Boomhauer

US Anti Doping Agency plans to strip him of his 7 Tour de France wins.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

So anyone think it suspicious how he never won a Tour de France until after getting Cancer?

the_red_sheep

I'm not sure the US anti doping authority would have the power to strip him of his TDF titles, would the UCI and the TDF themselves be the ones to do this?

In my opinion I'd be very surprised and disappointed if he did dope to win, especially given his medical history and subsequent charitable activities. The sorry state that cycling was in pre and during his period of dominance means there will always be questions and doubters, but he's been investigated several times in the past and never found guilty.

I think he's withdrawn from the investigation this time as it appeared guilt was being assumed from the outset.

Kix

Rubbish, he was a cheat with loads of pr and the like that kept the wagon moving.

In all his 7 wins the top 5 (him excluded), have all been either done or heavily implicated in doping checks (with the exception of 2 or 3 riders who each appeared in the list once only.

Read this in The Guardian, says it better than I ever could.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog...garmed-cycling

Hopefully the sport can put it all behind them and move forward now.

UKCityGent

Cycling has undergone big doping reviews - there was an article looking at the various times for specific races over a long stretch of time (especially the end sections).

As there were improvements in the drug testing cycling times have been reducing and coming into a norm pattern.

Cycling is just going thru a phase that other sports have gone thru - im sure if there were proper and serious drug testing throughout the year you will find many top athletes have taken or are going thru cycles of "performance enhancements" aids.

The real problem is the drug testing schedules.

the_red_sheep

Evidence?

PR would not have turned a positive test negative, or stopped the authorities telling the world. The French hated him for more dominating the TDF, they would have jumped on any chance to bring him down. The irony now is that they stopped and its his national federation who are trying.


And they all failed doping tests and got caught. Armstrong would have been tested as much if not more than any of them. He never failed a test.

Kix

Quite a guy though, first to step foot on the moon, beat cancer, won 7TdFs...

Eva

Zoom,they chase the day away....

Eva

Anyone proven HE CHEATED?
Yet all the naysayers are just speculating...
Maybe he is just pissed with the intrusive testing
Coupled with cancer he might just want to ride out........"..

commander

Not failing a drugs test does not mean he never took drugs. The testing procedures back then were not as good as they are now at determining unnatural levels of EPO and with the correct medical team (ferarri etc all who are all now serving lifetime bans) it was possible to mask any blood doping. In a team where pretty much everyone else has been caught, I think its absolutely crazy to think that LA didn't dope..

The big mistake he made was, as malliot jaune chasing down Simeoni (I think that was his name) and publicly berating and humiliating him because he broke the 'code of silence' within the peleton by speaking out about doping. It was basically saying 'shut your mouth about doping..we all do it' so there has been a will to 'bring him down' for years.

I think LA is a truly amazing athlete who won 7 consecutive TDF's. Do I think he doped to win them?...errr yea...was it a level playing field?....err yea because everyone was juiced back then.

Should the UCI (not the USADA) take away his titles??...not in my opinion. What's the point. Tom Simpson died on a mountain stage years ago pumped full of amphetamines. Drugs have been part of the sport for years. Who do they award the titles to? Everyone else on the podiums were wired. Do we strip Mercx and Indurin's titles? Are we 100pc sure they didn't dope?? Really sure??

I'm so glad that now, with team sky and others, the playing field is now again leveled..with doping now (apart from a few) history.

You just need to look at the power files from Wiggens/Froome and other GC riders and compare them to the LA years..they would have struggled to get into the top ten.

Floyd Landis...one day he is collapsing, completely gone..very next day he pulls out an 'out of this world' breakaway on a mountain stage...Hmmmm

Should they just let the whole thing go and confine it to the history books??

Yes and No..when I describe LA to my daughters I tell them that he was one of the greatest cyclists ever. However he was competing in an era when the sport was not pure. He now runs a 500M dollar cancer charity and is an inspiration to millions of cancer sufferers.

What annoys me is that all the others who have been caught (not all by returning positive samples) have shown remorse for their actions. Team LA by denying denying denying in the face of the sports insiders, ex-team mates, ex medical staff, bus drivers, mechanics, nurses at his deathbed making statements (and later retracting) that they have witnessed signs of substance abuse..its gone too far and LA is now too much of a celeb and charity hero to finally come clean.

Even now, with his final statement on the matter, his PR people have pulled the master stunt. Walk away (citing his family, stress, witchhunt, Livestrong) and let the authorities do what they please. He is therefore removing himself from the firing line and the public debate of 'was he a doper' will go on forever.

If he chose to fight it in court and all these witnesses were called, he would lose. Period. Althletes don't lie in court any more..ask Marion Jones.

David Miller didn't fail a drugs test...Police found blood and a vial in his apartment...

To answer someones previous comment about Lance's performance Pre and Post cancer..take a look at his body composition pre and post. He was a whole lot leaner after cancer. Take a look at Wiggens now compared to say 3 or 4 years ago..completely different build. To be a GC contendor in a grand tour, you have to be a certain build..(There are exceptions of course before someone mentions induirin who was a freak of a man)..

Draw a line in the sand. Its history and I'm sure we all are glad now that if our daughter or son got pulled out of school and taken under the wing of a pro cycling team that they are entering a pure and clean sport where they don't HAVE to dope to reach a level playing field to win and earn a living.

Little Boy

I seriously doubt that i'll ever have to describe "LA" to my daughters but if I were to create a scenario in my mind where I would have to, (like commander has done) i'd probably just say that "I don't know" or "he was good" or probably "everyone was doing it". And leave it at that

Millhouse

... damn good singer too.

The Dean

From Brendan Gallagher on Twitter: "Interesting. According to the Armstrong website daily donations to Livestrong were up 2500 percent yesterday!"

Kix

Bugger, forgot about that, truly a man of many talents....

Karlos The Jackal

This is a difficult one for me.

LA big hero of mine along with Big Mig and numerous others over the years and I would really like to think he is innocent.

I will not be convinced of his guilt until he is proven guilty and to strip him of his 7 TdF titles I think is an absolute travesty. Gulity on not, once again, as Commander says, they were all on a level playing field at the time so the serious contenders were all flying as high as a kite, Marco Pantani (RIP) was a prime example. Maybe I am looking at this through rose tinted glasses but believe me LA with or without drugs was an awesome athlete and an absolute pleasure to watch.

I think LA has got totally and utterly sick of the speculation and to fight it once again to prove is innocence has may be got too much, a man can only take so much before he gives in and this week is obviously the week when he has said 'enough is enough', I cant win, whats the point?

LA is a hero of mine and until there is actual evidence he will continue to be along with the likes of Berhard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Phil Anderson, Wiggo & Cav - Drugs enhance youre sporting prowess, they dont turn the pedals over the mountains and in the sprints!

Kix

Karlos,

Have a read of the Guardian link in the third post.

They were all on it mate, they all completed on a level playing field, they were all high as kites, LA included.

Just sad his pr team won't (let him) admit it.