Home » I believe Lance

I believe Lance

Posted on by
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmailby feather

Updated below

There is so much one could write about this. And yet, I don’t feel like writing much of anything. Go figure. The king is dead. Long live the king. A new monarch shall ascend to the throne. One always does.

Lance Armstrong said Thursday night he is finished fighting a barrage of drug charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, putting his unprecedented string of seven Tour de France titles at risk along with his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists in history.

The decision sets up a likely lifetime ban from the sport and the possibility that Armstrong will be stripped of his signature achievement — the extraordinary run of Tour titles he won from 1999-2005.

Armstrong, who retired last year, declined to enter arbitration — his last option — because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he has passed as proof of his innocence. http://espn.go.com/olympics/cycling/story/_/id/8298135/lance-armstrong-fight-usada-charges-used-performance-enhancing-drugs-unprecedented-cycling-career.

I’m glad he’s pointing at something. He should use his middle finger. I am. And, I’m pointing at Texas.

When I think back of all the years this has been going on, I almost cannot believe it. He was the Teflon Don. Nothing stuck.

In 2004, a Dallas-based promotions company initially refused to pay him a $5 million bonus for winning his sixth Tour de France because it wanted to investigate allegations raised by media in Europe. Testimony in that case included former teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy, saying Armstrong told doctors during his 1996 cancer treatments that he had taken a cornucopia of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.

Two books published in Europe, “L.A. Confidential” and “L.A. Official,” also raised doping allegations and, in 2005, French magazine L’Equipe reported that retested urine samples from the 1999 Tour showed EPO use. Id.

Besty Andreu is hard as nails. History will remember her well.

Armstrong decided to exit through the little door, as he has already strode through the big door, la grande porte, once before upon his first retirement. That would have been best, but his pride could not allow it. Too bad, eh? That which drove him forward so relentlessly, the need to win at all cost, also destroyed him in the end.

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now,” Armstrong said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He called the USADA investigation an “unconstitutional witch hunt.”

“I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999,” he said. “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.” http://deadspin.com/5937480/lance-armstrong-drops-fight-against-doping-charges-will-likely-be-stripped-of-tour-titles-and-banned-for-life.

This has all been about the court of public opinion, because he didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. USADA has jurisdiction over the matter. And they plan on exercising it.

Velonews has a good piece on the subject. The title choice is telling, Commentary: Armstrong the martyr changes the conversation by refusing arbitration. Solid gold summation:

So, here we are. Did Lance Armstrong dope during his historic career, as USADA and a collection of its witnesses allege? Armstrong, coy as ever, made the only decision tonight that he could. By accepting a lifetime ban, he turned the conversation for many from whether he doped, to whether, in the big picture, it really matters. Id.

Yes. It matters. It has always mattered. Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs throughout his entire career. I have no sympathy for him. He destroyed those who crossed him. The stories of his arrogance are the stuff of legend.

He’s trying to change the conversation. And so am I.

Ibelievelance.com.

You like apples?

How ‘ya like those apples?

Armstrong’s full statement below:

Lance Armstong’s Statement of August 23, 2012

AUSTIN, Texas – August 23rd, 2012 – 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. http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statement-of-august-23-2012.

I wonder what Jan Ullrich is doing right now? I wonder what Alex Zülle, Joseba Beloki, Andreas Klöden, and Ivan Basso are doing? How ’bout Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, and Greg Lemond?

Update:

August 24, 2012
USADA announced today that Lance Armstrong has chosen not to move forward with the independent arbitration process and as a result has received a lifetime period of ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results from August 1, 1998 through the present, as the result of his anti-doping rule violations stemming from his involvement in the United States Postal Service (USPS) Cycling Team Doping Conspiracy (USPS Conspiracy).

Following the dismissal of Mr. Armstrong’s lawsuit on Monday, August 20, 2012, by the federal court in Austin, Texas, Mr. Armstrong had until midnight on Thursday, August 23, to contest the evidence against him in a full evidentiary hearing with neutral arbitrators as provided by U.S. law. However, when given the opportunity to challenge the evidence against him, and with full knowledge of the consequences, Mr. Armstrong chose not to contest the fact that he engaged in doping violations from at least August 1, 1998 and participated in a conspiracy to cover up his actions. As a result of Mr. Armstrong’s decision, USADA is required under the applicable rules, including the World Anti-Doping Code under which he is accountable, to disqualify his competitive results and suspend him from all future competition.

. . .

Numerous witnesses provided evidence to USADA based on personal knowledge acquired, either through direct observation of doping activity by Armstrong,or through Armstrong’s admissions of doping to them that Armstrong used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and cortisone during the period from before 1998 through 2005, and that he had previously used EPO, testosterone and hGH through 1996. Witnesses also provided evidence that Lance Armstrong gave to them, encouraged them to use and administered doping products or methods, including EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and cortisone during the period from 1999 through 2005. Additionally, scientific data showed Mr. Armstrong’s use of blood manipulation including EPO or blood transfusions during Mr. Armstrong’s comeback to cycling in the 2009 Tour de France.

. . .

USADA’s rules provide that where an athlete or other person is sanctioned because they fail to contest USADA’s charges in arbitration, the sanction shall not be reopened or subject to appeal unless the athlete or other person can demonstrate that he did not receive actual or constructive notice of the opportunity to contest the sanction. Because Mr. Armstrong could have had a hearing before neutral arbitrators to contest USADA’s evidence and sanction and he voluntarily chose not to do so, USADA’s sanction is final. http://www.usada.org/media/sanction-armstrong8242012 (pdf file also available).

“The End of every maker is himself.” Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274).

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmailby feather

About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

177 Replies to “I believe Lance”

  1. I felt compelled to crack open a bottle of St. Bernardus Abt 12 and toast in honor of this day. I would love to imagine that Frankie, Betsy, Floyd, Tyler, Greg, and all the others are going to get an apology for telling the truth, but I’m not going to hold my breath. I hope that the evidence that USADA has gets made public – I would love to know whether or not Hincapie had the balls to tell the truth as well. If Johan Bruyneel doesn’t take the chicken exit too, perhaps we will.

  3. Hey DC,

    When you are challenged to a duel you get to choose the weapons. Armstrong chose the power of public opinion. Now USADA will have to air all of their so called “evidence.” Unless they have something concrete they will have to defend stripping the greatest TdF cyclist in history of his titles based on testimony that has already been discounted.

  4. @Pee

    Discounted by whom? By Lance? Of course he’s discounted it.

    The idea that every single person that has testified under oath has perjured themselves is simply fucking ridiculous.

  5. Lance Armstrong will always be the biggest baller in my book….this talk has been hard on my heart and I still don’t feel comfortable with stripping any wins/tittles based on hersey (gossip given under oath is still gossip) or lifetime banning anyone without proof.

