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Stefano Rellandini / Reuters file
U.S. Postal Service Team rider Lance Armstrong of the United States, the first six-time winner of the Tour de France cycling classic, waves in 2004 as he cycles past a U.S. flag during the rider's parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Updated 3:45 p.m. ET: The document of evidence has been released. Read it here from NBC News in a PDF file. Additional documents, including the sworn statements of Armstrong's teammates, are here.
American cyclist Lance Armstrong's career was "fueled from start to finish by doping," according to a detailed report of evidence against the seven-time Tour de France winner released Wednesday by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The release of the report came hours after the agency issued a statement alleging that Armstrong participated in “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
In what it called a “Reasoned Decision” that it intends to share with worldwide cycling authorities, the USADA said that Armstrong was not merely a participant in what it called "a fraudulent course of conduct that extended over a decade," but a leader of the cheating scheme. It describes USPS team members testifying to widespread use during the Tour de France of the human growth factor known as EPO, as well as testosterone and a human blood product known as Actovegin.
The report says Armstrong's teammates testified under oath to him giving them the drugs, plotting how to evade drug tests, and finally trying to intimidate teammates from testifying against him.
The U.S. anti-doping agency has presented 1,000 pages of what it calls overwhelming evidence of an undeniable web of cheating. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.
Armstrong has repeatedly denied the allegations, blasting the process as "an unconstitutional witch hunt," and cycling authorities who backed Armstrong's legal fight to block the case have said they want to see the material before deciding whether to appeal the U.S. agency's sanctions to the world Court of Arbitration for Sport. The New York Times reported that Armstrong's legal team tried to preemptively discredit the report in a letter sent Tuesday to the antidoping agency’s lawyer, Bill Bock. Timothy J. Herman, one of Armstrong’s lawyers, called the case a farce. “USADA, the prosecutor, now pretends to issue its own ‘reasoned decision,’ even though there was no judge, no jury and no hearing,” Herman said in the letter. The Times said Armstrong, through his spokesman, said he would not comment on the report.
But the USADA report described the evidence that Armstrong engaged in doping dating back to his first Tour de France victory in 1999 as "overwhelming," stating:
"Five of the eight riders on the 1999 Tour de France team other than Armstrong, i.e., George Hincapie, Frankie Andreu, Tyler Hamilton, Jonathan Vaughters, Christian Vande Velde, all have first hand evidence of Armstrong’s violations of sport antidoping rules, and all have admitted their own rule violations in 1999. Several other witnesses, including Emma O’Reilly and Betsy Andreu, also have first hand evidence of Armstrong’s involvement in doping in 1999.
"Finally, although additional corroboration is not necessary given the testimony of USADA’s witnesses, as described in Section V.B. below, the retesting of Lance Armstrong’s samples from the 1999 Tour and the clear finding of EPO in six of the samples provides powerful corroborating evidence of Armstrong’s use of EPO. With or without this corroborating evidence, however, the evidence demonstrates beyond any doubt that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. No other conclusion is even plausible."
Referring to a public statement from Armstrong that the team set a goal to repeatedly win the Tour de France, the agency said, "The path he chose to pursue that goal ran far outside the rules. His goal led him to depend on EPO, testosterone and blood transfusions but also, more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his teammates would likewise use drugs to support his goals if not their own. The evidence is overwhelming that Lance Armstrong did not just use performance enhancing drugs, he supplied them to his teammates. ... It was not enough that his teammates give maximum effort on the bike, he also required that they adhere to the doping program outlined for them or be replaced."
The report describes how the agency says Armstrong allegedly avoided testing positive for drugs. First, it said, he had fewer than 60 tests, not the 500 to 600 his lawyers have claimed. Second, the riders tried to use undetectable drugs and methods of taking the drugs. And sometimes they just hid from inspectors:
"The most conventional way that the U.S. Postal riders beat what little out of competition testing there was, was to simply use their wits to avoid the testers. Tyler Hamilton summarized: "We also had another time honored strategy for beating the testing – we hid. At the time, the whereabouts programs of drug testing agencies were not very robust, the UCI did not even have an out of competition testing program. If a tester did show up, you typically would not get a missed test even if you decided not to answer the door. In any case, there was no penalty until you had missed three tests. So, avoiding testing was just one more way we gamed the system.
"The first rule of EPO use was to inject intravenously, the second rule was to use the drug in the evening and the third rule “was to always try to hide from testers and . . . try not to get tested.” The riders were advised to not answer the door if a tester came after they had used.
"If a rider became aware that another had recently used drugs and learned that the drug testers were around they would warn their teammate. An example of this was when George Hincapie was aware that Lance Armstrong had recently used testosterone and (George) Hincapie learned that testers were at the hotel. Hincapie texted Armstrong who dropped out of the race to avoid beingtested.
"Also, the team staff was good at being able to predict when riders would be tested and seemed to have inside information about the testing.
"USADA has also learned that at least in the second quarter of 2010 Lance Armstrong was providing untimely and incomplete whereabouts information to USADA, thereby making it more difficult to locate him for out of competition testing."
The USADA's report "is in excess of 1,000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities," the agency said in a news release earlier in the day.
"The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding," the agency said.
Teammates of Armstrong's who offered evidence included Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie, the agency said.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August ordered that Armstrong’s many cycling titles from his 14-year career be erased and banned him from cycling for life because of the doping allegations. The agency is required to submit its evidence to the International Cycling Union.
David Epstein, a senior writer with Sports Illustrated, told NBC News that the USADA report may turn the page for the sport of cycling.
“You would never say that something like this is good for the sport because now I think 20 of 21 riders who had podium finishes in Lance's Tour wins have now been directly linked to doping either in investigations (or) positive tests or their own admissions," he said. "… Everybody sort of realized you kind of had to tear an era down before you could start a new one. And I think that's what USADA and the men who testified are hoping this is.”
The CEO of the anti-doping agency, Travis T. Tygart, issued this statement:
Today, we are sending the ‘Reasoned Decision’ in the Lance Armstrong case and supporting information to the Union Cycliste International (UCI), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.
The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding.
Together these different categories of eyewitness, documentary, first-hand, scientific, direct and circumstantial evidence reveal conclusive and undeniable proof that brings to the light of day for the first time this systemic, sustained and highly professionalized team-run doping conspiracy. All of the material will be made available later this afternoon on the USADA website at www.usada.org.
The USPS Team doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices. A program organized by individuals who thought they were above the rules and who still play a major and active role in sport today.
The evidence demonstrates that the ‘Code of Silence’ of performance enhancing drug use in the sport of cycling has been shattered, but there is more to do. From day one, we always hoped this investigation would bring to a close this troubling chapter in cycling’s history and we hope the sport will use this tragedy to prevent it from ever happening again.
Of course, no one wants to be chained to the past forever, and I would call on the UCI to act on its own recent suggestion for a meaningful Truth and Reconciliation program. While we appreciate the arguments that weigh in favor of and against such a program, we believe that allowing individuals like the riders mentioned today to come forward and acknowledge the truth about their past doping may be the only way to truly dismantle the remaining system that allowed this “EPO and Blood Doping Era” to flourish. Hopefully, the sport can unshackle itself from the past, and once and for all continue to move forward to a better future.
Our mission is to protect clean athletes by preserving the integrity of competition not only for today’s athletes but also the athletes of tomorrow. We have heard from many athletes who have faced an unfair dilemma — dope, or don’t compete at the highest levels of the sport. Many of them abandoned their dreams and left sport because they refused to endanger their health and participate in doping. That is a tragic choice no athlete should have to make.
It took tremendous courage for the riders on the USPS Team and others to come forward and speak truthfully. It is not easy to admit your mistakes and accept your punishment. But that is what these riders have done for the good of the sport, and for the young riders who hope to one day reach their dreams without using dangerous drugs or methods.
These eleven (11) teammates of Lance Armstrong, in alphabetical order, are Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.
The riders who participated in the USPS Team doping conspiracy and truthfully assisted have been courageous in making the choice to stop perpetuating the sporting fraud, and they have suffered greatly. In addition to the public revelations, the active riders have been suspended and disqualified appropriately in line with the rules. In some part, it would have been easier for them if it all would just go away; however, they love the sport, and they want to help young athletes have hope that they are not put in the position they were -- to face the reality that in order to climb to the heights of their sport they had to sink to the depths of dangerous cheating.
I have personally talked with and heard these athletes’ stories and firmly believe that, collectively, these athletes, if forgiven and embraced, have a chance to leave a legacy far greater for the good of the sport than anything they ever did on a bike.
Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution. He rejected it.
Instead he exercised his legal right not to contest the evidence and knowingly accepted the imposition of a ban from recognized competition for life and disqualification of his competitive results from 1998 forward. The entire factual and legal basis on the outcome in his case and the other six active riders’ cases will be provided in the materials made available online later today. Two other members of the USPS Team, Dr. Michele Ferrari and Dr. Garcia del Moral, also received lifetime bans for perpetrating this doping conspiracy.
Three other members of the USPS Team have chosen to contest the charges and take their cases to arbitration: Johan Bruyneel, the team director; Dr. Pedro Celaya, a team doctor; and Jose “Pepe” Marti, the team trainer. These three individuals will receive a full hearing before independent judges, where they will have the opportunity to present and confront the evidence, cross-examine witnesses and testify under oath in a public proceeding.
From day one in this case, as in every potential case, the USADA Board of Directors and professional staff did the job we are mandated to do for clean athletes and the integrity of sport. We focused solely on finding the truth without being influenced by celebrity or non-celebrity, threats, personal attacks or political pressure because that is what clean athletes deserve and demand.
Rich Gardella of NBC News contributed to this report.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories because Armstrong refused to defend himself against charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
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wait... i paid for a cycling team?????
no wonder the USPS is bankrupt....
NOBODY can be doping through 700+ tests and pass all of them.
It's impossible.
Degraded "B" samples that now all have broken chains-of-custody are worthless.
"B" samples were there in case original samples were lost in shipment or had lab errors in testing.
Lance was the only one to pass 700+ tests.
Now all the ones who failed have ganged up against him.
---
Go Lance.
.
Complete individual dominance for a decade, and people are surprised that he was doping? Separate the man working to help people from the man working to help himself in a competitive sport in order that you gain some perspective. I always believed that he was doping, and anyone who intensely follows sports can see performances exceeding trend well before the facts become public.
Home runs in baseball during the mid 90's through the early 2000's. The plummeting 100 meter dash times after they essentially remained unchanged from 1950-1985. Athletes maintaining immense muscle mass and density in sports that require sprinting and high calorie burnoff.
Everyone wants to believe that their sports heroes are just that, heroes. The reality is something else and it always has been.
You paid for a car racing team if you bought Penzoil, or Hess gasoline.
Actually, yes they can...if the test can't find what's being used, you could run it a million times and never find it.
And the big reason why they're throwing the book at Lance isn't just doping himself, but running a massive doping ring. Lance was the cancer, not just one of many tumors in the sport.
Hard to say what to believe these days. Testimony was obtained from numerous riders who were on the USPT and I can't see that grand a conspiracy against Lance so there appears to be a tremendous amount of smoke and it remains to be seen if there is any fire. I'm 50/50 on this. On one hand Lance passed numerous tests and then this. Were the concoctions so sophisticated that they circumvented the doping tests? As US1776 says the "B" samples would no longer be credible but aren't these kept for review when doping authorities develop more tests to uncover previous fraud? It is/would be a major shame because of Lance's work for cancer research. As far as his own records are concerned that is the lesser issue to me.
Big Bird too!
The claim of doping had his title removed. Armstrong said go ahead, I don't care and moved on with his life. Now they want to justify their decision and for what goal. The damage is done. The desired effect is done. Let a sleeping dog lie.
Blackbird,
I'm with you, which is to say I'm undecided.
First of all, whether Lance doped or not won't change the world. It's a curiosity to me at best, and at worst it just confirms by belief that nothing is as it seems with high-profile sports figures.
I will say that the anti-doping agency is admitting to its own incompetence. They oversaw--or were directly involved with--the many hundreds of tests that Lance passed with flying colors. So are they now saying those tests were ineffective?
Also, we have to be careful about the term "conclusive". Nothing is conclusive until a court decides it is, and even then there's an appeals process. Many people coming forward only now to testify to Armstrong's use of banned substances does smack of ulterior motive.
But...
There are reputations on the line here. I find it hard to believe that someone would accuse a seven-time Tour de France winner without being absolutely sure of their evidence.
I guess we'll have to wait and see. Until then, life goes on.
Wow, even after Armstrong tired of the witch hunt by these clowns and gave up the fight, they're still pushing their witch hunt. This certainly shows them as a desperate and vindictive bunch still trying to convince the world that Armstrong is the guilty party and not them. This doesn't say much for their character or legitimacy, does it?
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency claims that millions of dollars of tax payer money was spent on the team. Considering that the Postal Service doesn't receive money from tax revenues, but from postage sales, their statement can't be true. So if the Anti-Doping agency can make one untrue claim, can you believe that their claims about Lance Armstrong are credible? I don't know why the Anti-Doping Agency would lie about Lance Armstrong, and I wish that I could believe that they wouldn't lie, but there just seems to be something fishy about their motives and the intensity of the quest to discredit Lance. If all of the doping tests that Lance took and passed didn't detect the drugs, then who is to say that any of the riders in the races were free from drugs? Invalidating Lance Armstrong invalidates every cycling race and every competitor throughout, at least, the fourteen years of Lance Armstrong's career.
The only question I have is how did Lance Armstrong get away with doping for FOURTEEN YEARS ?
With what were probably hundreds of tests, how is that even possible ?
Either Lance Armstrong is the ultimate genius, or the USADA and the internationally anti-doping agencies are being operated by the most incompetent people on the entire planet.
These people are obsessive ...
Prediction: within six-months time they will come up with a follow-up - also massive - report validating this one.
When your friends and former teammates (who have nothing to gain by doing so) are the ones exposing the doping, it is difficult to fathom that it's not true. It is, indeed, a tragedy that taxpayer money went to fund this corrupt enterprise that was the USPS team! It would be appropriate to recover the monies based upon fraud.
What a shame. It will be interesting to find out the results of the three team members that are appealing the findings against them. It doesn't look good for Lance, someone who I followed since before I saw him in the 1996 Olympics.
My question is this: Why do drug testing if the athletes can easily get around them and pass? Armstrong had over 500 drug tests and passed them all. What the hell is up with that?
Oh, and yes, if Armstrong could do it, most of the other top athletes were probably doing it as well. Where's the testimony against them?
First most of the anti doping rules of today were not enforced then. Secondly how good could their testing be when they never caught Marco Pantani for cocaine use. The very cocaine use that killed him.
Yes the USPS sponsored a cycling team it cost about 8 million a year for four years and was good advertising for USPS. Just like you pay for a race car team when you buy viagra, Tide, a Wii, anything at Target,anything at Home Depot, Red Bull, M & Ms, Anything from Dupont, anything from Best Buy, Stanley Tools, Snickers, United Parcel Service, Aflac, Pennzoil, Mobil, Penske, Subway, US Army, Dunlop, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, NAPA , Budweiser, Coors, Miller, Smirnoff, Busch, DeWalt, Kingsford, GM, Ford, Toyota, McDonalds, Rick Santorum for President, Sprint, Checkers, Old Spice, 5/3 Bank, Visa, Catapillar, Lowe's, Unicef, Lumber Liquidators, Go Daddy, Perry for Governor, HSBC, FOX, ATT, Quicken Loans, Cheerios, Nationwide, Bass Pro Shops, and probably about 100 others. Did you think they paint the cars advertising and patch the drivers for FREE?
The guy got too greedy. Perhaps if he had settled for 2 or 3 wins he would have got away with it.
For those that believe that Lance could not fake the tests this long, Lance had a new strategy, blood transfusions just prior to competition and racing. He doped up while training and the off season building strength and endurance. Just prior to competition he would receive a blood transfusion from the team doctors that would remove the evidence of the drug for the test, though his body still held the benefits of continual usage.
So what if it takes 10 years for the drug testing technology to catch up with the hi-tech dopers, they still cheated and need to be disgraced for what they are are... CHEATERS!
As for the cost, don't forget what the Tour de France costs to put on and run, and the money made made by it. If the cheaters are not caught then all the money to put on this competition every year is even a bigger waste of time and money.
Even Lance's ex-wife Cheryl Crow turned on him...
And after HOW MANY TEST? Lance PASSED them all..... total SCAM by the USADA
Lance is still & will ALWAYS be... the KING of France
Lance wasn't married to Sheryl. He broke their engagement blaming 'her biological clock'. She was diagnosed with breast cancer soon after.
Sorry, I'm calling BS on all of it. It's sour grapes. If he passed all 700 tests, then he passed. After a couple of years, the test samples have degraded or they have been tampered with. Why would you keep test samples for years, anyway? So you can go back and "fix" them? And the so-called evidence is all hearsay. Prove it. Put your money where your mouth is. Why was nothing said at the time if it is "over-whelming"? Bull S**t on all of it.
