International Capsules: Armstrong officially off bike - 'Retirement 2.0'
Lance Armstrong is calling this one "Retirement 2.0."
Almost a month after finishing 65th in his last competitive race in Australia, and nearly six years removed from the last of an unprecedented seven straight Tour de France titles, the 39-year-old cyclist made clear there is no reset button this time.
This time, he's leaving professional racing behind for good.
"Never say never," Armstrong laughed at the start of an exclusive interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, then quickly added, "Just kidding."
His retirement ends a comeback effort that failed to produce an eighth title or diminish talk that performance-enhancing drugs helped his career. The timing has as much to do with his growing responsibilities and family as it does with the physical limitations time has imposed. He's tired, and tired of being hounded. Armstrong will miss competing — let alone dominating a sport like none before him — but not the 24/7/365 training regimen that made it possible.
"I can't say I have any regrets. It's been an excellent ride. I really thought I was going to win another tour," Armstrong said about his comeback attempt in 2009, four years after his first retirement. "Then I lined up like everybody else and wound up third.
"I have no regrets about last year, either," he added, despite finishing 23rd. "The crashes, the problems with the bike — those were things that were beyond my control."
Armstrong spoke to the AP in a telephone interview and in a videotaped interview from his office in Austin, Texas.
Armstrong zoomed out of relative obscurity after a life-threatening bout with testicular cancer to win his first tour in 1999, then set about recalibrating both the popularity of his sport and how much influence athletes can wield as advocates for a cause — in his case, on behalf of cancer survivors and researchers worldwide.
International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid had high praise for Armstrong.
"His contribution to cycling has been enormous, from both the sporting point of view and his personality. All sports need global icons and he has become a global icon for cycling," said McQuaid, speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from the Tour of Oman. "The sport of cycling has a lot to be thankful for because of Lance Armstrong."
Along the way, Armstrong also became one of the most controversial figures in the evolving battle against doping in sports. He claims to be the most-tested athlete on the planet during his career. Armstrong came back clean every time, and vehemently denies ever using performance-enhancing drugs.
Even so, he remains shadowed by a federal investigation into the sport launched last year following accusations by former teammate and disgraced 2006 tour champion Floyd Landis that Armstrong used drugs and taught other riders how to beat testing. Though the probe is continuing, lawyers familiar with the case told the AP recently that any possible indictments are a long way off.
"I can't control what goes on in regards to the investigation. That's why I hire people to help me with that. I try not to let it bother me and just keep rolling right along. I know what I know," Armstrong said. "I know what I do and I know what I did. That's not going to change."
What won't change, either, is his tenacious campaigning to raise funds and awareness in the fight against a disease his doctors once believed would keep Armstrong from competing at anything more strenuous than gin rummy.
That was 1996. A year later, he set up the Livestrong Foundation and raised $10,000. In the intervening years, Armstrong used his story, his celebrity and hard work to sell millions of those ubiquitous plastic yellow wrist bracelets and enlist lawmakers in Texas and global policymakers on the scale of Bill Clinton in the cause.
By the end of last year, despite tough economic times, the foundation had raised nearly $400 million total. But the real heavy lifting may just be beginning.
After lobbying successfully for a Texas state constitutional amendment to provide $3 billion for cancer research over a 10-year period, Armstrong now has his sights set on California. This summer, he'll work with legislators there to draw up and put on the ballot a measure mandating a cigarette tax with the proceeds to fund further research. Come September, Armstrong will also plead his case before a United Nations General Assembly special session on non-communicable diseases that he provided much of the impetus for.
"We knew we'd be able to have some impact, but we didn't know we'd pick up so much momentum," he said.
That's how Armstrong broke through nearly every barrier the sport had erected over a century and more — by leading with his chin. He spilled blood on the roads, came back from crashes and more than once, crossed the finish line of a stage race draped over his handlebars like a man hanging on for life instead of an unbreakable machine.
One thing that never changed, though, was how Armstrong's withering gaze controlled the pack of riders around him. He doled out favors, like stage wins, or withheld them as the mood struck him. He could command the peloton to speed up to chase a breakaway rider or slow down with an ease the old-time cycling bosses — respectfully called patrons — would have envied.
