , (NED) Rbw, +6:05
• 17. Tatiana GUDERZO , (ITA) Mcg, +6:41
• 18. Regina BRUINS , (NED) Ski, +9:00
• 19. Charlotte BECKER , (GER) Slu, +16:09
• 20. Adrie VISSER , (NED) Ski, +16:23
• 21. Marta TAGLIAFERRO , (ITA) Mcg, +17:02
• 22. Giorgia BRONZINI , (ITA) Dpz, +17:02
• 23. Shelley OLDS , (USA) Usa, +17:08
• 24. Xin LIU , (CHN) Gpc, +17:11
• 25. Romy KASPER , (GER) Ger, +17:11
• 26. Cherise TAYLOR , (RSA) Lbl, +17:11
• 27. Janneke KANIS , (NED) Ski, +17:11
• 28. Roxane KNETEMANN , (NED) Rbw, +17:11
• 29. Marta BASTIANELLI , (ITA) Mcg, +17:14
• 30. Anna VAN DER BREGGEN , (NED) Ned, +17:14
• 31. Madeleine SANDIG , (GER) Ger, +17:18
• 32. Valentina SCANDOLARA , (ITA) Ita, +17:18
• 33. Lise NÖSTVOLD , (NOR) Hpu, +17:18
• 34. Elisa LONGO BORGHINI , (ITA) Hpu, +17:18
• 35. Katie COLCLOUGH , (GBR) Slu, +17:20
• 36. Laura VAN DER KAMP , (NED) Ned, +17:41
• 37. Tiffany CROMWELL , (AUS) Gew, +17:41
• 38. Martine BRAS , (NED) Ned, +18:17
• 39. Latoya BRULEE , (BEL) Vll, +19:08
• 40. Sara MUSTONEN , (SWE) Hpu, +20:33

Ogden will host the opening stage or the first time, but it will be the fifth year the Tour will pass through the host city. The 2012 race will also have a team time trial for the first time in its history. There will be an estimated 16 teams participating in the race in 2012.

Stage host cities:
Tuesday, August 7: Ogden. Stage 1, road race.
Wednesday, August 8: Miller Motorsports Park (Tooele). Stage 2, team time trial.
Thursday, August 9: Ogden to University of Utah Research Park (Salt Lake City). Stage 3, road race.
Friday, August 10: Utah County to downtown Salt Lake City. Stage 4, road race.
Saturday, August 11: Park City to Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. Stage 5, road race.
Sunday, August 12: Park City. Stage 6, road race.

Specific details of each stage will be released in the spring.

Cameras flashed like fireflies in the dark. With the spotlight in our eyes, the presenters called us to the front of the stage in our respective groups: climbers, sprinters, all-rounders, time trialists, and indispensables. Three days after celebrating the new year, I congregated with teammates in Luxembourg to present Team RadioShack-Nissan-Trek. Media finally replaced personal conclusions and general speculations with the facts gathered during the presentation, rider interviews and press conferences.

The team chartered a flight from Luxembourg to Mallorca, Spain, for a team training camp the following day. Although we spent time in chamois during the presentation, we three Americans arrived in Mallorca with three days of travel sediment in the legs. That very night the directors scheduled me for a lactate threshold test, a test in which the intensity increases every four minutes until failure. It sent lava through my legs. Nevertheless, it showed the gains I made from a year of racing and training at this level.

Last year the team held training camp on the same island. The mechanics parked our team busses in the same spot at the same hotel. Despite the combination of teams, everything felt familiar. Team RadioShack 2011’s differences integrated easily with Leopard-Trek. I think the merger, a difficult transition, unified us, because we experienced it together. Once fitted in our new jerseys, it became impossible and useless to differentiate who came from which team.

Last year in Mallorca I had kicked into the Col de Cura before my RadioShack teammates who were still at the team car trading jackets for bottles. A Leopard rider floated past me, and I admired how his mechanical cadence transferred power into the climb. The sticker on his helmet said, “Fuglsang.” At the top of the climb Horner slapped hands with Voigt. During the Mallorca Challenge races later that week, Andy Schleck and I swapped massive pulls for 100km. Afterwards, I introduced myself to Voigt as “a long time fan.” Now Fuglsang and I share a room at training camp. Voigt tells jokes at dinner and Andy and I swap pulls on training rides up and down Col de Cura.