You go, Lance, some folks will never move on with their lives, they are too busy butting into other's.
(BTW, I'm no fan of the sport, but I know BS when I smell it.)
Being a sports producer ... it turns my stomach when they start preaching about concern for the young future athletes when all the while they really only care about their own POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wishing Lance well and the corrupt agencies can go to hell ..............
Who cares, its cycling. They all cheat. If everyone is cheating and you win, you are still the winner. All the doping in the world will not make an average rider great, but it will make the rider who is top 10 win. This is BS people got caught so now they want to implicate others. He passed the tests. if the tests cannot catch it, it did not happen.
ZAPPER
Its NOT the test results that are making him guilty, the test results were from blood that was NOT HIS! Lance's own doctors have already explained the technique to fool the testers, they were all in on it. THis is one reason Lance put the winning money back into the team because the blood transfusions are expensive.
Robiscoole
Passing a test by cheating is not passing, its falsifying the answers to appear as passing, this is not a pass. Lance's doctors have already explained how the blood transfusions given to Lance before the competitions fooled the drugs testers, this was done over and over again over the years. The doctor's got caught performing this, then it was found out who was all involved... and LANCE was doper #1.
Sherlock-4029262
As your name implies you should investigate or take into consideration why over 700 doping tests came up negative and the odds against that happening had he doped. Even Dr. Watson would raise that question.
What part of the US does the Tour de France place in? Seems to me that this is a French problem and we shouldn't be wasting our time on it.
Why would his teammates turn on him? Did you notice that some of those names got in trouble for doping themselves? Sounds like they made a deal, "claim you saw Lance do these things and we'll go lighter on you". I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this sounds so fishy to me. He passed how many drug tests? Hundreds, maybe even a thousand in his career, yet now they're going back to retest his tests from 10+ years ago. Are they going to go back and retest every person who has ever raced ever? If not I completely agree with Lance that this is a witch hunt and pathetically ridiculous. I"m not a fan of racing, and this gives me even less reason to watch; turning their back on the 1 guy who brought this sport into fame. I'm over it, Way to stay strong Lance!
Well it is a well known that a ex-wife never has a axe to grind or a back to stab.
Ken Trout - The problem with your hypothesis is that you believe testing was only conducted post-race. This is not the case. Cyclists are tested year-round, at random, and at any time. Testers can literally walk up to a cyclist's home (or anywhere else he is staying, in competion or not) and demand urine and blood samples. So it would not be possible for a cyclist to evade a positive drug test by flushing his system with transfused blood just before a race.
Therein lies the heart of the entire witch hunt. Where was this "anti doping" agency 10 years ago? Travis Tygart's singular existence has been to destroy Lance Armstrong. When he dropped Armstrong's lawsuit against USADA the judge said....
This agency and the moron running it needs to be cleaned up.
Update: The file of evidence has been added to the top of this article.
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/10/14342522-doping-agency-claims-overwhelming-proof-of-cheating-by-cyclist-armstrong
Interesting logic... All the witnessess appeared on the list were actually caught. Am I correct they were on USPS team? So, how can a conspiracy use doping that shows up for all of the "good guys" but fail to show up for Lance?
Logic and reason is not a strong suit of people running this ill willed media campaign.
Lance who?
if these allegations are true, especially the ones about how he (and others) beat the testing, then that paints armstrong in a brand new light.
i get the part about witch-hunting, and i agree IF the allegations aren't true. but these are pretty serious allegations, and it makes one wonder... did he give up the fight because he KNEW these allegations would be laid out? and by giving up the fight, was he hoping they wouldn't be made public?
I still don't see where they have evidence that he failed any tests. So everybody thinks (or even know) he cheated, but NOBODY could PROVE it.
Go Lance!
They claim to have previous blood samples. How old are those? There is no way that they can still be trustworthy sources to test. I call this a massive witch hunt.
Go Lance.
I read through the report. Other than accusations by others riders, all of whom have been caught doping themselves, or doctors who have been convicted of doping, they have almost nothing. The sum total of their actual hard evidence is some test done on some samples a decade after they were taken that suggest Armstrong might have been using something. Of course the condition of the samples after all that time are debatable and the results could not be confirmed with B samples. Armstrong is one of the most tested athletes on the planet. I simply do not buy that he is so smart that he managed to test clean every single time while those accusing him, claiming they learned how to do it from Armstrong, all got caught. If they learned how to do it from Armstrong and the same people Armstrong worked with, then why did they get caught when Armstrong did not. It is also very telling that those riders accusing Armstrong have been granted extreme relief from USADA in return for their testimony. These riders, who normally would have been banned for life have been let off with short suspensions in return for their testimony against Armstrong. This is all because of a witch hunt being conducted by Travis Tygart. Tygart has made it his mission in life to bring down Armstrong by any means necessary. Even the Us court in their ruling denying Armstrong's request to dismiss the case said that the motivations of Tygart and USADA seemed to be about more than stopping doping but appeared to have other motivations. Too bad the court did not have the jurisdiction to shut this whole thing down, because the language of the ruling clearly indicates that the court would have if they had the jurisdiction to do so. The USADA does not operate under anything even remotely resembling due process and this entire thing is just a personal vendetta by Tygart against Armstrong. Armstrong finally got tired of wasting his energy trying to fight Tygart, who regardless of the actual evidence was determined to find a way to get Armstrong. Now that Armstrong has given up the fight, Tygart decides to release this report with a lot of accusations and innuendo, but no real proof of anything. Tygart claimed to have overwhelming proof, but has failed to produce it. Tygart is determined to destroy Armstrong's reputation, no matter what he has to do to make that happen. His behavior in itself makes this entire thing suspect. I simply do not buy that Armstrong was doping and avoided getting caught for all those years, through all those tests, when other riders were getting caught with surprising regularity, including others that supposedly learned all of the tricks from Armstrong.
@JS: I agree with all of that. I would add, I believe that Lance probably doped, but he was never caught and going after him in the way Tygart did accomplished nothing. It was a witch hunt. Hincapie posted TODAY on his own site and admitted to doping. Timed perfectly with a retirement and the release of these documents. The whole thing stunk. Lance couldn't participate in IronMans or other USADA governed sports until the investigation was going on. Meanwhile, 5 of the people on the list that admitted to doping and came out against Lance were on the TDF this year. Any of them not retired were given until this season was over before any sanctions if any would be given. Fishy is an understatement.
...cycling authorities who backed Armstrong's legal fight to block the case have said they want to see the material before deciding whether to appeal the U.S. agency's sanctions...
Of course they "want to see the material" so that they can see if they can beat the charges or not.
Pretty telling statement, if you ask me.
Perhaps Armstrong's sponsors, the United States Postal Service, should look into doping their employees. Maybe THAT will speed up the so aptly named "Snail Mail".
Why do they want to continue to drag this whole thing thru the mud? Is it just so they can have the last word. Like above, Lance has said to heck with it all, he's tired of defending himself, but now they want to keep it going. I believe the agency is corrupt, and should be investigated for harrassment.
Go Lance, have a great life.
Patricia: Not only are they corrupt, they are incompetent. Remember, these are the guys that are charged with keeping sports clean. So, according to their own argument, they've been chasing Armstrong for 14 years, including the last 5 years when he's essentially been in retirement, and they couldn't come up with anything, and are only now releasing their report, which most likely includes most of what all they other agencies have determined to be insufficient evidence. Hopefully, Congress will take a look at this and get rid of this incompetent group.
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?
You people defending Armstrong need to face the facts. Your "hero" is a fraud.
There's no way so many of his former teammates would falsely accuse him of doping just to cut deals to lessen their own punishment. Criminal prosecutors use these kinds of witness statements all the time. What, do you think there's a grand conspiracy against your hero cyclist? The positive test results on the old samples are just icing on the cake.
Armstrong is a fraud, and he let the sport and all Americans down.
All a bunch of BS. Realist and others who see the BS, I am with you. There is absolutely no way possible to pass 700+ tests if you are using. There is a conspiracy to take Lance down even farther. This should have been over when Lance himself said enough. Now they come back with more accusations. It is a bunch of idiots who got caught and they want to pass the blame. You all suck and you are taking down one of the greatest of all time with you. Congratulations cheating pieces of S*^%!
Well this guy is a cheat and a liar. If he was black - he would be destroyed instantly by media and public.