  7. Hey dipshit from Roubaix.

    Let the evidence come out. Then you will learn about how he got his hand caught in the cookie jar during the Giro – Tour double in 2009. You can’t have elevated reticulocytes in the 3rd week of a Grand Tour. Not possible. In the Giro, he does not, in the Tour he does. And imagine that, they all line up with key tour stages.

    Hubris is a Hubris does. He could not stand to be out of the limelight. He could not stand to not be liked, to have his legacy tainted. He came back when he should have stayed away. In the end he fucked himself.

    Rather poetic i think.

  8. Comeback pure Greed. Sins rarely go unpunished much less get witnessed by packs of sleeping dogs. Comeback allowed this all to happen. Finally!

  11. How do we as a society define human nature? Is it the desire we all have for self-improvement? Is it the desire to help others? Or maybe it is the need to be the best we can be at whatever it is we do? Most people would say that success in life could be measured by a positive contribution to human kind and society, or a sincere concern for the well being of those around us and those in need of our help and support. However you might measure the goodness of people, our will to succeed, triumph over adversity, and contribute to the lives of others forms the foundation of who we are as humans. We all know people out there who are shining examples of enlightenment, people who would drop everything at any moment to help others, or who are unwavering in their deep rooted desire to be the best they can be at all times. My friend Tyler Hamilton is one of these people.

    Since the day I met Tyler he has always been a shining example of integrity, honesty, trust, and humor to me. He is the kind of person that I would want my two young boys to grow up to be like. Tyler and I met each other ski racing in New Hampshire at the impressionable age of 11 or 12. We were competitive little kids. Our parents and coaches had instilled some pretty strong values in us at a very young age: hard work, tenacity, teamwork, sportsmanship, and most importantly, respect. We spent thousands of hours learning what it meant to be an athlete, to train, focus, and perform in high-pressure situations. We all wanted to be champions, and knew that to get there the only way was through dedication to the sport and the respect of those around you. Tyler’s career has been beyond brilliant, measured both by his tangible successes on the podium, but I believe, more importantly by his achievements as a team leader, a role model, a hero, and an ambassador to sport as a whole.

    People often ask me what I remember about Tyler when we were kids. He was a wonderful teammate. The kind of guy who made you believe you could always do better than you did. Our high school cycling team was incredibly strong, and even when we were on the rivet, suffering, I would look over at Ty and he’d crack some joke about the competition, or make some comment that would make the pain ease up for a bit. In ski races, Ty would come across the finish line, most likely having had a fantastic run, and he would ski up to me and the first thing out of his mouth would be; “Dav, how was your run?” He is the kind of friend that always seemed to care more about how others did than his own result, maybe to a fault. The bottom line is that the friendships, relationships, and experiences of his sports have always been more important to Tyler than the results. He has said it himself recently, that he would hang up his bike before he would ever choose to cheat to achieve a result. Even now, as he is a globally recognized superstar in cycling, those core values he learned so well as a kid have not faltered; friends, family, and hard work first, sport and results second.

    If you follow professional cycling, or even sports in general, you probably know that Tyler Hamilton faces an uphill battle to clear his name of the blood doping charges brought against him by the Union Cyclist International, the U.C.I. Tyler will do everything in his power to fight these allegations and clear his good name, while at the same time making a concerted effort to educate youth cyclists and the public on the dangers that lurk in the dark corners of professional sports. Tyler faces a long and expensive legal battle now, and we, as his friends, family, teammates, co-workers, and supporters, have vowed to stand by him. He has assembled a leading team of doctors and scientists, as well as attorneys and legal experts to work towards finding out how a testing mistake might have happened. The next few months will be trying and expensive, potentially totaling over a half million dollars. Believetyler.org is an informational site created to give the public the full story behind the current allegations, and to allow those who want to help to do so through an on-line donation link. We encourage you to voice your opinion to the various organizations listed on the site, including the U.C.I., the World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as your Senators and Congressman. Together we can clear Tyler Hamilton of these charges, and make a significant contribution to the current and future health of one of the world’s greatest sports.

    Believe Tyler

  12. Lance Armstrong didn’t win just because he was in drugs. He won because he is Lance Armstrong, which happens to be the same reason he is in the current pile of shit. I wonder if history will treat him kindly, like Pantani or would that require a more dramatic exit?

  13. I live on the edge of Texas and point my middle finger towards Austin on a daily basis. It’s like a Muslim prayer ritual for me. Fuck all those bastards. They all love cancer jesus and wear his silly yellow wrist bands and sport jerseys representing former and current teams that he rode for. The funny thing is that it really doesn’t matter and nobody really cares. Maybe it’s not that funny….more sad than funny.

    Speaking of jerseys….I just remembered that I have an old motorola jersey in storage. That will be coming out of storage to be burned sometime soon. Maybe I’ll do it at a group ride and throw the flaming garment at anyone wearing a yellow wrist band or a Radio Shack jersey or whatever. I hope Honey Stinger drops his face off their products as it makes them taste bad.

  14. I repeat, do not blame it on Austin!!! He is not loved here, he burned his bridges long ago. Any who know him, other than his chamois sniffing, mellow johnny t shirt buyers know he is the biggest fraud since Bernie Madoff. I hope this leads to more “discovery”, instead of his trying to shut the door with his victimization speech.

  16. So much hate. Burning jerseys and toasting rare imports? Is this what happens when you get old? Is this all you have left?

    It’s as absurd to hate the man as it is to lionize the man.

    Sports will be sports, my friends. Enjoy the show for what it is. Get the fuck over your illusions.

    I think my advice is wise, regardless of what you think are illusions.

  18. I stand by BJ’s original thought in the matter. (Back from when there was a forum and posts had more T-n-A)

    ‘They all dope. All of them. Even if they didn’t, the same guys would win; just 5kmh slower than now.’
    (quote guaranteed to not be 100% )

    —bp.

  19. @W This is what happens when you make millions by crucifying other people for telling the truth. That’s why I’m raising a glass to cancer Jesus getting what he’s earned. It’s when a dude when makes millions by burning other people at the stake, claiming to be something that he isn’t. If Lance had won, denied doping, and kept his fucking mouth shut about Tyler, Greg, Floyd, Frank, Betsy, and everyone else, you might have a point. But that didn’t happen. Motherfucker spent a huge sum of money disparaging people that wouldn’t lie for him or risk prison time suppressing the truth for him. I’m sorry, but the narcissistic cocksucker is finally getting what he deserves. I find that a toast-worthy occasion.

  20. I’m no Bike Jesus fan, but, it isn’t cheating if everyone is doing it. Frankie, Betsy, Floyd, Tyler, Greg, Hincapie and Ullrich and others have all admitted to doping. It was the climate everybody raced under in those days. If you didn’t dope, you didn’t win, place or show. Lets just move on. Who’s going to win the next tour?

