The case against Lance Armstrong is closed. His legacy as a seven-time Tour de France champion endures. Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Armstrong on Friday, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the world's most famous cyclist and his teammates joined in a doping program during his greatest years.

The Associated Press
Prosecutors won't charge cyclist Lance Armstrong
The Associated Press
Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Armstrong on Friday, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the world's most famous cyclist and his teammates joined in a doping program during his greatest years.
Lance Armstrong doping investigation is droppedLos Angeles Times

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The Express Tribune
Cycling: Lahore win regional championship
The Express Tribune
By Our Correspondent KARACHI: Hosts Lahore accumulated 211 points to win the Punjab Cycling Championship. Faisalabad finished runners-up with 130 points while Gujranwala were third with 97 points. Lahore won the team sprint title along with elimination ...

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Message by Edmond Hood
When I was a boy, back in the early 70’s there were names which caught the eye on the six day circuit, in among the famous ‘handles’ like Sigi Renz, Albert Fritz and Rene Pijnen these names just seemed too ‘Anglo’ – Tim Mountford was one and Jack Simes, another. Both Americans, crossing the wide Atlantic to wrestle with the Europeans before laptops, mobiles, Skype, Greg Lemond, Lance and all the rest were even thought about. And now, again, amongst the like of Marvulli, Bengsch and Aeschbach the name Simes has returned – Jack’s son, 23 year-old Jamis rider Jack Simes IV, better known as Jackie.

Lance Armstrong licked 'em again. Always has. Always will. Like cancer and the Tour de France, the federal government turned out to be just another challenge to conquer. On his trophy wall, next to those bright yellow jerseys he got for winning the world's toughest bike race seven times, Armstrong can now hang the scalp of steroid cop Jeff Novitzky.

BBC News
Cycling-mad Dad on battling his brain cancer
BBC News
Over the last few years he has cycled thousands of miles up and down the Black Mountains, getting fitter and healthier by the day. "When I started cycling I used to walk up the steep hills but now I just keep on going and I never get off.

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Cyclist Lance Armstrong released the following statement through his attorney after the U.S. attorney's office decided Friday not to bring charges against him after a nearly two-year investigation into whether the seven-time Tour de France champion and his teammates ran a doping program: "I am gratified to learn that the U.S.

US prosecutors close an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct over doping claims in a cycle team partly owned by former Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

The Age
Cycling: Cavendish can start Sky life on a high after decent train times
The Independent
Mark Cavendish's 2012 road to the Tour de France and Olympic Games starts here in Qatar's exotic (for cycling) desert landscape tomorrow – with much more than just winning as many stages as possible at stake for the Manxman.
Cycling hero Cav in crash scareThe Sun
Renshaw gets chance to race CavendishThe Age
Cycling: Feverish Greipel pulls out of Tour of QatarTimes of India
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Telegraph.co.uk (blog)
Campaign joined by thousands as another cyclist dies
Times Online
A man in his 60s was killed by a coach while cycling through London yesterday. The death came on the day that the 11000th person signed up to the Times campaign to prevent such horrific incidents by revolutionising British streets for cyclists.
Cycling in Singapore: An Uphill Battle?Wall Street Journal (blog)
Cyclist killed in coach collision in BishopsgateBBC News
Cyclists are pompous enough as it is – a Cycling Covenant would make them ...Telegraph.co.uk (blog)
Huffington Post UK -Spectator.co.uk -road.cc
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The Associated Press reported Friday afternoon that federal prosecutors have closed the investigation of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong without filing charges. The investigation, headed by federal agent Jeff Novitzky, focused on alleged performance enhancing drug use by Armstrong and his former U.S. Postal Service teammates in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

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.”

United States Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart said on Friday that the group's investigation into doping in cycling would continue.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have said an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by members and associates of a bike racing team partly owned by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is closed.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said on Friday they had closed an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by members and associates of a bike racing team partly owned by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. released the following statement Friday regarding the Lance Armstrong doping investigation: "United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. today announced that his office is closing an investigation into allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong.

What’s Inside the Velo March 2012 Issue

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.