lance armstrong: new doping charges

[lovelygamer]

http://bicycling.com/blogs/dailylance/2012/06/13/lance-armstrong-faces-new-charges-from-u-s-anti-doping-agency-report/

Boy, this guy can't catch a break. I fully agree with his language in this article. These are the same trumped up charges from years ago.

I don't see how an endurance athlete who competed for that many years (and still does) and passed that many drug tests can be doping in the way they are saying he did.

What do you think?

It is really a shame that he is now banned from Tri's, which he took up after he retired.:(

[Crankin]

I don't know what to think.
I want to believe him. My whole family started cycling right around the time he won his first Tour. It was a major influence, I think, especially on my son.
On the other hand, it's quite possible he is smart enough to have had clean tests and still be doing something funny.

[Tri Girl]

ahhhh... it's Lance-hating season again. :rolleyes:
Seems they go through this every few years.
I want to believe he's clean. Nobody has been tested more than he has. I can't imagine that you could fake your way through 500 drug tests and come clean in every one. But who knows...
Here we go again.

Lance's response (http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstrong-responds-to-usada-allegation)

[HillSlugger]

I've always wondered about all the allegations, but something isn't right here. If he was dirty in 2009 and 2010, why wasn't he charged then? I certainly don't like that USAT has already convicted him and suspended him; guilty until proved innocent? The usual punishment for these sorts of violations is a 2 year suspension, so why is USAT suspending him now?

I don't want to say "vendetta", but something isn't right.

[redrhodie]

ahhhh... it's Lance-hating season again. :rolleyes:
Seems they go through this every few years.

ALWAYS right before the tour de France. This really bugs me. It's like they wait for the middle of June on purpose.

[Blueberry]

ALWAYS right before the tour de France. This really bugs me. It's like they wait for the middle of June on purpose.

And right before he was supposed to race an Ironman, which he is now automatically banned from:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Don't know if he did it - but really sick of hearing about it. This ship shoulda sailed a long time ago.

[OakLeaf]

I don't know why he didn't just stay retired. He had to know this stuff would come up again. What does he have to prove?

[HillSlugger]

I don't know why he didn't just stay retired. He had to know this stuff would come up again. What does he have to prove?

Driven athletes find it VERY hard to walk away and retire.

I just read another article and realize I had it a bit wrong in my earlier post: he's banned from WTC (Ironman) events, but not from USAT events. The article says that WTC rules dictate an athlete is ineligible to compete during an open investigation.

There needs to be a statute of limitation on drug-test allegations.

[jobob]

Here's an interesting take on the matter.

http://inrng.com/2012/06/usada-charges-armstrong/

I really enjoy the Inner Ring blog, I think the articles there are informative & well reasoned. And the comments are often worth reading.

[lovelygamer]

I too, assume he is extremely driven and competitive. I'm going to read these other article links. Thanks! Interesting conversation.

[OakLeaf]

Driven athletes find it VERY hard to walk away and retire....

There needs to be a statute of limitation on drug-test allegations.

The tests in question are two or three years old. The older ones are just "pattern and practice," as they say.

As far as whether it would be easy to walk away, that goes without saying. Same reason Casey Stoner's retirement was so stunning - not that anyone thought it's a bad time in his career to make that choice, only that so few athletes retire from the pinnacle. I guess if someone told Lance that he was taking the easy way out by continuing to compete, maybe that would be the incentive he needs. "Prove to us you can do something REALLY hard." I'm obviously not the only one who's sick of hearing about him.

[SadieKate]

While I'm tired of what is appearing more and more to be a witch hunt, this article is rather interesting about the implications for the UCI.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usada-case-against-armstrong-could-damage-uci-ashenden-says

[7rider]

Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in:

Baseball. (http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012-05-07/guillermo-mota-san-francisco-giants-100-games-suspended-ped-tested-positive) Is Clemens the LA of baseball? (http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8041991/prosecutor-accuses-roger-clemens-covering-ped-use-closing-argument)
Someone(s) even put up a list of those suspended (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_suspended_for_performance-enhancing_drugs). It's long.