That was just one reason Armstrong leaves the sport with nearly as many enemies as friends.
"A lot of that has been overanalyzed and inaccurately portrayed, but it's part and parcel of cycling. It's how cycling operates," Armstrong said. "There's too much infighting, jealousy and bitterness within the sport, so everybody tries to pick apart a person or a spectacular performance.
"And some of it," he added, "we bring on ourselves."
Cycling made Armstrong wealthy several times over, and many of the sponsors he brought into the sport continue to use him as a pitchman. A second career in politics someday does not seem out of the question.
"I don't think so. I get asked that question a lot. It's a job. It's probably many times a thankless job. ... If I were to run for any kind of office, it's impossible or very difficult to run right down the middle," he said.
"I would have to immediately alienate half of our constituents: 'Wait a minute, we thought this guy was a Republican. Wait a minute, we thought he was a Democrat.' I think the effect there would be a negative effect for the foundation. For now, absolutely not on my radar."
Armstrong will be at this year's tour, bringing the oldest of his five kids, 11-year-old Luke, back to the race this summer. He may even climb into a team car to do reconnaissance work for some of the Radio Shack riders he used to race alongside.
One thing Armstrong vowed not to do was spend much time reliving his accomplishments on the bike.
"In 10 years time," he said, "if I'm sitting around saying, 'I was so strong on L'Alpe d'Huez in 2001,' then I got a problem."
Cycling leaders threaten to sue Landis
GENEVA (AP) — Floyd Landis has been threatened with legal action if he does not withdraw allegations leveled at cycling leaders Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid in a televised interview.
Verbruggen, who was president of the International Cycling Union for 14 years until being succeeded by McQuaid in 2005, said on Wednesday that the claims were "unacceptable."
"We cannot accept what he said and so that's it," Verbruggen told The Associated Press.
Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, told a German channel in November that the UCI had acted corruptly and protected some star riders from doping claims.
Verbruggen said a lawyer's letter to Landis invites him to apologize.
"It is unacceptable what he says and I think he is kindly invited to prove what he says," the Dutch official said.
The letter, which was first published by an American cycling website and dated Feb. 7, gives Landis 15 days to retract or face legal proceedings in Switzerland. Verbruggen and McQuaid's Lausanne-based lawyer wrote that the American's allegations were "detrimental to their honor."
The letter was disclosed Tuesday, hours after three-time Tour winner Alberto Contador was cleared of doping during his 2010 victory by the Spanish cycling federation. It had previously recommended a one-year ban for Contador, who tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol that he claims came from contaminated beef.
Landis remained the only rider stripped of his Tour win for doping, though Contador could still lose his title. The UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency are weighing appeals against the Spanish decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 35-year-old Landis retired from racing last month and claimed he was unable to find a job in the sport. Last May, his allegations of widespread drug use in cycling fueled an ongoing U.S. federal investigation that has targeted his former teammate Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong announced his own retirement Wednesday.
-- Graham Dunbar
Contador relishes bike after escaping doping ban
ALBUFEIRA, Portugal (AP) — Alberto Contador relished getting back on his bike a day after he was cleared of doping, and the reigning Tour de France champion finished 28th on Wednesday in the first stage of the Tour of Algarve.
"Today was a great day for me," Contador said. "The truth is it's a day I enjoyed more than any other in recent times. I enjoyed being on the bike today like no other in a long time."
Contador, the two-time defending champion of the five-stage race through southern Portugal, wasted no time returning to competition after the Spanish cycling federation reversed a proposed one-year ban on Tuesday. Contador had tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol at last year's Tour, which he has claimed came from eating tainted meat.
"I'm totally focused on this race, like I would be any other," said Contador, who is now a part of team Saxo Bank-SunGard. "I think today is a very important day for the team and I can (race) with total calm."
Team owner Bjarne Riis agreed.
"I think it's the right thing to let him ride," Riis said. "There are no grounds that Alberto cheated, and this is vital for us."
The Spanish cyclist was greeted with applause by spectators ahead of the 98-mile first stage. He finished in the main peloton, 15 seconds behind stage winner Philippe Gilbert of Belgium, who completed the stage in 4 hours, 36 minutes, 36 seconds.
