Lance Armstrong Banned and Stripped of TDF Titles

[Delgado]

Someone made this comment.

 

If we reach back into the history of cycling to strip titles from the admitted or not quite clean dopers of the sport, we are going to discover empty podiums. Gone will be Anquetil, Merckyx, Indurain, Delgado, Moser, Fignon, Thevenet, Riis, Zabel, Basso, Marteens, Bataglilin, Zootemelk, Coppi, any German cyclist, many Spaniards most of the Italians. The list is in the hundreds. Most of these guys admitted their doping within the eight year statute of limitations so forget that out. The French remain humiliated that their system has not generated a champion since 1986 and that winner is a known question because he reneged on a deal with Greg Lemond. The grand Tours beg for doping. The demands are beyond expression. The pain and suffering is intense on a minor climb, forget the grand climbs of the Tour. Perhaps this is one way Greg LeMond gets the recognition he truly deserves in the sport of kings – the rest of the heroes are simply gone, ghosts in the hall of fame.

Cyclists do not start out as dopers. The juice finds us in our darkest hours. Hours like a too young 17 year old trying to finish a 171 mile stage in a pro-am tour, you have to make the time limit or you are out. Dope finds us in disputes with sponsors over a racing schedule that makes no sense to an athlete. It finds us when we cannot just hang on or hang in but when we have nothing in the tank and we have to drive tempo for our leader at the front of the peleton. It finds us simply because unlike many other professional team sports there are no substitutions. Over 21-days in the Tour it is unacceptable to have an off day or a day off. And then when the Tour is over, the nightly criterium schedule ramps up.

This pursuit of Lance is a joke. It relies on the subtleties of the definition of modern doping - abnormal levels of x relative to y. X is okay below threshold z and only if q is not present at all. Simple things were completely ignored like the presences of plastic residue from transfusion bags – too easy. WADA has the legacy of Dick Pound to live down and the USADA has more than its share of problems like medical exemptions granted with nary a question. We were all asthmatics; the medical evidence was irrefutable as all of us had trouble breathing under sustained exertion. USADA tell the truth – How many exemptions for Clenbuterol did you grant for world class athletes? Hundreds? Thousands? Or you do not have records or the dog ate them on the way to school?

The real tragedy of doping was in the late '80's and early 90's when 25 or so young riders died in their sleep of apparent heart failure. Hearts gave out when EPO boosted blood took on the consistency of toothpaste could not deliver oxygen to the body while the heart was at rest. It was an era of a silent killer creeping through young pros. Everyone stood by knowing but not really knowing as only a refined lawyer preparing for a deposition understands. Riders were waking themselves at night to exercise and get their heart rates up in fear they would otherwise die in their sleep and that fear was justified. USADA and WADA were silent because going along was easier than doing their job.

The current action by USADA and WADA is all theater to continue and perhaps perversely atone for the fight they ignored. It reminds me of the accounting firms that missed Worldcom, Enron and the Banking crisis of 2008. The regulator’s of this world care more about their position in the economic food chain than doing their job. They play go along get along until the price of go along gets in the way of maintaining their position in the economic food chain.

I sense cycling is improving. The indicators are simple. Average speeds are no longer increasing; team tempo riding has diminished in both duration and intensity. The days of eight drones at the front of the peleton boiling off one hundred or more other athletes while protecting their leader appear on the wane. Only the organizers fail to get it. They keep creating ever more brutal and diabolical stages (Tour of Italy 2012).

I care for the future of the sport, not the past. The regulators knew what was happening and took the easy view at the time– he passed the test. Conveniently reacquired virtue does not create an excuse to destroy those that worked within the system WADA mis-managed in the past. They were happy with the standard then, they need to live with it now. WADA could have helped Pantani and so many, many others, but instead they played along because they perceived getting along was more important than looking out for the athlete.

I love the sport, nothing is more enjoyable than the relaxed hour or two deep in the peleton chatting it up at the beginning of a long stage, and nothing is more gratifying than any finish line intermediate, stage, mountain top or the Champs Elysee. I pray for the success of young Peter Stetina and Taylor Phinney and hope they are able to realize what their fathers could only dream. Lance did great things for this sport against insurmountable odds, let him go. Americans simply fail to understand how deeply affected the French are by the fact that their system has not produced a winner since 1986. USADA should be a pawn in the healing of their annual humiliation. French riders have never resisted doping in pursuit of a pure victory – just ask Anquetil, Virenque or Fignon. Let’s clear the path for a new generation and hold WADA and USADA accountable to that future and not the past that they both so clearly missed with eyes wide open.

This action and the recent DOJ action is so small and childish. It is time to balance the act. Keep an eye on the riders, but go after the sponsors for the insane schedules and go after the organizers for the sequential climbs and insane time trials.

Uh hum!! Probenicid wasn't on the banned list at the time! Thank you..

[TNT1]

Uh hum!! Probenicid wasn't on the banned list at the time! Thank you..

 

Still hurting from that one, Del boy?

[Delgado]

 

 

Still hurting from that one, Del boy?

Indeed squire....

[TNT1]

RadioShack-Nissan manager charged with doping and cover-up conspiracy

Johan Bruyneel's future, and that of Team RadioShack-Nissan, is unknown in light of doping charges brought against the team manager. He is facing doping charges brought by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He is charged with possession and trafficking in prohibited substances, as well as conspiring to cover up the illegal activities and if found guilty, could face a life-long ban from the sport.

Also charged were Dr. Pedro Celaye, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr. Michele Ferrari, and soigneur Pepe Marti, as well as Lance Armstrong. Armstrong has already been temporarily suspended from participating in triathlons.