  22. @Jack You’re a fucking clown. First, even if all the top players are cheating, its still cheating. Second, you make it sound like it’s some distant fucking experience – you forget that the dude is STILL RACING. What’s the problem with you clueless fucking fanboys? The guy that won for a long fucking time cheated to do it. Fine. They all did. Agreed. No one disputes that fact. The difference is that the others that got busted didn’t spend millions of dollars bankrupting other people that had no fucking option but to tell the truth. Lance made a shit ton of fucking money by adamantly maintaining this facade that he was clean, while everyone else on two wheels was breaking the rules. Anyone that disputed his bullshit narrative got burned at the stake.

    Is Floyd a paragon of virtue? No. How about the rest? Also, no. It doesn’t matter – I don’t give two fucking shits as to whether he fucking cheated. I care about the fact that he’s shanking other motherfuckers for NOT lying to cover for his gomer ass. In what kind of a world do you think that is honorable fucking behavior? The fact that Tyler and Floyd and George and all the rest are willing to break ‘omerta’ and tell the fucking truth ought to be a good thing. But by siding with Armstrong, you might as well be telling them that they should keep their mouths shut. You’re as much of a useless piece of shit as Lance is.

    Enjoy your Madone and triple crankset motherfucker.

  24. wow so much hate.

    med school guy, lance must have really cornholed you deeply to be so bitter. i hope you are able to heal and move on with your life.

    yes he was a monster. yes he “doped”. yes all pro athletes in ANY sport dope. i wonder if manny ramirez provokes the same reaction, tho he’s probably not as big of an asshole. we give hincapie a pass because he’s nice?

    and yet zero physical evidence against lance, love him or hate him, he got away with it. personally i find him abhorent, but it’s still a sad day for our sport.

    it’s fucking ENTERTAINMENT folks, why are we so shocked when peeking behind the curtain? there’s lotsa good racing going on right now – take a deep breath and enjoy the show.

  25. “It’s as absurd to hate the man as it is to lionize the man.”

    YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!

    There are no heroes. There should be no heroes. If you can’t find strength within yourself, I feel bad for you. Go. Pedal.

  26. …he called it “…an unconstitutional witch hunt…”…

    …ding dong, the witch is dead…

    …but is it a beginning or an end…

    …if it’s a beginning, he’ll yet man up & make the admissions he needs to make & then apologize for shitting on the lives of those who were once close to him in the world of cycling…the teammates, the support folks that saw & knew the truth all along…

    …if it’s an end, he perpetuates the myth until his dying day that “they” were out to get him & he stopped fighting because he & his family were tired…

    …he’s now getting what he deserves because of the hubris that gianni (& most of us) ascribe to him…that hubris is what pisses us off…

    …motherfucker won 7 tours de france in a row…count ’em, 7 fucking times, no matter what came up, no matter what got in his way, he made himself to be the fastest guy, albeit with team help, to race all those thousands of miles…i don’t care what in god’s name you & your competitors are dumping into your systems, winning 7 tours de france is an incredible feat…determination personified…

    …but it was that same determination, that hubris, that attitude, that clouded his vision & got in the way…the guy was never smart enough to see or understand that & it came back to bite him on the ass…

    …ding dong, the witch is dead…

  28. Possibly more pathetic than LA are the stupid fools on here still offering support of what he did…go fuck yourselves.

  29. Add a punishing 15th round TKO of armstrong to Lemond’s list of big wins. Always good to see the bully get an ass whooping and this one was a long time comin’.

  30. It’s always been a sad fact that the richest men were able to pull shit off that the less rich men were not, and no doubt the less rich men have suffered more than the richest man. Here’s to all the boys that weren’t quite as rich as Big Tex and have suffered a lot more (even though they’re all well paid entertainers compared to most of us jokers, so how sorry should we be for those that enjoyed some good glory yrs in the limelight?).

  31. …question for those with mouths full of chickenshit & feathers, the ones who crow the loudest…

    …who honestly gets those 7 wins ???…

    …real question…

  34. Hurben Says:
    August 24th, 2012 at 12:43 am

    I hope that down in Wellington, Mike Anderson is cracking the first of many beers.

    Word to this. I still have a Mike Anderson built wheel floating around the house somewhere, I might have to bust that sucker out this weekend.

    doyoubelievemikeandersonnowbitches.com

  36. @Bob. My understanding is that Livestrong Foundation doesn’t fund cancer research at all. The money goes towards support for patients and their families/friends. Anyone want to comment or correct me?

  37. Guess it’s time for Lance to turn to politics where lying, cheating and strong-arming are more accepted..

  41. zomg have the ugly stepsisters come out of the back room to ramble on

    toast to W. not all old fuckers are mean & surly

  43. If you pass a drug test and that’s not good enough, what’s the point of the drug test?

  44. Spot on. Yellow Mon is going to hide and continue to bring in the $,$$$,$$$,$$$. for the Medical Cartel and his foundation.You think all that money goes to this foundation? Really?

    Austin is a hot-spot for his type,it’s like a mini L.A. here.

    Serving the Beast,Eyes Wide Shut.

  45. @Pogue – because 1) he did not “pass” all of the drug tests, and 2), even if he had there is other evidence that supports a conclusion of doping.

    Evidence is defined as “something (including testimony, documents and tangible objects) that tends to prove or disprove the existence of an alleged fact.” Black’s Law Dictionary (7th ed. 1999).

    Side note: Does anyone know an html code for small caps?

  46. Of the top 4 finishers in each of his 7 tour victories (that is 28 names), guess how many of them have not been convicted, admitted to doping or implicated in operation puerto.
    Anybody…?
    2
    Sorry haters. I am still a fan.

  47. Jeez you guys, pay attention.

    This event amounts to a colossal failure of the entire sport of cycling. If Mr. Armstrong peed in a cup for twenty years and never tested positive, what does this say about doping controls?

    IT SAYS THEY”RE FUCKING WORTHLESS.

    And what conclusion do we therefore reach?

    ALL PRO CYCLISTS ARE DOPERS. EVERY ONE OF THEM. HAVE BEEN FOR TWENTY FUCKING YEARS.

    The plane has crashed into the mountain. Everyone in the sport has been lying and living a lie for twenty years. This is the darkest day in the history of the sport.

  48. I don’t give a shit about Lance, but I’d gladly take a Madone with a triple. Give me two wheels and I’ll ride. And props to all the other people out their riding Madones with triples and enjoying the shit out of their bicycls. Fuck you hipster mooks.

  49. @Winky I beleive you are correct. I read it in Outside Magazine (so it must be true). Nice long write up on that very subject a few months back.

    Maybe he struck a deal with Trek, Nike, et al. “go quietly, play the victim, keep the cash.” That’s where his real liabilities lay. If he were to be found to have attained his wealth under false pretenses, well, that would be a problem, wouldn’t it.