I got to know my new teammates during long, double-file group rides, which the directors broke up with quality intervals, and the riders broke up with playful racing especially when we stopped for an espresso on the return trip. The specific drills we followed brought me back to my days on the swim team focusing on form and technique. We completed a trio of three-day blocks, which tested each of us. The directors also mandated frequent literal tests like the lactate test and pre-breakfast fat tests.

Unaccustomed to testing like the Leopard riders, I had to overcome some performance anxiety. Thanks to the scientific and neutral attitude of the directors and doctors who analyzed the results, I consigned to the tests as a method, not to judge us, but to proscribe tailored training for us. In an interview, I said that I would gauge progress toward my goals by the feedback I receive from my teammates and coaches. These tests will serve as another form of feedback.

We crammed interviews, equipment fitting, and meetings on both ends of training. Halfway through camp, the hype dispersed, training fatigue increased, and one day on my walk to breakfast, I noticed that Markel Irizar wasn’t smiling. I appreciated that any pretenses had faded. What I saw from riders at this stage of camp is what I can expect from them for the duration of the season. It made me grateful for how often our guys like Markel do wear an authentic smile.

Our sport requires coordination for success. Some articles I read overplay the team “family” dynamic. However, we do live our lives together on the road. During camp we celebrated birthdays. My roommate recounted to me the day that he flew home on a rest day of the Tour de France to meet his new baby son.

My Uncle Ben, a cycling enthusiast, passed away this week. He was the most brilliant man I have ever known. He remembered everything he heard or read, and he once read the dictionary just to expand his vocabulary. He suffered heart failure and fell off his bike. In a quiet place I watched the memorial service via live steaming. Although we remove ourselves from distractions during camp, life does not pause. Life is short and, as teammates, we spend a lot of it together. Go big, and then go home.

The 70th edition of the eight-stage race, held March 4-11, welcomes a number of big names including the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank, Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez, Italian duo Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego and German Andreas Kloden.

But all of the above will have to bring a strong uphill time trial performance to the table on stage eight if they are to have any chance of succeeding Germany’s Tony Martin.

The uphill time trial from Nice to Col d’Eze regularly brought the curtain down on the ‘Race to the Sun’ until that practice ended in the 1990s. The last time it featured, in 2001, the peloton contested the time trial a day before the finale.

Prudhomme, also director of the Tour de France, now wants to apply the same philosophy which, in recent years, has regularly guaranteed suspense right to the end of the world’s premier cycling event.

“This route should guarantee suspense right to the end,” Prudhomme said upon unveiling the route Thursday.

Despite also beginning with a 9.4 km time trial in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse to the west of Paris, Prudhomme was quick to rebuff suggestions the race could be controlled, and then won, by teams possessing time trial specialists.

“There will be something for everybody as the week goes on,” he added.

He evoked the second stage from Mantes-la-Jolie to Orleans via the Beauce region, as well as the opportunities for breakaways and general mayhem on the undulating roads of the Massif Central.

Stage five also finishes in Mende, famous for a steep 3 km-long climb to the finish and which was used on the 12th stage of the Tour de France in 2010 when Joaquin Rodriguez beat fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador.

Two days racing in the Haute-Provence and in the hills behind Nice follow, before the potential race decider on the Col d’Eze.

“There’s really a bit of everything for an attacking course,” added Prudhomme who, nevertheless, listed Martin, American Levi Leipheimer and his teammate Kloeden as the big favourites.

Neither of the trio are known for their attacking prowess, preferring instead to climb well and make the difference in… time trials.

Stages (March 4-11)
Stage 1: Dampierre-en-Yvelines – Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse (9.4 km TT)
Stage 2: Mantes-la-Jolie – Orleans (185 km)
Stage 3: Vierzon – Lac de Vassiviere (194 km)
Stage 4: Brive-la-Gaillarde – Rodez (183 km)
Stage 5: Onet-le-Chateau – Mende (178 km)
Stage 6: Suze-la-Rousse – Sisteron (176.5 km)
Stage 7: Sisteron – Nice (220 km)
Stage 8: Nice – Col d’Eze (9.6 km TT)

Excerpt from Part I:

McQuaid sees two structural models for the organization of sports, a European model and an American model. “The European model would more or less be the world wide model with the exception of North America. North America has its own model for sport, and that is the private leagues.” With the European, pyramid model the UCI follows, a structure is put in place that helps athletes transfer from the novice level in any of its multiple sporting disciplines then progress upward until they might reach the pinnacle of their sport as a professional rider. In a sense, the structure attempts to connect the 17-year veteran pro with the eight-year-old tyro on a BMX track.

