Lance Armstrong is a sociopath with narcissistic personality disorder. And while all of the officials and the other team members, and the corporations that made a gazillion dollars, and the hangers on were all corrupted in their own ways and for their own reasons, this story starts and ends with the black hole named Lance.
1
For those of you condemning cycling as a dirty sport, have you taken a look at NFL players in the past ten years? How many of them are doping? Judging from the size of them, I would guess that 3/4 of them are doping, probably more.
Cycling's dopers are often caught and riders are given serious suspensions when caught for the first time, 1 to 2 years. Can we say the same about the NFL? I'm tired of all the finger-pointing at pro cycling. Yes, there is doping in the sport, but probably not as much as many other professional sports.
Cycling's dopers are often caught and riders are given serious suspensions when caught for the first time, 1 to 2 years. Can we say the same about the NFL? I'm tired of all the finger-pointing at pro cycling. Yes, there is doping in the sport, but probably not as much as many other professional sports.
1
And despite the Armstrong take down by USADA, the change in UCI leadership and a host of investigations, the commission acknowledged that doping was still prevalent in the peloton - just that the methods and effects may have changed (see e.g., therapeutic use exemptions and micro-dosing) - and the best that can be believed is that in the current environment, "riders can now at least be competitive when riding clean." I don't believe that for a second.
6
It's simplistic to point the finger & say, " J'accuse ".
It's far more educational to understand the "motivations".
This is an article well-written & very instructive for students of "human nature", psychology, socio-economics, public health & a number of disciplines.
It's far more educational to understand the "motivations".
This is an article well-written & very instructive for students of "human nature", psychology, socio-economics, public health & a number of disciplines.
The bottom line is that sports should not allow narcissists to become their icons. We need more Roger Federers and fewer Lance Armstrongs.
Self aggrandizement is the road to hell for organized sports. It is NOT good for children to learn that the end justifies the means.
Self aggrandizement is the road to hell for organized sports. It is NOT good for children to learn that the end justifies the means.
5
Professional athletics is about making money by whatever way you can and at whatever cost. it is now and always has been. There is nothing sportsmanly or ethical about it. We should stop paying athletes and stop paying attention to people who make money with athletics. Doping and cheating started when money started being paid to athletes and it still continues today.
3
One more chapter is a sad, sorry tale of a loser and those who backed him up. Can it get any worse? Watch this space.
3
Ha! I'm sure the Lance apologists' heads are spinning now because they have to admit to themselves there was rampant hypocrisy within the governing bodies throughout his fraudulent career. I guess favoritism doesn't come without a high price.
2
our appetite to vilify and impose sanctions on sporting figures who game the system of their respective activities should be applied to more serious cases such as gerrrymandering by politicians and financial institutions capturing their regulators. Where's the lifetime bans in those cases?
8
In the cases you cite the people who commit the crimes make the laws, so they will never vote themselves out of their gold mine.
1
From a slow but enthusiastic Masters cyclist:
For those of you who do not follow cycling (amateur and professional), you may be disheartened to learn that there have been a few (emphasis on "few," I hope) in the amateur ranks who have doped - and I am not talking about young riders 20 years old. I am referring to "Masters" racers in their 40's.
Can we all stand up and shout "Pathetic!"? No one outside of the competitors really cares who won the local USA Cycling road race in the 45+ age bracket. Believe me, no gripes here - I still would not have done well - in all probability - against a doper in my age group. Nevertheless, when I hear someone is that nutty to "improve" I can't help but think that, yes, the world has gone bonkers.
For those of you who do not follow cycling (amateur and professional), you may be disheartened to learn that there have been a few (emphasis on "few," I hope) in the amateur ranks who have doped - and I am not talking about young riders 20 years old. I am referring to "Masters" racers in their 40's.
Can we all stand up and shout "Pathetic!"? No one outside of the competitors really cares who won the local USA Cycling road race in the 45+ age bracket. Believe me, no gripes here - I still would not have done well - in all probability - against a doper in my age group. Nevertheless, when I hear someone is that nutty to "improve" I can't help but think that, yes, the world has gone bonkers.
4
If you watch 30 x 30's "Slaying the Badger" and focus on the end - where race times in the Tour de France all of a sudden take a huge leap when Lance Armstrong & the next generation of cyclists enter the picture, it was no mystery at all what was going on. Athletes, unions, fans - they're all culpable. Same goes for baseball, which underwent a similarly distorted era, within an oddly similar time frame.
5
Read Freddy Martens book, there was extensive doping and cheating in the Merck era and Merck was one of the biggest cheaters and dopers. However the predominant doping in that time was not in the major stage races but the classics.
1
As a Cancer survivor and an avid recreational cyclist I was inspired by Lance's success in beating cancer and then going on to win the 7 TDF titles. It made me believe that even though I had battled cancer and it took it's toll on me that there were still things I could do to lead a full and rewarding life.
Even though Lance's exposure as having doped and lied about it was bad enough, what really disappointed me were the stories about how he threatened and intimidated people who dared to speak the truth about his misdeeds. It showed me that someone who I looked up to as an inspiration and a role model
was instead just the opposite. Lance became in my eyes a self serving Narcisist who cares primarily about protecting his gigantic ego and his pocketbook.
Even though Lance's exposure as having doped and lied about it was bad enough, what really disappointed me were the stories about how he threatened and intimidated people who dared to speak the truth about his misdeeds. It showed me that someone who I looked up to as an inspiration and a role model
was instead just the opposite. Lance became in my eyes a self serving Narcisist who cares primarily about protecting his gigantic ego and his pocketbook.