Contador has been cleared to race pending any appeal rulings from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The International Cycling Union has 30 days from the date of the decision to appeal to CAS, while the World Anti-Doping Agency has an extra 21 days after that.
"I can't say at the moment what we are going to do until we study what is there in the full dossier," UCI president Pat McQuaid said from Oman. "What the reasoning was or what the motivation was for the decision was made — (if) we feel the decision is justified, we leave it (at) that. If we feel it's not justified then we appeal to CAS."
If Contador is banned upon appeal, all results incurred over the time he competes would be wiped out. Any possible appeals process could drag until June, with the Tour starting July 2.
Contador said the decision was based on legal, scientific evidence and not patriotism after several authorities in Spain — including prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero — came out in his defense.
"They didn't clear me because I'm Spanish," he said. "It's not a question of being Spanish or Contador. It's a question of sport and justice."
Contador said Tuesday he planned to race for his second Giro d'Italia title this year. The 28-year-old Spaniard also plans to race in the Tour of Murcia, Vuelta de Catalunya, Vuelta Castilla Leon and another classic before the Giro in May.
Contador hasn't raced since winning his third Tour title last July.
Tour of Utah to start in Park City
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The 2011 Tour of Utah will start in Park City for the first time after being elevated this year to one of the top three professional stage races for road cycling in North America.
Event organizers unveiled six host venues on Wednesday and also indicated four of the top international teams have been extended invitations to compete Aug. 9-14.
Those include Team RadioShack, home for defending Tour of Utah champion Levi Leipheimer; HTC-Highroad, the No. 1 team in the world; Team Garmin-Cervelo, home of world champion Thor Hushovd; and BMC Racing Team, new team for 2010 Tour of Utah prologue winner Taylor Phinney.
Phinney was unable to attend Wednesday's press conference held at the state capitol because he was competing in the Tour of Oman. But his renowned cycling father spoke about the opportunity to see some of the best riders in the world.
"I was 15 when I saw my first bike race (in Colorado)," said Davis Phinney, who went on to become the first American to win a stage in the Tour de France and a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics. "I was a little kid in search of a hero, in search of a dream. Watching those guys fly by, I was hooked."
He said having the Utah race in the same month as Lance Armstrong's Tour Challenge in Colorado makes it enticing for the best teams in the world to race in both.
"You may not have some of the best sprinters in the world because this is a hard race," Davis Phinney said of the 400-mile race that includes 30,000 feet of climbing. "But you will see some of the best riders period, potential (challengers) in the Tour de France."
The opening prologue starts in Park City. The first two stages, Aug. 10-11, are in Ogden and Provo.
Stage 3 is an individual time trial set for Aug. 12 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele.
Stage 4 is a circuit race in Salt Lake City on Aug. 13 and the final stage is a road race Aug. 14 from Park City to Snowbird Ski Resort.
Teams will compete for $116,000 in prize money — up from $45,000 in previous years.
"This year you'll see the best riders in the world descend upon Utah," said Steve Johnson, CEO for USA Cycling. "But many of these riders are American."
The Tour of Utah began as a three-day event in 2004. The Utah Cycling Partnership, owned by family members from the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, purchased the event in 2007 and relaunched it in 2008 as a five-day race.
Since then it has become known as America's Toughest Stage Race, and is sanctioned both by USA Cycling and the Union Cycliste Internationale. It has been elevated to a 2.1-rated event on the UCI American Tour.
Of the 30 sanctioned races on the UCA American Tour in 2011, the Tour of Utah joins the Pro Challenge in Colorado and the Tour of California as the only top-rated stage races in North America.
A maximum of 15 professional teams, with eight riders per team, will be invited to this year's Tour of Utah.
"It was a great race in Utah last year," said Leipheimer, who finished 13th overall in last year's Tour de France. "The 2011 Tour of Utah is a must-see race for U.S. fans, where you'll find the best cycling athletes in the world competing across one of the most scenic regions in the world."
-- Lynn DeBruin
Skiing
Ski circuit sees air bags as safety solution
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — What if Lindsey Vonn had been able to deploy an air bag before landing on her head in giant slalom training a couple weeks ago? Would the American have avoided the mild concussion that forced her out of the world championships?
