An Open Letter to Lance Armstrong
Dear Lance,
Let me begin by saying that I bear you no malice. I am not someone who’d like to see you dragged through the streets of Paris so that crowds can do to you what crowds are wont to do. I am not someone who has forgotten that you have done real good in the world and am well aware that in guys like Mike Ward and Jeff Castelaz, there continue to be genuine acolytes to the north star you provided those navigating the perils of cancer. I’m okay with that.
I am not someone who has forgotten the hope you represented to cycling here in the U.S. back in 1996, that you began to fill the void left by the retirement of Greg LeMond. I’ll never forget hearing Jim Ochowicz say at the final press conference for the Tour DuPont that it was time to start grooming you to win the Tour de France. I wrote this as you began your comeback, and when you did win the Tour in ’99 I thought myself prescient, rather than duped.
And while I doubt you even remember me, yours remain the most entertaining interview I ever conducted. It was a truly fun afternoon.
In previously writing about cycling and you, I struck a pragmatic tone, differing with the likes of David Walsh and Paul Kimmage. Walsh classified dopers as either draggers or the dragged; I reasoned that fundamentally, every cyclist of your generation was either dragged into doping, or quit. I’ve learned the truth is otherwise, that Walsh was right, that the lengths you went to exert influence over not just your team, but the whole of the peloton included wire taps and private investigators—tactics too coarse for sport. It’s easier to understand now why you accused Greg LeMond of using EPO—you simply thought that everyone did.
What you don’t seem to understand is that your interview with Oprah was never going to serve the purpose you desired. It was both too soon and too late. It was too late in that the horse hasn’t been in the barn for ages. The collective weight of the documents released in USADA’s Reasoned Decision dethroned your myth as the prevailing world view. It’s often said that history is told by the victors. Your story proves exactly that. Your version of events stood for a decade, but game, set and match have gone to Travis Tygart. By giving an interview to Oprah that fell short of what we learned from the Reasoned Decision, you failed to meet the minimum level of confession required to help your image. We didn’t need a body language expert to tell us your pursed lips meant you were holding back. And the interview also came too soon in that the public remains outraged over the revelation that the Cancer Jesus was something more akin to Machiavelli. They simply aren’t ready to forgive a lie that great.
As my colleague Charles Pelkey noted (and yeah, I know you think of him as “clueless”), your use of the passive voice—“got bullied”—suggests you really haven’t taken responsibility for your actions.
You dodged both the “deathbed confession” at the heart of your fight with the Andreus and the 2001 positive at the Tour of Switzerland. We no longer believe what you’re telling us. Why you won’t simply confirm that Betsy and Frankie have been telling the truth mystifies me. It’s not like you can hope to win the coming suit by SCA Promotions, so why hide? Why you won’t admit the Tour of Switzerland positive took place is less surprising. At this point, you have no reason to protect Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid, as they are no longer protecting you. But it’s obvious that Nike, alleged to have helped pay off Verbruggen to make the positive go Jimmy Hoffa, would suffer a PR black eye far worse than sweat-shopping every child in Southeast Asia, and if you out them, your dream of rehabilitating your image so that you can once again “Just Do It” for them will go bye-bye.
That you would sit down with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission may have been the biggest lie you told Oprah. Dude, come on, if you won’t level with her—and she’s as sympathetic a listener as anyone ever gets—there’s little chance you’ll tell the whole truth to people who really know the sport, people who will ask hard questions.
I like to imagine that there’s an alternate universe, one where you delete the Strava account and go underground, where you drop by cancer wards unannounced, where you sit with people at death’s door and do what you do best: Give people hope. While I think Sally Jenkins’ quip that you beat cancer fair and square is asinine, I know that you can’t fake hope. There’s another narrative in you, room to say, “Yeah, I did some really stupid things to my body and my sport, but I still managed to beat this disease, and you can too.” And when you aren’t visiting cancer patients, you would be quietly showing up on doorsteps. First the Andreus. There’d be an apology and then you’d whip out your calculator to help figure the value of all that lost income.
And then you’d write a check.
Next, you’d fly to the U.K. and do the same for Emma O’Reilly. Then on to New Zealand where you’d present six figures to Mike Anderson. You’d take Floyd Landis out for beers, but not until you gave him a check, one with two commas. The toughest one would be the LeMonds. Done right, you’d find a bike company with the horsepower and credibility to revive LeMond’s bike line, probably Specialized or Giant, because I doubt John Burke, the head of Trek, and Greg LeMond will ever shake hands again … thanks to you, of course. In my mind’s eye you’d apologize to the LeMonds and tell them of the new deal, one that required no lawyers, and then the biggest check of the bunch, one that measured in tens—of millions. Yeah, that one would hurt. It’s the one that would make you think, over and over, about what you have done.
