60 Minutes: Tyler Hamilton claims Armstrong doped

[Grog]

I think that racers who dope - and I take that to be the majority of pro riders - go through something pretty weird having to constantly lie not just to others but also to themselves about how they survive in the terribly harsh world of bike racing. They feel doping is the only way, yet of course they can't say that out loud... until they're caught. Then, they can bury themselves in a hole, or try to fight back. For the few guys that were caught and exposed with somewhat more energy than others, like Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, it might be particularly frustrating to find that they are treated as black sheep when they know that the whole peleton is just as dark as they are. It might be even harder because their whole identity is centered on bike racing, it's not like they have a life, a profession, something to connect with outside of pro cycling. So their attention may become focused on what they perceive as the ultimate symbol of hypocrisy, in this case Lance.

Yes they are sore losers, but I have a lot more sympathy for them than I have for those who win and keep their image. I see them as little children more than like grownups.

This interview with Landis takes a very long time to read but for me it really was interesting not just about what it says about bike racing, but what it says about human beings. Whether or not one believes Landis is not really important in my opinion...
http://nyvelocity.com/content/interv.../landiskimmage

[ny biker]

Hey, I have no idea what Lance did or didn't do. I think he did lots of legal things to be better than everyone else, like weighing his food, pre-riding the key stages and training on Christmas day while his main competition was out clubbing and showing up to the prologue overweight. Beyond that, who knows what he did. For the sake of all the people that he helps around the world, I would like him to be innocent. I would not be surprised if he's not.

But if Tyler suddenly feels the need to tell the world that he can prove Lance took drugs, why is he on TV instead of talking to the prosecutors who are currently investigating Lance? The ones who testify under oath are the only ones with credibility, in my opinion.

And Tyler and Floyd could have admitted their own doping when they first got caught. I used to think David Millar was kind of whiny and annoying. Then he got caught, confessed, apologized, admitted he regretted it, and became outspoken against drug use. He's not world champion, but he has a career he can enjoy and be proud of. Tyler and Floyd could have taken the same route, but they chose not to. I have no sympathy for them.

[TrekTheKaty]

According the CNN morning news, Tyler was in town to testify and was "coerced" into the 60 minute interview and "was clearly uncomfortable."

WAH? Just say NO--well, that would have solved a lot of problems

[emily_in_nc]

I'm sorry for not including the link to the story I read about George -- upon re-reading, it doesn't sound like he's going to be on the 60 Minutes interview, but unless the entire story is false, he has stated to the FDA that Lance (and he, George, both doped). Very sad indeed:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/repo...ame=0&ns_fee=0

[lunacycles]

But if Tyler suddenly feels the need to tell the world that he can prove Lance took drugs, why is he on TV instead of talking to the prosecutors who are currently investigating Lance? The ones who testify under oath are the only ones with credibility, in my opinion.

The 60 Minutes interview came after he testified. I do believe his "turn-around" was a result of being forced to talk and come clean to the prosecutors who are investigating Lance. (or face jail)..such is the case with Hincapie, too. People claim Tyler's opportunist, but I do believe he wouldn't have done this if he didn't have to. I am glad for it. That guy used to be the most upbeat, pure-hearted racer around, and now he looks completely broken, and I assume this is because of all of this. Doping in pro cycling is systemic, and, yes, Lance has never been "caught," but if people seriously think he hasn't doped, they are quite naive. I think the whole circus is disturbing, but shedding light on the big shadow of doping in professional bike racing is, in the long view, a very good thing, even if Lance comes down as a result.

[aicabsolut]

I recently saw this movie (which makes some sly Lance references) about doping (in all sports, even recreational/amateur use). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1151309/

It still boggles my mind, but it helped me see just how some people can talk themselves into justifying use of PEDs while lying to everyone.

But, more on topic, aren't people saying that Tyler is writing a book and looking for publicity?

Less on topic, I know some people paying for his coaching services who are really happy with that. He seems to have used coaching to rebuild his credibility, and then with this interview, it just brings back to mind how he lied before.

[Dogmama]

I've talked to serious riders who are in the medical field & they unequivocally state that Lance had to be doping. Coming back that hard & strong after his cancer treatment is unbelievable. Lance used to say his lung capacity was more than the average mortal, but that's been disproved.

So did Lance dope? Probably. Why didn't TH come out earlier? When is his book being released?