This is a clash of sporting structural models. One, very American, is designed with the interest of a tranche of owners and very elite players first—and meant to deliver a more compelling experience to fans than that people get from today’s sprawling, murky cycling calendar. The other, European, is at least theoretically organized around a perhaps more nurturing vision of global out reach to cyclists of every stripe.

The skirmish between what UCI president, Pat McQuaid, calls American and European sports structures is at the root of McQuaid’s disagreement with the idea of a separate pro cycling league that has been repeatedly floated over the years. As recently as April, 2011 McQuaid sent Jonathan Vaughters, the founder and CEO of the Garmin-Barracuda team, a letter demanding that, unless he stop rumored explorations of the idea of a separate pro cycling league, the UCI would charge him for the cost of its biological passport testing program.

In McQuaid’s words, “these competing models “go to the question of private leagues or breakaway leagues that we’ve been dealing with over the past year.” He explains that “there are people at the top end of cycling who do feel that maybe the professional elite groups should be outside the UCI and organize their own private league which would be linked with UCI. But the UCI would disagree that that would be a positive move. In matter of fact, there is no way we would accept it. We feel very strongly that the pyramid model is the best model and in actual fact the elite of the sport have a responsibility to those that are coming below them.” He adds that the UCI holds that pros should show more responsibility to their sport by working more closely with the UCI to nurture future pros rather than to split apart and focus on the refinement of the sport’s top end.

McQuaid says another problem with the idea of a separate pro league that delivers a tightly-packaged series of races more in line with the Formula 1 racing circuit is that it would lose cycling’s primitive and historic appeal. Referring to a proposed league “with ten new four-day races appearing overnight on the calendar,” he says “it doesn’t work.” The reason being, he argues, is that cycling must respect its “historical nature and the historic prestigious events.” The way to do so is to add select new events to a global calendar “without interfering with the major events that are already there.” In sum, “you have to protect the prestige and the hierarchy and the historic nature of the events that are there, and bit by bit change the calendar.”

McQuaid confesses that the UCI has not sat down with the people who are agitating for a separate pro cycling league to hear the root cause of their discontent. “Because the people who are trying to create the new league have never come to the UCI and discussed it. All we are working on is information we are receiving and copies of documents and so forth. The people that are behind it have never come to the UCI and said, ‘Look, we think this is right and this is the way we want to do it.’ That hasn’t happened.”

He says that the UCI has met with the ProTour teams to hear their point of view. “We have sat down with team leaders and discussed different things that they are not happy about and decisions that the UCI has taken that they are not happy about. We’ve listened to their side of the argument and we’ve given them our side of the argument.” But, “at the end of the day they must accept that the UCI is the government of the sport and the UCI makes the rules that govern our sport. Even though they might not agree with it they must accept that that’s our role.”

Even though they are the lead actors in the global pro cycling theater, pro riders have long complained that they have little say in how the sport is run. This is partly the reality of the fact that they have no organized union to channel and focus their demands. Asked about this sense of disenfranchisement, McQuaid agrees that “the riders have always been the ones with the quietest voice or the least strength and least power in their voice.” In his opinion, that is because “they are employed by teams.” Over the years he says the UCI has worked to improve working conditions and salaries for riders “but we can’t dictate to team management the gross salaries they must pay to the riders. The market has to dictate that itself.”

Mike Eubank, project manager of Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park, which includes the country’s only permanent cyclocross course purpose-built from its inception to adhere to UCI standards, led the local delegation. He was joined by Pete Webber – the reigning 40-45 World Cyclocross Champion, two-time National Cyclocross Champion, 20-year ’cross racer, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member, and former membership and communications director of IMBA.