Vonn's fall was just the latest in a series of violent crashes that have marred ski racing lately, but it's questions like those that have forced the International Ski Federation into radical talks with Italian manufacturer Dainese about developing a complicated air bag system to curb career-threatening injuries in the sport.
"It sounds interesting," Vonn said recently. "Anything they can come up with to make ski racing safer I'm all for. I don't exactly know how that would necessarily work, but I'm all for safety precautions and anything they come up with I'm definitely interested in."
Vonn's fall was tame compared to three nearly identical crashes on the feared Streif course in Kitzbuehel, Austria, over the last four years.
In 2008, American downhiller Scott Macartney sustained brain injuries and was kept in an induced coma after smashing his head on the icy slop following a crash at the final jump. The next year, Daniel Albrecht of Switzerland sustained life-threatening brain and lung injuries after a crash in the same exact spot.
Both racers recovered and returned to World Cup competition, but Austrian skier Hans Grugger is still hospitalized following a crash last month that resulted in emergency brain surgery.
The FIS is convinced that no helmet light enough for ski racing could prevent brain injuries after such high-speed crashes, and that's why it has turned its attention to air bags.
Dainese has already developed a successful air bag system for motorcycle racing, but figuring out when to deploy the system for a skier heading toward the fences is proving tougher.
In motorcycle racing, the system ignites when the body leaves the bike with a forward rotation, whereas in skiing, the exact moment when a racer loses complete control varies from one crash to another.
FIS men's race director Guenter Hujara suggested one indicator for release could come when a racer's leg is raised over his or her head, then explained why that wouldn't work — he's watched five video sequences where Bode Miller, one of the most unconventional skiers on the circuit, raised his leg over his head and then recovered.
"We are very eager to get all the data to find the algorithm which defines this moment when all the forces are overloading the system of the ski racer," Hujara said. "If we know exactly when this moment exists, then we can install systems protecting the head, neck, shoulder, back, knee and maybe also start an ignition where the binding releases to get rid of the skis.
"It's kind of a visionary project, but because it's already existing in another sport we are very eager to follow up and what we have already is very promising," Hujara added, while at the same time warning that introducing the system is likely at least two years away.
In coordination with the University of Salzburg, the FIS's Injury Surveillance System (ISS) has been studying ski racing injuries since January 2006, and is also researching safety solutions involving course setting, snow conditions and equipment.
Two-time overall World Cup winner Aksel Lund Svindal, who had a gruesome crash in 2007 at Beaver Creek, Colo., supports the air bag research — Dainese is one of his sponsors — but also suggests looking into less complicated solutions.
"The fact is we don't really ski on snow a lot, we ski on ice, so are the helmets classified for impact on the snow surface or ice surface?" Svindal said. "And maybe the suits should be made by a protection supplier (rather) than just by a clothing supplier?"
American downhiller Steven Nyman doesn't believe an air bag system will work.
"Everything is so sudden in ski racing. I don't understand what will happen with an air bag system," he said. "The biggest problem I think is the skis are so wide. They changed them to wider skis saying it's safer and I don't think it's safer at all, because you have more leverage and they bounce a lot more — they're not as smooth.
"Think of a hockey skate where the blade under your foot is really smooth and solid," Nyman said. "Here it's wide and it's constantly wanting to go away."
Nyman would also like to see fewer turns on courses.
"Downhill needs to be more downhill," he said. "I feel like they're trying to turn it to control our speed so we don't crash, but we're more fatigued, hence more crashes."
Changes don't come easy in skiing. Just ask Hujara, who says many racers are still not aware of rule changes allowing athletes to wear protective padding covering virtually any body part.
"We saw it this year when the first racers started to use shin and knee protectors it became an issue, but it's been permitted for three years," Hujara said. "The racers do not like to change. They do not like to change boots. They do not like to change underwear. They do not like to change protectors."
But something has to change, which the Canadian team realizes after it was hit by an usually high number of injuries — part of the reason it didn't win a single medal in Alpine skiing at its home Olympics in Vancouver last year.
"Right now, it's quite difficult for parents to send their young kids into the sport," said Canada Alpine director Patrick Riml, adding that a safety symposium has been scheduled in the country for later this year.
