Lance Armstrong should lose all recognition

[Andy H]

Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles should be "obliterated" following his decision not to contest the doping charges against him.
That is the view of World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey, who says Armstrong's refusal to fight on means the allegations have "substance".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/19369375

Whatever the truth is, its a sad day for cycling and sport in general when a global icon is toppled.

Regards

[Freightshaker]

From now on, it will be a National Holiday in France.

[Snowygerry]

Not really - I doubt it was personal

"Cyclisme a deux vitesses" is the prevalent theory - it basically means everyone but the french or belgian riders were doped up one way or another just about from Bernard Hinault onward.

I would go a step further an assume no-one has ever won the Tour "clean".

[Rojik]

I would go a step further an assume no-one has ever won the Tour "clean".

Agreed.

I don't see it as a sad day. I like seeing cheats get caught and shamed.

[Gooner]

I would go a step further an assume no-one has ever won the Tour "clean".

That is a step too far ..

"Dr Tucker says you can see a marked difference between today and the bad old days when there were no tests for blood doping or drugs such as EPO.
"In the late 1990s and early 2000s if you were going to be competitive and win the Tour de France you would have to be able to cycle between 6.4 and 6.7 watts per kilogram at the end of a day's stage.
"What we are seeing now, in the last three or four years, is that the speed of the front of the peloton [of] men like Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali, is about 10% down compared to that generation and now the power output at the front is about 6W/kg."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18921784

I think the days of doping are done

[Andy H]

Agreed.

I don't see it as a sad day. I like seeing cheats get caught and shamed.

Hi

Just to clarify, that I'm not sad that a cheat has been caught, but sad for those who he inspired or held him aloft as to what you can achieve through hard work and dedication-and some drugs

[Rojik]

Hi

Just to clarify, that I'm not sad that a cheat has been caught, but sad for those who he inspired or held him aloft as to what you can achieve through hard work and dedication-and some drugs

No. I get you. It's a kick in the teeth to a lot of people that believed in him, but it's a necessary one to get some credibility back into the sport.

[dgfred]

Another thing to think about is:

Lance won all those TtF (what like 6 in a row) when the guys he was beating were all caught or implicated in drug use/etc later on.

Same thing with U.Bolt now... how is he THAT fast??? Over others doping?

Sure makes you wonder.

What Lance has done for Cancer treatment and survivors is MUCH more important to me. He has done hard work and raised tons of money.

[flash]

Can you remember the Monty python drug olympics?
Everybody had to be doped, there was events like 45' high jump, the running backwards marathon. The commentary for the 100m sprint went something like this; "They're on the blocks waiting for the gun,BANG!, they're off.........what a great run from the Jamaican fella".
Of course,you had to be there!

[dgfred]

My coach in Youth Football would yell out "RUN LIKE YA STOLE SOMETHING"

to the running backs. Tickled me every time.

[D1J1]

Cycling might be the only thing more corrupt than an NCAA men's revenue sport. A different kind of corruption perhaps, but still corrupt!

Still, the man deserves kudos for his work against cancer as Greg said. All in all a mixed bag for me.

Regards,
Dennis

[Surrey]

Just a thought but isn't EPO used in the treatment of cancer? Could that be what showed up?

[dgfred]

Not just that tho... I think they tried/did a little bit of everything. Transfusions/etc. All his team mates have admitted it or been caught... and everybody that was even near him in the races too.

[Persephone]

The USADA has no legal authority to strip Lance Armstrong of any titles...the USADA has no jurisdiction in the matter. The UCI has the final say in the matter, and they want proof that Armstrong cheated before they make any decision.

The International Cycling Union (UCI), on the other hand, is telling USADA's Chief Executive Travis Tygart that before they'll do anything of the sort, they first must prove that Armstrong had been doping. Hearsay from fellow cyclists caught doping don't count. It's a good call because not a single time has the legendary cyclist ever been proven to have doped up illegally before a race. The only time they found a questionable substance was back in 1999 when a trace amount of an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid was found in his sample. That, however, was traced to an approved medication to treat saddle sores.

The issue was far from over, though. Ever since, it seems as though allegations have followed him. First in 2000, when French officials investigated his US Postal Service Team for doping but came up with nothing. Allegations surfaced again in 2004, 2005, and 2006, but none were ever substantiated with solid, physical proof.

The whole debacle has been a major case of he said-she said, in that in not one single blood sample Armstrong submitted was he found to be doping.

http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle...81474981577572

[Persephone]

However, the USADA can punish him with the lifetime ban, doesn't matter anyway....Lance is retired, financially stable and content to be a at-home dad.