Derek Albert Bouchard-Hall was born at the naval base in Port Hueneme, CA, where his naval officer father was based. He spent most of his childhood in Norton, MA, where he graduated as valedictorian from Norton High School in 1988. Though a successful runner in high school, a foot injury led Bouchard-Hall to pursue cycling at Princeton University. Bouchard-Hall graduated from Princeton in 1992, with a degree in Architectural Engineering, then moved to the West Coast to attend Stanford University.
Bouchard-Hall graduated from Stanford in 1994 with an MS in Structural Engineering and began his professional cycling career, signing with Team Shaklee. Shaklee teammates introduced Bouchard-Hall to track cycling, and he soon began to train with the US track cycling team. From 1996–2000, Bouchard-Hall divided his cycling calendar into training and competing for both his professional road cycling team and for the US National track cycling team.
In 1999, Bouchard-Hall was a member of the gold medal winning team pursuit squad at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.[2]
In 2000, Bouchard-Hall achieved another career highlight when he was selected as a member of the US Olympic team, to compete in the track cycling team pursuit event, after winning the US National Championship in the team pursuit with Erin Hartwell, Mariano Friedick, and Tommy Mulkey. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Bouchard-Hall and the US team pursuit team finished in 10th place.[3][4]
Bouchard-Hall continued to cycle for Mercury until the 2002 cycling season, when he announced his retirement at the age of 32 during the US Road Championships in Philadelphia, PA., in June. At the time, Mercury was ranked #1 in the NRC team standings.[5][6]
Exterior and Common Iliac Endofibrosis
Toward the end of his cycling career, Bouchard-Hall began experiencing pain and loss of strength in his left leg when he was training. After months of various medical and physio examinations, and through his own extensive research, he sought the advice of a vascular surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.[7] Bouchard-Hall underwent surgery at Stanford University Medical Center to correct the problem in the winter of 2000, which ultimately led to his most successful year as a professional cyclist. In 2002, however, the pain and numbness in his leg returned, and, rather than risking a second highly invasive surgery, he retired.[8]
Post-cycling career
From 2002–2004, Bouchard-Hall attended Harvard Business School, graduating with an MBA in 2004, and began working in management consulting, first in Boston and then, in 2006, for McKinsey and Company in London. In 2009–2010, he served as interim director of the US Small Business Administration's HUBZone program, in Washington, DC, before returning to London in the summer of 2010. In October 2011, Bouchard-Hall has been an executive with Wiggle Ltd,[9] one of the world's largest internet retailers of cycling, running, and triathlon equipment. Bouchard-Hall went on to serve as President and CEO of USA Cycling from 2015-2018, and more recently held the post of CEO of Assos of Switzerland from 2019-2023.[10]
Personal
Bouchard-Hall is married with two children and resides in Ticino, Switzerland.
