I don't need a hero

Don't tell me who to admire

If social media and exposure has done anything in the past twenty years - it has removed our naivety to human failings. Nobody is perfect. Admiration emerges from the simplest places and nobody should be telling us who to consider a hero. Those most deserved of admiration are seldom those in the spotlight.

Months ago I had a lessons of life conversation with my 17-year old nephew Kevin. We talked about how being a good person should never be granted simply by public image. That there are plenty of people contributing daily who never receive fame or attention. That those without good grades and sports achievement should never be seen as lesser or bad people. Being a good person is separate from achievement. Kevin is blessed with smarts and amazing athletic ability (and a scholarship to Stanford next year), but an incident that happened to his classmates at school last year prompted our conversation about the need to cultivate integrity and honesty separate from attention given by others.

Poor Lance Armstrong never learned that lesson (and his Mother knew it long ago). I was disgusted this week when I read an article published at Bicycling.com stating that our new hero should be Greg Lemond (dribble). What? Out with the old, in with the old? I don't want Greg Lemond as my hero. I don't need a new hero. Offering admiration and respect is not something I want dictated, and am now more than wary of giving freely to public figures.

I am fascinated by the study of human behavior. The sport of cycling has given much to feed that interest of late, juxtaposed against the fact that bike racing continues, as if nothing ever happened, at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia and at the Tour de San Luis in Argentina. Yep the teams are back to racing and the 2013 racing season has begun anew. 

Back on US soil, next in line for an interview is Travis Tygart, who will share his side of the USADA story this Sunday on 60 minutes. Sure I am tired of Lance Armstrong (really tired) but I am not so tired that I would miss out on hearing Tygart's response to Lance's confession.

Travis Tygart on 60 Minutes on CBS news, Sunday, January 27, 2013. 

Achievement does not equate to integrity. Sorry, Lance confessed and Betsy is still rightly miffed at him and others (I almost expected Oprah to contact Betsy to discuss the art of forgiveness). At least we had the humor of George Carlin and Bike Snob: The Power of O to laugh over this past week. 

Let's move on, but please - no one ask Mark Cavendish about Lance - he fears Armstrong has tainted his sport forever and he is mad. I fear Armstrong has tainted the idea of heroes forever. I'm not mad, but I have a strong dislike of the color yellow. That is why the Tour Down Under is so cool - NO yellow jersey!

The Leader is in Orange!  Thomas Gerraint (SKY) in the Santos Tour Down Under Leaders Jersey.  
Photo from Team Sky Website News

I also liked Bradley Wiggins nun too emotional remarks made today:



Watch some bike racing - visit Steephill.TV Tour Down Under 2013 Live Dashboard for all the links, rosters, photos, and results from racing in Australia (finishes this weekend).

Current standings Tour Down Under (Australia):

General Classification after Stage 4
GBR  1  THOMAS, Geraint (SKY PROCYCLING)                          12:59:09
NED  2  SLAGTER, Tom Jelte (BLANCO PRO CYCLING TEAM)   +  5
ESP  3  MORENO BAZAN, Javier (MOVISTAR TEAM)                   +  6
BEL  4  HERMANS, Ben (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD)                       +  8
ESP  5  IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI, Gorka (EUSKALTEL EUSKADI)   + 15
ESP  6  IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI, Jon (EUSKALTEL EUSKADI)

Current standings Tour de San Luis (Argentina):