Webber led the tour of the Valmont Bike Park, pointing out many unique characteristics making it ideal to host such an event. Local top cyclocross stars, including Nicole Duke and Meredith Miller, were in attendance along with an array of leaders of Boulder’s large cycling community. Among the group’s promises is a virtually guaranteed enormous jump in both the number of spectators and the number of racers at nationals, were it to be held in Boulder, thanks to a very active local and regional cyclocross culture.

Boulder city government leaders and city parks managers and employees laid out for the USA Cycling contingent how the city’s infrastructure would support the event as well, including parking for up to 2,000 cars within 500 yards of the bike park. Kirk Kincannon, Boulder’s director of Parks and Recreation, clarified not only his department’s commitment to creating a foundation for the event but also its ability to handle any occurrence that could come up. Parks and Recreation’s main maintenance shed with enormous amounts of equipment of all sorts is located in Valmont Park, just across the street from the cyclocross course, and its grounds crews work on the park every day. And Boulder’s Channel 8 television station pointed out how its capacities would facilitate live streaming of the events.

Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park is truly an amazing facility, particularly for those into cyclocross, BMX, dirt jumping, or dirt riding with children, or who are mountain-bike singletrack newbies wanting to try riding high-speed berms, skinny logs and other stunts. The northern section of the park is built on a hillside and is separated by a streambed from its lower southern section, which used to be flat. After fully 10,000 dumptruckloads of dirt were deposited and sculpted throughout the park with a intricate network of hardened dirt trails throughout, that is no longer the case.

There is nobody better to extol the park’s virtues than Webber, its course designer and one of its early visionaries. Webber’s two books, Trail Solutions: Managing Mountain Biking: IMBA’s Guide to Providing Great Riding (2007) and IMBA’s Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack (2004), have sold 30,000 copies in 60 countries and are the world’s go-to mountain bike trail building guides.

Sustainable bicycle trail building is Webber’s middle name, and cyclocross is not only in his veins, it fills his every capillary. He designed the cyclocross course as well as all of the singletrack trails, pump tracks, and stunt features in the park, and his familiarity with it left none of the USA Cycling delegation’s questions unanswered during a walk around the cyclocross course.

Webber often uses the Boulder “Wednesday Worlds” morning cyclocross training race/ride, which regularly draws over 100 riders all fall and winter, to try out his course designs at Valmont, fully flagging out a course the day before. Two races with over 500 participants each (almost 800 in the second one) were held here in September and October, and the course is universally loved. Spectators and racers alike loved the UCI Boulder Cup cyclocross race held at Valmont Park this year on Halloween weekend, in part because of separate announcers at the finish and atop the 5280’ Run-Up staircase jam-packed with fans. The winners of the elite men’s and women’s Boulder Cup, Belgian Ben Berden and near-local Katie Compton (from Colorado Springs), both gushed about the quality of the Valmont course and its massive and enthusiastic crowds. There will be a number of other races at the venue to further iron out kinks in anticipation of holding national championship races here.

After racing cyclocross in Belgium, Webber has some Euro ideas not only for course design but also for infrastructure that are gradually being implemented at Valmont Park. These include getting riders away from their cars for pre-race preparation by utilizing the 30,000-square-foot metal barn at the park as an athlete’s base camp. “Americans dress and warm up at their cars, but in Belgium, riders sit on chairs in a heated building with a box for all of their gear,” says Webber.

The vast, one-story barn’s build-out plan includes areas for riders to have individual equipment boxes or lockers, a neutral trainer warm-up area, secure storage depot, vendor area, and indoor bike wash in a lowered concrete bay. Bike washes in the building and at the pit area adjacent the pond on the opposite end of the park would be supplied by high-pressure water splitting out into multiple hoses, rather than noisy, smelly power washers prone to breakdown and long waiting lines.

Boulder’s bike racing legacy is long, through much hard work and negotiation it recently landed a stage finish for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and its eagerness to have the 2014-2015 cyclocross nationals at Valmont Park is palpable. Asheville, NC and Austin, TX are competing with Boulder in the bid for the events.

Stage 2 gallery

For the second day in a row, the start line of the Ladies Tour of Qatar was greeted by the resilient desert winds, which once again forced a very early selection. A group of 11 women split off the front of the peloton, and later slimmed down to nine containing stage one’s winner and GC leader, Kirsten Wild (NED), second in the GC Judith Arndt (GEW), Trixi Worrack (SLU), and white jersey holder Chloe Hosking (SLU).

