I feel that, as a HUGE Lance Armstrong Fan/Follower/Inspired by etc etc that people are looking to me for a response to the USADA investigation that came out this week.
Lance The “G.O.A.T.”
At first my response was simply going to be “**** You” USADA but I sat on it for a few days, mulled it over and read up on all sides of the arguments and here is what I think.
Lance won his 7 titles at a time when doping was RIFE (See the picture below, its not 100% accurate but you get the idea) so…
Part of the USADA file cites that Big George Hincapie SAW Lance Dope while he was doing it himself, Yet if this were the case, why wasn’t Big George Banned on the spot for admitting it ? Well it later came out that George said he DIDN’T say that but USADA are still using that as part of this case? I do find it a little Strange that Big George announced his retirement a few days before this S88T Storm hit though.
There has been MANY cases of a smoking gun with Lance over the years and each and everyone was shot down as baseless.
Yet this week the World Triathlon Corporation see fit to ban Lance from the Hawaii Ironman comp, Hasn’t WTC seen enough of these Lance witch hunts from the TDF to understand that he’s likely to come up clean? Lance should go with the Rev3 iron distance races and shift the attention and revenue to that organization. He has given the sport of cycling and now triathlon great exposure, not to mention all of his work with Livestrong and the fight against cancer. Of course if he is guilty and its PROVEN then that changes things, but what happened to INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN Guilty?
7 Wins Under Threat
Ok, so if Lance did dope, they will take his 7 wins from him, sure, but you know that will KILL cycling don’t you, how on earth will you ever get sponsors in, kids into it etc etc, if the results are always being wiped, YES he should be punished IF GUILTY but this is just STUPID !
Then we Have Johan , a great quote from him being “I am dismayed that once again doping allegations have been raised against me, this time by USADA,” he said in a statement released via his website.
“Following a Department of Justice Grand Jury investigation, no charges were filed against me. It cannot be right that I or anyone else can be pursued from court to court simply because our accusers do not like the decisions made along the way and so attempt to find a court which will get them the result they want.”
Talk about throwing a guy under the bus !!!!!! AGAIN what happens to INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY ?
How can either Lance or Johan get a fair trail here? Yet I full expect BOTH to be cleared , then give it a few years and someone, somewhere will start this all over again.
As a final thought, David Millar, former EOP Taker and banned drugs cheat said that the “Speed of the pro peloton is now insanely fast compared to the speed it used to be in the “Doing days”
Is cycling now the clean game it claims to be ?
So I guess I just said “**** You” USADA but at least I have backed it up :0)
I am so sick and tired of all this. Fatcyclist has probably the best post on this of anyone – “journalists” included. It basically says none of us know the truth despite all our passionate opinions, and none of us will KNOW the truth, so let’s move on.
Either Lance did it and beat everyone else who was doing it, or Lance didn’t do it and STILL beat everyone else who was doing it. Either way, he’s the greatest TDF racer of all-time.
And all these “purists” calling for LA’s head in the name of cycling always fail to admit that Coppi, Merckx, Anquetil, and Indurain are routinely called the “greatest ever” and yet, every one of them doped. That’s not opinion, it is documented.
There are rampant rumors that Bernard Hinault – France’s King of Kings – had his doping completely buried by the French in the name national pride. But again – just like all this other stuff – it’s rumors, speculation, allegations. Sound and fury…
When the Dept of Justice got involved, I was livid. Here was my government spending MY tax dollars to go after a cyclist for something he possibly did a dozen years ago WHILE NOT ONLY REFUSING TO GO AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO DESTROYED OUR COUNTRY’S ECONOMY AND RUINED MILLIONS OF LIVES BUT ACTUALLY REWARD THEM WITH PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS!
I could not care any less if Lance doped or not. “Proving” that he did will result in nothing good for anyone except his haters. “Proving” that he didn’t will result in nothing good for anyone except his supporters. It is completely pointless.
As to today’s cycling – it is cleaner than it’s ever been, and the reason the clean riders are better is because the training and equipment of today is light years ahead of just 10 years ago. I am a massive supporter of Garmin-Barracuda and their whole mission statement – which is essentially that they set out to prove that you can not only be competitive in cycling while riding clean, but you can win.
I give more credit to Jonathan Vaughters and Slipstream Sports for cleaning up cycling than any other entity. Simply by leading by example they have done more than any drug testing or rules or any other crap.