General Classification after Stage 4

Pto  Dor  Nombre                                 Nac  Equipo                                        hh:mm:ss
 ~~~  ~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~      ~~~~~~~~
   1º   3    KWIATKOWSKI, Michal     POL  OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK S 12:30:37
   2º  86   VAN GARDEREN, Tejay     USA  BMC RACING TEAM                  23
   3º  74   V.DEN BROECK, Jurgen     BEL  LOTTO BELISOL                          42
   4º 206  DINIZ, Alex                          BRA  FUNVIC BRASILINVEST           45
   5º  71   DE CLERCQ, Bart                BEL  LOTTO BELISOL                         54
   6º  21   CONTADOR, Alberto          ESP  TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF                01:10
   7º  11   DIAZ, Ricardo                      ARG  SAN LUIS SOMOS TODOS         01:12
   8º  95   ULISSI, Diego                      ITA  LAMPRE MERIDA                         01:12
   9º   2    CHAVANEL, Sylvain           FRA  OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK S      01:24
  10º  63  HERRADA, Jesus                 ESP  MOVISTAR TEAM                        01:24

Need a pick me up after the week? The well-grounded Ted King believes "...that the newest generation of riders is different." Read The Best-Kept Secret, then please follow his own personal blog (I am Ted King) where his unique writing style and humor shines through. 

I like Ted, Ted is my new hero. 
Well that didn't take long. 

The last time I saw my hero
Ted King at Cross Vegas, Las Vegas, September 2012. Photo by Pedal Dancer

Cycling is in the News Big Time

A time to broaden our small world of cycling
 
The interesting point of having the topic of Lance Armstrong and the sport of cycling move outside of the usual cycling circle of journalists and bloggers, is that we get to read the well written words of others looking from the outside in. I hope you have been keeping up with articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Telegraph, and other local and national newspapers. Their insight is helping to expand and expose the world of cycling beyond our regular cycling news sources, those sources which have often been intimidated into silence over the years. The infusion of fresh thought is greatly needed.

Being a cycling journalist, over the past fifteen years, could not have been easy. It is tough to try to hold onto a job while facing moral decisions. Access is everything in journalism, more important than exposing the truth I fear. I remember months (or was it years) ago I wrote a honest piece about what I believed was the writing on the wall of the impending fall of Armstrong (I believed he would be found legally guilty of perjury and might do jail time). My own father was so upset with me.

How could I speak out against a man who had done such good? I had family members struggling against cancer. How could I dare to speak up against him when Lance had "never failed a test"? I realized that some people would simply get very upset over the topic. For families who had been touched with cancer (more like hammered, and mine has) Armstrong was a spiritual leader, a sign of hope and strength. I learned to treat it like a political party preference, it was best not to discuss the topic of Armstrong's doping. 

Armstrong used his cancer leverage to shield his doping lies

According to the CDC, "Each year globally, 12.7 million people learn they have cancer, and 7.6 million people die from the disease. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease; it kills more than half a million Americans every year." CDC's Interactive Cancer Atlas (InCA). According to the National Cancer Institute, among the US population, "It is estimated that 1,638,910 men and women (848,170 men and 790,740 women) will be diagnosed with and 577,190 men and women will die of cancer of all sites in 2012."

These are shocking figures, but my point is this - Lance Armstrong is not the only person to have been inflicted with and survived cancer. The disease affects millions every day. Each one of them a hero for triumphing through their fear and suffering. Cancer is a terrible enemy and deserves to have an honest face to represent the battle. I appreciate what Lance Armstrong tried to do, and none-other had the platform he was given, he could have done more than good, he could have done great. But Lance Armstrong's time is over. A disease as horrible as cancer does not need dishonesty.

This is a unique time when excellent writers are writing about cycling. The sport is in the headlines.

I realize in devouring so many of the articles lately, that man, the best in the biz sure can write! At this point we need fresh ideas, new words, new actions, because I believe the inside of this sport is about as dirty as it gets. Spring cleaning is needed. 
 
I like these words:
"We likely will not have a definitive answer to most of these questions at the conclusion of the interview. We might have clues, but the truth will lie in gray areas that will become clearer as Armstrong carries this burden for the rest of his life. Apologies are promises to change. Like promises, we cannot judge them fully in the moments they are spoken. Wrongdoers need time to search for the deepest values that orient their lives and to begin rebuilding their futures with habits that honor those principles. Although it may not make for good television, this sort of persistent growth creates good people. Moral development does not occur within a news cycle." By Nick Smith in the Wall Street Journal