    In any event, the ego has been served, and long ago. You can’t take from him the feeling of a mountaintop victory, seven yellows in Paris or the thrill of ripping Jan Ullrich heart out, taking a bite, and serving him the leftovers. In Lance’s mind he will always be righteous, if for no other reason than the fact that he did what he had to do to be the best in the world.

    And you all can say you wouldn’t do it, but how many of you have been within striking distance of that kind of glory?

  51. jurisdiction boys and girls… jurisdiction. WADA and more specifically USWADA have absolutely no jurisdiction to strip LA of his 7 titles. rewriting history is absurd. i don’t give a fuck if he doped. of course he did. as has been said many o’ times here, everyone dopes. the whole anti-doping thing is absurd. and why the fuck aren’t we asking kobe bryant or ray lewis to piss in a cup after every triple double or crushing tackle? i’ll tell you why… the NFL, NBA, FIFA (that’s international soccer folks) and many other sporting organizations never signed on to the USWADA bullshit. UCI should’ve been more realistic, smarter…

  52. I ain’t no Lance supporter. Hell, I don’t follow sports a’tall, a’tall. Well, the Steelers, but that ain’t sports; it’s religion.

    Anyway, I’d be interested to see the Steroid Police lay out all their evidence for public review. Just because it could be a damned good read.

  53. just wait for the charging letter from USADA or the details in the Bruyneel hearing, Joe. sooner or later it will come.

  54. So how’d he get past 500 or so doping controls???
    I’m not saying he’s clean or dirty.
    I’m just going to wait for Lance’s version of OJ’s “if I DID IT!”

  55. Why stop at Lance or Tyler, or Floyd f’ing Landis? Let’s get our pitchforks and go after Hinault, Indurain, Merckx and Anquetil. Let’s go after every winner, because the simple truth is “rubbin’ is racin'” and nobody has any way to assure that the sport is 100% clean. In fact, the real truth is that there’s probably no clean sport anywhere.

    Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how about dropping the drama and vitriol and go ride our bikes?

  56. All this was far away and long ago. there is no point in beating this dead horse. Everybody knows what went on. It’s long past the time to rehash.

    Med School Odyssey …..I wouldn’t want to offend you if you saw me with a triple. I’ll be 10 miles down the road before you have your full kit with matching shorts, jersey, gloves, shoe covers and checked 3 times in the mirror before you left the house on your ride down to Starbucks.

  57. …bottom line…the general public is now aware that one lance armstrong is not superman…

    …the general public for the most part won’t give a fuck beyond a short ‘around the water cooler’ discussion…

    …next…

  58. Sad day indeed.

    They crucify one winner while letting all the others get away with their trophy’s.

    They all dope. If you think otherwise your a fucking moron.

    So who gets the 7 TdF wins ? The next doper in line ?

    Hell, they’d have to give the wins to me if they don’t want a doper. Cause all I do is drink like a motherfucker.

    Fucking cunts.

  62. …when all was said & done & all the dopers had been eliminated from the result sheets, it was determined that although he didn’t actually ride the race but because he once knew some guys who knew some other guys who met a guy who once made a national team with the likely possibility of being able to endure the 3 week race, that ‘bob from peoria’ has been declared the winner of the 1999 tour de france…

    …tygart & mcquaid come to the consensus that at least ‘bob from peoria’ was dope free…

    …bob, come on down & collect your prize…

  64. To date LA has raised about $500 million to fight cancer. Didn’t have to. Comforted countless very sick people. And my guess is that many people on this thread would, if given the chance, have doped too. Hence the anger and faux outrage.

  65. …mikey sez – “This is the darkest day in the history of the sport…”…

    …this has been dragged through the mud so long, there ain’t a cloud in the sky…

    …not a ripple in the fabric of the space/time continuum…

    …front page news for all of 8 hours…gone & now back to your regular programming…

    …we all have a choice but human nature most often sez “…i’ll do what it takes to win, even if the other guy is better than me…”…

    …livestrong was a flag to hide behind…i’ll bet he ain’t done hiding behind it…

  66. it’s turtles, all the way down.

    I think it’s interesting how the LAF spends more on general & administrative expenses (management costs) than the USADA has in its total budget.

    With regard to Lance crying about constitutionality, he needs to realize that USADA (or USA Cycling) ain’t a government or public agency, but rather a private organization. Members have to abide by the by-laws of the organization, not Federal law. A private organization such as these make their own rules, which members agree to adhere to, and those can supersede Constitutional rights… because it’s a PRIVATE organization.

    And why isn’t anyone looking at the fact that the most common cause of testicular cancer in young, healthy adult males is… abuse of synthetic androgens? That’s right, yellow Jesus most likely gave himself the same cancer that is the basis for his entire life now.

  67. WHOOOOOOOOOOO CARES!

    Its a god damn side of cycling that most of you rag on anyways. Great a guy got caught doping so that must mean bicycle riding is indeed the easiest sport in the world. I remember when Lance was beginning to win the Tour and dipshits on major sport networks were talking about how bicycling was not a “real” sport because any one could do it and it required no special skills. I guess since he got caught that’s exactly what that means. Those dudes don’t have any better or more apt physical abilities than the rest of us. They don’t train harder, dedicate their lives, and we don’t sit there and lap all of that shit up on tv and the videos posted on this here site! I believe mountain bikers have been caught for doping too. And if the money had poured into that there would be more controls. Yeah he’s an asshole, great he got caught, but I suppose all those baseball stars that got caught for steroids aren’t real baseball stars either.

    Hey what happened to those wallstreet d-bags who fucked our, the worlds economy up? Oh who cares LANCE DOPED RIGHT!

    Plus don’t the most of you claim to ride mountain bikes why should something in the “triple chain ringed madone” world bother you on your next ride through the mountains.

    Might I also remind you a lot of people hadn’t heard of Leadville until he did it. And the normal couch slobs that got into riding from watching him helped pour money into the bike industry that is responsible for the R&D for those sweet pair of Sram XX cranks or other bike candy. The man got his titles stripped, he’ll give back the money, he got served.

  68. @ CSP – you might want to check your sources! USADA is a private organization mostly ($9 million) by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),a government organization! Yep, we are footing the f***ing bill for this shit!
    As for making their own rules, yep, they are the queens of the crack pipe. “your guilty until you can prove on planet mars that you are not”! That is USADA mantra. Even if every single person in the world, including all those who currently are ready to testify, we to say, Nope, he’s clean, it still would not matter. USADA has their own agenda, and much like that crazy bitch on TV, Nancy Grace, its all about the media and public image, no about the facts.
    I hope Bruyneel sticks it to USADA, shows how fucked up they are and sends then packing.
    USADA cant do jack shit about pulling his titles, its all a smoke screen for the cameras, since UCI is the ruling body.
    Did he or didn’t he, who cares. Someone just spent my tax money on this shit and that’s what pisses me off!
    Bring back the early days of the Tour, single speed, no caravan, you could shootup with anything, including cocaine and you had to carry your own crap!! Long live the Tour!