/rant
SPOT ON, Topic closed (If only eh)
I am in your camp: Innocent until proven guilty. There is always that 1% chance that he doped somewhere in his career. But I don’t see him getting found guilty. Once again, how do you prove a negative? He has never tested positive in nearly 20 years of competitive triathlons and cycling.
This is clearly a witch hunt. Lance has made a lot of people jealous over the years and has burned his share of bridges, but my observation is that aside from being a physically super-gifted athlete, he has continually worked harder than anyone else in the sport. Given that, why should he not win? Those around him who doped were simply trying to keep up without doing the work or being as gifted. Like Liar Landis, the guilty want to drag him down to their level.
If I recall, they let Contador compete even with the clenbuterol scandal hanging over his head. Denying Lance a chance to compete with yet another witch hunt beginning seems to confirm that there are those in the USADA and other sanctioning bodies that would prefer to see Lance retired permanently so that mediocrity can reign once again.
Like ” Fatty ” you have reason to support both Johan and Lance , and i agree with ALL that the other 2 commenters have stated !
Personally think that until the ” doubters ” find a forum that agree with their views , many will use ” Star Chamber tactics ” to persue their agenda !
Here is my comment to ” Fatty ” ; earlier .
” My 100MON , this year , was on L’Alpe d’Huez , once again ,with the Dutch Cancer Fundraiser ! This year on both the Wednesday & Thursday and i exceeded my own expectations simply because i was inspired and motivated by a GREAT CYCLIST !
I was there in 2005 when Lance won the race , even caused the ” Clown ” that pushed him to be detained by the Gendarmerie ! Lance chose not to press charges .
Even more to the point , whilst Fatty rode as a guest with Lance and the Team , i on so many occasions over the years , have ridden uninvited , alongside Lance . Never once did he complain and in fact deflected team mates who would have acted on his behalf . Always found him gracious towards others when time allowed BUT time management was one of his secrets !
Meticulous in the extreme , he was known as ” Mr Millimetre ” since he was always looking for improvements in every aspect of his Equipment , Training and Team ! One hard task Master that would not accept a lower standard than 110% !
Little wonder that there are those that fell by the way side since they were unable to keep pace . We all think we are better than we are , some take it badly , others recognise their short comings .
Tall Poppy syndrome is alive and well throughout the world BUT particularly in SPORT ! Nobody likes to come in second and there are so many out there that feel ” Short Cuts ” are the way to go !WRONG !
Currently “The Fox ” guarding the ” Hen House ” seems to be that ALL SPORT suffers from and until there is a ” Moratorium ” when ALL past and present Athletes can come out of the closet we will continue to see ” finger pointing ” !
Lance has returned to Triathlon and has succeeded through effort and training in gaining the top step of the Podium , being not the best runner in the world , he has trained hard for his success >
To those doubting him ” SHAME ON YOU ” , to those in the Government Agencies ” WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE THIS A BETTER WORLD “?
To those racing against him ” WHAT IS YOUR TRAINING REGIME “? Try harder and believe in your selves !
As regards Lance’s Past , who gives a fig , as regards his work with LiveSTRONG , do not let the naysayers interrupt the GOOD WORKS there !
LiveSTRONG works will be remembered long after the ” Le Tour ” fades into obscurity !
Fatty as usual you post from the heart and the road you have chosen will not sit well with those that i call ” Mushrooms “!
It’s astounding that none of you all seem to know all the evidence that makes it almost impossible not to know that LA doped – the positive test for steroids in the 99 TDF, the samples taken from that same tour and tested later when a test for EPO was developed that proved conclusively that a rider was using – the numbers associated with those samples were later matched (with no dispute from Lance) to Armstrong. He used EPO and steroids and has lied about it his whole career, followed by blood doping once a test for EPO was available. Innocent until proven guilty is a legal standard for courts to follow. People should go with the evidence, but are free to believe whatever they want.
Yeah,go with facts and not half arsed conspiracy theory’s
Thats funny … 7 out of 8 of the team members will testify that they doped … With Lance and you still choose to stick your head in the sand …
Ok dorrethy repeat after me… Theres no champ like lance …. There’s no other champ like lance … And back Austin you all go!
Haters gonna hate
BS. Lance passed all his tests. I submit believing witnesses over the tests is like believing witnesses over DNA. Anything for a conviction
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Id10t says “7 out of 8 of the team members will testify that they doped”. Until you cite a website to this precise effect I consider his comment BS.
Why do you people think now that he’s admitted it?!
Eh?