Safety issues, of course, are not new to skiing. Austrian racer Ulrike Maier died from injuries following a crash in Garmisch in 1994.
"The bottom line is that Alpine ski racing involves speed and courage, therefore also some residual risk," FIS women's race director Atle Skaardal, a two-time super-G world champion. "However, we are doing our utmost to create the safest possible frames for our sport."
-- Andrew Dampf
Paerson eyes Aamondt's medal record at worlds
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Anja Paerson hopes to match Kjetil Andre Aamodt's record of 20 medals at major Alpine skiing championships in the women's giant slalom Thursday.
Paerson closed in on the retired Norwegian's feat by earning bronze with Sweden during Wednesday's team event for her 19th piece of hardware, which includes six Olympic medals. The GS will be Paerson's only chance to equal Aamodt because she skips the final slalom event.
"I never imagined I would have such a career," said the 29-year-old Paerson, who also took bronze in Friday's super-combined. "Two or three years ago, I didn't think I could do it. Now, I am one step away from making history."
Judged by her recent World Cup results, Paerson faces an uphill task. She's finished in the top three of a GS race once in the past five years, a third last year in Maribor, Slovenia.
However, major championships usually bring the best out of Paerson, who won gold in GS at the 2003 and '05 worlds.
"I haven't trained the giant slalom much this season but it looks good," she said. "I hope I can find some good skiing."
If Paerson does not succeed, she'll have to wait another two years for her next chance.
"My biggest problem is that there won't be any championships next season," said Paerson, adding that she plans to keep racing for a few more years. "The body is in good shape but the main thing is to find motivation. My head and my heart will decide whether I race for another two or three years. Skiing is still my life and my love and I hope I can find this motivation."
Paerson will travel back to Sweden on Friday to prepare for the remaining World Cup events, the first of which will be in her native Are.
"I want to get my first victory," Paerson said. "I don't want to end my season with just second places."
Among the pre-race favorites on Thursday is Tessa Worley, who won three GS races this season to lead the World Cup discipline standings. Worley, who only competes in the technical events, helped France to win the team event on Wednesday.
"This is a good start in these championships for me," she said. "I am optimistic. If I ski well, I will have a good chance."
Worley will likely face fierce competition from the German trio of World Cup leader Maria Riesch, Olympic gold medalist Viktoria Rebensburg and defending champion Kathrin Hoelzl. All of them skipped the team event, though Riesch (fever), Rebensburg (flu) and Hoelzl (back) are expected to race in the individual event Thursday.
"My preparation was not ideal, that has dampened my expectations a bit," Hoelzl said.
Julia Mancuso is bidding for her second medal the championships after winning silver at the super-G last week. The American had "not a lot" of GS practice during the worlds, "but I had some really good training before I came here. I am excited about the GS and I am ready to race."
Mancuso's U.S. team lost in the quarterfinals of the team event, which was staged on the lower part of the Kandahar course.
"I actually had never raced here," she said. "At least I've been on the hill now. There is some advantage to that."
Austria will try to make it 4-for-4 after winning all the women's events so far. Elisabeth Goergl took the downhill and super-G titles and Anna Fenninger claimed super-combined gold.
Nicole Hosp won gold in GS four years ago, but was overlooked for Thursday's race in favor of Marlies Schild.
"It's more important that she focuses on preparing for the slalom," Austria women's coach Herbert Mandl said of Hosp, who missed the entire last season with a knee injury. "In slalom, she has a real good chance to be right up in front."
-- Eric Willemsen
France beats Austria for team event gold at worlds
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Cyprien Richard and last-minute substitute Anemone Marmottan helped France edge Austria to win the team event Wednesday at the world championships.
Both teams won two of the four parallel giant slalom races but France took the gold because it had faster times. Richard's convincing win over Philipp Schoerghofer proved crucial for the tiebreaker, while Marmottan, who replaced Taina Barioz in the final, beat Michaela Kirchgasser by one-hundredth of a second for a key point.
"It's great to win the title ahead of Austria. That's the best way to win it," said Thomas Fanara, one of the French foursome. "It's amazing to be a champion with the team."
