Lance Armstrong: Innocent?

It is only cheating if you get caught. Just ask a NASCAR driver. I think it is likely that he was doping. He was the most tested athlete on the planet though. It also seems like only the people who get caught ever say anything about him doping. Then they get book deals...
 
JonDMiller said:
Ex-teammate: I saw Lance Armstrong inject EPO - 60 Minutes - CBS News


It's getting more and more difficult to think that Lance was clean winning 7 Tour de France titles.
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Difficult to imagine there is any chance he was clean. If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend Game of Shadows, the book by the two San Francisco Chronicles reporters on Barry Bonds, BALCO and the role of steroids in international sports.

I was suspicious of Armstrong before I read it. I had little doubt he was dirty after reading the book. It's all about staying ahead of the testing.
 
Of course not, but neither was anyone else. He made cycling relevant in the US. That, in itself, is pretty extraordinary.
 
nobody cares about the performance and records because it is cyclying, but the attention and dollars he brought to the disease is what is important. so it was worth it
 
Its hard to believe he was clean. Any time someone is that much better at riding a bike than everyone in the world it makes you wonder.
 
Hawkchop said:
Its hard to believe he was clean. Any time someone is that much better at riding a bike than everyone in the world it makes you wonder.
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especially when his teammates and others are testing positive, these days the ones that are the best at their sport are the ones that are the best at cheating
 
It seems that cycling is the only sport where they catch you years later. They take about 50cc’s of your blood and keep it in France for years hoping to have testing technology that will catch up with the doping technology. Like baseball, they need to move on or all past champions will be suspect. They should put in a two year statute of limitations, if you win, and they don’t catch you in two years, you don’t talk about it anymore. As it is now, every champion is suspected forever, and it puts a black eye on the whole sport. Next they will be trying to take away one of Philippe Thys’s titles.
 
Passing a drug test is not difficult. Especially when he had a team of Dr's drawing his blood on a consistent basis and testing it to make sure he was keeping the "dope" in his system below traceable levels. Just because he didn't fail any drug tests doesn't mean anything. He was THE man in the bicycle world and he had plenty of henchman helping him out. His teammates and opponents who failed drug tests didn't have the kind of help he did (at least not all the time). When you have the kind of resources he had at his disposal it wouldn't be difficult to beat the system.
 
Because of all the work he did raising awareness for cancer he will always get a free pass here in the states. Had he have been a jerk like Bonds things would be different.
 
In a sport where 90% were cheating he was the the best. They were all on an even playing field. Equal to the Mr. Universe competition.
 
I think the odds are pretty good that he cheated. That said, what can he do to prove that he didn't?
 
Stiles said:
In a sport where 90% were cheating he was the the best. They were all on an even playing field. Equal to the Mr. Universe competition.
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I think it doesn't look good for Mr. Armstrong. All of his former teammates say that he took performance enhancing drugs, in an era where most of the top riders appear to have done that.

Having said that, he was still the best of that era.

I should also make the comment that the NFL wouldn't dream of requiring their players to be subjected to out of competition, in home drug tests. Cycling requires year round, in home drug tests. How many NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL players would be instantly caught if they did random, rigorous drug testing. Let's not kid ourselves. Large numbers of players from NFL squads would be suspended. No one wants that to happen. Therefore, no real drug testing program in American pro sports. Guys that are clearly dopers in baseball are right back at it, immediately.

Lance Armstrong has never tested positive, but it sure doesn't look good for him. Now, if any other American sports icon received that much scrutiny...well, it wouldn't be good. LA had over 500 drug tests in his career. What if the offensive line from even a good college team was tested even 50 times in four years?
 
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ajbrand33 said:
nobody cares about the performance and records because it is cyclying, but the attention and dollars he brought to the disease is what is important. so it was worth it
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Worldwide, lots of people care about cycling. Maybe few in Iowa care. Worldwide, people are very into it.

I loves me some hawkeyes, but a heck of a lot more people in this world care about cycling than college football. (and I love college football).

LA did do some great things for the sport, and it is unfortunate that his legacy will be remembered, in part, for questions about doping.
 
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