2
Give back to Lance the medals he WON - the whole circus around doping is a big sham. Stop criminalizing the drugs and administer them safely by medical professionals, because it's obvious that competition is centering around the quality of your roids.
4
Why aren't Verbruggen and McQuaid on trial? They are just as guilty as Armstrong!
2
Armstrong's cancer foundation role was like Madoff's as Nasdaq chairman -- a way to conceal crimes (illegal doping) and distract others, while enriching himself. Armstrong attacked, hurt, ruined anyone who would get on his way --he never cared about others except his magnificent self.
7
Some suspect that the same thing is going on in tennis.
2
"I'm shocked, shocked to find that doping is going on in here!"
4
Further proof that in an absolutely filthy sport, Lance PHARMstrong was the dirtiest of them all.
It's hard to choose: savoring the total and utterly justified comeuppance that PHARMstrong has received or just never hearing another word about this monstrous drug-doping, lying cheat.
It's hard to choose: savoring the total and utterly justified comeuppance that PHARMstrong has received or just never hearing another word about this monstrous drug-doping, lying cheat.
3
Yet again, another story about doping that only mentions Armstrong's name. Clearly, he was a bad actor but there is substantial evidence of other large scale doping programs. Google Operacion Puerto to see the extent to which the Spanish government and European Cycling were complicit in suppressing information about a documented large scale doping program. A Spanish judge has ordered 99 identifiable blood samples showing EPO be destroyed rather than matched with riders. Many known European dopers are still playing substantial roles in professional cycling, as team managers and in other administrative roles. The Armstrong story has turned into an excuse for all of those involved to turn a blind eye to the rest of the ongoing story.
3
I believe the destroyed blood samples were from athletes, not necessarily just from cycling athletes.
1
As I understand it, the samples still exist Because the judge's order of destruction has been appealed.
1
Just because there were others you want to diminish LA's serial cheating, lying and fraud. It is not good enough to say everyone else was doping so Lance wasn't a bad guy. His behaviour was seriously criminal. Especially the fraud he perpetrated on the real cancer patients who believed in him.
1
I didn't believe someone under the spotlight like Armstrong could dope and get away with it. Of course, I assumed the authorities wanted to stop it. I will never watch cycling again. I really don't watch any sports anymore, they are to often boring, damaging to players, or corrupt.
3
Include in the list of cheaters the coaches of the Jackie Robinson West little league team of Chicago. The win at all cost mentality has cast shame on what seemed to be an extraordinary accomplishment.
But rather than using the disclosure as a learning lesson for the kids on the consequences of cheating, many in the community are blaming everyone other than the coaches and still consider the kids as champions.
The kids would be champions if they, as a group, would stand up and condemn their coaches. Naturally won't happen. Rather these kids have learned the benefit of cheating. Sadly these kids are now set up for even harder lessons in life.
But rather than using the disclosure as a learning lesson for the kids on the consequences of cheating, many in the community are blaming everyone other than the coaches and still consider the kids as champions.
The kids would be champions if they, as a group, would stand up and condemn their coaches. Naturally won't happen. Rather these kids have learned the benefit of cheating. Sadly these kids are now set up for even harder lessons in life.
1
Lance Armstrong's doping came to light early on but was ignored by many, including me. I traveled to Paris to see him win #6 and held him in the highest esteem. I initially blamed him and the system for duping me, but, finally, I can see that I have only myself to blame.
The hoopla that surrounds big money sports is designed to extract the most money from fans like me. I let it happen. It is just too bad that young people who are smarter than me will and must be jaded enough to not fall for it.
The era of the sports hero is just about over.
The hoopla that surrounds big money sports is designed to extract the most money from fans like me. I let it happen. It is just too bad that young people who are smarter than me will and must be jaded enough to not fall for it.
The era of the sports hero is just about over.
3
Great post and great insight as to how LA was able to perpetuate the myth. I too was duped until about 2004-5. For some reason I wanted to believe LA, just like I still want to believe in Santa Claus ( I am 67). I have learned to be a much better critical thinker than I ever was in the past.
Somewhat sadly it seems like so many sports "heroes" turn out to have feet of clay.
What so many people, including me, seem to miss is that sports stars achieve what they do in their chosen sport for themselves, not for the average fan who shells out good money to see them play. Yet, in the human desire to BIRG (Bask In Reflected Glory), we cheer on these players, elevate them to almost God like status, pay lots of money to wear their jerseys and put them up on pedistals where they don't belong.
These athletes are just human like the rest of us but they can throw a ball real fast or toss a ball in a basket (and get paid lots of money to do it while being idolized by the masses).
What so many people, including me, seem to miss is that sports stars achieve what they do in their chosen sport for themselves, not for the average fan who shells out good money to see them play. Yet, in the human desire to BIRG (Bask In Reflected Glory), we cheer on these players, elevate them to almost God like status, pay lots of money to wear their jerseys and put them up on pedistals where they don't belong.
These athletes are just human like the rest of us but they can throw a ball real fast or toss a ball in a basket (and get paid lots of money to do it while being idolized by the masses).
Oops, humans once again caught being human where survival, especially a survival packed with plenty of cash, rules.
'Course, the typical response will be to pack on the self-righteous indignation and opprobrium rather than start to do some soul-searching about a culture where winning and acquiring are esteemed above all else. Maybe it's time to foster a culture where the never-ending quest for more money, more power, more pleasure are viewed the same way as the quest for more drugs, more alcohol, more pointless sex. In other words, as the sign of a pathetic addict rather than some sort of "hero."
'Course, the typical response will be to pack on the self-righteous indignation and opprobrium rather than start to do some soul-searching about a culture where winning and acquiring are esteemed above all else. Maybe it's time to foster a culture where the never-ending quest for more money, more power, more pleasure are viewed the same way as the quest for more drugs, more alcohol, more pointless sex. In other words, as the sign of a pathetic addict rather than some sort of "hero."
