USADA to ban Armstrong for life and strip of his seven (7) Tour titles. :-(

[todayilearned]

So, is it possible to complete the TdF without doping and/or taking PEDs?

From what I've read there have been reports of people taking PEDs for a couple of decades... maybe even around the 20-30's?

Allegations of doping have plagued the Tour almost since 1903. Early riders consumed alcohol and used ether, to dull the pain. Over the years they began to increase performance and the Union Cycliste Internationale and governments enacted policies to combat the practice.
In 1924, Henri Pélissier and his brother Charles told the journalist Albert Londres they used strychnine, cocaine, chloroform, aspirin, "horse ointment" and other drugs.[SUP][161][/SUP] The story was published in Le Petit Parisien under the title Les Forçats de la Route ('The Convicts of the Road')[SUP][28][/SUP][SUP][162][/SUP][SUP][163][/SUP][SUP][164]

[/SUP]

In the 70's Merckx was positive for a few stimulants and once said

"That, I can't deny. I was positive along with around 15 others. I was wrong to trust a doctor."

In the 1990s, he became a friend of Lance Armstrong, and supported him when Armstrong was accused of drug use, stating he rather "believed what Lance told him than what appeared in newspapers". Dr. Michele Ferrari claimed that Merckx introduced him to Armstrong in 1995

A few years ago Contador tested positive for Clen. Clen is just a B-adrenergic agonist which can be used to increase the power/weight ratio but guys like me who have asthma have a heard time cycling. Without being able to use Bronkaid I'd probably only be able to cycle a good 30-40 minutes.

 

[luvmysuper]

Some folks are destined to cycle, some are destined to bowl.
If a bowler juices up and wins the tour, he's not a great cyclist. He's a cheater.
Lance Armstrong can't be considered anything more than a juiced up bowler. What he was ultimately capable of without chemical assistance no one will ever know.
What he did was illegal, immoral and unprincipled, and he is reaping now the just rewards of his indiscretion.

In my personal opinion.

 

[reboot]

I don't care what an athlete does to their body; that's their problem.

It's the lying that I can't stand.

 

[Illadelphia]

I don't care what an athlete does to their body; that's their problem.

It's the lying that I can't stand.

Also well put. My background, having obtained things similar for competitive bb'ers and such, it's fairly easy to spot. I'm honestly surprised it took them this long to figure it out.

Some folks are destined to cycle, some are destined to bowl.
If a bowler juices up and wins the tour, he's not a great cyclist. He's a cheater.
Lance Armstrong can't be considered anything more than a juiced up bowler. What he was ultimately capable of without chemical assistance no one will ever know.
What he did was illegal, immoral and unprincipled, and he is reaping now the just rewards of his indiscretion.

In my personal opinion.

Well put.

 

[noahpictures]

I watched most of Charlie Rose's interview with three journalists about the subject and apparently Armstrong intimidated, harassed and ruined quite a few people's careers and their livelihood. I was a fan but I find this information shocking. In my opinion he is nothing more than a thug.

 

[the beav]

I watched most of Charlie Rose's interview with three journalists about the subject and apparently Armstrong intimidated, harassed and ruined quite a few people's careers and their livelihood. I was a fan but I find this information shocking. In my opinion he is nothing more than a thug.

You might like to read this, it came out a few months ago. Seems like it might have been on TV as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ids-cyclists-bathroom-cabinet-fired-year.html

 

[Kevan]

The man's ego is, frankly, massive. His apologists are still at work trying to say that he was just the best juicer in a juiced Tour and he still helped inspire cancer survivors. That's all well and good. But the intimidation, the suits, accusing OTHER people of lying and demanding apologies? Who is he kidding? Whi[pping up his supporters for years saying that the French/Europeans had something against him because he was simply American? I was a fan of the guy but now I can't stand him.

 

[riooso]

I have read all the posts and in about the middle of it all, defended Armstrong because I know how the Europeans can be when it comes to Americans. Ya know what? Now that his true colors have come out, let him pound sand! There are a lot of people that had some kind of faith that Armstrong had the heart of a lion. I have cycled and know what it takes to do what he did.

I got up every day for over 40 years and worked my butt off to raise a family and make a living. Right now, even though I am a nobody in the cosmic scheme of things, I am doing ok. Armstrong not so much! His fall will be just as great, if not greater, than his ascension and quite frankly I feel sorry for the guy. Pray for him folks, he is lost.



Take Care,
Richard

 

[merkur59]

I would normally multi-quote all of the comments in this thread supporting him and calling this a witch hunt, but it would overload the software.

lol.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

The Mrs. and I watched excerpts of the Armstrong interview w/Oprah. He was ‘sorry’, but not contrite (he didn't think what he did was wrong), and/or remorseful. We have
no sympathy

Read More: http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=8a59036e-8287-4c6c-94c9-1eaa0f1779bc

Read More: http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=7e2feb5b-00a8-4d43-8a19-54f618c0f82f

But who are we kidding? So many of our heros and/or idols in so many fields have fallen from grace.

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth". Buddha

 

[urkel]

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth". Buddha

excellent quote. I'm glad that the karma monkey is asking for payment on all the lies and cheating done by "tex"

 

[todayilearned]

I don't remember the source but I remember at one point he wanted his team mates to get paid less so he could make more.

---

It's weird how people who donated to his Foundation want their money back now.

I understand most of the money never went to research but to raise awareness but come on... asking for refunds from charity?

 

[Elder Scrolls]

This is my second and last time posting in here. If you feel like quoting me to get a response, save your breath.