Mixed Martial Arts. (http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/4/9/2936863/victor-conte-says-there-are-simple-answers-for-mmas-drug-problem) (shocking! Just shocking!)

NASCAR (they race trucks??) (http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/09/champion-nascar.html)

Football. (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500290_162-6471057.html) (really, where is the outrage?)

Track. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15022372)

I suppose with Google, I could go on. Horse racing, anyone? Skeet? Hockey? Luge? If you look for it - you will find it. So why the drama over a dead team and a retired cyclist? Why the front page news whenever The Big LA is mentioned? (and not even that..."leaked" more like it)?

Except for the Clemens' case - which is more about perjury than taking PEDs - why don't any of these cases make the front page of the Washington Post? Is it because Americans truly hate cyclists and cycling and want to take us/them down? Is it to sell papers to all those "I hate those pansy lycra wearing Lance Wannabe's who get in my way" in their big gas guzzling cars? Is it because we are so cynical that we don't want to believe a cancer survivor did anything positive? We probably all know someone who didn't survive cancer. Makes us want to think - hey, Uncle Charlie (or dad) couldn't beat it....why you??

Personally, I think the fact that this tired stuff makes the news says more about society than it does about drugs, cycling, or justice.

[Savra]

Just a thought - This is right after her pushed VERY hard to add $1 on to the price of cigarettes in Ca. to fund cancer research. He pissed off some very powerful people with that one and almost won. While these things always do happen right before the Tour I do wonder if any of those powerful people he pissed have anything to do with this.

[e3rdpower]

Most of all I'm annoyed with the amount of tax payer $$ that in my mind, USADA is wasting, not just on LA but so many other items.

[beccaB]

how is it even legal to spend taxpayer money on this? it's not like it's infrastructure that could benefit all of us??!!:mad:

[Bethany1]

What about the docs/coachs that administer these drugs? Are they held accountable for aiding these athletes? After all, they are breaking the law as well. Or these organizations really can't because they have no true "law" authority?

Lance is over and done with so I don't understand the witch hunts. Catch the new guys. We've moved on. So should these organizations. Or maybe they can't catch the new guys out of ineptness so they keep referring back to the older ones.

I see doping as a form of cowardness. Be a man and win because of your own ability and skills, not from drugs that have been banned.

[ny biker]

I read some interesting comments yesterday by Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist who co-wrote his books with him and considers him a friend. But she pointed out that regardless of which athlete is being accused, there are two big problems with the USADA. They were the ones doing all the testing, and now they're saying their test results are worthless. And no one has ever won an appeal, which indicates a bias in the system.

Elsewhere, I read that it would be illegal for the Federal Grand Jury to turn its findings over to anyone, including the USADA.

[OakLeaf]

Lance is over and done with so I don't understand.

Someone needs to tell Lance that (and I wish they would). If he hadn't decided to compete at a high level in triathlon, none of this would be coming out now.

[ny biker]

Someone needs to tell Lance that (and I wish they would). If he hadn't decided to compete at a high level in triathlon, none of this would be coming out now.

I don't think so. This is a result of Floyd Landis's accusations a few years ago.

I can't blame someone for wanting to continue to compete in sports as they get older.

[pll]

What about the docs/coachs that administer these drugs? Are they held accountable for aiding these athletes? After all, they are breaking the law as well. Or these organizations really can't because they have no true "law" authority?

Lance is over and done with so I don't understand the witch hunts. Catch the new guys. We've moved on. So should these organizations. Or maybe they can't catch the new guys out of ineptness so they keep referring back to the older ones.

I see doping as a form of cowardness. Be a man and win because of your own ability and skills, not from drugs that have been banned.

I think the doctors involved are precisely the issue. There are many suspected of "helping" athletes dope and they are still active. If you prove specific athletes, retired or not, doped with their help, these doctors can also be convicted and banned from practice. The USADA is collaborating with the Italian Cycling Federation on the Ferrari case (see the Cycling News article (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-reportedly-made-dollar-465000-payment-to-ferrari-in-2006)). As you can imagine, doctors and athletes hide their tracks very well, establishing shell companies in different countries to receive payments. The forensic accounting cannot be easy.