"On August 24, 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced it had imposed a sanction of lifetime ineligibility and disqualification of competitive results achieved since August 1, 1998, on United States athlete Lance Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong's sanction was announced at that time by USADA because Mr. Armstrong had notified USADA that he was refusing to contest the evidence against him in a hearing before neutral arbitrators."
Is there no a statute of limitations on anything? What about three years? Or even five years? If you cannot bring a case against someone with proof that is five years or younger, any evidence older than that in all sports should not be allowed to convict anyone.
To everyone that keeps saying he pasted 700+ test if you read the story, and if its true, they say he only had 60 test.
Let me get this straight - Armstrong is guilty of running such a good scam that he was never caught? He was randomly tested over 700 times, and none came back positive. And this is proof that he was doping?
Gee - Romney says that he only has one wife. By the logic against Armstrong, the proof that he has multiple wives is that nobody has ever seen or met any but Ann. He is so good at hiding the others - this is the proof of his guilt.
And the people making the accusation were given the choice of a permanent ban (if they don't testify against Armstrong) or a full pass of all prior positive drug tests (if they make up stories about Armstrong).
OK. By this logic - the criminals all get to testify against the prosecutors that got them convicted. And if they make up stories about the prosecutor being a pediphile - they get pardons. And if they don't agree to testify - they get a life sentence. Truth is not relevent - only the claims.
So the word of known liars are belived over the word of someone who has never failed a drug test.
Amazing - and congress funds this type of a kangeroo court.
Pretty stellar group there.
To the guy who said "who cares. it's cycling"?. What about baseball ? In France we know that cycling is rife with dopers. Now I'm in the US I get the same feeling with baseball. It's not just about one sport, it's many sports, but if it's the one you follow, it's sad. Cycling is extremely popular in many european countries. Baseball is the quintessential american sport, and both are tainted.
Some people on here are in denial, saying he passed 700 tests. Re-read the article, he didn't. When so many former teammates testify, it's a sure bet you did something. Anyway, many french loved Armstrong when he was winning Tours, but many were also suspicious. I'm just glad it's an american agency that came out with this report, not us. The sport is now at a crossroads, either clean it up, or allow everyone to dope so you have an even playing field, that's my feeling..
I am not a fan of Lance Armstrong or any other cyclist or the sport. In fact, I am not a celebrity worshipper, in general. I do not heed their advice or pet their egos or put money in their pockets for pet projects. (I do occasionally go to a movie and buy a CD.) So I am relatively indifferent to this story.
But I am curious as to why it took this long for his teammates to spill the beans. They waited so long, Armstrong was no longer a big celebrity anymore. He had already been knocked off the exhaltation pedestal by the next big thing (whoever that may be - Beiber maybe? lol). Are they gonna write a book or what?
I won't be buying it. I'm not buying the new John Lennon letters and scribbles book either, so don't tkae it personally.
One of the thinks that interests me is how Armstrong's supporters take the 500-600 tests that Armstrong's lawyers claim he took and passed and turn it into 700+ tests. As an old intelligence analyst that is a way that you spot someone who is lieing and knows it. They can't seem to stop themselves from exaggerating the lie. The truth is that Armstrong took only 61 tests (and "missed" over 100 test attempts.)
But one thing that is very clearly in the report, but did not seem to make it to the article is that Armstrong used the tests as a way of making sure that the drugs he was taking were not detectable. What he did was to have his blood tested by the same people who supplied him his EPO, testosterone, HgH, and did his cell-packing. They would get testing kits from the anti-doping labs. So Armstrong would always be pretty sure that whatever he was taking was unlikely to be detected.
What tripped him up was that unused portions of blood and urine specimens are kept frozen in liquid nitrogen. No, they do NOT degrade when stored that way. (Go google how long fetuses stay viable when frozen that way for proof.) Not only are the remnants of the "A" samples kept frozen but the "B" samples are as well.
What started it was the discovery that anti-doping labs were trying to use the old samples as controls for testing new lab tests. The old samples were supposed to be "known dopinbg-free" specimens. What the labs kept finding was that most of the samples, not just those from Armstrong and the USPS team, were testing positive. At first they tought it was their tests, so they shifted to using very expensive spectroscopic analysis and discovered that indeed the people were doping. They really didn't know what to do about it since spectroscopic analysis is too expensive and slow to be used to screen bikers.
While they were deliberating two French newspapers found out about what was going on. They observed that the samples were identified only by a randomly-assigned number and no one in the labs knew who they were testing. So there was very little that either the newspapers or the labs could do to raise the issue any further. Both thought that it would be impossible to connect any sample to any individual biker. But then someone noticed that a number was written on every entry form. That number turned out to be the random ID number and suddenly there was an easy way to connect the samples back to individuals.
And behind all this, it is very likely that Armstrong will end up serving some prison time. The FBI has been investigating this as a federal fraud situation. Armstrong didn't just break the racing rules, he indirectly stole money from the USPS via contract fraud. This is a felony punishable by as much as 30 years in prison for each offense --- potentially hundreds of years in prison.
It's you who need to read up.
Lifetime of frozen organs is limited.
After a few years those are only good as a "tissue" material that mostly retains the makeup from which you can guess texture.
The EPO would be the first to be "detected" as a false positive since EPO in an of itself is not detectable, what it does stimulates bone marrow to increase production of precursor of red blood cells, boosting blood ability to retain oxigen ( good for endurance ) but as a sideffect changes ratio of red blood cell in a degrated state towards blood cells intact.
In other words EPO detection on old sample is complete fabrication to begin with, first.
And had the EPO being used in the old times, it would have being detected since its detection technique does not require any modern technology. The EPO itself and the detection techniques are very precise and did not change for the past 25 years.
In other words, you are talking nonses to people who, in 99% have no idea what you are talking about, except your blackmail where you say "positive result for drugs".
Now, what is the prison time for a false witness?
Moron1 I am sorry if you don't make the connection between Armstrong and Penn St./St. It has to do with taking away trophies titles. Any further explaining may be too hard for you to grasp.
Mike-1269253
Between us two, you are the one comparing convicted child rapist with innocent people.
Where did you get the idea that this is ok?
I haven't seen such display of rabid hate. Is that just a sentiment or "pay for milage" condition?
Who cares if he doped? Way to beat the tar out of the Frenchies!!! Hooray for Lance and hooray for the USA!!!
JS...I care...What absolutely amazes me is that some people don't care. Integrity and honor apparently are a thing of the past. It is all about "to the victor go the spoils."
So let me get this straight.
EVERYONE is doping so it IS the same result in the end.
How sad. First of all, JS69 has no clue about professional bike racing and has not followed the sport; if he had, he would know that the last frenchman to win was Bernard Hinault in 1972. At any rate, I find it simply pathetic that this clown would cheer for the USA because an American won while cheating - win at any cost, eh?
Good call, gumps. I don't give a rat's a** about riding bicycles "professionally." HOORAY LANCE!!! In fact, make it MANDATORY to take performance enhancing drugs. YES!!!
Well, if you don't know anything about the sport and don't care, then why are you here? Oh, I see - you're nothing but a troll. Does mommy know you're using her computer?
Oh gumps. You so funny.
And for their 2nd act, the USADA will be hunting down Communists. For their 3rd - women who practice the dark arts.
This strikes me as pure grandstanding from some publicity-seeking pieces of human garbage. Can someone please explain how you can simultaneously dope your entire career AND pass hundreds of drug tests that say otherwise?
Besides the fact that everyone involved in this sport does the same thing. Quit worrying about the doping, let everyone do it openly, and you will have a level playing field.
look up the word "sophisticated" as the article says. Do you really think they can get "11" other teammates to lie aginst Lance on anything but especially something so serious?
There are rules to every comepetition- and the competitors and the spectators should be able to expect that everyone complies fully with those rules or do not compete.
I am so disappointed in Lance.
You use dope that's on the edge and they agencies aren't testing for it's presence because a test hasn't yet been created.
Side effect of HGH, and other enhancement drugs, is testicular cancer.
cunical, only the alledged doping process was not "on the edge" of testing technique. Various agencies had been testing these for years.
Look I don't know if he did or did not. All evidence is he said-she said or is circumstantial. Pleant of other riders were caught by these tests. No one has yet explained how he slipped through the cracks. That's the more important question to me.
The McCarthyism analogies don't apply at all here. And for all the conspiracy freaks out there who at the USADA has the grudge against Armstrong and just why would they want to ruin him? The guy was a national hero. Plus they went after team docs and managers too not just Armstrong.
Did anyone on this board consider the elephant in the room that there is a statistical link between 'performance enhancing drugs" (read that STEROIDS) and testicular cancer? Just sayin!
