Lance Armstrong Banned and Stripped of TDF Titles

[TNT1]

At every TdF stage we see Bernard Hinault. Was he clean? In Belgium we saw Eddie Merckx - was he clean?

 

It's pretty easy to do some research.

 

Merckx tested positive. Three times, although never at the Tour. Hinault never did.

[Lucky Luke.]

Grumps, I'm not sure that USADA has investigated "millions" of athletes with the same vigour, and within the same time frame, that it is investigating LA. I tend to take the view articulated by Andrew McLean that it's time to move on and let Lance fade away. At every TdF stage we see Bernard Hinault. Was he clean? In Belgium we saw Eddie Merckx - was he clean? With all the allegations, I very much doubt it - it seems that no one was clean. Lance will never be there; the damage is done to his reputation; let the bugger just fade away. Hound LA and it will be in the press for some time to come.

 

My reason for this is that the more it makes the press, the more convinced Joe Public is that all cyclists dope - hence the comments that Wiggo took exception to. No braai conversation about cycling takes place without doping being raised. USADA and WADA should concentrate on the current professionals and just maybe not crow from every treetop when any athlete is found doping. Don't hide it but, even for them WADA et al, it should be a source of shame.

 

If lance would just tell us what happened - address very specific allegations - the issue would be put to bed, instead of attacking the people who actually talk about, in great detail, what went on during the massively long period during which he dominated the sport.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Lucky Luke.

[Flemish Lion]

Here's an interesting read:

 

http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/07/rest-days-court-cases-and-arrests/

 

by UCI_Overlord on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

 

The world woke up today to another round of rest-day intrigue that made headlines outside of cycling, a romp that technically began Monday night in America where a no-nonsense judge in Texas threw out of his court what we all knew was nothing but another serving of spin-doctored public-relations tripe issued by Ego Armstrong. It continued today with a revised complaint being resubmitted to the same court for consideration.

 

Two related stories were the arrest of Remy di Gregorio and two other conspirators as the culmination of a year-long investigation by the French authorities (with the incredibly long acronym), and the hoopla surrounding the lifetime bans issued to Armstrong’s U.S. Postal personnel Michele Ferrari, Luis Garcia del Moral, and Pepi Marti.

 

While everyone is buzzing about the Lance business, in my mind the most important action was the effort by USADA to ban Ferrari, del Moral, and Marti.

 

Why?

 

We complain about how prevalent doping is, and how riders have access to the product and the experts to assist them in the usage of said products. The fact that these three support personnel received lifetime bans indicates the beginning of a shift away from the athlete who is busted for doping and towards those who provide the means to do so. If those three individuals weren’t involved with the sport, or had been prevented from being involved in the sport, would doping be as prevalent in cycling?

 

Which brings up another interesting point – the lack of response from those in Aigle. Where was the press release from the UCI applauding the efforts of USADA in issuing the lifetime bans for these three? Where was the press release of support for the French authorities in catching “the cheats,” as Pat McQuaid is so fond of saying in his UCI-TV soundbites? Where was the press release stating the UCI’s position on a United States federal judge throwing out Armstrong’s petition for an injunction and restraining order?

If the organisation actually lived up to the hype that they create, and if those in power within the organisation truly “walked the walk,” they would be absolutely one hundred percent behind the efforts of the French authorities and USADA. However, their silence speaks volumes as to the politics that emanate from the centre of the cycling empire. And it’s that silence which gives clean cyclists and clean coaches pause from being outspoken in support of changing the culture in cycling. It’s why people like yours truly receive email confessionals and whispered Twitter direct messages – because everyone involved is afraid of being exposed, and thus, losing their livelihood.

 

This brings us full circle back to Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel. What if, by some stretch of the imagination, these two are mere pawns in the aforementioned game that comes from the fine land of chocolate and precision timepieces? What if all these pawn moves are being pushed by those players behind the scenes who wield the real power? What if Armstrong has no choice but to make the statements and the moves he is making? Sure, he doesn’t like to lose, but Armstrong also knows when not to take on a challenge that he feels he can’t win. Why do you think Armstrong didn’t ride the classics season, or ride the Giro d’Italia until the last year of his career? He is a master at evaluating his best use of resources to maximum effect. He is a brilliant tactician. How is it that a brilliant tactician is all of a sudden making such massive mistakes?

 

The analysis of the situation is that Armstrong is protecting more than himself. He is protecting others who have managed to stay completely out of the limelight and who continue to pull his strings in order to protect their current tenuous position. The silence from Aigle is an indicator. Just because there is an absence of something doesn’t necessarily mean something isn’t there or that it doesn’t exist.