  69. My concern is for the poularity of professional cycling and the oppourtunity that that poularity provides . Sports individualy in general need a hero, a best of , a champion , while most sports have many of those to choose from , cycling and specificaly the Tour De France has none , we can no longer have those debates about who was the best , who won the most stages. Maybe we will get lucky and Bradley Wiggins will snap off several wins in a row and we will have a starting point , highly unlikely that anyone will dominate to that extent , for cycling gnostics it will be exciting , for the agnostics , they will lose interest and while that interest may not seem important to us now it will when we no longer have coverage of top races because it’s just not viable anymore , I know for me the sound of Al Trautwig and Paul Sherwins voices on the television always signal the beginning of the good season to me , and while I don’t agree with doping in general all the purpoted “greats” have done it , we can’t compare Merckx to Armstrong anymore , we can’t talk about Contadors abilty to close the gap on a climb , while all my non cycling friends are always eager to talk about Lance they don’t know anything about Jens Voight . The impact of this is yet to be determined , but it won’t be good in the eyes of the public and I think from a fan based perpective cycling as a professional sport has lost alot a ground and credibilty , it’s like the spouse who keeps cheating and apologizing , we are weary. They (USADA) could have left this alone and the integrity of cycling would have been less damaged .

  70. The Saddest day for the bicycle ever. Absolute no respect for the history or institution. Witch Hunt. Plain and simple. Somewhere Lance stepped on the wrong toes. Be aware Who you mess with, it can come back Ten Fold.

  71. It’s just too bad that instead of using the bully pulpit to acknowledge and confront what is commonly known about the sport that made him great, he chose to simply be a bully instead.

  73. Nobody will be declared the winner during those years. USADA is trying to erase an entire era of Tour history on the basis that everyone must have been doping. Declaring The Jan or one of the other guys winner would be a joke. And even if someone is crowned winner, there will always be asterisks.

    And what if someone else wins 6 or 7 tours? Who gets the record?

    The UCI and ASO can not be happy. But really everyone else wins: Lance can say he was never found guilty. USADA can say this is an admission of guilt. And cycling fans will have more to yammer on about for years.

  74. He earned those 7 jerseys and deserves them. Doping does not change that. Doping makes grand tours exciting. All champions doped.. That’s why they’re champions, they’ll do what it takes to win.

    You think Jensie never doped? How many of his wins did he “deserve”.

  77. I have a triple and I love it…
    You can tell someone is a piece of shit by 1 or 2 comments? ReallY?!

  79. @ Med School Odyssey: “It isn’t gossip if it’s punishable by time in prison.” Might want rethink this logic wise guy. Cheers

  80. Don’t comment here much, I tick off 50 years on this earth in a coupla weeks. There are alot of very smart comments above. I hurt for pro cycling,and the fact the last 10 years are pretty much for naught. If you could look back a few years, I posted on here that Lance was the best doper. He was. In a peloton FULL of dopers. I don’t care for his personallity. The fact is nothing has changed, nor will it. Every single person will believe what they will. I noticed this year they rode up the mountains slower. I for one, think that is a start. I for one think there is less dope in the peloton this year. Given the circumstances, can we ask for much more?

  82. “It isn’t gossip if it’s punishable by time in prison.”

    Stalin thought the same thing.

    Grow up bitch.

  84. @T3,

    You’ve never heard of The Stranglers?

    They’re an awesome band.

    Plus I’m sure that they like Turtles.

  86. In 1984 Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil was in a drunken driving accident that resulted in the death of Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle Dingley. 30 days in jail and a 2.5 million dollar fine later he was released. The following year they released Theater of Pain which went quadruple platinum. In 1987 they released Girl, Girls, Girls which also went quadruple platinum, and bestowed upon the world arguably the best metal song of the 80’s “Wild Side”. Wild Side was later featured in FBM bikes video “On the Down Low” which features prominent riders of the early 00’s such as Vic Ayala, Kelly Baker, and Mike Tag.

    What does this almost incoherent rambling have to do with Lance Armstrong you may ask? Nobody cares, shit blows over and it’s on to the next shit storm that the media needs to latch on to because they have 24 hours a day and need content.

  88. @86

    Disagree, (with the utmost respect).

    When you have a prize, arrogant, arsehole like this bullying people & destroying their lives, I want to see him go down in flames.

    Maybe it’s Old School thinking but I was brought up to believe that actions had consequences.

  89. Good point nyhc, although you might want to check out bands like Iron Maiden and early 80’s VH before you throw up anything MC did as the best “heavy metal” of the 80’s. Enough of that though. In contrast to all the LA garbage check this out man Senna if you want to see the meaning of pure champion as a competitor and person
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oLSYSJO5Ik&feature=related

  92. after all this time and I feel somewhat…detached.

    It isn’t the best day for cycling or the worst day, just a big day in another chapter. Life and cycling will go on.

    Looks like a good warmup for the political I expect to see in coming months!

    and even now, the big testosterone busts in baseball seem to be bigger news in the US.

    cheers!

  93. Here’s this drunkcyclist’s salute/schadenfreude/toast/drinking game to Juan Pelota/Pharmstrong/Cancer Jesus/Livewrong etc.

    Sierra Nevada Summerfest lager (CA) tipped to celebrate Fraudstrong’s cowardice and lack of a full nutsack in not facing the charges like a man. He wants to preserve his fucking gravy train. Jet fuel is expensive.

    Otter Creek Black Ipa (VT) My new discovery combining 2 of my favorite styles. This latest USADA saga should insure that Lance never runs for political office…oh wait…he lives in TexASS. Everything is big in TexASS, especially the assholes. I raise both my middle fingers in salute and fart in the general direction of TexASS.

    Magic Hat Elderberry Weiss (VT) I hate bullies and Armstrong is a notorious bully. Here’s a toast to all you people who’ve been on the downside of his wrath. you know who you are and there’s too many of you to list. I’m sure you’re celebrating right now, as I am.
    Cheers!

    St. Pauli Girl Special Dark (Germany)I know there’s better beer out there. But this is for Der Kaiser who really should inherit at least some of Armstrong’s TDF wins. I know you’re celebrating Jan mit some chocolates und eine bier. Prost!

    Shocktop wheat Ipa I know it’s an Anheuser-Busch product but still a good beer and it was fucking on sale. As will be everything in Lance’s mansion. Old Trek bikes, extra small jock straps, all the centrifuges, unused needles and extra freezers with padlocks on them.

    Later on I break out the tequila and refute the fanboys posts all over the web. Time to get a real job suckers. Whatcha gonna do now that your hero has wimped out?

    Oh yeah and I like turtles.

  94. @93

    Absolutely!

    At the end of the day there will still be Turtles & they will gaze down on all this & pass judgement..