Funny, but none of his "courageous teammates" came forward until they were caught red-handed and the ADA offered them a deal if they would implicate Lance. This smacks of a low-level scumbag destroying someone's career to advance his own.
torpedo, FYI steroid use is not blood doping, which is what Lance is accused of. Still cheating, yes, but totally different physiological mechanisms at play there.
I am not a biking fan at all. I'm a lot more into the NBA than anything else. So I think my opinion is pretty much objective. So with that introduction,
1. If he was part of a "professional" drug ring of some sort, then how many of those 26 turncoats were part of it as well? Did they get immunity because the higher-ups wanted Lance?
2. Usually, a "cheater" is all about himself. I don't see that with Lance. A man does not dedicate himself to a life of helping others if he is into himself. It doesn't add up.
3. Passing 700 drug tests isn't good enough???? Why would they even look into it after all these years unless they had a hidden agenda!!?? But like someone already said, he wasn't going to fight it anymore. He was fine with being stripped of his titles. So why keep on with this witch hunt? It's to justify their own actions.
4. Winning 7 bicycle races is absolutely nothing compared to the effect Lance has had on numerous lives in his work against cancer!! Even in the worst case scenario, and he was guilty, so what? How many football or basketball championships have been won by players of one team taking out a player from the other team??? If they're caught by the refs, they could face suspension.....if they're not caught, then they have a shot at the championship! I challenge anyone to come up with a better use of money received from winning or cheating than to help countless people with life and death issues such as cancer. Lance Armstrong is a good man, regardless of how these jealous snitches want to lynch him! (Excuse the racial tones of the word "lynch", but I used it because it brings up horrible connotations, which is appropriate in this case.)
5. Lance is either being set up, or is being "lynched" by people who are just as guilty as he is. The only difference between Lance and his "team mates" is that Lance has more than proven and demonstrated his love of others with his incredible donations and work, while his "team mates" have only proven that they are not worthy to even be in the same room as Lance.
For those of you on this thread who are quick to condemn Mr. Armstrong, what have you done to help others with the money you have earned, in comparison to what Mr. Armstrong has done? Have you ever cheated to get the money you have? Have you ever cheated the IRS of money you owe them, and then rationalized your behavior? Before you dare condemn anyone, make sure you are pure as snow.....and not the yellow kind!
Mojo, Do you really want to revisit the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings?
Do YOU not realize that you don't condemn people without actual evidence? This is all hearsay. No matter how much you THINK he did this, and I am not saying he didn't, this continued harassment years after the fact is ridiculous.
1TruthSpeaker: Is what you posted above true, or supposition? If it is true, then I'm more disgusted with this whole witch hunt than I was before!
If it is not for sure true then I would guess that it has a high probability of being true, because it certainly explains a lot.
Why would anyone care about this non issue? What is at stake here? So the ones that dope up, which is probably all or most of them, wind up winning. Anyone that wins is a suspect.
We have gotten so into making things equal we forget that equality produces nothing as exciting as letting people do as they choose and see what happens.
Case in point: Nascar used to be that a "REAL stock car" was tricked up so as to out perform others. Now we have identical race cars that are not in any way stock, that do not depend on human intelligent involment creating something new and better than the old which is what auto racing used to be good for beside the spectical. Now there is nothing other than tire pressure, various adjustments to the running gear, none of which enhance modern automobiles. The rear view mirror came about when one guy equipped his race car with one and so they wound up on passenger cars. Another guy used different sized wheels and the engine was a secret design that later gave us stuff used in production cars. Now, we have none of that. As a matter of fact, Nascar only recently got off of the nearly 100 year old carberation system and took a clue from production cars that have been around for quite a while and went to fuel injection. So it has all been turned around.
What can bike racing give us other than alot of excersize needed if we get in the way of tricking up the body? If there are negative results like a cyclist drops dead from the crap he uses, then we really have learned something. On the other hand we might find something positive as body enhancement.
Another example. NFL and most of football have got caught in the deal that helmets need to have that unbreakable crown with the padding inside. Doesn't it make sense that the super hard exterior of the helmets defeat the soft stuff inside so what you get are a lot of broken heads? Why not have helmets that are soft enough on the outside so as not to defeat the soft stuff inside. All those in the game know what they need to do, watch their ass when playing that they don't take for granted that this totally useless helmet is going to save them. All they do is equalize rather than deminish the hits.
I could go on but it seems to me that we need to understand there are risks and those willing to take them will either win or lose. Isn't that what sports and life is about? The outcomes then have an opportunity to teach us something better for the collective.
FDJLakers, The evidence seems to indicate that the whole of the case against Lance Armstrong is built on the accusations of others who were actually CAUGHT cheating. One by one, they all seemed to turn on Armstrong, the only one NOT caught. It seems bizarre to still persue this one man so many years after he one all of those races. Jealousy, perhaps? I don't care if he did bend the rules, he still rode that bike and competed. He raised the issue of cancer awareness and inspired millions to LIVE STRONG! You can pencil him out of the books, but you cannot erase all the good that he did...
Well, take 1986 FIFA World Cup Final. Maradona takes the ball with hand and sends it into the gates of England squad. The whole Argentine is exstatic and if you try to tell one Argentinian today that their squad cheated, you might get one from the left ( if you are lucky ) but more likely you will get shost dead on the spot.
So, can people band together and lie like a skunck about something in sports? Well, past experience teaches that not only they "can" but most likely they "will".
But, let's get back to 1986 FIFA World Cup Final. The really important part is rules say, arbiter counted the goal, so, Argentine is a World Champion. Do you see USDA working to overturn the verdict 10 years later? Sport has rules. The judgment arbiters pass, based on those rules, might be frequently faulty. But the rule is once judgment is passed it stays!
Now, let's turn to Lance Armstrong situation.
700 tests - clean.
Races - won.
The bunch of guys, who didn't win and got caught doing doping say Lance is a cheat.
What did the arbiter say?
If the whole world plays by one set of rules and applies to one Lance Armstrong a different set of rules, well... than the sport has no rules anymore and this is not about sport or races.
NB820 that's how they get convictions on the mob. For the longest time no one would break silence and bosses were safe from the Feds if not their rivals or ambitious lower level guys. The guys like Sammy the Bull facing long sentences turned against guys like Gotti. Gravano was/is scum but does that make Gotti innocent? No, your argument is doesn't hold water.
Should Penn State have kept all of their titles instead of stripping them for the Sandusy incident?Paterno did a lot of good just like Armstrong. Should Ben Johnson the Canadian sprinter have been able to keep his gold medal after he tested positive for steroids? Could go on and on.
Ahh lets forget the rules. Canseco, Bonds get the juice and let's party!
"Sandusy incident" connected to Lance Armstrong?
All those former team mates that are now "coming clean" had no inclination that they were assisting in an illegal activity before the pay checks quit coming. In regular society this is called "prostitution".
Gee, I wish investigative bodies would spend as much time on investment bankers.
In every aspect of life the goal is to excel in any way possible. Someone made performance enhancing drugs, wonder why? Personally, I don't care if athletes pump themselves to the gills with drugs. It sounds dangerous and I'd have thought fraught with side effects later in life, but it's just sport, nothing that really has anything to do with anything except entertainment. Let's open the gates and watch baseball games with bulging batters and game results of 50 runs to 45, 100 metres in 7 seconds, 10 foot high jumps, 30 foot pole vaults, swimmers churning faster than dolphins, man vs gorilla, woman defeats grizzly. It'll be fun and no harm done, except maybe to those performers whose hearts burst at age 50. Of course, then the kids will get into it. Still, kids come and go, might as well go out in a blaze of glory instead of working on a production line for 40 years and dying at 90 with just a few bucks to show for it.
Daveginoly
Dave, you misunderstand and therefore your comment makes no sense. Go re-read again how it was done. The transfusions were done prior to the race sometimes even before arriving in the country. Lance already had the benefits from the drugs, all he did before a race was change his blood. They took blood for the drug tests both before and after, but with new blood in your system he passed easily even though his muscles were already artificially boosted.
Your accusations are complete lie, and than some. Urine contains products of muscle break down. Remember, it's urine and blood. Were the muscle boosted with illegal substances, Lance would of failed tests.
The only question is why do you say these lies.
I think his comeback was amazing. Whether is was true or not lies with the UCI. However, the fact that he is the focal point of this investigation and the only one to be punished, vice the 11 others that were part of it, is not conceivable. The fact that the US Doping Agency will not punish those that came forward and were apparently part of this conspiracy means that they were after one man. The fact that they focused on one man and disregarded everyone else, for punishment reasons when most of them are still in the sport, is sad. They are trying to root out cheaters, but making an example out of the only person that has truly brought this sport to America will ultimately make the US disinterested in the sport. Way to go. Punish all or none.