As @dimspace demonstrated in his phenomenal project, the business ties to Lance are deep and far-reaching. There are documented links to a variety of power brokers in cycling – in a business sense, ranging from members of USA Cycling board of directors, to announcers on NBC, to ex-teammates and support personnel, and others. However one name that continues to plague the sport as a perverse version of Keyser Soze is the one name that always seems to escape direct scrutiny and direct links.

Hein Verbruggen.

 

Many of us have done the research. We’ve found shell companies associated with Verbruggen. We’ve had those in cycling’s inner sanctums whisper the level of influence Verbruggen exerts not only in cycling (i.e., China expansion) but also in SportAccord as well as with the IOC. However, like the notorious Keyser Soze of The Usual Suspects, he’s but a whisper to tell your grandchildren to keep them in line and following the unwritten cycling rules.

 

It’s no coincidence the EPO-fueled era coincided with the rise of Verbruggen to the power seat in the sport. Lest we forget Verbruggen was the man who ran Graeme Obree out of cycling for refusing to follow the “rules” of professional cycling. This is the man who attempted to purchased the Tour de France with a few partners, including one Lance Armstrong. This is the president of the UCI who accepted a donation from an athlete in the form of a six-figure chunk of change which allegedly turned into a Sysmex machine. This is also the man who still actively meets with many of the power brokers in the sport, including Jonathan Vaughters.

 

You see, the trouble is, if Lance fights this on USADA turf, it has the potential to expose Verbruggen in a very public manner. Frankly, this is something no one wants to have happen, including current UCI president Pat McQuaid. Verbruggen’s name would come up frequently in the testimony of several individuals who are whispered to be witnesses beyond the “fingered five.” Verbruggen has publicly stated Armstrong is “like a son to him” and Verbruggen is the father figure Lance never had. Powerful. Influential. Wealthy.

 

He’s also been referred to as “evil” by many individuals behind the scenes, and many individuals have faced his wrath for attempting to expose his dealings. Vaughters received emails of rebuke from Verbruggen in the notorious “nom de plume idiot” email saga of last year. Verbruggen attempted to make the “peace” on race radios between McQuaid and Vaughters like cycling’s version of the mafia don. Verbruggen filed a lawsuit against Paul Kimmage under the guise of the UCI for “damaging the reputation of the sport and the UCI.”

I’ve been in receipt of many emails that document Verbruggen’s tactics and comments to many, many people in cycling. Emails that demonstrate a pattern of behaviour, but not necessarily anything illegal. Ethically wrong? Yes. Illegal? No. One of the favourites was an email sent to a Spanish journalist after he wrote a piece on Verbruggen. The fact that Verbruggen felt the piece, which had been fully-vetted by the newspaper’s editorial team, painted him in an unfavourable light caused him to say the following to the scribe:

As an academic, such unfounded claims of conflicts of interest without any proof, based solely on rumours, show a profound lack of professionalism on your part. Having never met you personally, your accusations are defamatory and I would warn you to exercise restraint and journalistic professionalism in your research prior to publishing further such claims.”

Sound like someone else we know?

 

So before you place the blame for this situation solely at the feet of Lance Armstrong and the other five gentlemen at the centre of the firestorm, or vilify Remy di Gregorio for yielding to temptation and picking up the phone to acquire doping products, think about the one man who has been the architect of the entire situation since 1992. He is one man who has single-handedly manipulated the situation for his sole financial benefit and the benefit of his inner circle of followers and business associates. The man who is always missing from the direct line of fire, but always somehow continues to pop up in the strangest places at the strangest times for the strangest reasons.

Don’t blame Lance. Don’t blame the support staff that have been allowed to operate. Blame the man who allowed, and in fact “allegedly” encouraged, it all to take place, and continues to control the situation today by calling in his marker with Lance to keep him out of the limelight. Blame the Keyser Soze of cycling.

 

Blame Hein Verbruggen.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Grumps, I'm not sure that USADA has investigated "millions" of athletes with the same vigour, and within the same time frame, that it is investigating LA. I tend to take the view articulated by Andrew McLean that it's time to move on and let Lance fade away. At every TdF stage we see Bernard Hinault. Was he clean? In Belgium we saw Eddie Merckx - was he clean? With all the allegations, I very much doubt it - it seems that no one was clean. Lance will never be there; the damage is done to his reputation; let the bugger just fade away. Hound LA and it will be in the press for some time to come.

 

My reason for this is that the more it makes the press, the more convinced Joe Public is that all cyclists dope - hence the comments that Wiggo took exception to. No braai conversation about cycling takes place without doping being raised. USADA and WADA should concentrate on the current professionals and just maybe not crow from every treetop when any athlete is found doping. Don't hide it but, even for them WADA et al, it should be a source of shame.