    I’m happily destroying several cans of VB, Victoria Bitter, cheap Australian piss, which costs less here in NZ than in OZ.

  95. @Hurben

    The liver is evil and must be punished.

    I think turtles gaze UP not down as they are close to terra firma. But then again you are from a different hemisphere so different rules may apply.

    Better to be a lowly tortoise than a high and mighty Cancer Jesus.
    When a turtle gets drunk he has less distance to fall.

    That is why I am sitting on the floor. time for another beer.

    Schadenfreude. Sweet Schadenfeude

  97. I’m not a fan of Lance, I believe he doped and I’m not defending him. But then all his peers doped. That levels the playing field which makes him a pretty awesome athlete and he deserves to keep his tours. What will the UCI do, give the titles to the next doper in line? Ullrich for fucks sake? Or just the next guy they can’t prove anything on? I’ve been watching old youtube tour videos lately and I swear those old boys went up Mont Ventoux faster on their gas pipe steel bikes then than Evans would today.

  100. How is it because they all doped it was ‘a level playing field’? I’m doubtful a poor man’s dope doctor was as good as the rich man’s. I’ve also read that some respond better to dope than others. It could be said that yes, they all cheated, but it seems to me that it wasn’t a level field at all, but came down to who had or could afford the best chemistry. Some cheaters were much, much better at cheating.

  102. Memo to witch hunt guy up there:

    The toes he stepped on were yours. He pulled the wool over the eyes of cancer kids too.

    And he went all Tri Guy in the end. that pisses off almost any Roadie for that alone he should burn

    out

  104. Memo to Frankie A; Dude your wife is hard as nails. major ups to her. but you are still a pussy

  106. I have his left nut in a little glass jar and will be auctioning it off on Ebay in the next few days.

  107. Now what do we tell all the kids with the yellow wristbands (aka cockrings)?
    First Jesus of Nazareth, then Father Christmas (of Scandiwegia), then the Easter Bunny (of fuck knows where) and now Jesus (of Texas.)

    What’s a kid got to believe in these days ? ? ?

    Themselves.

  108. …love to know how his entourage, his ‘yes men’, his testosterone groupies are dealing with all this…

    …& how do ya explain it to yer mom, yer wife & the kids ???…

  110. @butthead…you don’t know Frankie, I’m guessing. He’s a pussy because he defended his wife? Hmmm. Here’s a snipit from a former teammate of mine and 3X national champion in response to some random comments on the Onion article about this Lance issue that I think sums things up pretty well.

    Joe Chang: He wasn’t the scapegoat. Several riders received sanctions, and more will in the future as well. I have known Frankie since I was 10 years old. I know his entire family, and they know mine as well. I have the utmost respect for Frankie and his integrity. INTEGRITY: saying what you do and doing what you say. LA could well be reminded of this definition. You see, before cycling became a big money sport controlled by USA Cycling, (which was controlled by Thomas Wiesel and Tailwind Sports), American racing was entirely sanctioned by the USCF. It was an honest sport then. There was a full on grass roots development program which lent itself to family participation. And you are correct John about the collusion. The reason LA never tested dirty is because until teams, managers, riders, and promoters can make more money by exposing cheating than they can by hiding it, the few who want to truly compete without doping will be left behind. No one wants to believe it bu the the truth is there were no random or surprise drug tests. All were announced on the QT. Riders had portable centrifuges, and could test their own hematocrit levels. When they were too high (EPO), they could dilute their own blood BEFORE testing w/ sterile saline drips. The more you know, and the more you think, the sadder it gets. Personally, I couldn’t think less of LA. Lance never quit at anything. The ONLY reason he quit fighting USADA is because he has more to lose by continuing- the risk is too great that what is left of his (now) damaged Livestrong brand, would dry up and blow away once the avalanche of evidence and testimony was revealed to the public. If you’re looking of true pioneers of American cycling look no farther than Jacques Boyer, George Mount, John Howard, Gregg LeMond, Jeff Bradley, Mike Neel, Greg Demgen, and a host of other riders who rode in woll shorts and jerseys with leather soled Adidas shoes, nailed on cleats, and toestraps. They were the genuine article. Them racing (and winning-no less) in the 70’s and 80’s in Europe is the equivalent of France sending a football team to play in the NFL now.

  111. Hopefully the useless website Livestrong.com will finally go away. I do a web search in Google on something completely not sports related, and the site keeps coming up in the results. I look up car repair in Google and the site pops up and gives me the steps to repair a car….didn’t know Lance knew how to fix a car.

    Here are some choice articles I came across:
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/12460-breasts/

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/366316-cannondale-synapse-vs-trek-madone-5-2/

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/88372-effects-performance-enhancing-drugs/

  112. Might as well lift the restrictions and make it “run what ya brung”. Just sayin’…

  113. @EIoD… Just so we’re putting things in context here, USADA’s grant represents 0.00003% of the 2012 Federal budget. That’s three ten-thousandths. Your tax payment most likely contributed less than one cent to the USADA grant, so have fun with your impotent rage over the fractional penny “you” spent on catching Lance the scumbag cheat. And I seriously doubt that USADA spent all of their $9MM federal grant money on pursuing cancer Jesus exclusively. You want to get outraged about how your tax dollars are getting spent, there’s plenty of higher profile targets out there. Nice try. Livestrong!

  114. I enjoyed watching Lance whip the shit out of everybody that tried to mess with him.
    It is sad that the government turns against a true american hero that sacrifices all of his time to spend with dying babies.
    If he wasn’t stomping those Europeans I am sure he would be killing terrorists for the USA army.
    I sure hope he has more seed to spread and makes a big family of take no shit American loving freedom fighters.
    FREE LANCE ARMSTRONG!!
    That’s all.

  116. Porch Umm bro the “government” gave it up months ago. So you are way off hell it aint even the same disco.

  117. hellbelly, thanks for the reply. maybe I do maybe I dont but why you chose to make the topic about you though is another story.

  118. Since our boy jonny law is hesitant to help the lemmings and cancer Jesus sheep along with their logic allow me: One migh argue that “proof” only needs to be a preponderance of evidence (fan boys and girls; preponderance means….uuuu forget it) anyway, this is defined more likely than not. IE 50.0001%.

    I know I know I’ll slow it down for you. For example, If a kid (lets say a bald cancer kid with a livestrong bracelet) had chocolate on his teeth, crumbs on the ground, cookie jar open, and his buddies grinning, the “circumstantial and witness testimony” you reject is, wait for it; he ate the cookie and the fact that he had cancer is irrelevant.

    got it?

  119. Holy crap Porch swing you are totally delusional.
    The guy injected drugs into his nutsack and then lost a ball and almost killed himself.
    He steals candy from kids and single moms so he can water his lawn and buy jet fuel.
    He acts like an unaccountable politician always trying to make himself look like the underdog.
    I find it silly that he will keep taking people’s money without remorse and it is even crazier that people give it to him.
    Guess there is no shortage of retards in the world.