But they got nothing on Lance. You can only punish the guilty one.
So, let me just layt it out:
Even a completely un - intelligent person will read the above 3 accusations and come out with impression Lance is innocent.
So, then there is only one question left to answer. No matter what you guys are after Lance... Why?
@FDJLakers1,
I'll take a stab at replying since you spent some time with your post.
1) The 26 "turncoats" all paid the ultimate sports price --- their careers are over and all the ones on the USPS Team are facing federal fraud charges. None got immunity, but once they started ratting each other out it was not necessary. Their "cooperation" will be taken into account, but it will not count for much.
2) Like many charities, Armstrong's skims about 26% right off the top for administrative expenses. Lance is making a huge amount of money from his supposed altruism. Granted that is less than some, but it is not an indication that he really wants to help others so much as a way of cashing in on a relatively obscure sport with low-dollar endorsements.
3) There were NO 700+ drug tests. Armstrong took 61 drug tests. He missed over 100 test attempts, mostly by simply not showing up. The 500-600 tests were an estimate by his lawyers that was entirely bogus. I have no idea where the 700+ came from.
4) Armstrong probably had more bad effect on cancer victims than good. While biking is a contributor to testicular cancer, raising your risk by about 5%, HgH raises the same risk by 700 times and designer testosterone by an estimnates 1500 times. This sends an extremely mixed message to young men at risk of cancer and to the victims of cancer. One of the reasons that Armstrong was able to "beat" his advanced cancer, was that the chemotherapy was helkped a great deal by simply stopping the drugs (HgH and testosterone variants) that caused it in the first place. The takeaway message for a lot of young athletes from Bonds and Woods and Arm,strong is that it is okay and "normal" to cheat.
5) If Armstrong is being "set up" by anyone, it is the FBI. The anti-doping agencies are currently just trying to stay ahead of the FBI investigation which is about to go to a grand jury. The potential jail sentences are in the hundreds of years for Armstrong and his USPS team mates. The anti-doping people are not so much conducting a witch hunt as they are just wanting to be able to say, "We are all over this" when the FBI case becomes public. It wasn't the ADA that offered them "deals." It has been the FBI. As far as the ADA is concenrned all these people (and scores more not associated with Armstrong) are dead to the sport and will never have to be dealt with again.
Armstrong, like Bonds and Woods and so many others are so competitive that winning is not good enough. They are like the billionaire who cannot be happy with his billions --- he wants ALL the money in the world. But karma is a bitch. Bonds is in disgrace. Woods has drifted to third rate. And Armstrong took down an entire sport with him.
Chris-749391
Yawn... how about earning a billion of dollars? Winning Tour d'e France?
Thought so...
Chris...Excellent post!! After reading the posts on this page, it makes me wonder why so many people are so unwilling to let go of their heroes when they fail. Conspiracy theories, bad test results, mad team mates, incompetent testers...Come on folks. The results are in and Lance was not the hero that we thought he was. He was a doper and a cheat. His character is flawed. Accept it and move on. There are other heroes out there that deserve your attention....Like a little girl in Pakistan that was shot for speaking her mind. What are you losing that is so dear to you that you can't accept that Lance beat the system for a long time, but that it caught up to him? Grow up and look toward a new generation that may find that doping is just not worth the risk of losing your career. Let him go. There are others more deserving of your idolatry.
Colorblind-2498596
There is nothing about any folks here. There is 100 keyboard warriors roaming this site and trying, desperately, speak ill of Lance Armstrong. That's the end of "the folks".
As for our trouble with parting with our heroes, we do trust courts, due process... ever heard of those?
In races there is a race authorities, an arbiter. Just like in any other sports.
All say Lance is a good man who won cleanly. So, what makes you think 100 keyboard warriors can overturn the verdict of race arbiter?
USDA is nowhere near race arbiter authority in the world, with regards to questions about doping to begin with. For 15 years the arbiter decision was supported by all authorities, including USDA.
So, I don't know what happened 15 year later, but the 100 keyboard warriors on this site and 15 years on flip flopping test results are on a much thinner ice than anyone may want to believe.
Because the tests are much more sophisticated than they were 14 years ago. They clearly explained how he did it, with what he did it, and how he avoided being tested. Chris's post was spot on. This isn't about key board warriors. It is about the testing evidence and the corroborating evidence of the witnesses. For you to choose to live in your fairy tale idolotry is keyboard ignorance of the facts that have been presented. There is no conspiracy going on here. There is no one out to get a champion athlete. It is about a failure of character. Winning is not the most important part of any game...It is how you choose to play the game that counts. He missed 100 testings...100 out of the 60 he took and took masking agents that were advised by his doctors. It actually is a short story that has taken a long time to get published because of the wall of silence that surrounded Lance. I am disappointed that he isn't who I thought he was...but I'm not going to slit my wrists over it. I feel the same about Tiger. He had an exemplary talent that he wasted. He too, turned out to less than honorable. Get over it and read the evidence.
PS...I'm not sure what your objection to the use of the term "folks" is all about. It is a term often used when the writers you are addressing are co-gendered and a term that includes a group of people where I live. No offense intended. I called my parents my "folks" when they were alive. I'm not a warrior--key board or no. I am just another poster with an opinion that varies from yours. How does that make me a warrior. I value honesty, integrity, and dignity in any sport and I haven't seen a lot of it these days. We treat our athletes very well as a whole and have our favorites--Lance was one of mine. I no longer feel that way. He is a cheater and a liar....
I said it earlier and I will repeat it one more time. EPO did not change over past 25 years nor did change its detection technique, mostly because it's bordering impossible to detect hormone directly. Just talk to a doctor who does blood work in nearest ICU.
Spreading false information and claiming "integrity" in the same breath is interesting business to be in, isn't it?
Cornering a bunch of young guys whose life depends on racing on bycicle and giving them choice "Armstrong story or your life in bycicling ends" just shows the degree to which your side is ready to go.
At the moment it does not look good for you and your side. Is there chance something out of ordinary happens and someone finds hard evidence of doping in Lance's samples? Sure. It is very unlikely, but anyone who thinks it's about loyalty deeply mistaken.
But even if found, what you did is undermine case because Lance must be part of this trial. There must be defence, counter arguments, counter exams of evidence... it's very simple. At the moment any finding will be tainted because Lance and his side were excluded from the evidence process, and reading your lines trust your integrity vs. Lance's integrity... folks, trust your instincts.
What this story about is one athlete beating competition. And someone trying to steal his life worth achievement for reasons nobody knows.
Unless the demeanor of the story changes and efforts are made to offer a level playing field, that will by the way including cycling arbiters, and following rules of races with regards to evidence expiration and so on, this will end up the undoing a few federal organizations.
In other words, this has to stop being a process against Lance Armstrong and has to begin to be a process of sport integrity. It's very simple to do.
What it is already is a huge blip on reputation of US sports doping monitoring agencies. All thanks to you and your side works.
But he gets to keep ALL OF THAT MONEY. Unreal.
He actually never kept a dime from the winnings. He always gave his winnings to his teammates.
Idaho- lance won MILIIONS because of his winning- he does get to keep all of that.
Well, he did take all of the risks for the whole team, if, in fact, he did take that dope.
@Mojo....you are wrong. Go look it up. Any winnings he won, he put back in the communal pot to be distributed to his team, mechanics and other staff. He made millions from his sponsors and books. His sponsors are all sticking by him as well. Even though they know he probably doped, Trek and Nike stayed with him. That is their choice as privately owned companies. You can't stop them from giving him money whether he doped or not.
idahosteve, he may have given his winnings to his teammates (I didn't look it up, but I'll take your word for it). But in cases like these, you have your winnings money and then you have your spokesman/sponsorship money.
Tour de France pays around $580,000 to the winner (450,000 euros actually). But Lance made HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in sponsorship deals connected to his wins. You really think he cares about a paltry $580,000 donated to teammates in the peloton who actually were vital to helping him win that race? In that light, his actions don't seem all that incredibly generous, do they? Kinda seems like the least you could do actually to show your teammates appreciation for all the blocking they do for you while you're scoring the touchdown.
At the height of his powers Michael Jordan was earning around $4 million a year in team salary, but he was pulling down 10-12 times that in endorsements per year, just showing up for photo shoots.
