Armstrong charged and banned

[Fab Foodie]

Oh and get rid of those bloody radios that enable a director sportif to manipulate the race and as often as not force the riders to go at a pace that can only be sustained in an unnatural way.

If nothing else, do this ....

 

[yello]

Storm in a tea-cup, according to R4 this morning, the biggest story in sport today is Harry Redknap leaving Spurs ....

Well, in fairness, I think there could well be more to that story! I remember recently Redknap saying he hadn't even been spoken to about the England job. 'Hmm' me thoughts, conspiratorial head on, maybe the FA were afraid/aware of his closet.

Oh, and thanks for the 'welcome back' FF. You've a pint of Scruttocks' Old Indigestible waiting for you at the bar whenever you choose.

Anyways, back to the cycling...

 

[lukesdad]

Maggot, if you can't tell the difference between someone who has admitted what they did, accepted the allotted punishment and totally changed their behaviour, and someone who has consistently denied doing anything wrong and more than this has actively attacked almost anyone who tried to provide testimony to the contrary, then I would suggest that it's you have rather questionable ethics.

Shall we add to the list...

Roche
Indurain
Merckx
Hinault
Fignon
etc.
?

 

[just jim]

Storm in a tea-cup, according to R4 this morning, the biggest story in sport today is Harry Redknap leaving Spurs ....

Heard that too. Good old "Today".

 

[chris barnes]

hi new here have been following cycling for the past number of years. i realise that nothing stirs the emotions as much as LA but the bile on here surprises me regardless of whether he was a drugs cheat (we will never know definatively) he won 7 tours and if we assume for a second that he was cheating then we have to assume the rest of the GC contenders were as well as such that still makes him the most successful tour rider in history.

 

[Dan B]

The Tour is a behemoth which will rumble on regardless of the participants, it is a wondrous spectacle but underneath what you and I see is a darker world that dabbles with substances designed to keep the human body performing at levels above and beyond what should be possible.

So is rock music, but I still wouldn't trade it for barbershop

 

[Strathlubnaig]

Putting personalities and such aside, how can there have been over 500 negative tests then this ?

 

[Zofo]

Who gives a toss whether he was using drugs or not, the chances are he was, practically the WHOLE peloton was on something or other back then. The guy virtually came off his death bed to win 7 Tours, get off his back!

 

[Browser]

I can't help being cynical about the timing, but I suppose if you want to launch another investigation into the cleanliness (or otherwise) of the Tour's most successful rider (until proven otherwise) then you'd do it now. On the other hand, if you weren't just trying to rabble-rouse you'd wait until it was all over and finished, wouldn't you?
I don't want to believe that he's guilty, but how many times in the past have major sporting stars proven to be something other than they've previously made out to be? And, sadly, there are too many accounts/reports/allegations of widespread performance enhancement in the pro-cycling world for them all to be untrue

 

[Fab Foodie]

Who gives a toss whether he was using drugs or not, the chances are he was, practically the WHOLE peloton was on something or other back then. The guy virtually came off his death bed to win 7 Tours, get off his back!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Timing's great though ...

 

[rich p]

Why do the pro LA supporters seem to think it's us who are leading the enquiry/witch-hunt ( delete as applicable).

It's the US cycling authorities - his own federation! We have little influence sadly other than comment and speculation.
How anyone can conflate the timing and the TdF is beyond me.

 

[Herzog]

An interesting graphic towards bottom of the page:

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/...ign=Feed:+cyclingtipsblog/TJog+(Cycling+Tips)

 

[yello]

the bile on here surprises me.

Oh I wouldn't call it bile, it's more like gloating

That he was/wasn't the most successful doping/non doping (whichever you believe) cyclist of an era of doping misses the point I think. Armstrong built himself an empire around his 'non doping'. He's made such a big thing of being the "most tested athlete". This sticks in the throat of anyone, like me, that believes he was as doped to the gills as the next guy on the podium. As for the 'those that don't believe in miracles' speech, well. If guilty, he's set himself up for the fall.

For what it's worth, and in reference to the undoubted doping of that era, should Armstrong be stripped of the wins (and I have no strong opinion on that either way) then I don't think you'll see the jerseys given to anyone else. I think the results will merely have an asterisk by them to indicate 'no winner'. I think it will just become known as the doping era.

 

[MacB]

It's the constant denial that sticks coupled with the vicious counter attacks, but what does it take to get the truth? For the fan boys I'd say a smoking gun akin to the Monica Lewinsky dress, giving a decent sample to test.

Makes me wonder if RichP has kept that little black number he wore the night he met Lance?