Lance Armstrong no more!

[veeref]

This is interesting in that he didn't fail any drug tests, however the results from those tests, as well as his relationships (especially with Dr. Ferrari) enables the USADA to charge that his results were "consistent" with drug use. It also makes me a little sick to see that a scumbag like Floyd Landis is achieving a benefit to helping to take down Lance.

Would any other nation attach their own athlete 6 years after their last title? Our tax dollars at work!

He had really good doctors and trainers on his side. If you're gonna cheat, you gotta be several steps ahead of the testing. I would guess with the new genetic markers and development of tests similar to what they used in the Olympics the outcome might change.

What I find most interesting is Lance's responses. He says he "never failed any drug test", he never says "I didn't blood dope or take any performance enhancing drugs."

I met Lance and talked to him at their Central California training camp back in 2000, and then again in 2003, he was almost unapproachable in 2003 and you could tell after 3 or 4 tour wins when he was dating Sheryl Crow, he was no longer the same person, and not in a good way.

 

[weskimad]

Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis, Alberto Contador, Vinokourov, Frank Schleck, Jan Ullrich Ivan Basso, Richard Verenque. Just a small list of cyclists who failed drug tests, so they are not always one step ahead of testing. I am not so ignorant to believe that passing a test means innocence, but minus a failed test or criminal conviction, the suspension of a cyclist or any other sports figure is dubious at best.

To go off on a tangent, should the entire Jamaican sprinting team forfeit their Olympic sprinting medals because their stellar results in the last olympics are consistent with widespread drug use (even though they failed no tests)? The test in the benchmark. Once we ignore that everything becomes a witch hunt.

 

[hdroadglide]

think what you will. the man came in first in seven tours. that is remarkable. being a cancer survivor makes it even more remarkable. his foundation has helped thousands of people and will continue to do so in the future. there has been a witch hunt out for him since he won his first tour because american riders just can't be that good.

 

[sneak_a_cigar]

It wasn't just landis talking to usada.

It was also George hincapie, Tyler Hamilton plus others.

His closest team-mates and friends were going to testify in arbitration.

 

[Tobacco Giant]

What I find most interesting is Lance's responses. He says he "never failed any drug test", he never says "I didn't blood dope or take any performance enhancing drugs."

He's said time and time again that he has proven he is clean.

 

[RaschNuts]

One day at the local cigar shop there was a guy that helped train Neil before he got real big I think it was early 90's or maybe late 80's when he was first getting on the circuit. The whole time he said he always was very carefull and protected him self with who was around him people had to sign contracts not to talk against him etc. basically is a dick. But he said he was one of the most trainable people and his work ethic was above anyone he has ever met. Another comment made was that everyone during the time Lance won all the tour's everyone was doping also. So if he was he was just making the playing field fair and if he didnt then he beat all of them while they were doing it. Regardless I say its a feet on or off to win that many races.

 

[Markofoz]

Admitted ?

hardly....

Tired of Fighting... the witch hunt..

YES

 

[Treinenwj]

You can't tell me an innocent man is willing to let his name get trashed, reputation and life's work flushed down the drain, all because he's tired of fighting the witch hunt. That would be akin to pleading no contest to a murder you didn't commit just because you don't want to sit through a trial. A guilty man would do it, so he can always say he didn't admit to anything, but a sane innocent man never would.

 

[Angry Bill]

Who cares really? It's his name, not mine

 

[SDShark]

If he has nothing to hide, he should just do the damn thing!

 

[orangedog]

This is interesting in that he didn't fail any drug tests, however the results from those tests, as well as his relationships (especially with Dr. Ferrari) enables the USADA to charge that his results were "consistent" with drug use. It also makes me a little sick to see that a scumbag like Floyd Landis is achieving a benefit to helping to take down Lance.

Would any other nation attach their own athlete 6 years after their last title? Our tax dollars at work!

Lance has a lot of pros and a lot of cons. Regardless of the view of him, this point is spot on. I'm not a legal expert on all of the rules that athletes are subjected to by competing in their selected arenas, but if he was signed up for testing, didn't fail, and is then stripped of his titles, it is pure BS. I don't care if he doped in the context of what has happened. Prove it or drop it. Tygart is a weasel, and the USADA is either incapable of proving something or incapable of drafting processes that match their intent.