1. Lance is a cheater, plain and simple. The argument that "everyone else is doing it, so it's OK" doesn't hold water in my world. In fact I don't really care about the PED'S. It's his body, he can do what he wants.

2. Livestrong was built on a lie, he was the front man. The foundation wouldn't exist, to the extent it does today, without Lance, and it certainly wouldn't be as big as it is, if he were just a Joe schmo. People would've just given to the Jimmy V foundation etc. This doesn't mean that I want to terminate Livestrong. They do good work and someone shouldn't be turned away for treatment. It's not their fault Lance is who he is.

3. The people , I most care about, are the individuals whom Lance stomped on to perpetuate these lies. Peoples lives were ruined and threatened so he could live this lie. They should be made whole, in whatever capacity that involves, and if it bankrupts Lance, so be it.

+1

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

1. Lance is a cheater, plain and simple. The argument that "everyone else is doing it, so it's OK" doesn't hold water in my world. In fact I don't really care about the PED'S. It's his body, he can do what he wants.

2. Livestrong was built on a lie, he was the front man. The foundation wouldn't exist, to the extent it does today, without Lance, and it certainly wouldn't be as big as it is, if he were just a Joe schmo. People would've just given to the Jimmy V foundation etc. This doesn't mean that I want to terminate Livestrong. They do good work and someone shouldn't be turned away for treatment. It's not their fault Lance is who he is.

3. The people , I most care about, are the individuals whom Lance stomped on to perpetuate these lies. Peoples lives were ruined and threatened so he could live this lie. They should be made whole, in whatever capacity that involves, and if it bankrupts Lance, so be it.

+1

...and well said!

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth". Buddha

 

[litespeedone]

The guy is a sociopath, pure and simple.
I've come to the conclusion that the only reason he's "coming clean" (ha) is because it's essentially his only course of action. It's all very rehearsed, carefully staged, and managed. It is the only way for him to rehabilitate his image and get some kind of life back.
The only thing he's really sorry about is that he got caught. It leaped out at me when Oprah asked him if he wishes he hadn't staged his comeback, and his response was, "yes, because then we wouldn't be sitting here."
Think about that. All that really means is, "yes, because then I wouldn't have gotten caught." He doesn't wish he didn't do any of it. He just wishes he didn't get caught.
What I saw was someone who was incredibly self-conscious during the interview; someone who was carefully looking at his answers through the lens of what it would sound like to the audience. There was little candor there; it was all about "how will this appear?"
I'll go further and say that I'm now convinced that the only reason he started the cancer foundation was because it was something that would benefit him. There is zero downside (and HUGE upside) to starting a charitable nonprofit. He leveraged the hell out of his story and basked in the halo effect. The synergy between him and LiveStrong was almost magical--they fed off each other. The conflicts of interest have now been well-documented--he made tens of millions, and also was able to deflect a lot of criticism by using the cancer survivor/inspiration storyline: Look at all the good I've done--I wouldn't do any of the things I'm being accused of! And we all bought it.
When Oprah showed the clips of him lying and denying everything during the deposition, he sounded exactly like he does now. EXACTLY. I'm not even sure if he knows the difference between the truth and lying at this point. He is the very definition of a psychopath. He stopped at nothing--destroying many lives and careers in the process--all for his own benefit.
BTW, I'm a serious rec rider who supported and defended him for years, read a couple of his books, and even took time off from work to drive 30 minutes to a Nike store just to catch a glimpse. I was duped just like everyone else. We all drank the Kool-Aid because we loved his story and we wanted to believe him.
Read Rick Reilly's column at si.com (among many others)--great stuff.

 

[JoshuaNY]

I wonder if Peter La Fleur would have gone back to win the Dodgeball tournament if he new about Lance's doping.

 

[Fkread]

The man's ego is, frankly, massive. His apologists are still at work trying to say that he was just the best juicer in a juiced Tour and he still helped inspire cancer survivors. That's all well and good. But the intimidation, the suits, accusing OTHER people of lying and demanding apologies? Who is he kidding? Whi[pping up his supporters for years saying that the French/Europeans had something against him because he was simply American? I was a fan of the guy but now I can't stand him.

He was the best juicer in a juiced tour, but the worst part is that he was also a liar and a thug. He's still a thug. True that every tour has had it's cheaters. That can be said about every sport, but his latest comment smirched the reputations of Miguel Indurain, Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault. None of those 3 men have ever been accused of dope. While he did not directly accuse them, the implication is there. Greg Lemond's last tour was a stunning defeat by Indurain. No way Lemond cheated. Indurain had physical attributes (heart and lungs) that were amazing and Hinault was called the Badger for a reason.

 

[luvmysuper]

Hinault was called the Badger for a reason.

He had to be soaked in a sinkful of hot water before rubbing him on a puck of soap?

 

[Doc4]

Indurain had physical attributes (heart and lungs) that were amazing ...

Unfortunately, his training regimen was very poorly thought out. He came from a part of Spain that is essentially flat, and close to sea level, and he did almost all of his training close to home, so he found the portions of the Tour de France (and other races) that went through rugged mountains and elevations very hard to cope with.

 

[mretzloff]

The problem with Lance Armstrong is not that he doped, but the fact that he vehemently denied it, despite having done it. It is kind of like being pulled over for speeding and insisting that you did nothing wrong. At that point, leniency goes out the window.

It is sad that a lot of the athletes that I looked up to as a child turned out to be hacks :/