I like this reaction:
"I love a good myth. (So did those guys in that bar. They ended up acknowledging the magnitude of Armstrong’s lies, but had a tough time walking away from them, though, like me, they eventually did.) And I should say, as I have here, here, and here, that I bought it all for many years, and no doubt hell also hath no fury like that of a gullible, humiliated fanboy." By Michael Specter in the New York Times 

I am happy to see possible changes. Meanwhile I will be out pedaling my bike, and watching races in Australia and Louisville, Kentucky. Because riding a bicycle is still an excellent thing to do.  

Again, if you are interested in watching the Oprah Winfrey interview of Lance Armstrong tonight, links can be found on my post from yesterday: The Interview 

The Interview

He is attempting to reset his image

Lance Armstrong, featuring Oprah Winfrey in a planned orchestrated pre-taped interview

Will you watch the Lance Armstrong confession interview with Oprah? It is after all scheduled during prime time entertainment hour on TV. Which I am grateful for because most of Europe, and the world, will be asleep and will not have to endure seeing how gullible Americans can be. Still I am curious. I only wish the interview had been in front of a live audience and the TV screen could show a graph similar to our presidential debates with viewer reactions of sad and pitiful / somewhat believable / total BS / LIAR.

Where to watch the Oprah interview with Lance Armstrong: The interview is now spread over 2 NIGHTS, Thursday 17 January and Friday 18 January. Tune in on your OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network, find OWN on your TV) Channel or watch the interview on Oprah.com Live stream at 7pm MST (9pm-10:30 ET/PT). 

In addition, Discovery Communications (owner of OWN) will make the Internet stream available to Comcast, DirecTV, Verizon, and DishNetwork, which will offer access to it on their websites. I signed in to find 'watch live TV online' in the right column. Also rebroadcast on the radio at Oprah's XM (111) and Sirius (204) radio stations. The interview is not truly live, the broadcast is live, the interview was taped last Monday.

In the UK the interview may be seen on Discovery Channel UK on Friday 2AM & 8PM (Sky520 Virgin212). 

What we have learned 

Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs
We already knew this, but now we get to hear his side of the story. Keep in mind that truth usually comes in degrees after a long lie, so we will learn more in the future beyond this 2-part interview. Video: A discussion about Lance Armstrong's doping confession

Lance Armstrong was not the best endurance athlete ever
If we've learned anything it is that an unremarkable athlete is made more remarkable by drugs (a talented athlete made outstanding), and that there is no fairness in cheating or doping. The only leveler is truth. Time to kill off the myth that Armstrong was an exceptional athlete.

Livestrong.org is not cancer research
Don't refer to Livestrong as cancer research when Livestrong.org is patient advocacy and support. "The LIVESTRONG Foundation unites, inspires and empowers people affected by cancer." See Where the Money goes at Livestrong.org. Livestrong.com is a for profit website. The Livestrong Cancer Research Center was not started until April 2012, odd timing. Outside Magazine wrote an enlightening piece on the Livestrong Foundation It's not about the Lab Rats.

Armstrong is carefully targeting his audience for forgiveness
Remember when the Inner Ring blog informed us, "Do you know who the biggest watchers of bike races are in France, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland? The over-60s. And the second largest component of the audience? Women aged 35-55." Do you know that the Oprah Winfrey Network's favored audience is women age 25-54. Lance Armstrong chose Oprah not only because they both have places to stay (Oprah has a home) in Hawaii and she is kind, but because her audience might likely also be kind and forgiving. If he was serious about making right from wrong he would have privately walked into Travis Tygart's office to confess.

He will race again
Ok this just scares me, so I'd rather ignore this truth. 

Lance Armstrong will continue to manipulate

You never know how narcissists with power will react or behave because they just don't think like the rest of us. That is why I really don't know what will be in this interview. I do know he has master-minded this event just like every other. People are always ready to forgive, but Lance Armstrong's legacy might indeed be to teach us what we will not tolerate in sports. Forgiveness or not, he has changed the sport of cycling for the worse. (status with IOC)


Don't be fooled, he intends to change your mind about him

Redirecting image is a far cry from a moral confession. Lance Armstrong is not a changed man, nor is he a living example of trying to do right. There is another motivation for his recent tactics and that is what I am waiting to see discovered. Sure Armstrong laid low for awhile, but you can bet every recent news leak, every meeting or sudden appearance was planned and calculated to either test the waters or lead us, the poor unknowing ready to forgive folks, down the path Armstrong wants us to walk.

Redemption