1
J. Cornelia;
You make a very good point. Unfortunately, what you so eloquently advocate seems to run contrary to human nature.
There is an old story about an alien from another planet to comes to earth and after observing human behavior wonders why we pay our teachers so little and professional athletes so much. Don't we have it reversed?
We probably do have it reversed but these are the values of our society, particularly in America. When I was growing up my two biggest heroes were Sandy Koufax and Jerry West whom I absolutely idolized. Once I became an adult I relaized that the real hero in my life was my dad, who loved me and always had my back. He probably harmed his chances for advancement in his career because rather than work a lot of overtime he placed a high priority on being home to have dinner with his family and spent many of his Saturdays coaching my YMCA sports teams.
If there were more men like my father the world would be a much better place.
You make a very good point. Unfortunately, what you so eloquently advocate seems to run contrary to human nature.
There is an old story about an alien from another planet to comes to earth and after observing human behavior wonders why we pay our teachers so little and professional athletes so much. Don't we have it reversed?
We probably do have it reversed but these are the values of our society, particularly in America. When I was growing up my two biggest heroes were Sandy Koufax and Jerry West whom I absolutely idolized. Once I became an adult I relaized that the real hero in my life was my dad, who loved me and always had my back. He probably harmed his chances for advancement in his career because rather than work a lot of overtime he placed a high priority on being home to have dinner with his family and spent many of his Saturdays coaching my YMCA sports teams.
If there were more men like my father the world would be a much better place.
Are these the same people who claim that Armstrong's great "bromance" partner, Matthew "Hambone" McConaughey can actually act? Will McConaughey be revealed as a fraud whose only real talent is an ability to chew scenery?
1
Further proof that in an absolutely filthy sport, Lance PHARMstrong was the dirtiest of them all.
It's hard to choose: savoring the total and utterly justified comeuppance that PHARMstrong has received or just never hearing another word about this monstrous drug-doping, lying cheat.
It's hard to choose: savoring the total and utterly justified comeuppance that PHARMstrong has received or just never hearing another word about this monstrous drug-doping, lying cheat.
2
I don't think you read the article, the report said Armstrong was particularly worse than the others "The commission also found that Mr. Armstrong’s doping practices had not differed from those of many of his rivals."
1
It's so sad that this has happened. We should have known that it was too good to be true, and those in the know did know, but the Lance era was exciting to watch and produced some amazing stages and tours. And since everyone else was also doping, Armstrong really did win those stages and tours, only now unofficially. As formal sport, that era is tainted, but as sport entertainment, it was and remains epic.
2
While I detest doping and dopers in sports, I can understand LA's doping position - everyone was doing it. I can also understand his basic need to continually lie about the doping. What bothers me the most about LA is not the doping or lying, it is something that UCI has no control over: how he treated people who were no longer useful to him or who were telling the truth about his doping. How he mistreated his fellow human beings, more than doping and lying, will be his legacy.
2
We all want great performances. We don't really care how the athletes reach that level. Why do we only ban performance drugs and allow pain killers? Don't those drugs help the athlete to perform at a higher level and probably cause his body further damage? We are all hypocrites.
1
Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Armstrong et al. They put all of our exceptional athletes under the doping spotlight because exceptionalism in sports seems to mean doping or steroids is being used.
5
Lance Armstrong and Eldrick Woods....once upon a time heroes for countless kids interested in the respective sports they represented and trying to become the kind of sportsmen they pretended to be....
THAT is the tragedy here.
THAT is the tragedy here.
5
There are persistent and reliable reports that the American government, particularly the military, was involved in Armstrong's drug use. It is said that military agencies provided sophisticated drugs and methods which Armstrong tested. The drugs, being the most advanced, were unlikely to be discovered in tests. In addition Armstrong forcibly induced other riders to use the drugs to expand the test and help his chances of victory. Those drugs are now used to enhance American soldiers in the field.
This may explain the lack of legal charges against Armstrong in America. Secret drug programs by the American government are kept secret.
This may explain the lack of legal charges against Armstrong in America. Secret drug programs by the American government are kept secret.
6
...and this scandalous information came to you how ?
more details, please, and sources?
Interesting but why then is the DOJ prosecuting him?
The entire Tour de France organization was involved in allowing Armstrong and other riders to use banned substances. They made a great show of cracking down, but they didn't take some fairly simple measures to actually get the job done. This is why it is wrong to put the entire blame on Armstrong: it is a bit like a proctor leaving the hall when a major test is being given to students. What do you expect? If it were determined by 60% of the students were cheating, it would be very difficult for the other 40% not to cheat, especially if the results would later impact their lives (admission to college, job opportunities, etc.)
Here are a couple of ways those in charge could have cracked down:
1. Test the entire team of the stage leader for each day, not just the guy who comes in first. Cycling is a team sport. Test the teams.
2. Test the entire team of the rider wearing the yellow jersey each day.
3. Test the first five finishers each day or maybe the first ten.
There was a time when there was no good test for EPO (blood doping to carry more oxygen). There never should have been any "look back" checks on samples taken earlier. That period should have been closed.
Likewise, there should have been some statute of limitations on accusing someone of doping. Stripping Armstrong of all of his titles stripped the sport of all meaning and value during a period when ALL of Armstrong's top competitors were either caught doping or later admitted it.
http://terryreport.com
Here are a couple of ways those in charge could have cracked down:
1. Test the entire team of the stage leader for each day, not just the guy who comes in first. Cycling is a team sport. Test the teams.