    JB

  121. I knew Lance in elementary school.
    He was a sad buck toothed kid, stole candy and was busted, but he always had a sparkle in his eye.
    My best friend Cheri would always let him catch her when we played catch them kiss them.
    It is sad that his dad the astronaut Neil Armstrong has passed and my thoughts go out to his family and his smoking hot mom and wife.

  122. …wasn’t lance armstrong the first cyclist to ride on the moon ???…

    …i heard he certainly walked on water here on earth…

    …“…live wrong & prosper…nanu, nanu…”…

  123. “the rumor was he was flying blood in and out in his private jet”

    Michale Rieu

  125. @Hellbelly. Did you really use something out of The Onion to make a point? I’m sure you are capable doing much better than that. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some of The Onion but referencing anything in what I assume to be a legitimate post is just lazy.

    @Med School Odyssey. Is your life so miserable that you must be a complete cock sucker to anyone that posts something that remotely goes against your feelings or beliefs? It does nothing to support your opinions because that’s all you’re really posting after all. What it really truly does is point out what a total piece of shit of a human being you really are. From reading your posts, you clearly are a dick.

    I am going to step out on the skinny branches and conclude from your username that you are a doctor wannabe because from the below snippet I hope to hell that you aren’t studying law.

    “It isn’t gossip if it’s punishable by time in prison.”

    Are you fucking kidding me? Of all the amazingly dumb shit posted in this thread (all due respect this thread has had some solid content) this is the most ignorant thing posted. Based on your logic I can see some malpractice suits in your future. If you can’t see the obvious fallacy in that quote then I worry how you’ll do while finishing up medical school…….if you actually finish medical school.

    One last question, do you wear skinny jeans when you ride your played out fixie you stupid hump.

  126. I just over heard some people talking about Lance being conceived in space by Neil Armstrong wacking off in a test tube.
    It is hard to know the truth with so many lies.
    I always thought he was the son of Lee Majors, the six million dollar man.

  127. Went all Tri guy in the end is so much better than the Madone triple. The work done in this thread is impressive; must be saved for all eternity!

    Here’s something to ponder as well. “He was the best of all the dopers.” So sick of this counter.

    Well, no. Everyone may have been on the juice, true. But not everyone had equal access of how to use it perfectly, meaning the medical know-how. LA did. So in interest of sport being fair, and punishing of the cheats: Lance also doped the dopers. He wasn’t the best rider in a level field of addicts, he was a doped better than any of the juiced.

    (There is athletic talent there too, of course, I’ve seen it personally. But I don’t care about this POS.)

  129. All of you are really emotional about a guy that was a winner and kicked everyone’s scrappy spandex asses.
    Our many is laughing at the smokescreen, sipping tequilla and counting his millions while signing new deals with Nike.
    Still winning!
    How do you like those apples?

  132. Hookers and blow at the Golden Rose of Texas.
    Hells yeah! Ride motherfucker ride!

  133. How many times are you going to post that same video? At least it’s Top Gear UK, not that hatchet job that is the US version…

  134. Oh my fucking Gawd. I just watched fat midget porn.

    What can be seen can not be unseen.

    Cap’n Tony, your a dick.

  135. Armstrong cycling on the moon. That kind of altitude training could account for his success.

  136. My theory is that BGW left jizz on a bike saddle and unintentionally made Live Armstrong.
    BGW you need to fess up about random jizz placings.
    Jizz is winning only when you put it in.

    No wonder we are loosely fucked and taking it.

  137. Ahh come on turtle god, you must have snapped off at least 5 times over that most excellent video. nothing tops midget porn and this post has gone haywire. What are we gonna do when Pharmstrong is no longer around to fuel the fire?

    I’m going to bed while visions of midget porn dance in my head.

  138. Let me clarify what I meant by my reference to ‘gossip’ and testifying, since you clearly have no idea of context. Previous commentator had claimed that gossip under oath was still gossip. What I was saying was that, it is one thing to claim to newspapers, reporters, and other folks that you saw, participated, helped Lance do his dope thing. It is something quite different when they do it on the witness stand.

    Being willing to lie to a reporter, when there aren’t a lot of consequences to it is one thing. Lying on a witness stand with a potential perjury charge is something else entirely.

  140. Major props to Lance for the 100k donation to family planning maybe those are the GOP Toes he stepped on?

  141. …miz cheryl crow…you, my dear, have a delightful sense of humor…

    …& that is undoubtedly a heartfelt quip…

  142. While this latest development with Lance has certainly created another big hub bub, I just can’t get that interested. Actually, its hard not to be intrigued by the human drama of it all, but from the bicycle racing perspective I’m yawning.

    Unless Lance admits guilt or some undeniable evidence arises, we’re still just in the tumbleweeds of speculation with a bit of a new angle on it.

    I’m tired of repeatedly getting drawn back into this speculative mess. I’ve wasted far to much of my life wondering about a situation without knowing what really happened.

    The only thing that I think I could really find interesting at this point is to know what really happened. It would certainly be interesting to learn that Lance actually was doped to the gills throughout his career through his own admission.

    Unfortunately, if the opposite is true, Lance was clean throughout, the only people that could ever know this for certain are Lance himself, and a trusted inner circle (if he even has that).

    Speculation over drugs is making a mess of all of sports and will most likely continue to reek havoc until drugs are somehow completely eradicated through fail proof testing if that’s even possible. Until that time, all of the athletes are presumably guilty as the only thing that can be trusted are admissions of guilt.

    I’d really like to tune out until the scientists and the sports bodies get it figured out, but I have to admit I will probably not be able to look away from this on-going train wreck.

  144. Do you see that glistening torpedo arcing through the clean crisp morning sky?

    Is it a 22oz of Midnight Dragon? Is it Pegoretti pipes rocketing downrange under an occupied bike seat?

    No. It’s a shark.

    La Commedia è Finita…

  145. Hey gang, head on over to worldcycling for 50% of all Lance Armstrong DVD’s while supplies last

  146. Man.

    You should smell the fart I just ripped off.

    It’s unholy.

    But still better than worldbiking or whatever.

  147. …in the court of public opinion, cancer jesus still walks on water…

    …read the comments section of any non-cycling editorial…

    …the overwhelming majority are still vehement supporters…

  148. I like Lance, especially if he doped. He personifies what America is all about. WINNERS! Fuck you if your to chicken shit to do whatever it takes to be the best. Move to France hipsters! You and Vaughters can cut each others sideburns and swap argyle sweaters.