Bruyneel may also be suspended from any further participation with the team until the charges are resolved. However, neither the team nor the UCI has yet publicly addressed the issue, and Cyclingnews has not been able to reach them for a statement.

Bruyneel, 47, could face up to a lifetime ban from pro cycling if he is convicted.

Edited June 15, 2012 by TNT1

[gummibear]

Chris McCormackhad this to say

Everyone wants to know my take on @lancearmstrong. Being banned for being "investigated" seems unfair to me. Let him race!!! Ban if guilty!

 

The WTC should really be ashamed of themselves after gladly reaping the benefits that having Lance race as a pro afforded them. I understand they have a policy but shouldn't common sense prevail here? Thanks for the opinion Chris. I could not agree more.

[Tumbleweed]

Chris McCormackhad this to say

Everyone wants to know my take on @lancearmstrong. Being banned for being "investigated" seems unfair to me. Let him race!!! Ban if guilty!

 

The WTC should really be ashamed of themselves after gladly reaping the benefits that having Lance race as a pro afforded them. I understand they have a policy but shouldn't common sense prevail here? Thanks for the opinion Chris. I could not agree more.

 

I also pondered this. If there's no positive under investigation, are there grounds to ban him from racing?

[onetrackmind]

How much he has done through LiveStrong is in question anyway, it would appear it is not the most efficient fundraising platform around (there were links to reports on this in prior threads).

 

Found one of the articles that dipped into this: ‏http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html

[Iwan Kemp]

Your link goes to Twitter. Here's another one:

 

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html?page=all

 

Long read, but worthwhile

[dracs]

Chris McCormackhad this to say

Everyone wants to know my take on @lancearmstrong. Being banned for being "investigated" seems unfair to me. Let him race!!! Ban if guilty!

 

The WTC should really be ashamed of themselves after gladly reaping the benefits that having Lance race as a pro afforded them. I understand they have a policy but shouldn't common sense prevail here? Thanks for the opinion Chris. I could not agree more.

+1000 sad really and also shooting oneself in the foot

[MAVERICK 13]

Sad to see that Macca and Lance might not get a chance to go head to head at Kona this year!!!

[Garfield2010]

All these samples and tests etc is bull***t in my opinion. There are so many technicalities. With the Festina affair etc docters were caught and teams banned due to this. However before and during this time these guys all raced and never tested positive.

 

This leads me to believe that if doping is done "properly", then you will never test positive. I also read somewhere that more money has gone into the research of doping and masking agents, than into cancer research. This is actually quite Ironic considering the whole Lance/Livestrong situation....

 

As said, I dont think they will catch and prove Lance to have doped on these tests etc. Is this maybe why they charged him with 5 different charges? (EPO, Testosterone, Human Growth Hormones, BLood Doping etc)??? They wanna keep the door open for all of these possibilities....

 

What is also interesting is that they have charged Lance along with 3 docters. This is where it gets interesting. I think they are hoping that one of the previous team docters turn on Lance. Ferrari wont but the others?

 

They "Ace" card they have to play with is off course jail time (due to the fact that the US Postals sponsor was public funds so this chages the ball game). These docters have to testify or be questioned (sub poened) knowing if they lie that they can get jail time. This might change the ball game. Almost like a a snitch turning on the other / good cop bad cop scenarios blah blah....

 

Levi and Floydd's testomony miht not be enough, but add a previous team docter?

 

But thats just what I think....

[Tumbleweed]

Levi and Floydd's testomony miht not be enough, but add a previous team docter?

 

I( heard mention of the testimony of up between 8 and 10 former teammates.

[Mellow]

keep in mind that the federal investigation investigated and prosecute on different charges than what ADA may be looking interested in.

 

The federal investigation probably came up with evidence (be it witnesses and testimonies) that will not necessarily lead to federal prosecution but USADA will have grounds for suspension/ prosecution. I assume Jeff passed on the facts and this lead to the suspension.

 

I would imagine for the USADA to suspend LA so soon after the Federal Investigation ended, they have a good case.

[Garfield2010]

I( heard mention of the testimony of up between 8 and 10 former teammates.

 

Ja I also saw that. George Hincapie and that other Frankie Andreu perhaps.

 

I still think that the turning point will be when one of the former team Dr's testifies against him. Then the real detail will come out.

 

Either way he will eventually be found guilty and probably rightly so. Lets even assume for one moment that Lance is clean. Would he have won those 7 titles had half of his team mates not doped? There were at least 2 years when Lance's team won the TDF for him literally.

 

I just wish they will wait until after Kona FFS!!!

[Tubehunter]

Again I think this is all pointless as much as people like ontrackmind would want some vindication. Go back 2 pages and check the cyclist graphic and you will see that ALL of the riders are taking something. This will only serve to completely break the back of the sport as a whole. Do you think that if Lance goes down he will go down by himself?? Nope, cycling will suffer first and progressively every other sport that WADA adminsters to, will end up being questioned as the validity of results they check will all be questioned. The real punks here are WADA and sadly they will ALWAYS play catch up!

 

I agree with onetrack and co if Lance and his team were doing this in isolation. Sadly they are not.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Tubehunter

[bassasdaindia]

as far as LA doping or did he or didn't he : well i have my own opinion and shall keep it to myself.......however :

 

what happened to innocent until proven guilty ? he never failed a doping test and i don't believe that accepting others statements is correct,because he was tested during the period that they claim he was doping.

 

sorry,the man has done more for cycling than any other person has ever done as well as cancer !

and is now doing for triathlon.

 

let him carry on,let him race.

Edited June 15, 2012 by bassasdaindia