 

Yeah, I dont know, a few months ago I would have agreed with you, I think I may even gone on record as saying, perhaps we / they / whoever should just leave him be, but to be honest, recent news, LA's utterances and his aggressive attitude to the investigation and those involved have all contributed to changing my mind, now I think he has something to hide and the truth needs to out, and if he cheated, he should be exposed, if he didnt, he deserves an apology from the agencies investigating him.

 

Honestly you know, I think LA has done more damage to his own reputation recently with his performances, maybe he got bad advice, maybe he never took advice, I dont know, but I think he should have just laid low, made reaffirming comments to the media and let it all blow over, people have short memories and he would have soon fallen totally off the radar - on the other hand thats never been LA's nature, so it was kinda expected I guess.

[Jakkals.]

what a read.

[eddy]

Grumps, I'm not sure that USADA has investigated "millions" of athletes with the same vigour, and within the same time frame, that it is investigating LA.

 

I know that LA is trying to make this out as a personal vendetta against him, but despite what we who are cycling entheusiasts think, he is not the biggest fish the USADA has gone after.

 

Despite Lance's profile, cycling remains a minority sport in the USA.

 

A decade ago, Marian Jones was the undisputed Queen of Olympic Track and Field (not a minority sport). She won 5 medals at the Sydney Olympics (3 gold) and USADA went after her, strippped her of her medals retrospectively.

 

Or Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery who was stripped of his 100m world record, despite never having tested positive, because they had evidence that he was "treated" by the BALCO labs !

 

So, maybe they have not gone after "millions of athletes with the same vigour", they certainly have gone after universally higher profile athletes with similar vigour.

[Bos]

'Flemish Lion'

 

Here's an interesting read:

 

http://www.cyclismas...es-and-arrests/

 

by UCI_Overlord on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

 

......Sure, he doesn’t like to lose, but Armstrong also knows when not to take on a challenge that he feels he can’t win. Why do you think Armstrong didn’t ride the classics season, or ride the Giro d’Italia until the last year of his career? He is a master at evaluating his best use of resources to maximum effect. He is a brilliant tactician. How is it that a brilliant tactician is all of a sudden making such massive mistakes?

 

Well He did come out of retirement thinking he could win the tour and was clearly not on the same level as the likes of Contador and Shleck

 

Its a good read yes, And valid points made, Pity we might never get to hear the real truth. Or will we? If its easy enough to figure out as this reporter "UCI OVERLORD"did in this article, then maybe USADA who apparently dont give two hoots about the IMAGE of the sports they could have damaged the public eye of thus far.

 

However in the same breath, LA is the very person who gets the public attention. He is the hero, the "greatest cyclist of all time" etc.. and for that reason allone I dont think it would be fair, not to go after Lance, He was still wrong, he might have been encouraged, he might have been said its ok by Hein Verbruggen , but that doesnt make it right.

 

I mean seven times tour winner.. There are titanic battles fought every year around one tour.. he won 7. If he had the balls/arogance to get up to the top step 7 times, then I think he should take the shitstorm coming his way aswell.

[goya-goya]

This is indeed true.

 

 

I would have liked to say that I planted that mistake to weed out the double agents among us... but I am not that clever!

[Bianchisti]

Looks like the net is closing. LA getting increasingly isolated.

"The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral (cycling team doctor), Dr. Michele Ferrari (cycling team consulting doctor) and Jose "Pepe" Martí (cycling team trainer) have all received lifetime periods of ineligibility as the result of their anti-doping rule violations in the United States Postal Service (USPS) Cycling Team Doping Conspiracy.

The other three respondents in the case, Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Dr. Pedro Celaya, have either asked for arbitration to go forward or have been given five-day extensions.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart confirmed to Cyclingnews that Ferrari, Del Moral and Marti accepted their lifetime bans. "The respondents chose not to waste resources by moving forward with the arbitration process, which would only reveal what they already know to be the truth of their doping activity."

[Bos]

 

Looks like the net is closing. LA getting increasingly isolated.

 

"The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral (cycling team doctor), Dr. Michele Ferrari (cycling team consulting doctor) and Jose "Pepe" Martí (cycling team trainer) have all received lifetime periods of ineligibility as the result of their anti-doping rule violations in the United States Postal Service (USPS) Cycling Team Doping Conspiracy.

The other three respondents in the case, Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Dr. Pedro Celaya, have either asked for arbitration to go forward or have been given five-day extensions.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart confirmed to Cyclingnews that Ferrari, Del Moral and Marti accepted their lifetime bans. "The respondents chose not to waste resources by moving forward with the arbitration process, which would only reveal what they already know to be the truth of their doping activity."