Sweden, led by Anja Paerson, beat Italy 4-0 to win the bronze medal. Paerson won all four of her races, from qualifying to the bronze-medal match.
Paerson now has 19 medals from the Olympics and world championships, one short of the record held by Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway. Paerson could equal the mark in Thursday's giant slalom.
"I haven't trained the giant slalom much this season but it looks good," Paerson said.
The United States had a bye into the quarterfinals but was immediately eliminated, with Bode Miller providing the only point in a 3-1 loss to Italy.
In the team event, each nation has four racers, two men and two women, who race head-to-head against their opponents in four parallel races. Each win is worth one point.
Croatia, Germany and Sweden advanced to the last eight through qualifying. Austria then beat Croatia, France defeated Germany and Sweden beat Switzerland. In the semifinals, Austria beat Italy 4-0, while France squeezed past Sweden on the tiebreaker.
Anna Fenninger put Austria ahead in the final but Richard then evened it at 1-1.
Marmottan's narrow win over Kirchgasser put France ahead and although Romed Baumann defeated Thomas Fanara in the final heat, France won the gold on faster times. The Austrians had began celebrating before realizing that they had to settle for the silver.
"Kirchi (Kirchgasser) told us we got it, but then it wasn't enough," Fenninger said. "Still, we are just as happy with the silver."
The Austrian team lost its top gate specialist Benjamin Raich to a knee injury in the quarterfinals against Croatia.
The team event, which made its debut in 2005, is not part of the Olympic program, although skiing officials hope to get it into the Olympic schedule at the 2014 Sochi Games.
The competition used to be the final day of the championships after many racers had already gone home, so it has now moved between the speed races and the technical events.
Julia Mancuso, who competed for the U.S. team, said she found the format fun but isn't all that eager to have it at the Olympics.
"I am kind of in the middle. It's a lot of fun," she said. "It's good to be with the guys. And I mean, it's kind of those events where anything can happen. It's cool. We don't do it a lot, so it's kind of different. It's almost like an exhibition. Of course, winning a team event is nothing compared to winning an individual event."
Another of the Americans, Ted Ligety, saw it similarly.
"It's a cool event," he said. "It's fun to watch, it's fun to race. Our scheduling in ski racing is so tough that doing this in the middle of a championships is always hard.
"If we had it on the last day, it would make more sense," Ligety said. "It would be interesting to see it at the Olympics but, then again, it's all about the timing. This is far less important than an individual medal."
-- Nesha Starcevic
Austria's Raich out of worlds due to knee injury
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Benjamin Raich of Austria has been ruled out of the rest of the world championships after hurting his left knee in a crash during the team event.
The Austrian ski federation says the 2007 overall World Cup champion will have surgery after tearing ligaments and damaging cartilage and the meniscus during the first run of Wednesday's parallel slalom event.
The 32-year-old Raich, who has won seven medals at the worlds since 2001, will miss Friday's giant slalom and Sunday's slalom.
The Austrian team has been hit by a recent string of injuries. Hans Grugger, Mario Scheiber, Georg Streitberger and Marcel Hirscher were all ruled out shortly before the start of the worlds following crashes in World Cup races.
Cuche breaks thumb in giant slalom training
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Didier Cuche of Switzerland hopes to compete in the giant slalom at the world championships Friday despite breaking his left thumb in training.
The Swiss federation says Cuche was injured Wednesday in training in Switzerland, requiring his left hand to be placed in a cast. The federation says he should still be able to compete.
The 36-year-old Cuche won the silver medal in the downhill.
Bobsled
Holcomb hoping for another world title
When Steven Holcomb and USA-1 captured the world four-man bobsledding championship in 2009, all eyes turned toward the Olympic goal in 2010.
The carrot, Holcomb called it. One year later, they had the Olympic championship to go along with the world-title gold.
"The carrot's kind of not hanging out there anymore," Holcomb said. "We've eaten it. And it's fantastic. Best carrot I've ever had."
Suffice to say, the same sort of motivation isn't quite there this season, the first of the next four-year cycle that'll end at the Sochi Games in February 2014. Still, that doesn't mean Holcomb and USA-1 are planning to give up their world title, either.