Without any press in tow, without any of your minions to insulate you, and no lawyers to get in the way, you’d come face to face with your actions and deal with the fallout. But word would spread and nothing could rehabilitate your image like having Betsy Andreu say, “Lance Armstrong sat down with Frankie and me, apologized, and then asked, ‘What can I do to make you whole?’”
Writing checks can’t fix the harm you did, but it would be a way to reconcile their earnings to yours, a way to right-size what your and their careers should have been. Despite all the good you’ve done for millions of cancer patients, the way you damaged the lives of those who got in your way stands as a symbol for the damage you caused cycling as a whole. With Oprah you rued the $75 million hit you took in a single day. Well guess what? Cycling as a sport has taken a much bigger hit. You are our Hurricane Katrina. Selling cycling to potential sponsors is tougher than selling real estate in the Ninth Ward. We’ll be cleaning up this mess for years to come.
I used to smile and wave when people at the side of the road called out, “Hey Lance Armstrong!” My God man, you single-handedly transformed cycling from the non-sport of geeky outcasts into a triumph of healthy living. Your downfall took us with you; now cycling is the sport of cheaters. Today, I hear people yell, “Doper!”
Look, I’m the first to argue against the lifetime ban for cyclists. We profess to be a society where anyone can apologize and be forgiven, but Lance, we don’t yet believe you’re contrite. When I look at how much harm, shame and ridicule you’ve brought to cycling, I realize if anyone has earned a lifetime ban, it’s you.
Respectfully,
Patrick Brady
Publisher
Red Kite Prayer
I have watched the sport of cycling boom since Lance. I Have seen the profits for all cycling related products boom since Lance won his first tour. The coverage on TV the people talking about it at work the gym. The whole jhony G spin movement. I googled you and came up with not much ohh well no biggie but here’s the deal you are crying that you cannot get a sponsor. Truth be told i know people who have won olympic gold and get a sponsor. National and world champs. Not all sports are blessed, cycling was never blessed with a lot of intrest. Lance not only dominated he brought life to the sport. Me personally i would still watch lance and as a sponsor I would not give your crybaby ass a Warm Beer from a Free Keg. You should thank Lance for what he did for the sport!
You are assuming Greg LeMond raced clean. Cycling has been dirty long before LA arrived.
When Lance claims that ” he is over Cycling ” , you wonder , Why , he is making the effort to rehabilitate himself ? When Michael Jackson , appeared with Oprah , 90million or so tuned in ! Reports of 4 million , for the first Interview , was bandied around , her normal shows expect 2.4million viewers . With ALL that advance publicity , and Lance having 3.8Million twitter Followers , the whole exercise , was a HUGE FAILURE !
What rabbit does he expect to pull out of the hat , next ? It is fairly apparent , to even the naive , that he held back the detailed information that matters ! With Travis Tygarth , David Howman & the phats of aigle , calling on him to reveal UNDER OATH , what he said to Oprah , it appears he has created the possibility that a deal , suiting his purposes , can be struck .
Today ” UCIIC ” are meeting with UCI , i hear in London . Will he be discussed and will the original ” Terms of Reference be modified , to allow the ” Panel ” to do a thorough Job , of investigating the UCI’s Past Conduct ?
Vermonter: I’ve assumed nothing. There’s been no credible evidence that LeMond ever doped. As I stated earlier, the most frequent accusation made against LeMond was that he used EPO and the accusation came from Armstrong. And just because doping has been around for the whole of cycling’s existence, that still doesn’t mean LeMond doped.