2. Test the entire team of the rider wearing the yellow jersey each day.
3. Test the first five finishers each day or maybe the first ten.
There was a time when there was no good test for EPO (blood doping to carry more oxygen). There never should have been any "look back" checks on samples taken earlier. That period should have been closed.
Likewise, there should have been some statute of limitations on accusing someone of doping. Stripping Armstrong of all of his titles stripped the sport of all meaning and value during a period when ALL of Armstrong's top competitors were either caught doping or later admitted it.
http://terryreport.com
11
So many of the posts recorded hear display absolute ignorance of the international sport of cycling at the highest levels, or of the effect of the types of doping historically employed by elite cyclists.
At the top of the field there are genetically-gifted athletes who receive sophisticated coaching in tactics, preparation, and conditioning, as well as careful planning of what events to enter, and at what degree of effort. These athletes train by expending enormous effort, and they are disciplined to maintain adherence to a strict diet to control their strength-to-weight ratio. They are matched with teams of highly specialized athletes who fill very specific and controlled roles during a race so as to maximize the result for the elite cyclist while sparing him from the expenditure of energy as much as possible. It is a chess match on two wheels.
At this level, the differences in ability to win are often very slight; the current Paris-Roubaix prologue was won by a margin of less that a third of a second. Under these conditions doping matters--it can vault the ever-so-slightly slower rider past the ever-so-slightly faster rider. Lance Armstrong was the perfect Tour de France rider: he prepared all year to peak for it, his team was chosen to excel in it. Yet in an environment where doping could not, or would not, be detected, he would lose to an inferior doping rider. For him, it was dope or pump gas--he little prepared for much else.
At the top of the field there are genetically-gifted athletes who receive sophisticated coaching in tactics, preparation, and conditioning, as well as careful planning of what events to enter, and at what degree of effort. These athletes train by expending enormous effort, and they are disciplined to maintain adherence to a strict diet to control their strength-to-weight ratio. They are matched with teams of highly specialized athletes who fill very specific and controlled roles during a race so as to maximize the result for the elite cyclist while sparing him from the expenditure of energy as much as possible. It is a chess match on two wheels.
At this level, the differences in ability to win are often very slight; the current Paris-Roubaix prologue was won by a margin of less that a third of a second. Under these conditions doping matters--it can vault the ever-so-slightly slower rider past the ever-so-slightly faster rider. Lance Armstrong was the perfect Tour de France rider: he prepared all year to peak for it, his team was chosen to excel in it. Yet in an environment where doping could not, or would not, be detected, he would lose to an inferior doping rider. For him, it was dope or pump gas--he little prepared for much else.
13
Actually, it was Paris-Nice. Roubaix is a one day classic...
1
And here I was so proud to have spelled "Roubaix" correctly. Good catch.
1
What about journalists? Why didn't they take the accusations much more seriously than they did?
7
Paul Kimmage did, and was ridiculed and blackballed by Armstrong and his sycophants.
3
Why is Bernard Madoff in prison and Lance Armstrong is not? Did they not both defraud people out of large amounts of money? He and his enablers should be cellmates with Bernie. They have much in common.
28
Why do you want lance in jail? Consider the circumstances and be honest, Senator, we were all part of that lie in big and little ways. Imagine his life since Oprah, could that experience be much worse?
& Get some perspective. The first week of the Iraq war killed, according to 3 credible estimates, over 100,000 innocent people. Israel killed 500 children with its latest Gaza attack. We all are a big part of that, too, yet I don't hear enough Americans calling for the imprisonment of W, Cheney or Netanyahoo.
Lance is not evil and there are tens of thousands of people out there alive because they followed his methods of attacking cancer. All things considered, he's a net societal benefit. Those other guys, still rich, free and unscarred? Not even close.
& Get some perspective. The first week of the Iraq war killed, according to 3 credible estimates, over 100,000 innocent people. Israel killed 500 children with its latest Gaza attack. We all are a big part of that, too, yet I don't hear enough Americans calling for the imprisonment of W, Cheney or Netanyahoo.
Lance is not evil and there are tens of thousands of people out there alive because they followed his methods of attacking cancer. All things considered, he's a net societal benefit. Those other guys, still rich, free and unscarred? Not even close.
"... they did not conclude that donations he had made to U.C.I. were bribes, although they chastised U.C.I. for accepting them." Sorry folks but this does not pass anyone's smell test, even if you have the world's worst head cold. Armstrong can only be described in words that are not printable in this newspaper. Not only should he lose every multi-million dollar lawsuit for his lying and fraudulent behavior, but I am wondering what criminal laws he may have violated (RICO?). The fact that the governing body was in on this massive scam lowers cycling to a position somewhere between professional wrestling and professional arm wrestling. Good luck in bringing it back to respectability.
10
Lance was the best of his generation. He pushed his training, his team, and, yes his doping. He was an absolute animal on the bike-- I'll never forget the moment he rode into the weeds when Beloki went down in front of him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr89ku-K2WU).
He was also mean, deceitful, abetted by his entire industry, and enjoyed every advantage that his competitors did. Perhaps it's poetic justice that the cycling poster boy has become its scapegoat. But the disgust of some comments here! It reminds me of my mom serving us a new meat for dinner. It was great dipped in mustard. Then she told us it was cow tongue and grossed us out so we'd never touch it again. If you don't like doping athletes, better stay away from professional sports.
He was also mean, deceitful, abetted by his entire industry, and enjoyed every advantage that his competitors did. Perhaps it's poetic justice that the cycling poster boy has become its scapegoat. But the disgust of some comments here! It reminds me of my mom serving us a new meat for dinner. It was great dipped in mustard. Then she told us it was cow tongue and grossed us out so we'd never touch it again. If you don't like doping athletes, better stay away from professional sports.