The world bobsled and skeleton championships open Friday in Konigssee, Germany. After a somewhat up-and-down World Cup season, Holcomb and USA-1 will enter as one of the favorites to defend their four-man world championship next weekend.
Competition starts with the first two runs of women's bobsledding on Friday morning. That discipline crowns a champion after two more runs Saturday, with Americans Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming expecting to be in the medal chase in what they say will be the final event at worlds together.
Two-man bobsledding's gold medal will be awarded Sunday. After that, competition resumes next week with the men's skeleton world title to be decided Feb. 24 and 25, women's skeleton on Feb. 25 and 26, and then the four-man finale Feb. 26 and 27.
"This season is definitely different than last season," Holcomb said. "There's not the end-of-the-year goal, of course, that there is in an Olympic year. But at the same time, this is a great season to try different things. Try different riding positions, try a different cadence, anything you can think of that can better your performance in four years, this is the year to try new things."
For USA-1, some have worked, some have not. The Americans finished second in the overall World Cup four-man standings this season behind German upstart Manuel Machata, who is expected to take over — if he hasn't already — as the leader of what perennially has been the strongest sledding program in the world.
And to win the world title, Holcomb will need to beat Machata on German ice.
"We think we can," Holcomb said.
His season started amid some trouble, when his DUI arrest from 2009 was made public. Holcomb recently pleaded no contest to a lesser charge, and will have to complete 48 hours of community service when he returns to his Utah home.
It was clearly a distraction. Holcomb's teammates were upset over news of the arrest, and although it did not keep USA-1's driver out of any races, it's untold if the legal issues took any toll on his psyche.
One year ago, none of that was in question. Even though Holcomb was privately dealing with the ramifications of the arrest, the fact that the news wasn't publicly known allowed him to keep his focus on bobsledding. And the results were beyond expectation, especially when USA-1 simply cruised to the first Olympic four-man gold by an American sled since 1948.
"Last season was kind of surreal, just in general," Holcomb said. "Leading up from the Torino Olympics, we were starting to become a force to be reckoned with. But leading into the Olympic year, everybody's on the top of their game, everybody's peaking, everybody's ready.
"People just saw us and knew we were so much more prepared than they were."
This could be the last time Holcomb's sled rides together at a world championships. Steve Langton, who replaced the retired Steve Mesler after the 2010 Olympics in USA-1, and Curt Tomasevicz are expected to continue pushing through the 2014 Olympics. But Justin Olsen, who was part of the world-title and Olympic-title rides, says he'll try to become a driver next season.
If they're going to go out, Holcomb thinks they can go out as winners again.
"At the Olympics, it was just meant to be," Holcomb said. "Everything was going the way we wanted it to go. Everything was just working out in our favor. The planets aligned and we dominated. It was awesome."
-- Tim Reynolds
Track & Field
Boston Marathon revamps registration procedure
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Marathon organizers announced changes to their registration system Wednesday to ensure the fastest runners have spots at the starting line.
The move by the Boston Athletic Association comes after this year's field filled up in just eight hours, frustrating qualified runners who were left out.
Starting with the 2012 marathon, the association will begin a two-week online registration period that gives those with the best times multiple chances to apply before the process opens to slower runners.
And to reduce the pool of runners in the future, the BAA will lower qualifying times in each age group by five minutes, beginning with the 2013 race.
The association's executive director, Tom Grilk, said the changes have two basic goals: rewarding excellence and increasing fairness to avoid repeating "one of the most troubling days we've ever had."
Grilk said the association heard from a flood of intensely disappointed runners who'd put in the grueling work to qualify this year.
"For us to tell people who have done that that there was no room for them was a very bitter pill for us," he said. "Not as bitter as it was for them, but bitter nonetheless."
Runner Anthony Anscombe, 50, admits he'll "always be ticked" he was shut out this year of what would have been his third Boston Marathon, a race he's truly enjoyed. He added, "I'm just not going to sweat it going forward."
It's hard to complain about the marathon's tougher standards, but it will shut the race off to a large group of runners, Anscombe said.
"They'll probably have really good races, and they'll have really hardcore people," said Anscombe, a Chicago attorney. "But for people who I guess who would describe themselves like me as a recreational marathon runner, I think it's going to be very hard to run it anymore."