@forkchops: the point was, the money USADA said he needs to repay is the money he gave to his teammates. Sponsors can give money to him whether he doped or not. You could sponsor him if you want. That is a whole different story. Lance's major sponsors are still with him even after all of this. Why? Because they make a ton of money off of him by sponsoring him. Nike and Trek still back him. That is their right and that money is not owed back to anyone.
@forkchops: the point was, the money USADA said he needs to repay is the money he gave to his teammates. Sponsors can give money to him whether he doped or not. You could sponsor him if you want. That is a whole different story. Lance's major sponsors are still with him even after all of this. Why? Because they make a ton of money off of him by sponsoring him. Nike and Trek still back him. That is their right and that money is not owed back to anyone.
If that was your point, you not only omitted actually mentioning it earlier but it's also inaccurate because I can't find anywhere in this article or in USADA's statement or in a google search where the USADA says he needs to repay his prize money.
I'm not really sure what you're trying to say.
Straight from the horses mouth in the USADA report: In addition to the lifetime ban, Mr. Armstrong will be disqualified from any and all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to August 1, 1998, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, winnings, finishes, points and prizes.
Doesn't it make you wonder why he gave his team mates his winnings? They won also and had money of their own. Was he giving them bonuses for doping or just going along with the program? One thing can be said with complete certainty--He is not a poor man.
Wow, isnt there something else we taxpayers should be spending our money on?
When your friends and former teammates (who have nothing to gain by doing so) are the ones exposing the doping, it is difficult to fathom that it's not true. It is, indeed, a tragedy that taxpayer money went to fund this corrupt enterprise that was the USPS team! It would be appropriate to recover the monies based upon fraud.
The former teammates do have something to gain because Lance was the "star" and no one knows any of their names...., still. This is jealously and resentment coming to surface. Something doesn't smell right. Martha Stewart comes to mind.
It is COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE that numerous other teammates and colleagues (including George Hincapie and many of whom would be implicating themselves as well) would put their personal liberty on the line and risk a federal criminal perjury charge by lying to federal investigators (and conspiring with the numerous others to get their stories straight) for the sole and malicious purpose of bringing down Lance Armstrong. That makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE and is further INCREDIBLE AND UNWORTHY OF BELIEF!!!
Angelica, it is not implausible when those former teammates were being offered deals and money for their testimony. Just because you type COMPLETELY IN CAPS doesn't make it more or less true.
aardvark1234--- Your theory is COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE and you have NO EVIDENCE for your inane assertions!
The plea deals are part of the public record. What IS missing is any actual positive test results out of, as endlessly repeated, over 700 doping tests on samples stretching back over the entire Tour de France competition of Armstrongs. Aside from "random" tests every stage win: tested, every Yellow Jersey stage: tested, win the overall? tested. That adds up to a remarkable record of sampling and testing with ZERO positives: tests that as noted have resulted in many many others getting detected and suffering the consequences.
One litmus test of the ADA's agenda is their loudly touted "stripping" of Armstrong's Tour de France titles: something they CANNOT do as they have zero jurisdiction over that race and its's results. As they have been told, on the record, by the people that DO have jurisdiction.
Not to inject any actual facts into this lunacy.....
But....the USADA is not a Federal agency Angelica. It has no "federal investigators". It is a non-profit that manages the doping regulations for amateur sports, and has truly gotten a rather over-inflated sense of its own self-importance. It is in fact plausible that the USADA used this effort in order to elevate its own standing on the world stage. more important, more donations, better seats at the table for international athletic associations. Thus, cannot be perjurous to lie to the USADA, they have no legal authority. They have the ability to ban athletes. Amateur athletes.
Angelica, kind of like they don't have any physical EVIDENCE that Lance doped. Funny how you want to attack because a theory lacks evidence but choose to defend a theory that has no evidence.
Hey Rajun--- his teammates spoke with federal prosecutors (Assistant United States Attorneys)! Do you not believe they would have the power to bring a perjury charge???? If you've been listening the federal government had considered bringing charges against Lance.
Dave MMM--- They have both physicial evidence and testimony. What evidence can you point to for your theory that Lance's entire team (many of whom would still consider him a friend) conspired to lie to investigators.
Angelica...I fail to see why so many people are not accepting your truth, which seems, not only plausible, but just plain common sense. If anyone read the finding in the report, it is clear there is a mountain of evidence that suggests that Lance was doping--and that he doesn't give a rat's @ss about the integrity of the game. I am impressed with your willingness to stand up for what is right. Many have even said that it is ok to dope because it puts all the players on the same level, if they all dope. It also kills people--and causes cancer. How many of us boo hooed when Lance got cancer and made an astounding recovery? He likely caused it by doping. Good posts. I don't know why you have to use all bold either, but, my guess, is that you are trying to be heard above the nay sayers. They cannot give out the specific results because if would violate medical confideniality and the USD cannot supoena duces tecum. Keep up the fight for integrity in sports....It is refreshing.
Seriously people, give it a rest already...move on...get a hobby. This is getting monotonous.
i love it when people like you comment that we should not be paying attention to something. it is so hypocritical it is laughable in a stupid way.
11 former teammates testimony is "proof".
you sound like lances PR team.
which sort of makes me wonder why you even bothered to involve yourself in the conversation instead of just moving on. Just struck me odd for a sec...lol.
I'm with you, this is getting old. He (they) took dopeing test before EVERY race and passed it. Get over it. He did not do the testing, they did. We have beat this dead horse for over 10 years.
David
So if someone is smart enough to beat a test once, whether or not you cheated its OK and the everyone should just let him keep cheating? Not a chance! The Tour de France costs hundreds of millions during the decade and by having the winner cheat every year to win makes the tourney a joke, it needs to be made right and the cheaters need to be an example of. Lance took performance enhancing drugs to build strength and endurance during training, then just prior to arriving to competition his doctors gave him a blood transfusion that would make him pass the tests, (this is what the team doctors admitted doing) this was an expensive treatment, why do you think the winnings had to go back to the team?
Indeed. Armstrong is a tool, but reading the USADA report, it's clear they're waaaaay too into themselves. Literally a law unto themselves, all the way down to how they make the title page look like a legal complaint.
Bottom line, like all pro sports, it's adult men playing childish games. Time to lighten up: ultimately the world will remember NOTHING about Armstrong OR the USADA, any more than they remember the Intra-Empire Speed Walk for Cancer of 125 AD. You DO remember the scandal about that one, don't you?
I say Armstrong should keep his trophies because the USADA ARE such dweebs. He gave a good show and inspiration for millions, they gave uh, whining and 200 pages of legalese.
David....He missed 100 tests!!!! There goes your theory. He passed 60 using a masking drug...and using EPO which is related to cancer treatment and might have gotten him a pass. There are texts, interviews, and test results that debunk your opinion.
Witchhunt
But, he's a witch!
Burn the witch, burn the witch!
Mike...and hunting was good this year.
I'm beginning to think that the people in the Doping Agency need some heavy duty psycho analysis to find out WHY they seem to have this never-ending obsession with Lance Armstrong.
He gave up his fight to defend himself from doping charges earlier this year, which means that he loses his medals, his titles.... Really, I mean, what more do they want? I am beyond disgusted with this group--proof or no proof. I just don't care.
because he cheated- and then denied it. he frauded a lot of people. amde a lot of money doing it.
you also sound like lances PR team.
Amazing, isn't it? First baseball, now this. How much money has been spent that could be directed towards the economy or saving taxpayer dollars?
mojo7 ~ He never kept a dime of the money he received in cycling! Know your facts before you spout off about something that you know absolutely nothing about!!
The USADA says he doped. Hundreds of clean drug tests say he didn't. I guess it's simply a matter of who you believe. One agency, or hundreds of clean drug tests??
My guess is that you know nothing about cycling and have heard only what you have wanted to hear.
If you read the article you would see why they are doing this. They want a future in cycling where people don't have to dope to win. He won seven times. He took those wins from people who were not cheating. And for those who say it's all hearsay, the article also says all of their evidence will be available on the USADA website and they have hard evidence. He did it. If he didn't, he would be contesting this.
Just a thought- what crabby said.
and he did keep the millions he made from endorsements etc- that he got from winning these races.
I do know cycling - nice try- get your head out of lances cycling butt. i was a fan of his.
@Crabby Abbey, catching Lance won't change a thing. Cheaters will cheat whether they see a high profile name caught or not. Want proof? Go to usada.org and go to media at the top and look at the press releases. Tell me how many cyclists you see on the list as being caught....
@Mojo, yes, he was sponsored and paid for that, but those sponsors are still with him. That is their choice. I can give him money too if I want. The point is, he never made a dime from the actual sport side.