[roo4]

What about the docs/coachs that administer these drugs? Are they held accountable for aiding these athletes?

The charges are not leveled only at Armstrong. A Team Director, 2 Team Doctors, a Consulting Doctor, and a Team Trainer have also been accused.

See this link for the letter. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/armstrongcharging0613.pdf

Edited to give a nod to jobob, who pointed this out several days ago.

[pll]

The charges are not leveled only at Armstrong. A Team Director, 2 Team Doctors, a Consulting Doctor, and a Team Trainer have also been accused.

See this link for the letter. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/armstrongcharging0613.pdf

Edited to give a nod to jobob, who pointed this out several days ago.

I had bookmarked the article jobob linked, but read it only this afternoon. Very interesting.

[jobob]

Hincapie, Leipheimer, Vande Velde, Zabriskie opted out of Olympics (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hincapie-leipheimer-vande-velde-zabriskie-opted-out-of-olympics)

I had mixed feelings when it was announced that Taylor Phinney was selected to represent the US for the time trial; while I think Phinney is fabulous, Dave Z has been having a great season, and earlier this year he was quoted as hoping to be selected for the Olympic TT. How could they deny Captain America?

But now news comes out that Zabriskie asked not to be considered? Holy moley.

----

Ed to add: I just came across this article that was published a few days ago, before the US Olympic road cycling teams were announced:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/usadas-armstrong-case-could-impact-u-s-olympic-road-team-selections_224183

An excerpt:

"Of the remaining former Armstrong teammates, Zabriskie is the most likely to earn an Olympic nod, having won the time trial at the Amgen Tour of California and defended his national title in May. If the seven-time national champion is snubbed for the time trial in favor of the younger Taylor Phinney, there will likely be speculation that factors other than medal capability came into play. Phinney is the future for American medal hopes in the TT, but Zabriskie continues to show that he is currently the best time trial rider in the U.S."

Looks like DZ was screwed over by all this. Bah. :(

[pll]

Hincapie, Leipheimer, Vande Velde, Zabriskie opted out of Olympics (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hincapie-leipheimer-vande-velde-zabriskie-opted-out-of-olympics)

I had mixed feelings when it was announced that Taylor Phinney was selected to represent the US for the time trial; while I think Phinney is fabulous, Dave Z has been having a great season, and earlier this year he was quoted as hoping to be selected for the Olympic TT. How could they deny Captain America?

But now news comes out that Zabriskie asked not to be considered? Holy moley.

It's an odd article -- quotes a couple of the riders who declined selection stating how much they would like to go to the Olympics. I, too, have conflicted feelings about David Z not being selected. I likey Phinney, but Dave Z is much fun to watch.

[jobob]

And now we know ... the rest of the story.

[redrhodie]

How wrong I was. I was in the "level playing field" camp. Now I'm glad they didn't stop investigating, because he hurt a lot of people.

The plot reminds me of "Breaking Bad". I no longer have any sympathy for Mr. White, either.

[Dogmama]

How wrong I was. I was in the "level playing field" camp. Now I'm glad they didn't stop investigating, because he hurt a lot of people.

.

+1. As you said, I really couldn't care less about Lance - I think he's been "lanced" enough (tee hee) given his enormous ego. But he dragged a lot of people through the mud.

[OakLeaf]

I'm wondering how much of this will stick to Allen Lim (and if not, what kind of behind-the-scenes PR machine he must have!). Skratch Labs products made such a splash last fall with a nationwide retail rollout. Haven't really heard his name since - one way or the other. His name got bounced around during the last go-round - this time, nothing.

[Dogmama]

Joke about Lance - emailed to me. I don't know the origin:

"I wish everybody would quit vilifying poor Lance Armstrong. All he did was ride his bike while he was doing drugs. Heck - when I did drugs I couldn't even FIND my bike."

[Anelia]

Dogmama, I read the same joke this morning on FB and I wondered if it is appropriate to post it here :D

[malkin]

I like that joke!