During the new registration process, which starts this Sept. 12-23, qualifying for the race doesn't guarantee entry for an applicant.
Only runners who have exceeded the qualifying standards for their age and gender group by at least 20 minutes will be allowed to apply on the first two days. Runners who surpassed the qualifying standards by at least 10 minutes can begin applying on the third day. Those who beat them by at least five minutes can begin applying on the fifth day.
If spots remain after the first week, runners who have qualified by any amount of time can begin applying on Sept. 19. The fastest qualifiers in each age and gender group who apply during the second week will be accepted next. If space remains after that, any qualifier can apply on a first-come, first-served basis.
Marathon officials said they made the changes after three months of study. The elite runners are recruited separately by race sponsor John Hancock.
The 26.2-mile race, scheduled for April 18 this year, begins in Hopkinton, Mass., and ends in Boston's Copley Square.
Organizers were caught by surprise in October when this year's field of 26,800 runners was filled online so quickly. The fastest the field previously had been completed was 65 days, the year before, race director Dave McGillivray said.
Just four years ago, it took four months to fill the field, so last year organizers used social media to warn runners the window to get into the race was getting smaller. That might have contributed to the rush in October, McGillivray said.
Besides changing the application process, the marathon also decided to tighten qualifying times, which haven't been adjusted in every category since 1980. By shaving five minutes off the times starting in 2013, men between the ages of 18 and 34 will have to run a 3:05 marathon and woman will have to run 3:35 to qualify, for instance.
"The whole reason for tightening the standards for 2013 and beyond is to minimize the amount of disappointment because less people then would obviously qualify," McGillivray said.
He added runners will "work harder to try to make those standards, and that's akin to who we are. We're about excellence, and we want people to get better."
-- Jay Lindsay
Olympics
Dispute over London 2012 marathon route resolved
LONDON (AP) — The legal dispute over the marathon route for the 2012 London Olympics has been resolved after organizers promised to help provide tickets and jobs to the area that was cut out of the race.
The marathon will start and finish in front of Buckingham Palace and include three loops of central London. The race was originally scheduled to go into east London, but organizers changed the route to avoid gridlocked streets on one of the busiest days of the games.
The local Tower Hamlets council in east London was seeking a legal review of the change.
A statement from London 2012 on Wednesday says "the council has decided to drop the proceedings" following the agreement to help the area benefit from the Olympics.
Watchdog raises concerns about London 2012 budget
LONDON (AP) — Britain's government spending watchdog says Olympic organizers might run short of contingency funds to meet unexpected costs facing the 2012 London Games.
Only $1.6 billion of the original $4.4 billion in public funds set aside for a contingency budget remains, with about 80 percent of the construction program for the Olympics completed.
The National Audit Office warns Wednesday in its latest report on Olympic preparations that "there can be no guarantee that the remaining contingency will be sufficient to cover further unknown risks to the games."
The NAO says the planned timing for the completion of the aquatics center in July and the athletes' village in January 2012 is "becoming tight."
Ugandan IOC member Nyangweso dies at 72
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Maj. Gen. Francis Nyangweso, a Ugandan sports administrator and former boxer who served as a member of the IOC for the past 23 years, has died. He was 72. The International Olympic Committee announced Nyangweso's death Wednesday.
According to African news reports, Nyangweso died Tuesday in a Ugandan hospital from kidney failure after battling diabetes.
The former banker and military officer served as president of Uganda's national Olympic committee from 1975-2009. He'd been a member of the IOC since 1988 and served on the Culture and Education Commission and Olympic Solidarity Commission.
Sailing
Team Australia enters 2013 America's Cup
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Team Australia's challenge for the 34th America's Cup has been accepted by the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club. It is Australia's first entry in the America's Cup since 1999-2000.
The 34th America's Cup will be sailed on San Francisco Bay in 2013 in a new class of 72-foot, wing-sailed catamarans.
In 1983, the wing-keeled Australia II beat Dennis Conner's Liberty to end the New York Yacht Club's 132-year hold on the oldest trophy in international sports. Conner won back the silver trophy four years later by sweeping Kookaburra III.