At the first intermediate sprint, Wild took the maximum time bonus and points ahead of Van Dijk (SLU) and Arndt. The group’s advantage over the chase group grew to its maximum advantage of 1:20, with 58km to go in the strong headwinds. When the leaders entered the finishing circuits in Madinat Al Shamal the nine lost ground in the heavy crosswinds. The leaders managed to hold on till the second intermediate sprint, with Arndt taking the max points ahead of Wild and Van Dijk. The leaders were then caught by a chase group of about 30, seven kilometers later.

At the start of the final, 13km lap, a group of four attacked off the front with Worrack, Arndt, Wild, and Adrie Visser (SKI). Two kilometers later Worrack and Arndt pressed the pace, eventually opening up a gap of 2:20 over Wild and Visser. Worrack took the sprint win over Arndt. Visser held on for third over her countrywomen and rival Wild. Shelley Olds (USA) won the bunch sprint over the charging peloton who ended up 2:51 down on Worrack.

The leader’s gold jersey changed to Arndt who has a slim two-second lead over Worrack. While Wild maintains her lead in the point’s competition and Hosking (SLU) remains in the best young rider white jersey. Tomorrow is the third and final stage with a 92.5km race around the Katara Cultural Village.

Wind brings out Wild in stage 1

The Spanish rider, speaking to the Spanish daily El País during the team’s official presentation in Madrid this week, said he’s turned the page on his ban and has no intention of adding more fuel to the fire.

“I have nothing to confess. They sanctioned me for two years and I served it out. I don’t regret anything,” Valverde told El País. “In every moment of my life, I’ve done the right thing. I feel good about myself. I have nothing to reproach myself or have to say anything.”

Echoing comments he told VeloNews.com last month in an interview, a defiant Valverde says he will not speak in depth about his controversial ban.

Unlike some riders, such as Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi, who admitted their role in the blood doping ring, Valverde has never fully come clean publicly on the case.

Italian officials took blood samples from Valverfe during the 2008 Tour de France, when a stage passed through Italian territory. They later matched those to blood bags that were part of the Puerto police raids that were attributed to belong to Valverde.

The match was positive, enough for Italian cycling officials, and later WADA and the UCI, to press for a ban for Valverde.

When asked about the blood bags by El País, Valverde refused to comment.

“I have nothing more to say,” he said. “If you study the case, then you’ll know the whole story.”

Valverde said he received a warm welcome from his fellow professionals with return to competition at the Tour Down Under, where he won a stage, saying, “No one turned their back on me.”

Though he continues to remain defiant, he did admit that he’s glad that the Puerto story is now in the past.

“The suspension was hard, of course, but at the time, it served for something. The last two and a half years, until the ban, were strange,” he said. “I was going to the races and still winning, but it wasn’t the same. I always knew there was that (asterisk) and I wasn’t happy about that. Now I’ve served out the ban, which wasn’t nice, but it arrived and it’s over, and now all I have to do is to look forward.”

Valverde also took a shot at sporting justice, saying that the rules are not always applied fairly.

“Neither yes or no,” he said of fairness of CAS. “With some people, they’ve been fair, with others, not so much. With me, they made me pay to the letter of the law, 100 percent. I’ve served it out, I’ve paid the price. What’s most important is that we’re here. They should be strict, but strict with everyone.”

Valverde, 32 in April, will next race at the Mallorca Challenge next week in Spain before preparing for the spring classics and later the Tour de France and Olympic Games.

Steve Carpenter
USA Cycling Coach
Assistant Director, BMC-Hincapie Development Team

A.Steve,
Thanks for your email. It’s always good to hear what is going on out in the field. Congrats on a great program.

Q.Nick,
I am setting up a new (or at least new to me) cyclocross bike and I am thinking I will run full-length housing for the front and rear brakes.  Are there any reasons why this is a bad idea?  The only disadvantage I can think of is that I won’t be able to use the cable stops on the top tube and I will have to secure the housing with zip ties.  Am I missing something? – Perry Brown

A.Perry,
You’ll have less cable contamination if you run full-length cable housing, but you’ll also have more housing compression to deal with. You may end up with a pretty mushy-feeling brake. I have a couple bikes that run full-length brake housing and I’ve had good luck using Gore, SRAM and Shimano cables. Friends have used Nokon cables when a long section of housing was necessary. A clean cable and a bit of lube can get them running well. You might consider upping the spring tension on your brakes as well. That’ll help them snap back.

