Lance Armstrong ends fight against doping charges - will be stripped of Tour de France wins

[ASC1951]

I don't know whether Armstrong's TdF wins were drug-assisted or not and tbh I don't really care. Drug use was widespread at the time and I wouldn't be disappointed or even surprised if he was using EPO. I was at the side of Simpson Memorial when he and Marco Pantani battled it out at the top of Ventoux in 2000 and even if something was giving him an extra 5% the remaining 95% was awesome. There again, I've heard him speak at one of his Livestrong events and - even if I don't think he's a fraud, like Noodley - his 'power of the spirit' bollox is just too American for me. The sort of bloke that if you went out for a few pints with one evening, you would be looking for the door after an hour, but most top class professional athletes are obsessive self-centred weirdos anyway.

Now that drug taking is rare in the Tour I see it differently: I have no time for Contador or Vinokourov. I don't think I'm imagining it, but the attitude of the roadside spectators and within the peloton seems to have changed too.

 

[lordloveaduck]

There comes a point when you have no energy left to fight and your money is going fast. There are a lot of people who have been convicted of crimes and have spent a vast majority of there life in prison because of evidence and witness statements only to be released many years later because of the evidence and witness statements are wrong/made up.

They have had plenty of chances to prove he was on drugs when he gave the urine samples now many years later this
happens.

Time to move on.

 

[lukesdad]

Im afraid the UCI are not a credible governing body.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

How does the stripping of TdF titles work?

I'd like to think it was a sort of anti-award ceremony whereby someone theatrically rips the medals off him and then a flunky kicks his sorry arse out of the door.

 

[Theseus]

**A couple of hours days weeks should do you !

For those of us without a couple of weeks spare and only a passing interest, would someone be able to post a summary of the relevant points, or will that trigger a flamefest?

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Removing Armstrong’s titles will only add another chapter to his amazing career & life story. Their plans will backfire thus concreting his legendary status.

 

[Archie_tect]

Not proven... Noods should like that.

 

[Herbie]

Will the 2 nd place men be promoted to 1 st??

Not if they are drug cheats too?...Who was second for all those seven times?

 

[rich p]

I despair.
The years of circumstantial eveidence, hearsay and innuendo finally gets gathered, with witness statements and blood doping irregularites, into a realistic case, then Armstrong bails out before the evidence is heard, and people who cycle and frequent a cycling forum either don't care or continue to believe he's a cycling hero and role model.

 

[Red Light]

put it this way - if that was me, and I'd won all those TdF titles legally, I would fight to the death to keep them.....

He's better off this way. Nothing good could ome of the hearing even if he was exhonerated. This way there will always be a strong element of kangaroo court about it and the chance to claim the moral high ground - especially following the Judges remarks questioning the motives and methods of USADA.

I do hope the USADA now publish the evidence on which they reached their conclusion though in the spirit of full transparency on a very significant decision.

 

[Scoosh]

For those of us without a couple of weeks spare and only a passing interest, would someone be able to post a summary of the relevant points, or will that trigger a flamefest?

Unlikely, as

• it is a very complex matter
• it is a very emotive subject
• opinions are strongly held
• there are many nuances ('jurisdiction' anyone ?)
• it is very difficult to condense XX years (I forget how many ) into a few lines/pages
• almost any summary will be seen as slanted one way or t'other ...

If you wish to have a go during your lunch break - feel free !
Alternatively, go on every CC Forum Ride for the next couple of months ....

 

[black'n'yellow]

For those of us without a couple of weeks spare and only a passing interest, would someone be able to post a summary of the relevant points, or will that trigger a flamefest?

allow me to assist - there aren't any..

 

[Red Light]

Not if they are drug cheats too?...Who was second for all those seven times?

Its an interesting exercise to find out how far down the order each year you have to go to find a clean candidate. I go with the proposal that there should be no winner for those years because you cannot be sure that any of the candidates would be clean if subjected to the same level of scrutiny, irrespective of any clean drugs tests.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Now that drug taking is rare in the Tour

that's a bit of a leap.

 

[PaulB]

but please read the thread and get 'up to speed' with what has already been discussed before asking questions or raising points which have been already been dealt with:
!

Could you repeat the..part about the....thing?

Thanks.