23
Cow Tongue tastes great! Until of course you realize what it is then not so much...
While i respect your comments, your analogy between your mother serving you cow tongue and Lance Armstrong is misplaced. Mr. Armstrong definitely comes from the other end of the cow.
2
All cyclists in the same elite group as Armstrong dope.
That means it was a level, (albeit doped,) playing field -- and Armstrong was #1.
The report is actually a partial vindication of Armstrong.
Doping provides only a very small, incremental advantage. Example: if you're output is 94%, it'll boost your output to 97%. But for billions of couch-potatoes in the world, doping won't transform you into superman.
Lance Armstrong was symbol of hope to million of cancer patients. He was a true, living American hero. He didn't need to be torn down the way he was -- in the end it would have been best to leave things as they were.
I do not condone doping nor cheating. But taken in totality, it would have been best for all parties, if no action had been taken against Armstrong.
There are public-figures in finance, law, politics, sports, entertainment, religion, government and medicine all of whom are actively engaged in violations of conduct, law or rules -- yet they maintain their positions.
This doesn't absolve Armstrong, but it does reveal the hypocrisy and the extremely random nature of fate and justice.
Past, present and future, doping and drug-use is still prevalent in the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA, as well as Professional-Cycling. If athletes want to risk injuring their brains and bodies and long-term health by willing ingesting PED's, etc, then the sports-world should seriously consider making ALL PED's legal, under doctors supervision.
That means it was a level, (albeit doped,) playing field -- and Armstrong was #1.
The report is actually a partial vindication of Armstrong.
Doping provides only a very small, incremental advantage. Example: if you're output is 94%, it'll boost your output to 97%. But for billions of couch-potatoes in the world, doping won't transform you into superman.
Lance Armstrong was symbol of hope to million of cancer patients. He was a true, living American hero. He didn't need to be torn down the way he was -- in the end it would have been best to leave things as they were.
I do not condone doping nor cheating. But taken in totality, it would have been best for all parties, if no action had been taken against Armstrong.
There are public-figures in finance, law, politics, sports, entertainment, religion, government and medicine all of whom are actively engaged in violations of conduct, law or rules -- yet they maintain their positions.
This doesn't absolve Armstrong, but it does reveal the hypocrisy and the extremely random nature of fate and justice.
Past, present and future, doping and drug-use is still prevalent in the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA, as well as Professional-Cycling. If athletes want to risk injuring their brains and bodies and long-term health by willing ingesting PED's, etc, then the sports-world should seriously consider making ALL PED's legal, under doctors supervision.
11
how about the way Armstrong bullied everyone around him and basically acted like a terrible, entitled brat? He's a cheater and an ugly human and deserved to be torn down as hard as possible.
47
I agree with continuousminor. And you are condoning doping, FV.
2
The problem was not so much the doping (everybody does it, everybody masks it) but the persistent lying.
1
Just as banks and investment houses became too big to fail, doping in cycling became too big to expose. UCI leaders undoubtedly became devoted students of Sgt. Schultz of Hogan's Heroes, i.e, "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing....". As long as the money flowed, folks looked the other way. Pro cycling should have been sponsored entirely by pharmaceutical companies. At least that would be honest.
21
Who cares? Cycling is boring and Armstrong destroyed any possible interest by people in the US. Good riddance....cricket is more exciting to watch.
8
Apparently you're interested enough to read the article and make a comment.
14
You care enough to have commented. If you truly didn't care... well that's an entirely different conversation I suppose you need to have with yourself.
3
Boring? Compared to what, golf, the most boring game (it's not a sport) invented by man, and yet with vastly more TV coverage than cycling, an actual, team sport, in which actual, fit, non-pot-bellied world class athletes compete, sometimes for several weeks, in incredibly grueling conditions. Your average American couch potato golf viewer couldn't peddle around the block and would probably fall off a modern 13lb road bike trying. Ooh, look, he missed the green! Wake up the kids and get me another beer!
Incidentally, we're in a bit of a cycling revival these days, with an epic, historic rivalry between Spain's Alberto Contador and England's Chris Froome. Not that you'd care or know.
Incidentally, we're in a bit of a cycling revival these days, with an epic, historic rivalry between Spain's Alberto Contador and England's Chris Froome. Not that you'd care or know.
3
Like the corruption manifest on Wall st. and in Politics, business and,seemingly,in most human endevaours,Sport is no different. Every dishonest person contributes to the ugliness we see in the world today.
Every liar contributes to the fall of the many. For shame !
Every liar contributes to the fall of the many. For shame !
21
Is there a major sport where it is not all about the money? Where there is money to be made there is a corresponding amount of corruption. I don't understand why we place so much importance on athletes, they give us (some) nothing but emotional highs and lows, and an arena to lose money making bets. Professional athletes are not heroes, they are highly paid and sometimes corrupt entertainers.
30
There was a major league pitcher name Jim Bouton who wrote a baseball diary entitled "Ball Four" in 1969 that was a behind the scenes look at major league baseball. One of the statements he made in the book was that athletes are the least of America's hereos , not the most.
When I read this book at age 16 I couldn't really understand the point Bouton was trying to make. Now, at age 61, I do. Better to look up to and admire the everyday "heroes" in our lives like the teacher who goes the extra mile to try and make his students become the best that they are capable of, or the father who works with a youth group after a hard day at work, trying to inspire teenagers to take the right path in life. People like this are the ones who deserve our respect and our thanks because they are in a much better position to make a positive difference in someone's life as opposed to a professional athlete who makes an obscene amount of money playing a game.
