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Lance Armstrong: how could he have won?
(15 posts) (9 voices)
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Gerontius
offlineMemberWell spotted John, it's a good read.
Have to say it is a very well written, thought out article.
She looks fun too....wouldn't mind propping up a bar with Tracee.
For over 10 years Armstrong took every drugs test (random or otherwise) they cared to snare him with.
Passed them all.
They couldn't catch him out.
So, in their eyes that proves he's a cheat
Er.....Posted 9 months ago # -
The All New Jeni B
offlineMemberI don't care either way, but it does bother me that a nation that prides itself on producing excellent athletes is so determined to bring down one of the very best.
Posted 9 months ago # -
The question must be asked that if it takes ten people to swear that Lance Armstrong did cheat in the absence of any evidence from hundreds of drug tests, how many people would it take to prove that he was innocent if just one had come back positive?
Its a double standard.
Its what also bothers me about Julian Assange - because he refuses to go to Sweden then it must be because he's a date rapist, because after all women don't lie do they? And Sweden would never use a bullshit excuse to extradite him to the US, would they? If Sweden simply wanted to interview Assange, why not do it over a video link or at the Swedish embassy in London?
What I dislike about both these cases is that it's fighting against the common denominator of authoritarianism - that a man is guilty of whatever he is accused of, unless he proves himself innocent or dies trying.
Posted 9 months ago # -
beau-jolly
offlineMemberNo hang on, I'm thinking of Stretch Armstrong aren't I?
Posted 9 months ago # -
charlies_hat
offlineMemberSo he sniffed his mums knickers as well as doping?
Posted 9 months ago # -
Statement issued Thursday night by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong:
“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense.
I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and - once and for all - put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right.
USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.
Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.”
In the absence of physical evidence, I am driven to the conclusion that Lance Armstrong did not cheat. Hearsay evidence from 11 years ago should not be used to overturn history.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Mary Evans
offlineMemberI really want Lancey-boy to be innocent, it shatters a whole big fat bucket of inspiration if he cheated. But my problem with the whole enchilada? Where does he categorically state that he never doped? "I played by the rules that were put in place" ain't the same as "I have never taken shit I shouldn'tve". I have always played by the rules of acceptable female alcohol consumption and have countless GP, dentistry and insurance forms to prove it. The outlandish and heinous claims made by my recycling bin - I will no longer address this issue.
Posted 8 months ago # -
The All New Jeni B
offlineMemberMAAAAZZZZ!!! Hello my love, how the devil are you?
Great to see you back, I do hope you'll stay awhile.
xx
Posted 8 months ago # -
The All New Jeni B
offlineMemberBy all accounts, almost all who they may have been able to give the Tour titles to have been involved in doping scandals. Which leaves them with rather a sticky moral dilemma...
Posted 8 months ago # -
charlies_hat
offlineMemberI think they should have one last race to settle the question, Lance and all his doubters should jack up some heroin and smoke some crack, then cycle a few miles, loser shuts up.
hang on, there might be a Nib in that idea...
Posted 7 months ago #
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