[sundial]

I want to believe that Lance didn't dope....and Hincapie....and Dave Z. But Lance has stated in an authorized biography, Lance Armstrong's War, that everyone dopes. So that leaves more questions than answers in my book. We know that doping has become epidemic in pro cycling and that it brings a tragic ending (suicide) to some of the cylists.

[redrhodie]

Unfortunately for 60 Minutes, their show airs at the same time as the final stage of AToC. Guess what I'll be watching.

[ny biker]

I want to believe that Lance didn't dope....and Hincapie....and Dave Z. But Lance has stated in an authorized biography, Lance Armstrong's War, that everyone dopes. So that leaves more questions than answers in my book. We know that doping has become epidemic in pro cycling and that it brings a tragic ending (suicide) to some of the cylists.

I'm pretty cynical, and no one who knows me will ever accuse me of being a cockeyed optimist. But I believe that many cyclists today are not doping.

It used to be an epidemic. The roads used to be littered with used syringes after the tour passed. When guys like Lance, George and Jens started, it was still pretty common.

But I think it has changed, and many riders are clean now.

One thing I wonder -- why isn't anyone accusing Indurain of using drugs? Or Hinault and Merckx? Fignon admitted to doping, and LeMond and Hinault beat him, so why don't we think they were on drugs, too? LeMond won the Tour with pieces of lead in his lungs. Why do we believe he was clean?

[pll]

One thing I wonder -- why isn't anyone accusing Indurain of using drugs? Or Hinault and Merckx? Fignon admitted to doping, and LeMond and Hinault beat him, so why don't we think they were on drugs, too? LeMond won the Tour with pieces of lead in his lungs. Why do we believe he was clean?

Good question. When did the UCI (or whatever cycling organization) start testing for doping? Going further back, Fausto Coppi (died in 1960) was open about using amphetamines.

Correction: Seems, at least in the Tour de France, testing started in the late 1960s. Here's an interesting Wikipedia article on this subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_...Tour_de_France

[TxDoc]

In my view of things, Hamilton and Landis are two losers who used banned substances, lied about it, and then changed their story in search of publicity and monetary gain.
Now, after having told multiple contradictory lies to the world, they once again change their story just to serve some other business interest on their not-so-well-hidden agenda.

What surprises me is the inglorious waste of public funding on a nonsense investigation. This circus should be laid to rest today. Failures like Hamilton and Landis do not deserve the publicity stunt they seek.

We have doping controls. While laboratory tests are of course fallible, it is all we have, and it is all we should use to determine who follows the rules and who does not.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 7 times. He was tested 500+ times in over 20 years, and none of those tests resulted positive.
Evidence speaks for itself.

[smilingcat]

sigh...

let's just go riding for our own enjoyment. And let the Monday morning quarterbacks bicker over hearsay.

[ridebikeme]

IT seems that this is a discussion that will go on for many more years, and unlikely will. AS Margo mentioned, I do believe that this interview came out AFTER everything else. Whether Tyler writes a book or not is not the issue, at least to me,and I would dare say that he won't be the last to write about this.

Do I think that Lance doped? Yes, unfortunately I do.. I truly don't believe that the human body can do what he has after the whole cancer ordeal. Do I think that he has given millions of people hope with his riding? Absolutely!

I think that many pro cyclists have done what they felt they needed to do in the sport for many years, and whether it's something we believe or not, it has broken all of our hearts. However, the future is looking brighter all the time. The argument that the governement has wasted all of these funds in researching this case to begin with is absolutely crazy. If Lance is found guilty(along with other team members) do you realize that the US government helped fund this? Do you realize that it was our tax dollars that helped create this amazing legend that might just be based on a series of lies? The entire situation is something that turns my stomach, and I only hope that the truth comes out so that we can MOVE on.

Let's celebrate the athletes who are truly wonderful role models, great cyclists and even more important people with big hearts... there are LOTS of them out there!


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[SheFly]

sigh...

let's just go riding for our own enjoyment. And let the Monday morning quarterbacks bicker over hearsay.

Amen!

I will, however, just add that if all of you think this is only happening in the Pro ranks, I am here to tell you that is absolutely false. Even the amateurs are doing what they feel they need to do to win, sadly.

And RideBikeME has it right - ultimately this isn't about whether or not Lance doped, but whether a federal agencies money (US Postal Service) was used to fund a doping program.

SheFly