So, you can go either way. Personally, I’d use the stops and a sealed cable system. But I get stuck on aesthetics on my bikes.

Q.Nick,
Paris Roubaix is coming up and I’ll be riding the ASO cyclosportif version of the race.  I have a sweet BMC team elite with Easton EA 90 SLX clinchers on it. I weigh 150 lbs. What are some good wide clinchers to go with for this race? What pressure? What about tubulars for less chance of pinch flats? I would like to try a carbon rim, like the pros, but will I likely trash them? – Michael

A.Michael,
I may have answered this question in the past, but it’s a good one. I rode last year’s Roubaix sportif on 25mm Michelin Pro Optimum clinchers. They were great. I ran 65/70 psi (I also weigh 150 pounds) and never punctured. The Michelins seem to be a nice fat 25 in a world of 25mm tires that measure closer to 23mm.

Another good, robust option is Continental’s Grand Prix 4-Season in a 28mm (they run narrow). They are virtually bulletproof. I’ve also used Challenge’s massive Parigi-Roubaix open tubular (clincher) tire. It’s listed as a 27mm, but inflated to 80 psi on a DT Swiss RR415 rim, I measured them at 29mm. They barely fit inside my Enve fork so beware. Your BMC may have tighter tolerances.

Tubulars certainly decrease the chance of a pinch flat for a given pressure. A good quality tubular is usually more supple than a clincher, something nice for the day of abuse you have ahead of you.

I don’t think I’d personally ride carbon rims at Roubaix, unless I was filthy rich! I don’t think you’re gaining all the much. Really, the Roubaix sportif is about the experience of riding the same roads as the pros. You won’t be as fast or as skilled over the pave as the pros (and more importantly, you won’t have a follow car with a spare wheel!).

Q.Nick,
Many of us in New Hampshire spend a lot of time researching gearing for the Mt. Washington hill climb. I would love to hear your thoughts on gearing for MT Washington.
 
Many folks say go with a 11-36 cassette (a.k.a. the Frying Pan) or 11-32. Then  use 34/24 mountain bike crank up front. I have gone up in a car and hiked it. I did GPS measurements of inclines. We’re talking 12- 15 -18 percent grades sustained in some of the first several miles. And yes the famed 22 percent at end, but that is a short burst.
 
While I have tried some hills in my area of 10 to 18% with a compact and 11-32, Mt. Washington is a beast and unfortunately we can only pre-ride it once before the race.
 
I guess my question is: 11-28, 11-32, or 11-36? With what up front?  Would 30/24 chainrings be too small upfront and just be spinning or would a 34/28 be more reasonable pairing??
 
I know it depends on weight to power and conditioning, but all of us out here who are training a year in advance to do the BUMPS series in New England would greatly appreciate your input on MT Washington and hill climbs in general. – Kris

A.Kris,
Tough question, especially as I’ve never ridden Mt. Washington (though it’s on the bucket list). In talking with several friends, I don’t think you can go too low. After all, you aren’t allowed to even descend back down the mountain!

In years past, many riders used the 30-tooth chainring on road triple cranks (without the larger two rings) with the largest cassette they could get their hands on.

SRAM is making lower gears on road bikes much easier because its Double Tap shifters are compatible with its mountain bike derailleurs. Shimano’s latest shifters are not compatible with its mountain bike derailleurs.

I don’t think that a compact and a 28-tooth cassette setup is sufficiently low, at least not for mere mortals. Most people recommend a 1:1 ratio as a bail-out gear. So, with your compact crank (50-34) you’d need a 12×34 cassette and a mountain bike derailleur. If it were me, I’d go all in and get a 12×36 cassette and have no worries (okay still plenty to worry about, wind being at the front of my Mt. Washington mind).

If you ride SRAM, that’ll entail buying a rear derailleur, a cassette and a chain. If your bike is Shimano equipped, it’ll be tougher. You might consider a mountain bike crank and then use your current cassette. The most “compatible” system will still be the SRAM setup.

I would encourage those who have participated in the hill climb to add their two cents in the comments section. Maybe include your category and setup recommendations. Best of luck Kris!