Lance Armstrong: Is He Done?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/hincapie-leipheimer-testify-against-lance-armstrong-fans-002000658.html

"Today's news, if true, squashes what remains of any pride that we may have had. It looks like some of the most well-respected members of Armstrong's former teams are in negotiations to testify against the seven-time Tour de France champion. American cycling stars George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie, and Christian Vande Velde are all reportedly going to testify against Armstrong in the USADA's doping case.

For me, that would be the last straw in defending Armstrong. Over the years I've gradually become accustomed to the idea that Armstrong probably doped. I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that he overcame life-threatening cancer that physically altered his body and hardened his will so that he grew into the greatest cyclist the sport has ever seen.


I can't turn a blind eye to what's happening now. Armstrong's most trusted compatriots are going to come forward and say they ALL doped. The jig is up. It would be one thing if the USADA case was built upon the testimonies that we've already heard. I could care less to hear from guys like Landis and Hamilton again. But the guys who are willing to testify now are still in cycling and are, outside of Armstrong, some of the most accomplished American cyclists ever. They are to be believed."


If Lance is indeed done, cycling as a sport will basically be finished. Not only that, but Lance will be exposed as a selfish liar rather than an inspirational man that overcame illness.

Thoughts?

Damn. It's probably going to be hard for the sport to recover from that. Cricket took a bad blow from the Pakistanis going around and matchfixing everything.

I think what he's done in terms of philanthropy and raising awareness for various causes (cancer being the main one) is admirable. However, you're right, this is a bad look for him.

Eternal Witcher wrote:Damn. It's probably going to be hard for the sport to recover from that. Cricket took a bad blow from the Pakistanis going around and matchfixing everything.

There is no point in even re-rewarding the seven Tour de France titles, either, because I am pretty sure that he was one of very few elite riders from that era who has (so far) escaped conviction. So they will be awarding the titles to the 4th/5th guys, my dad said.

I hope not, i always thought they were too invasive and stupid with the tests, its not like Armstrong haven't given hundreds of gallons of his urine to these people.

I believe that most of them are doped these days, the good ones are simply better at keeping within the limits of what values is allowed, legal or illegal drugs alike.


For this it would be a huge blow, not only for cycling but for the Livestrong idea/corp as well, which in turn will hit a lot of people with cancer, is it really worth it? Armstrong isn't a pro cyclist anymore, no one will benefit from this ruling, the people he beat in his years are most likely also doped or have been caught later.

Muhkoo wrote:I hope not, i always thought they were too invasive and stupid with the tests, its not like Armstrong haven't given hundreds of gallons of his urine to these people.

I believe that most of them are doped these days, the good ones are simply better at keeping within the limits of what values is allowed, legal or illegal drugs alike.


For this it would be a huge blow, not only for cycling but for the Livestrong idea/corp as well, which in turn will hit a lot of people with cancer, is it really worth it? Armstrong isn't a pro cyclist anymore, no one will benefit from this ruling, the people he beat in his years are most likely also doped or have been caught later.

I am torn as well...in a way, a potential injustice here might be the best thing for the world.

If justice is present and Lance is found innocent, then great, cycling's greatest ever athlete is free to live immortally. (Excuse the disgusting cliche).

If justice is present and Lance is correctly found guilty, then cycling is ruined. All of its greatest modern competitors were cheats, as you say, the Armstrong ideal is shattered, and millions will be insulted by the fact that Armstrong selfishly portrayed himself as an honest hero. Likewise, the former cheats such as Landis who have sadistically hounded Lance for years will get their dose of schadenfreude.

On the other hand, if justice is not present and Lance avoids punishment for wrongdoings, then, yes, an evil man will have gotten away with it, but the sport will remain somewhat reputable, and many will continue to be inspired by what Lance has done.

It is an incredibly tough call. Of course I want the right decision to be made, it is just that injustice would not be a disaster.

If Lance is found guilty, I'm done with cycling forever. That guy was my fucking hero when I was younger.

ayvee1 wrote:If Lance is found guilty, I'm done with cycling forever. That guy was my fucking hero when I was younger.

I agree. I will probably only tune in to the sprint stages, because sprinting is basically all about raw talent. There is no point in cheating...not that not having a purpose stopped Landis.

ayvee1 wrote:If Lance is found guilty, I'm done with cycling forever. That guy was my fucking hero when I was younger.

Damn I'll miss talking to you about the Tours whenever you were online (Given we've only talked about the Tour de France )

I won't stop watching, will lose a ton of respect for the sport, however will have to take Cadel Evans being found guilty for me to stop watching.

Yeah, Cadel does seem like a genuine rider...

Would be shocked if Cadel was ever found guilty of doping

Cadel, telling the intrusive press what he thinks of them

Interestingly enough, the guys mentioned above have all publicly denied that they will testify, but many understand that they will actually do so.

Interesting indeed.

Livestrong Park.

Mark Cavendish would never do such a thing.

If they're all doping, why don't they just make it legal in the sport?

Loads of sportsmen do it in round about ways anyway, such as training at high altitude. I don't see the big deal.

Zzonked wrote:If they're all doping, why don't they just make it legal in the sport?

Loads of sportsmen do it in round about ways anyway, such as training at high altitude. I don't see the big deal.

You can't really call it doping, training at altitude, as you have to work harder than normal to have any effect.