 

I think the only way lance is getting out of this is if he hires Harvey Specter (the suits)

[Tumbleweed]

I would have liked to say that I planted that mistake to weed out the double agents among us... but I am not that clever!

 

Hahahaha! Well played!

[SwissVan]

 

Grumps, I'm not sure that USADA has investigated "millions" of athletes with the same vigour, and within the same time frame, that it is investigating LA. ....cut cut... At every TdF stage we see Bernard Hinault. Was he clean? In Belgium we saw Eddie Merckx - was he clean? With all the allegations, I very much doubt it - it seems that no one was clean....cut...

 

 

Maybe its a Libya vs Zimbabwe situation....

Libya has oil... Zimbabwe no oil

Libya often hit’s the headlines and gets major attention from the powers that be.

Zimbabwe, half the world doesn't even know where it is.

LA is kind of like the Libya of cycling but not for oil but rather due to his high profile, wealth, fame, controversy, tallest/ loudest tree syndrome….

EM, BH etc are like Zimbabwe, low profile and outside of cycling few people know of them.

[petatodd]

I tend to take the view articulated by Andrew McLean that it's time to move on and let Lance fade away.

And he's an authority on ethics in life? No self interest there at all after spending more than a decade telling us how great the Texan is and how he's not a doper? Egg on face if this is proved to be a lie.

 

Same problem that Phil Liggett is going to have.

[Flemish Lion]

I agree - we make the call ourselves. Vaughters hinted he retired early at the age of 29, for a reason he did not mention...

 

Here's a fake interview, although tumbleweed was there!

 

http://www.cyclismas.com/2012/07/exclusive-george-hincapie-reacts/

 

EXCLUSIVE: George Hincapie reacts to latest on the USADA case against Lance

 

by DavidMcleanCycl on Thursday, July 5th, 2012

 

 

George Hincapie, the only teammate with Lance Armstrong for all seven of his Tour de France victories, released a statement today to the gathered press and fans outside his BMC team bus this morning. It is relayed in full below.

 

(Photo by Sirotti courtesy of Velonation)

 

I am just disappointed that this has been brought up again. I feel like I have always tried to do the right thing for the sport,” he said, in response to questions. “Right now I am here to do my job and I am just going to try to focus on that. BMC has nothing to do with this. Cadel obviously is focussed on winning the Tour and I am here to try to help him do that. I am going to continue to do that and to try not to let anything get in my mind beside that.”

…pause

I would like to take this opportunity to say that once my career ends this August my whole cycling career will be in the past and furthermore what happened in the past happened in the past. What we should do is concentrate on the present (which is in the present) and the future. I will also say for the sake of completeness that the future is in the future.”

… long pause

I can fully one hundred percent confirm to everyone gathered here today that I used to be Lance Armstrong’s teammate.”

… another pause

Cycling is a sport in which some people have been known to possibly take drugs perhaps, although I’m not sure. Thank you.”

… yet another pause

“I think that cycling is a good sport and that we should encourage as many people to do it as possible.”

…

Lance Armstrong is a cyclist.”

…

Bad news about cycling is bad.”

 

… at this pause, a tumbleweed appeared from nowhere and rolled past the gathered press.

One plus one equals two, this is an undoubted fact.”

…

Drugs are bad.”

…

Lance Armstrong is a person.”

… *tolling bells*

This is a sentence that I am saying now.”

…

Thank you.”

 

 

The only reporters in the press conference who appeared excited by the “revelations” were those from Bicycling Magazine, who have managed to turn the release into a fourteen page feature for their next issue.

[DaLoCo]

So in the end...if USADA is successful, they will prove that LA was part of a systematic doping ring. They still cannot prove that he doped, and no testimony to that extent has been made public. It is clear that there was massive doping where he was involved...but even if they strip him, he is still able to maintain that he has always been clean.

 

In any case...USADA backed down today, allowing for a thirty day period before arbitration. Does not look all that comfy anymore

Edited July 11, 2012 by DaLoCo

[Agteros]

All of this smells too much of witch-hunt, and will most probably swing more 'votes' towards Armstrong than USADA/WADA.

 

L.A. re-filed today with a shorter document (25 vs 80 pages).

 

I for one actually hopes he sticks it to USADA as the whole of the USADA things smells too much of dirty doings. You cannot sully your own hands to proof somebody else's is dirty... But that is just my opinion.

 

I've kinda made peace with the fact that

1. He was (and still is) very talented

2. He is most likely to have doped (within the 'rules' of the tests available at the time) like most, if not everybody, (for the lawyers: a lot of riders) in the pro peloton.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/18772583

 

 

Time for the world to move on!