When I read this book at age 16 I couldn't really understand the point Bouton was trying to make. Now, at age 61, I do. Better to look up to and admire the everyday "heroes" in our lives like the teacher who goes the extra mile to try and make his students become the best that they are capable of, or the father who works with a youth group after a hard day at work, trying to inspire teenagers to take the right path in life. People like this are the ones who deserve our respect and our thanks because they are in a much better position to make a positive difference in someone's life as opposed to a professional athlete who makes an obscene amount of money playing a game.
1
Lance will leave his children with stain that will never go away. Way to go Dad!
9
Name two Tour champions since Lance without "googling"...go.
....Maybe the league knew what they were doing.
....Maybe the league knew what they were doing.
6
Cadel Evans & Bradley Wiggens. No Google.
But the sport of amateur racing and recreational riding did grow a lot in America because of the "Lance Effect" and that's not going away.
But the sport of amateur racing and recreational riding did grow a lot in America because of the "Lance Effect" and that's not going away.
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Chris, its clear you were only interested when an American was winning. You're not a fan - go back to college hoops.
4
We may have a super-sized economy, but the world doesn't revolve around the US. Name two of the three World Cup winning teams in the 1990s... go. Drawing a blank? Think the World Cup cares? Yeah, a little... but there are about 7 billion non-Americans in this great world of ours, and they have plenty of influence.
My point is, cycling is a global sport-- the UCI made venal, corrupt errors in the Lance years; they knew what they were doing alright in a tactical sense, they just didn't know how wrong and short-sighted their strategy was. Doping in professional sports may not be 'solved' anytime soon, but it can definitely be mitigated with rigorous, independent testing... whereas the 'denial and collusion' approach that the UCI took in the Lance years was a colossal mistake that hurt their global brand and audience. The report described in this article is a big step in the right direction!
My point is, cycling is a global sport-- the UCI made venal, corrupt errors in the Lance years; they knew what they were doing alright in a tactical sense, they just didn't know how wrong and short-sighted their strategy was. Doping in professional sports may not be 'solved' anytime soon, but it can definitely be mitigated with rigorous, independent testing... whereas the 'denial and collusion' approach that the UCI took in the Lance years was a colossal mistake that hurt their global brand and audience. The report described in this article is a big step in the right direction!
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I know Lance could not have carried out the systemic cheating he effected without involvement or at least tacit acquiescence at the highest levels.
6
I didn't care then, I don't care now, and I will never care. Their bodies, not mine. Did it ever really make a difference? Not to me. I just enjoy the sport -- riding and watching, both. Not my money. I'm not into idolatry.
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Maybe not into idolatry, or morality.
Nice of you not to care about scandal because it's not your body.
Nice of you not to care about scandal because it's not your body.
4
I'm with you.
I am a 61 year old cancer survivor who is an avid recreational cyclist. I love the sport and riding my road bike provides me with great pleasure in addition to benefiting my health.
Now when I watch the Tour de France I watch it for the love of the sport, not to idolize the participants.
I am a 61 year old cancer survivor who is an avid recreational cyclist. I love the sport and riding my road bike provides me with great pleasure in addition to benefiting my health.
Now when I watch the Tour de France I watch it for the love of the sport, not to idolize the participants.
Perhaps there should two events - a doping competition and a clean one. It would be highly illuminating. In the clean competition, athletes would inspire fans with their hard work and discipline. Perfect roll models. In the doping competition, large pharmaceutical companies and advanced health research corporations would use well paid human volunteers to test their latest research and procedures to achieve freakish and superhuman results, which will lead to boatloads of money.
Guess which competition will be more popular.
Guess which competition will be more popular.
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@ DAVID
Since the big money will flow to the more popular of the two competitions, how will you insure that the "clean" riders are clean? Drug testing?
Since the big money will flow to the more popular of the two competitions, how will you insure that the "clean" riders are clean? Drug testing?
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This news that a professional organizations aided Armstrong is not new. There are records of him paying the UCI $250K over 3 payments. Also note his entanglement with USA Cycling was equally troubling. Nothing new...and this cyclist and cycling fan continues to loose interest beyond my own experiences.
6
Sounds like Armstrong should do some time.
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Lance is many things I am confident which are notable perhaps even some good. Being honest, fair and ethical he is not.
The notable now disclosed is not all that surprising as his morass enveloped legions of others; the bright lights to bright for most. And for those who turned around, and sought truth and redemption, Lance savaged them without compunction. If there is a soulless athlete model, he would qualify in my humble opinion. He deserves, like Pete, no second chances. Not one.
The notable now disclosed is not all that surprising as his morass enveloped legions of others; the bright lights to bright for most. And for those who turned around, and sought truth and redemption, Lance savaged them without compunction. If there is a soulless athlete model, he would qualify in my humble opinion. He deserves, like Pete, no second chances. Not one.
12
The only way anybody is going to watch this sport again is if they just write rules allowing the use of any drugs they cannot identify immediately and with certainty in the riders. If they continue on the present path, where drug tests can take years to catch up with drugged riders, fans cannot know their champion really won until the statute of limitations is up decades later. There is no fun in waiting decades to find out if your rider gets to keep his trophy, and under the current system, that is the reality.
"This" sport? Doping is practiced in all sports, at all levels. Well, maybe not Little League.
8
Armstrong was a celebrity, good for business, what's to understand when we live in a country where greed and wealth are king.
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Lance stood for the "comeback." Fighting cancer to do the improbable. He didn't make it big because of his flaws.
Lance was adored by our nation because we are inherently good and saw only the good. We were blindsided by the lies...
Your statement is completely wrong.
Lance was adored by our nation because we are inherently good and saw only the good. We were blindsided by the lies...