"You don't hold the keys to my redemption," he (Armstrong) said, according to the person familiar with the meeting. "There's one person who holds the keys to my redemption," he went on, pointing at himself, "and that's me."" These words were spoken as recently as last month to Travis Tygart at a meeting between Armstrong and Tygart in Denver, Colorado, as reported in an article by The Wall Street Journal (Behind Lance Armstrong's Decision to Talk). Armstrong had requested the meeting to gauge if Tygart would be willing to reduce his life-long band of competing in Olympic sanctioned sports. The meeting didn't go so well.

I believe we have been fed leaks through the media with the intent to lesson the blow, to test public opinion, to soften the real news when released. As my brother said, "it's as if they formed focus groups and tested the effectiveness of statements or scenarios." What do the people want to hear, what will it take so that we will again admire Lance Armstrong and return his power?

Lance Armstrong needs our admiration and he needs the freedom to continue his pursuit of anything he wants. I believe he is solely interested in himself. Surely there are plenty of triathlons he could race, evidenced by the number of Triathlon events last year willing to dump the USAT backing to allow Armstrong to compete (and increase entrance numbers and thereby money). Armstrong could have taken his millions and built another parallel Ironman series and competed in his own races. Are a few triathlon competitions worth the millions he will surely pay in legal suits and fees?

Watch for manipulation

A decent person with integrity does not go around saying what a good person they are, they don't need to, their behavior speaks for itself. Armstrong has had some terrible behavior in the past 15 years. A decent person also does not bring others down with him, they stand on their own failed heap and take responsibility. Don't believe Armstrong if he attempts to tell us that everyone doped, that all pro sports are corrupt, that he followed his teammates, managers, and doctors. Don't believe him when he talks of the good he did, how his competitors would say he deserved to win the Tour de France. He cheated, he harmed, he repeatedly lied. (Video compilation of Lance lying).

Good tough men can win without being a loser

Please remind yourself prior to and during the interview that Armstrong has sued, mocked, intimidated, harassed, coerced, bribed, bullied, and lied to not only a select few, but to all of us. Everyone. Over and over again. Sure he carried some people along, those who took advantage of their connection to Armstrong to promote their coaching, nutrition drink, books, photographs, apparel, bikes, or health causes. He also inspired individuals facing their own battle with cancer. But in his wake he left many real individuals with shattered lives.

I like a tough sportsman, give me the Badger on a bike (Bernard Hinault) any day and I will show him great respect, but I will not give respect, forgiveness or absolution to a man who does not truly understand what he did wrong. Even if the words are there, there is something missing in Lance Armstrong that makes him powerful, but not a man I would want as a friend and certainly not as an enemy, and never again as a hero.

Can't he just go run bike and swim in private?

Do we need to offer Armstrong our forgiveness? Do we need to let him orchestrate and determine our opinion of him? I think we are smart enough, even if somewhat uninformed or not privy to all the details, to make up our own minds. I am tired of Lance Armstrong, tired because others are more deserved of our attention. But I would like to say this - Lance you are wrong about your redemption being in your hands - it is in ours. Each one of ours. People forgive but we do not forget.

Is cycling done?

Last night's interview on Charlie Rose with David Epstein (Sports Illustrated), Daniel Coyle (Author), and Juliet Macur (NYT) was exceptional in it's content and clarity. Please watch this interview video: A discussion about Lance Armstrong's doping confession. 

During the interview, in one brief inhale, Charlie Rose made the statement, "okay, so cycling is done," then carried on to the next question. What, cycling is done? How sad. How tragic. To me the word cycling has always described far more than professional cycling. When I think of cycling I think of kids and their first bike, I think of friends meeting for a weekend ride together, I think of the fun of bike maintenance, or the good of exercise.

Still I believe Frankie Andreu is correct in saying that Lance Armstrong holds the key to cleaning up the sport of cycling because he was the leader, he knows how it was done. I refuse to think the fate of cycling rests solely on Lance Armstrong. Just as we hold the decision of Armstrong's redemption, I would like to think we collectively hold the future of cycling. 

I'm not sure which quote applies more for the day

"The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long." or "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"

There was no Oprah couch at the 2.5 hour interview, which was moved to a Hotel in Austin, Texas, with nice decorative glass bottles. I can't wait to hear what was said in that room.

A lot of background history to read prior to the interview tonight: Analysis: What USADA’s case file means to those involved. By Neal Rogers for VeloNews

It's been a long time

It's a good news kind of day

I know, I know, I've been absent. I am so sorry.