  149. …obviously inbreeding is still big in places around here…

    …cousins fucking cousins with checkered flags in their eyes, out on the ‘backroads’ of america…winning…

  150. He is fucking your friends and all of your friends girlfriends and now they hate you.

  151. @ Med School Odyssey I am well aware of the context as I had read every post in this thread including the one you used as an example for the context. You are arguing semantics at this point which pretty sums up that you got caught with your skinny jeans down. Point is that gossip, insinuation or whatever the hell you’d like to call it means zilch with regards to it’s credibility or that of those testifying. Under the parameters that Tygart and USADA use they are under no obligation to give the accused any due process. If he and his government proxy are so confident in establishing his guilt then go forward and put the tests with tainted blood up for scrutiny. Relying on the testimony of some whose own pasts have been proven to be in violation of certain rules affords them zero credibility in any court yet in these kangaroo proceedings they hold weight? The overwhelming majority of us know he doped but allegation and coerced testimony are garbage. Saying you’ve seen some spikes here or there without have hard science or actual tainted blood or urine does nothing to offer any kind of proof.

    This may not be the best analogy but several people in the history of this country have been lynched based on witness testimony which obviously went on to be proven bullshit. Is Armstrong, an athlete that never killed, assaulted or raped anyone deserving of the same approach? If the federal investigation which actually followed proper legal protocols couldn’t find enough why just it be justifiable to allow for lower standards of proof to be admissible.

    Get beyond this only being a cycling matter and think of the ramifications if this approach is allowed to circumvent the legal system in matters that actually……you know matter?

    Changing gears (I ride a 54/42), for all the people that talk of what a douche nozzle Armstrong is and to a degree true, they are the same people that speak of the Cannibal and Lemond as legends and gods yet they too were known to be assholes. In the case of Lemond I can actually speak from the experience of sitting at a table next to him in which behaved like a put off dick to everyone that approached him. Camera on nice guys are the absolute worst.

  152. …being an asshole is something most of us are capable of at times…

    …the key is not being a hypocrite about it…

    …“…that bgw sure is an asshole !!!…”…

    …me – “…ya, so what’s your point ???…”…

  155. @bfw…Long live dirt track racing and cousin fucking!

    In all seriousness, I couldn’t care less except that the dude is an amazing athlete with or without epo. I don’t like cheaters myself but its a fact of life when bundles of cash are on the line lots of competitors either in sports or business (and especially when they are one and the same) will take every advantage to get one over on the competition. I don’t loose sleep over any of it.

    Idealists are rarely remember for their accomplishments.

  156. Dont get me wrong. I relate to LA on some levels. I mean we both admire our morning dumps with importance

  158. I ride the boardwalk like a rabid dog everyday of the week and have been a big fan of Armstrong.
    Life is surreal.
    Snooki pops out a baby and Armstrong is riding the boardwalk with the Situation.
    Why is Armstrong hanging out with the Situation and a film crew.
    Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.

  160. So Lance doped to win his tours.
    The guy felt bad and self imposed a ban.
    Why doesn’t anyone get what it means that he ‘banned himself’?
    Totally Christ like.
    He sinned and he is forgiven.
    He who walks the path taket the sins of others who are weak.
    Lance will rise again for his followers.

  162. Screw arbritation.
    Lances lawyers should suggest that if the USADA is witch hunting they need to put him in water and make him drown.
    He is a fast swimmer and can free dive pretty damn deep.
    Might be the best defense yet?

  163. He’d fight if he was innocent. Period. But he knows that lying in court is worse than the underlying offense. So instead he can just stop fighting and call it a witch hunt.

    Whatever. His wins have had asterisks for years anyway. Really this changes fuck-all.

  167. …newly retired big george hincapie is one of the keys…

    …“…sorry lance, hadda happen…i rode in support through 7 tours & looked a lotta journalists in the eye & denied everything about both our methods & the help we got from the uci but when the feds got on my ass, it was always gonna be my family over our friendship, bro…c’mon man, you’re the big dog but i’m not you…i gotta protect MY family…”…

    …cancer jesus rose from his death bed with a compelling story so the uci was complicit in allowing this determined & focused (& perhaps sociopathological) individual to become the great american cycling hero in what was a healthy market with the potential to be huge…that, in turn, translates to a ‘healthy’ sport…

    …the concept finally backfired within the sport…

    …outside the sport, lance is still huge…that is a fact….

  168. I beer doped. I drank a shit-load of beer.

    Results:

    1) Made me euphoric and act like I “could do anything”

    2) Gave me the ability to be delusional enough to talk to the HOTTEST chick in the bar

    3) Had the confidence (that I did not have before doping) to ask her to go home w/ me

    4) To actually perform sex longer than 3 seconds w/ this World Class woman – I actually was able to go 40 minutes longer, harder and w/ more vigor than I have ever done in my life.

    So was it performance enhancing? HELLS YES!

    How do I know? She looked at me and ran in disgust – I just leaned back and smelled my fingers.

    I am a doper…….. Por vida.

  169. PoundDick,
    I would ride the back roads of America with you anytime…”winning”!

  171. I was crushed when my lover of three years left to be with another woman. I cried and sobbed every day, until it got so bad that I reached out to the Internet for help.And i saw a testimony of a spell caster who help a girl called michelle and i said let me give it a try so i contact him for help and he cast a love spell for me which i use in getting my love back and now i am a happy woman.For what you have done for me,i will not stop to share your goodness to people out there for the good work you are doing.I hope God blesses you as much as you have help me to get my Love back,visit him on ultimatespelltemple@gmail.com,he is the only answer to your problems ultimatespelltemple@gmail.com

  174. Lance buttstrong is a liar, a cheat, a conspirator, a f*cking piece of shit… read below

    Achievements of USPS/Discovery Channel pro cycling team accomplished through the most sophisticated, professional and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen

    Armstrong’s career at the team was fuelled from start to finish by doping

    More than a dozen former team-mates, friends and former team employees confirm a fraudulent course of conduct

    Armstrong acted with the help of a small army of enablers, including doping doctors, drug smugglers and others within and outside the sport and his team

    He had ultimate control over not only his own personal drug use but over the doping culture of the team

    Team staff were good at predicting when testers would turn up and seemed to have inside information

    Evidence is beyond strong and as strong as any case brought by Usada in its existence

  175. Ladies and gentlemen,

    I am relieved to announce that the Shit has officially hit the fan! Finally! Finally we can put to bed all the doubt, the debates, the talk of hearsay, conspiracy, and stare straight into the eyes of the FACTS. They are standing, naked in front of us. No question, no doubt.

    I don’t even care to hear a response from that “fool.” Out.

    How about that Tejay?! Damn straight.

    Looks like you were SPOT ON the entire time, LeMond. I wish I could officially apologize on behalf of all who called you “crazy.” Not so crazy after all, huh?

  176. …i agree, 4thelove…

    …there was a time when i though mr lemond was creating a problem for the sport & i wanted to see, shut up, cease & desist & just go back to wherever he was hanging his hat…

    …i couldn’t have been more wrong…guy had his finger on the pulse the whole time…

    …i hope the sun shines on the man for the rest of his days…