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Lance
Interesting article by Richard Hinds in the smh today http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/backpedallin....
I'm a huge Lance fan but I am starting to have my doubts. If the reports about Hincapie are correct it will be pretty damning, the first from someone not caught already.
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This is an interesting paragraph.
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''So what if Armstrong cheated?'' his remaining supporters in the US media are asking. If so, he simply put himself on a level playing field given 41 of the 70 riders who finished in the top-10 during his seven Tour victories have subsequently tested positive. And, having parlayed his fame into hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer donations, surely the greater good has been served.
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Even if he did, still won't alter my respect for that man, what he has been through and what he has achieved.
This article in SMH doesn't seem to be anything new or have any real meat.
BTW, for anyone interested in this topic I can recommend Bad Blood by Jeremy Whittle as a read.
Seems to me that this is all such a long time ago and looks like the pro-peloton has cleaned up since then, although we could probably guess there are always going to be some who give in to temptation.
In the book above, the author describes a long history of bike race cheats, some using drugs, some who liked to catch the train between parts of TdF stages in the early years!
In my opinion it would be more surprising if he was found not to have taken any performance enhancing drugs.
The unfortunate situation in modern sport and drug testing is the takers are always a step ahead of the testers. The sequence of events means only once a drug is acknowledged as performance enhancing (and included on the banned substance list) can it be tested against. This creates a time lag between use and detection of a banned substance. Typically takers also have a range of substances which can disguise the banned substance. My question is: did he obtain an unique advantage by using drugs? Being that 41 out of 70 top ten finishers have since been detected, I wonder how many of the remaining 29 were undetected? So was his alleged use of drugs an unfair advantage?
It seems that Novitzy has made this witch hunt more about building on his own fame for "bringing down" Lance than anything else.
If Lance was caught for taking drugs, who cares? Anyone surprised by this revelation would have to be very naive.
I don't agree with the argument that since many of the other people Lance raced against used drugs it is alright if he cheated.
Not everyone would have used the same substances or methods. So the race wins could be attributed to having the best doctors and the best drugs, not being the best cyclist.
I remember when the details of the Telekom team doping came out a few years ago. Someone from the team said that Jan Ulrich would have won the most races if everyone was clean. Unfortunately for the cycling fans we will never know who were truly the best cyclists of the era because of the drugs in the sport at the time.
"Not everyone would have used the same substances or methods. So the race wins could be attributed to having the best doctors and the best drugs, not being the best cyclist."
How is this different to F1 or Moto GP - best rider needs best engine, mechanic, tyres, fuel etc. I'm not saying I agree with cheating, but if it's going to happen, level the field and let them all do it.
Footie teams with the best physios get their players back in the game quicker, increasing chances of winning and the best teams have the best doctors. Like the war on drugs - you'll never stop it happening, so regulate it better instead through administration etc in my mind.
As others have stated, and in a little more detail, The guy in my eyes is a legend, having had both my parents and other relatives go through various cancer treatments, for him to even get back on a bike, let alone race and win is a feat of human tenacity and spirit we can all learn a lot from.
If he is found guilty in future, it wont change my opinion of the man. Ive never had the fortune to meet him, but he seems like a relatively nice guy, right up there with Kelly Slater.
I say let the man get on with his charity work.
Is EPO THAT much worse than a vitamin? Sure there are some reports of health damage, but you could say the same about cycling in general couldn't you?
Agree with most of the above: it is very unlikely that he was doing anything worse than anyone else.
Go Lance!
Although I personally believe that most of the elite road cyclists are guilty of this form of cheating, you can't be listening to a guilty drug cheat and any accusations he has to make against his competition. Any of this investigation must come from an objective observer. This whole controversy is a real shame as it really destroys the ability of this sport to elevate itself into the highest levels. As it is, it remains on the sideline due to corruption and public distrust.