I'm back in Colorado, my dog has retained his high-altitude ball fetching skills (even though he spent the last 5-6 weeks near the beach in beautiful sunny southern California), and my Mother is doing fine.  That is the best news of all. Never ever spend 34-days in the hospital if you have any choice. That's what my Mother did. They call her a miracle, I call her extremely tough and tolerant. I do not care for hospitals and wonder how I ever spent years working in healthcare, and why they combine the words health and care to describe what people go through in those places. It is one of those places I hope to forget, soon.

Strange how the biggest baddest months in cycling went down while I was holding vigil in a hospital. Strange how it puts it all into one big ball of perspective of who cares about Lance Armstrong! The only thing I care about is all those people who should have won when he stole the win (by cheating) and all those dollars spent on Livestrong (and redistributed by Livestrong) when that good cash could have gone to true cancer research. What a major pain in the distraction Lance Armstrong was.

I sure am glad I never went hog-wild over that guy, in fact he became a real pain in the process of trying to view the Tour de France as a fan. Body guards, throngs of fans, rope lines, inner circles, American brashness - I quickly soured of his effect on cycling some time ago. Nobody else seemed so totally unapproachable as Armstrong. Every World Champion or up-and-coming rider I have since stood next to was so much more real then Armstrong ever was. Perhaps next time we will know what to watch out for.

I find this image eerily creepy and downright disturbing ... do you think he will ever get it?

(Image tweeted by Lance Armstrong 3 days ago.   Poignantly alone.)

It's not about the cheating

I am sorry Phil Liggett, but I want to punch you out for saying that everyone doped therefore you find it hard to believe that Lance Armstrong did not. That is not the point and does not help the future of cycling; we all know not everyone doped, we also know some were better dopers than others, and we know it was not only about the doping. It was about the coercion, bribery, libel, slander, intimidation, blackmail, evasion, and generally ruining an otherwise good bike ride. Lance Armstrong is a thug. There are cheaters in sport, but thugs have no place in sport, and any triathlete who is willing to encourage a race organizer to abandon USAT to allow Armstrong to compete against weekend-warriors in the USA for his ego, is contributing to diminishing the sport of Triathlon. Just say no.

I say - place your support where your heart is

Donate to genuine cancer research
Support clean riders, teams, and races
Buy the products of sponsors who speak out
Ride your own bike race
Train for your own bike ride
Take your own trip to climb Alpe d'Huez

If Lance Armstrong has taught me anything it is that sometimes bad people do get their comeuppance. Also - apparently I am not as slow a bike rider as I thought. I would watch mere mortals plod along up the routes of the Tour de France only to witness the pros sail by with nary a grimace. Heck I did the Galibier "on bread and water," in fact I did all those cool rides in France clean, and my slower pace did not diminish the thrill one iota. If you love riding a bike, the shake-up in the sport will not affect your ability to spin the pedals and chase your own dreams.

While the world of cycling shook - I was in California (but not on my bike)

Laguna Beach, California

And road tripping it back and forth (with a few hikes) across beautiful Utah with my dog

Utah

Jack Denny, the enormous Labradoodle

Hi Mom! I was happy to spend the time with you. Next time let's do it someplace fun.

Armstrong erased

Get out the erasers - they did the right thing!

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Monday, October 22, 2012 -- 7:46 AM EDT

Lance Armstrong Stripped of His Seven Tour de France Titles for Doping

New York Times ..."Lance Armstrong Stripped of His Seven Tour de France Titles for Doping. The International Cycling Union announced on Monday that it will not appeal the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s ruling to bar Lance Armstrong for life from Olympic sports for doping and for playing an instrumental role in the team-wide doping on his Tour de France-winning cycling squads.

That decision to waive the right to take Armstrong’s case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest court in sports, formally strips Armstrong of the Tour titles he won from 1999 to 2005. The Amaury Sport Organization, the company that organizes the Tour de France, will erase Armstrong’s name from its record books."

Score: USADA 7, Armstrong 0
.

For a times they are a changing

Changes in the sport of cycling
Some people have stopped complaining and are trying to tip us off that the future holds changes for cycling. What ever you think of the recent headlines about Lance Armstrong (and the truth is our opinions really won't change the past), the in-fighting that his case created could result in changes in the organization of the sport of cycling. And this is where our opinions and actions do matter. 

One thing is for sure, more information will be released over the next two years to shed light on the Armstrong subject, but the sport of cycling cannot wait that long. We need to get a solid handle on who is in charge of regulating doping in the sport internationally. We need to improve organization, and we need to improve rider salaries, but most importantly we need to make sure Sponsors don't walk out the door disgusted. I don't know if Lance Armstrong is guilty, I do know he declined to continue the fight for his innocence, but Armstrong's reputation is not worth taking down the sport of cycling.