You can't tell me an innocent man is willing to let his name get trashed, reputation and life's work flushed down the drain, all because he's tired of fighting the witch hunt. That would be akin to pleading no contest to a murder you didn't commit just because you don't want to sit through a trial. A guilty man would do it, so he can always say he didn't admit to anything, but a sane innocent man never would.

By fighting he gives validity to the claims as well. IF he is innocent, he can easily say "I know what I did, I'll use my celebrity as I please, and you can f*ck off with your unsupportable claim" - which is effectively what he did. Also, I would suspect that at this point, the general public who would bother reading an article on LA holds one of three opinions: "he cheated", "he didn't cheat", and "I don't care". While the "he didn't cheat" category could go away, it could easily be replaced with "he cheated but I still like him" - meaning a lot of people just don't care. Maybe a fourth - I care that frickin tax dollars are being used on this. At this point, the jury of public opinion has pretty much deliberated... USADA's process probably won't mean much for people, and not fighting it is a way to diffuse it.

If he has nothing to hide, he should just do the damn thing!

Hasn't he already though? He's been through this with WADA and with numerous tests. At what point does it stop?

 

[GoingPostal]

You know Lance was doping along with 90% of his fellow competitors it was the steriod era of cycling. This is a witch hunt though lance just pissed off the wrong guy and that's why they went after him.

don't want to go off on a rant here but You will never get steriods out of major sports be it cycling, football, baseball cause by the time they are caught they've made thier money. oh yeah you stripped lance of his titles but he still has all the millions he made in winnings and sponserships. Bartolo Colon, milkey cabrerra got suspended 50games but they still got paid. So you will always have athletes willing to risk being caught for that big payday. Rant over

 

[mwlabel]

So that makes it okay, because everybody else was doing it?

 

[Crypto Sailor]

UMMM He does have to pay that money back!!!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/08/24/lance-armstrong-watches-heroic-status-endorsement-potential-fade-into-oblivion/

You know Lance was doping along with 90% of his fellow competitors it was the steriod era of cycling. This is a witch hunt though lance just pissed off the wrong guy and that's why they went after him.

don't want to go off on a rant here but You will never get steriods out of major sports be it cycling, football, baseball cause by the time they are caught they've made thier money. oh yeah you stripped lance of his titles but he still has all the millions he made in winnings and sponserships. Bartolo Colon, milkey cabrerra got suspended 50games but they still got paid. So you will always have athletes willing to risk being caught for that big payday. Rant over

 

[AlohaStyle]

The USADA is not the official agency that can strip his titles. The agency that has authority says they have not decided yet. They normally go with the recommendation, but it's not official yet.

 

[magiclawnchair]

So Lance quit fighting a fight a thought he couldn't win. So the people that suffer from cancer should just quit fighting a fight they might think they cannot win?

 

[smelvis]

I worked for rich people nice as long as they got their way, They also had foundations and gave as much as they could to avoid taxes and look good. Yep I said that. I ain't no brain but saw what I saw and heard what I heard. They didn't pay me a severance they paid me not to talk.

 

[AlohaStyle]

edited myself...

 

[Herfin' Harg]

They didn't pay me a severance they paid me not to talk.

If only we were in such a position! :kissforeh

 

[Tobacco Giant]

So Lance quit fighting a fight a thought he couldn't win. So the people that suffer from cancer should just quit fighting a fight they might think they cannot win?

Let's not equate Lance Armstrong's PR problems with a person fighting cancer.

I worked for rich people nice as long as they got their way, They also had foundations and gave as much as they could to avoid taxes and look good. Yep I said that. I ain't no brain but saw what I saw and heard what I heard. They didn't pay me a severance they paid me not to talk.

I'm honestly not sure what this has to do with Lance Armstrong, but for every dollar donated to charity, a rich person is only saving 15-35 cents in taxes, depending on their marginal rate. Donating a bunch of money just to save taxes isn't very smart, financially speaking.