Your statement is completely wrong.
1
Except that the UCI is a >European< institution.
1
For Lance Armstrong to compete at that time he had to dope just like everyone else. He was still the best of his era. The problem though was his aggressive attacks of all of his critics and trying to ruin people with lawsuits etc. That showed his true character.
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Armstrong wasn't just a doper; he ran a doping ring, and as this report shows he rigged the system to ensure that "everyone else" on his side was doping too. There's no evidence whatsoever that he was "the best of that era". He was merely the most culpable.
16
One might have thought that there would be some discussion as to whether criminal prosecution of former ICU officials is possible, perhaps for offences such as conspiracy. Can we guess that this unlikely, and also why?
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"The U.C.I. leadership did not know how to differentiate between Armstrong the hero... from Armstrong the cyclist...". Even this commission has been duped into believe Armstrong was a hero from the get go. How can someone doped up for so long , even while recovering form his so-called "cancer"? (some people seem to think he never actually had cancer for his recovery was amazingly fast). Everything he has done was done by cheating. How can they write in their report, he was a hero? Heroism and financial and media success created by doping.. Please rewrite this report, it's an insult for those who compete honesty, through hard work, good nutrition and training practices.
10
Lets face it folks. As long as there is BIG MONEY involved, there will be cheating etc. It is not confined to pay either. The Chicago Little League team where the adults wanted to win and the kids just want to play ball. the comment on the NCAA is true also, I mean how many years did it take before the NFL and NCAA , NHL and others finally admitted there was a problem with abuse of spouses and others, and decided to start doing something about it. I can recall the running back from Nebraska that beat up his girlfriend and the Buffalo Bills drafted him, even tho I am not sure he made the team.
12
And even when there is not money involved. High school athletes have been known to indulge in doping. Not to mention college and even individuals on their own work out regimen.
5
Can someone turn this same investigatory lens on the NCAA?
43
Did you not read today's headlines about the Syracuse coach getting suspended for a number of violations, including turning a blind eye towards substance abuse infractions by players?
2
The NCAA investigates one team at a time. There is no systematic investigation. When they find something wrong they can't ignore, they slap on a trivial penalty. Coach Boehner (sorry, couldn't resist) will not be allowed to attend 9 games. Terrible!
1
The NCAA organization needs to be investigated not just the schools within it. With their haphazard rules of enforcement etc they are barely respectable.
1
Truly great coverage by Ian Austen. It was worse than we feard. The Armstrong machine was using lawyers to ensure his presence in UCI events. His fans simply accepted it, and they fed the UCI with its desired recognition.
There are many important quotes from this article, but this one explains a lot:
"Mr. Stapleton also sought to reassure Mr. Verbruggen. “The document is going after WADA as I know you (and we) want them to do and as they should,” he wrote."
,
WADA took a lot of publicity heat from the Armstrong organization. His fans ate that up.
With a lot of money, you can control a lot of people. Surely that never happens in US politics.
There are many important quotes from this article, but this one explains a lot:
"Mr. Stapleton also sought to reassure Mr. Verbruggen. “The document is going after WADA as I know you (and we) want them to do and as they should,” he wrote."
,
WADA took a lot of publicity heat from the Armstrong organization. His fans ate that up.
With a lot of money, you can control a lot of people. Surely that never happens in US politics.
14
Another corrupt international association. As if any aren't.
There was a general feeling that this has created an environment where riders can now at least be competitive when riding clean.”
Ha! We all believe in the tooth fairy, too.
There was a general feeling that this has created an environment where riders can now at least be competitive when riding clean.”
Ha! We all believe in the tooth fairy, too.
1
Sure, let's cudgel every last dime and every last trophy out of Lance. But when we are done, let us please then apply the same standards and punishment to A Rod...World Series Title to the Yankees? Forfeit. All of his pay for those years? Returned to the Yankees. Playing? Are you kidding me; same punishment as Lance, banned, for life.
60
How is that at all fair to do to a team sport?
Moreover, has any team won a world series in 20 years without anyone at least suspected of using peds on the roster?
On the scum bag scale Lance trumps all athletes in my lifetime.
Moreover, has any team won a world series in 20 years without anyone at least suspected of using peds on the roster?
On the scum bag scale Lance trumps all athletes in my lifetime.
2
Not relevant. Each sport has its own player union with its own player agreement. Lance has no such arrangement. Baseball contracts are iron clad. We can dislike A-Rod but we can't take away his money. Due to his long suspension he has been punished to the tune of 20 million dollars but will collect the rest even if he is cut from team. Lance's behavior was even more insidious and manipulative though apparently.
1
This is not the tip of the iceberg, it's the tip of the entire ice pack on Antarctica. Obviously, Lance was not alone, in the same way that McGuire and Bonds were not alone. Doping was rampant. Everyone in the sport knew doping was occurring, including teammates, organizers, sponsors, advertisers, the cycling unions, as well as most of the news media covering the sport. If they say they didn't, they are lying. The point is, what is going to be done about it? Lance had all his titles taken away and he deserves nothing but scorn. But, what about his teammates who watched it all and kept their mouths shut? Shouldn't money somehow be clawed back from everyone who deceptively profited while disingenuously claiming the accomplishments of dirty racers were clean? What about the television networks who made millions selling Armstrong to advertisers? Shouldn't they be held accountable in the same way that Armstrong has been? The point is, shouldn't a whole bunch of people lose their jobs?
The same facts and reasoning applies to the issue of steroids in baseball, we just haven't been able to face it. Hundreds of individuals in major league baseball, among both players, management, trainers and owners knew juicing was rampant and kept their mouths shut. Championships are tainted. The business of a sport will forever incentivize drug use until we stop punishing only the individual athletes who are caught.