When I hear that race organizers spare no expense to expand their events, I want them to expand the wallets of the true stars of this show - the riders. When I wrote in my post from yesterday (Podium Girls 2012 USA Pro Challenge) that the fans were interested in the prize money for the recent USA Pro Challenge, I was almost embarrassed for the fans to discover how little the winners make. I overheard a Mother at the race answer her son's question, "Do they make a lot of money?" "Yes," she told her son. No, I refrained from correcting them, they do not. 

Lance Armstrong made a lot of money, many of the riders who have had ProTour contracts for years make hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year, but most of the hard-training hard-racing cyclists at the USA Pro Challenge do not make a lot of money. They do it because they are bike racers. I wish we could get 50 of the generous VIP pass paying fans to pool their money and sponsor a Continental team rider to help him train for another year. There has to be a way of making it in this sport without doping being the means to making it into the big leagues and making the big bucks.

Changes are coming 
Read Texas Fold ‘Em Lance Armstrong gives up, but his saga is likely still not over, By Joe Lindsey; and also Commentary: Building a cycling union, straight from Miller’s mouth, By VeloNews. Perhaps George Mitchell could do for cycling what he did for American Baseball in his Mitchell Report to the Commissioner in 2007.

I realized I still have a framed photo of Lance Armstrong on my bookshelf. I make all these comments fully appreciative of what Lance Armstrong accomplished for the fight against cancer. And having a brother who this very day sat in a chair to receive chemo treatment, I mean that, but it is time to separate the man and his cause from the sport. Maybe we should accept this as a real outcome; we have a lot more work ahead of us and many more excellent young athletes to focus our attention upon. It is time to move on.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let's give a cheer for the Pro Conti and Continental teams that competed at the USA Pro Challenge

©Photos by Karen of PedalDancer.com

Team Bontrager-Livestrong in Montrose last week  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Joe Dombrowski the overall Best Young Rider rides for a Continental Team
©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Team Exergy signing autographs for fans in Aspen last week  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

3 time U.S. National Road Champion Freddy Rodriguez rides for a Continental Team  
©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

On Independence Pass  Photo by deNavaille Photographique

Big climbs, hard stages    Photo by deNavaille Photographique

Rory Sutherland rides for the Professional Continental team United Healthcare   
©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

The Bissell team in Beaver Creek

Bontrager-Livestrong in Breckenridge    ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Starting stage 5 in Breckenridge   Photo by deNavaille Photographique

The Russian Russ Velo riders in Breckenridge   Photo by deNavaille Photographique

Fans and riders relating in Golden   ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

EPM-Une riders rolling through to the start line in Golden

Spidertech team heading to sign-in in Golden

Team Exergy   ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Team EPM-Une (Columbia)  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

United Healthcare and Team Type I-Sonofi riders

Ready to race every morning

EPM-Une, Champion Systems, Team Type I-Sanofi, Bissell out on the road racing ©Photo by Laurie Valaer

Rory Sutherland won Stage 6 on Flagstaff  Photo by deNavaille Photographique

Russ Velo on the start ramp on Denver ITT  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Exergy ready for the individual time trial   ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Optum/Kelly Benefit Strategies racing through the streets of Denver   
©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Exergy racing  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Bontrager-Livestrong crossing the line in the ITT in Denver
©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

EPM-Une rider on the last corner ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Champion Systems crosses the finish line  ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

The Continental teams are a big part of the races in America

©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

They gave us a great mix of 16 teams

©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

A blend of riders

©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

I hope they'll be back again next year to make the race even better

They'll be back   ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer.com

Every rider and team needs your support

UCI ProTeams

Astana Pro Team (KAZ)

BMC Racing Team (USA)

Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda (USA)

Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)

Omega Pharma-QuickStep (BEL)

RadioShack-Nissan-Trek (LUX)

UCI Professional Continental Teams

Champion System Pro Cycling Team (CHN)

RusVelo (RUS) and select translate page

Team SpiderTech powered by C10 (CAN)

Team Type 1-SANOFI (USA)

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)

UCI Continental Teams

Bontrager Livestrong Team (USA)

EPM-UNE (COL)

Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA)

Team Exergy (USA)

Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)

.