@mojo7: I'm not his PR team, but better that, than requiring isolation to check for rabies. That foam dripping on the carpet yet?
mojo7 ~ You say you know cycling. USADA says they know Lance cheated. I don't believe either. Simply put, people who know cycling and are deeply involved in the sport know how hard it would be to pass hundreds of tests if he were actually doping.
Look. fact of the matter is this. No matter what you believe, or don't believe, he surrender his fight months ago and the USADA coming out with this report now is the equivalent of shooting a suspect with his hands up in the air after he's surrendered.
Ummm....he HAS contested it, all along.
The USADA is required to submit their processes and results in detail to the international cycling body. This is why it is in the news again.
I heard they are now testing champion chess players for steroids and other drugs.
Justathought....He did not pass "hundreds" of doping test. He possibly passed the 60 he actually took. He missed 100. Just a thought. He used masking agents such as transfusions and EPO can be used for cancer treatment, so he may have been given a pass on that since he had testicular cancer--from the testosterone and steroids he took. Just another thought.
@Crabby....Maybe you have a short fuse sometimes (the Crabby label), but you make a lot of sense. Winning at all costs...like doping...or having bonuses for hurting other players is harming our nation as a whole. If our heroes cannot keep it between the lines, then young people feel that they don't have to either. If someone like Lance can cheat and get away with it for 14 years, our kids are wondering what's the big deal. The report had it right. The sport needs an overhaul for future generations. I appreciate your posts.
You reap what you sow.........
"Evil deeds will rise, though all the world or'whelm them to men's eyes".
Hamlet
Who cares and why are Americans wasting money on this?
This man is a disgrace.
......and a cheater!
Yes, whomever is in charge of USADA is a disgrace...
Enough!!! Show us the proof or drop it.
SOooooooooooo....... Am I the only one who just wants to see the test results??? Just show me the test results and I will believe everything. Not supporting either side, but I would really like to see the test results first.
Kind of like tax returns, just show the papers and we can read for our self.
Exactly.
But: they can't as there aren't any positives or the UCI and WADA would have already acted. As they did for Landis, Contador etc.
Who cares! The cycling industry has already stripped him of all his awards, so go away, find someone else to pick on!
PM...I care...because it is about the integrity of the athletes and the legacy they hand down that matters. Lance Armstrong does not matter. He is just the vessel.
Armstrong's defense is the Sandusky defense: "Everyone is lying -- it's a giant conspiracy out to get me."
Difference is Lance PASSED every test they ever gave him...............
Steve...Because he "passed" every test given to him because they didn't have the technology to catch him doesn't mean he was clean. He was not clean. He was smart and cagey...missed 100 tests....but he was not and is not clean. His character is that of "winning at all costs." He knew how to circumvent the system and did quite well at it for a number of years. Now, he is just another athlete proven to be without character. Just like all those that get arrested for drugs, domestic abuse, and other crimes....He is in their ranks now....where he belongs. Too bad, though. It was nice to see a great athlete, like Tiger, for example, excel at his sport....Sort of dissapointing, huh?
Just get on with it, USADA; you've been dancing around with your supposed "iron-clad" evidence for months and have yet to show the world anything.
If this thing comes out true then it will have great International implications. We have time and again accused other countries of violations and now we may find we are just like the people we accused.
It is one more failure like Catholic Church's failure.
It is sad.
Amazing what will happen when you threaten people to testify. Testify against Lance or get banned. Nothing but a witch hunt. Travis Tygart and USADA are a huge joke. They do not have the authority to strip Lance if his titles. Only the UCI can do that, and apparently the USADA will not share their "evidence" with them.
Moe...It said in the report that no one offered these witness a deal. They testified knowing that they would be punished--less severely than Lance, granted, but your assertion is completely baseless....They are being punished.
I don't care about their 'overwhelming evidence'- anything can be fabricated. Lance just became a fallguy. Interesting how quickly he was ousted from the Tour de France and afterwards all this supposed evidence comes out. Why? He stopped fighting the system which was clearly against him to begin with and they found a way. He wore down and after throwing in the towel they used that as an admission of guilt then use this 'doping agency' to back up their claims.
When an athlete's career dies, it is best to bury it and move on. Go ahead and grieve for awhile...even the denial part is part of the healing....But, Sunshine, you are just going to have to let him go. Getting to the acceptance part of grief is hard...but try. It will be worth it.
Yes, he cheated, so did everyone else in the peloton! He won and beat everyone that was racing at the time, they cheated too and most got caught. What is the point of stripping the titles, who then gets them? Other riders that have been caught cheating already? Stupid. Is he cheating still? because last weekend he won the Super Frog in San Diego and beat a bunch of young guys. He is still a great athlete cheating or not.
they are trying to say" we do not want cheaters in this sport". if you don't like that don't participate. just because he made it difficult for them to catch him does not make them the bad guy.
mojo...Once again, well said and clear as a bell. Just because someone is after you doesn't mean you haven't done anything wrong.
I knew this guy was a doper! You cant be super human like that without some help. His personality fit quite perfectly as well. Jack ass!
So Jessie Owens must have been a doper too huh? He broke or tied something like 6 world records in a span of 45 minutes at the 1936 Belin Olympics. And one of his records stood for 25 years. Yep, must have been a doper since noone of that era was capable of doing such a feat. Jack Ass!
I remember reading in Cycle magazine a long time ago about a new kid from Texas that was being tested by the University Physiology Department. They wanted to test him because his pulmonary cardio vascular system was exceptional, off the charts. His name was Lance Armstrong. He wasn't famous at that time, but they predicted he would be a star. A lot of sports stars are born with unique qualities that others don't have. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps If other cyclists are cheating and Lance is still beating them, their first impulse is to think he must be cheating too.
Lance may been given EPO during his cancer treatment, (it's legitimate use is to combat effects from chemo), but that doesn't mean he was using it prior to his cancer diagnosis. He's always denied using it and has passed all the mandated drug tests. Now there is doubt about his claims of innocence. Sooner or later the truth always comes out. He will let down a lot of fans if he's been lying about his drug use. I wish he would either take a stand if he's innocent or come clean if he's not.
Lance's physiology is superior to that of most of his competitors. His resting heart rate, his heart's stroke volume, his lactate threshold (he essentially doesn't have one), etc. are all way off the charts. Some of his competitors had a few of these qualities, but nobody put them together in a single body like Lance's. Most of these physiological characteristics can't be changed/improved by doping (for instance, there is no way to change your lactate threshold by doping). It was just Lance.
Assuming he was doping, he was competing against known dopers. So what made him the best was not the dope, it was the Lance.
My favorite photo of Lance is a close up of his face, grimacing, sweating, obviously straining. And he was on a stationary bike just warming up! That is what made Lance great, not the dope. He had a work ethic and a desire to win that was superior to that of his competitors (again, even if they were all doped).
"Sooner or later the truth always comes out. He will let down a lot of fans if he's been lying about his drug use. I wish he would either take a stand if he's innocent or come clean if he's not."
He has been taking a stand for 10 years. I finally got fed up and said F it!
He's innocent, so are the Bounty Gate players. Prove it in American court of law before I believe it. They have much higher standards of evidence. Right now, Cycling and the NFL can say whatever they want and provide the barest and shakiest of evidence. Prove it in court!
I agree. Everyone who participated in this fraud, assuming doping occurred, should be brought to trial and sent to prison if convicted, Armstrong not excepted.
Lance is a republican. I'm jus sayin'......
Yeah, and your comment easily qualfies for the dumbest of the day.
Jus sayin'.
Isn't this the same agency that demanded no positive results get released during the Olympics in 1984 to avoid a huge scandal?? The same agency that only recently made sure that all of the urine samples that were still being kept from those years be destroyed?? Yeah that's what I thought....What's next are they coming out with the first ever pictures of an extra terrestrial??
If they were ALL cheating... which it seems they were... and Lance STILL kicked
all their asses... doesn't that make him the best there was ?
TAKE THAT!!!!!!!! CARLY FIORINO!!!!!! Ms Fiorino was a staunch supporter for Armstrong encouraging him to keep fighting and to basically show these dummies that you won all those races strictly on your talent.....YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!!!
And as far as Carly Fiorino's track record. She is a huge supporter for the MITT the TWIT! Maybe someday this horse face will get it right. But not now Ms F, Not NOW!
They weren't ALL cheating...That is the point here....
They were not all cheating and even if they were, it doesn't make him anything but a better doper. It makes him a total loser with no respect for the game.