The same facts and reasoning applies to the issue of steroids in baseball, we just haven't been able to face it. Hundreds of individuals in major league baseball, among both players, management, trainers and owners knew juicing was rampant and kept their mouths shut. Championships are tainted. The business of a sport will forever incentivize drug use until we stop punishing only the individual athletes who are caught.
32
The Federal Government spent a hundred million dollars trying to find evidence of Bonds' doping and found nothing.
1
Could that be because Bonds obstructed the investigation? Wasn't he found guilty of doing so?
You are absolutely right. All of LA's "co-conspirators" should be banned for life from anything to do with cycling. For example Hincapie owns and runs a development team and yet he was a doper, liar and fraudster right to the end.
We'd be foolish to think this sort of fraud, rules violations and the merging of the interests of a sport's star athletes with those of its governing body, or bodies, is behind us. Since I was a boy, such stories have come up again and again, in boxing, in baseball, in football, and now in cycling. Soccer, or football to the rest of the world, is next.
Mr. Armstrong's sociopathic thuggery merged with Mr. Verbruggen's interest in ignoring all the warning signs because both had similar goals, ones involving the growth of cycling's popularity and audience shares in the name of sport, team, and personal aggrandisement. That neither Mr. Armstrong, nor Mr. Verbruggen are repentant, or sorry about the tarnishing of the sport of cycling for years to come, shows their complete lack of understanding of the true spirit of competition, and their lack of ethics.
This report will give Mr. Armstrong yet another opportunity to be interviewed by sports journalists who can't get enough of his half-hearted mea culpas and his straight-faced rationalizations about his Mafia-like approach to doping, lying and intimidating anybody who got in his way. If there is a bigger fraud in modern sports history, I don't know who it is, although a few of baseball's power hitters from the steroid years come to mind.
51
Interesting piece of news….UCI and Armstrong together pull a cycling sport heist and, in the process make fools of the media and fans. The credentials of the commission are impressive. Seems they know how to conduct a proper investigation, and now we have the full results. Armstrong and the other cyclists relied on collaborators to perpetrate their crime. And it is not too surprising that corruption in this sport persists even today.
17
I fear that cycling will never completely recover from the doping and Lance Armstrong scandals at least in this decade. However I suspect that Armstrong and his stable of lawyers will crow that he has been at least partially exonerated from his role in certain events described in the report. Even more disgusting is that there appears to be no mechanism that will cause Armstrong to disgorge most of the ill-gotten wealth he has obtained due to his affiliation with the sport.
9
Not true; he is being sued for the money he "won".
2
There are no lawsuits that specifically go after his TDF winnings he received from Amoury Sports Organization the owners of the TDF. The SCA case relates to insurance money and the Landis whistleblower case is essentially a case of fraud. Now that may wipe out his "earnings." Nobody is shedding a tear for LA.
Professional sports are in it for the money, and whatever it takes to make the most money is all that matters. The fair competitive nature of sports is simply just a misplaced vestige was once the honored virtue in sports, buy that is totally out of sync with the modern sports business model and as a concept needs to be totally forgotten about.
27
So who wasn't doping?
14
No one. If he wanted to be competitive, Lance had no choice but to dope. I'm not trying to justify it. And, indeed, the evidence demonstrates that Lance was a major creep. (E.g., paying a competitor to throw a race in Philadelphia early in his career.)
But, making Lance the sole scapegoat with respect to a problem that permeated all levels of this sport that I love, is, to quote Capt. Willard in Apocolypse Now, "like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500."
Dare I say that it's a trifle unfair to see Lance's name stricken seven times in the TdF record book? And, besides Floyd Landis, no one else's? Indurain? Marco Pantani?
As I've noted before on these pages EVERYONE CHEATED. It's not as if Lance "Rosie Ruized" his way to the top of the Tourmalet and the Alpe d'Huez.
It's good to see the whole truth start to come out. I'd like to see what the folks at "Le Tour" and when they knew it.
But, making Lance the sole scapegoat with respect to a problem that permeated all levels of this sport that I love, is, to quote Capt. Willard in Apocolypse Now, "like handing out speeding tickets at the Indianapolis 500."
Dare I say that it's a trifle unfair to see Lance's name stricken seven times in the TdF record book? And, besides Floyd Landis, no one else's? Indurain? Marco Pantani?
As I've noted before on these pages EVERYONE CHEATED. It's not as if Lance "Rosie Ruized" his way to the top of the Tourmalet and the Alpe d'Huez.
It's good to see the whole truth start to come out. I'd like to see what the folks at "Le Tour" and when they knew it.
11
Christophe Bassons.
6
thank you for the information, that is fascinating...
In 1998, when the Festina affaire exploded, Bassons became distinctive again. He was one of three team-mates that Festina riders said rode clean. It is a sign of how perverse the sport had become at that point, when doped riders were.http://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2014/7/8/5880197/a-clean-break-by-... considered commonplace, barely worth raising an eyebrow for, and the few clean riders were distinctive. But that is the way the cycling world was, topsy-turvy. The rider who didn't dope was distinctive.
In 1998, when the Festina affaire exploded, Bassons became distinctive again. He was one of three team-mates that Festina riders said rode clean. It is a sign of how perverse the sport had become at that point, when doped riders were.http://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2014/7/8/5880197/a-clean-break-by-... considered commonplace, barely worth raising an eyebrow for, and the few clean riders were distinctive. But that is the way the cycling world was, topsy-turvy. The rider who didn't dope was distinctive.
5
Thus spake the PR man: "In five years, the Lance Armstrong Family will be completely legitimate. That's all I can tell you about my business."
15