It seems to me that all the vitriol directed at Armstrong really has almost nothing to do with doping. It all has to do with his bully tactics and the people he stepped on to defend his false image as a clean cyclist. This hatred is not directed at Vaughters, George H., Tyler H, and all the other cyclist who doped in cycling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling) and benefited from the doping and with their connections with Armstrong. Andreu was treated unfairly by Armstrong but he does not have clean hands either. There is no doubt that the cycling industry boomed during and after Armstrong’s 7 wins. Trek, Oakley, Nike and their employees, local bike shops and everyday riders like you and me all indirectly benefited from the cycling growth. Better bikes and better prices. Don’t get me wrong, I am not defending Armstrong. I am just asking that everyone look a little deeper. The answers are not black and white. Armstrong is not all bad or good. Cutting off Armstrong’s head in misdirected anger won’t change the past or the future of cycling. We need to see how this all plays out over time and whether Armstrong will be part of the solution of doping in cycling. A Lifetime ban and possible criminal charges are not incentives to come clean. I would really like to hear from all cyclist from the 90s and to the present about their knowledge of doping and they should be able to come clean without fear of losing money, or jobs, or titles. The culture in cycling was doping and it seems to be changing to a culture of clean cycling where no young rider needs to make the choice between riding doped or not riding. That is what we all want.
I don’t get why people would assert that LeMond ever took EPO. It wasn’t approved for use until 1989. I know that he “came back” in 1990, but if he was taking it, why the sudden decline and retirement? He coulda kept going for a long time. And why would he have been such a vocal critic of PED in cycling? That argument makes zero sense. And understand that I was in the “Greg is a whiny bitch” camp for a really long time. Time that I regret now………….LeMond=LeMan.
I am a lifetime cyclist—both recreational and competitive, commuter and professional (hey, I was a courier in Manhattan, if that ain’t putting your life on the line for money what is?) and I’ve been very conflicted about this whole thing. As a wellness coach who offers therapeutic yoga to cyclist, I’ve dedicated the last 20 years of my life to trying to create/find/encourage/foster balance—not merely physically, but psychologically and spiritually. Because aren’t cyclists humans, too? How many of us ride because—in part at least—we feel most complete on a bike? For me it is spiritual as much as it is a physical act. I can’t speak for Lance Armstrong and his relationship to actually riding a bike. Maybe it really was all about the money, or winning for ego gratification. Yoga and eastern wisdom traditions ask us to look beyond greed and selfishness to consider the greater good. These teachings tell us that service to our fellow man is the highest honor. So while Lance has done tremendous good in this world through the LAF and his work with cancer patients and survivors, this piece really hits home in how his arrogance and selfishness hurt so many people in very real, very tangible ways. Sure, fans are disappointed and sponsors ashamed, but he crushed whole lives with his choices and actions. Alcoholics and substance abusers have the 12-Step Program to help them redirect their lives. What about someone who is addicted to power and to winning at any cost? In my work I love nothing more than working with people who are eager and ready to create change in their lives—whether it is entering recovery, loosening up their backs and hips, being more joyful and less stressed, overcoming grief or losing weight. I know that in order to create real change people need to get real with themselves, and honest about their motivation and intentions. As a holistic coach, I don’t think I would touch Lance Armstrong with a 10 million dollar pole. I just don’t believe he is sincere. I think he’s desperate. Scared, maybe. I do feel compassion for his suffering. Even though he brought it on himself, the dude is in a raft of shit heading upstream on Shit River without a paddle. Still, I really dislike the “death sentence” phrase. The guy isn’t dead. Not even close. Armstrong gave hope to those who received a TRUE death sentence, and bless him for that. But he is a tumor on the sport of cycling and I say cut out the tumor (lifetime ban from any form of pro cycling) and apply chemo and radiation in the form of many years and dollars of amends to the ones he’s hurt most.
The question to be asked is whom stands to gain the most from taking him down. He is only unique in that he won seven tours. Everyone is doping in all sports. Why so many years latter are they digging into the past. Kobe destroys the lakers and rapes a woman and still plays. But Lance cannot do a triathalon. This whole thing stinks bad. The sport childish jealousy of a few has been the demise of roadie heaven.
Lance is a terminator on two wheels he is hyper focused and intense. The love of any sport for fans is carnage and risk. He escaped the grip of cancer and prevaled. As for doiping really do we all care that much. I think not. I think someone told us we should care and so we do.
I always have a hard time reading you, when you write about Lance. I guess for whatever reason(s) you think he personally owes you (cycling?) something; but, I really don’t understand what you expect. You say you knew he used and yet you enjoyed watching the blue train. You understand he can’t fully tell his own story without doing damage to companies/peoples who stood by him the longest(that would break his code); but you don’t care and just want something more (more of a story, more of sense of being sorry) – but you acknowledge you’ve had the story for years. You really want him to go person to person and apologize and/or offer a pay out? Come on Patrick. I didn’t watch and don’t want to read about it anymore; disappointed yes, disappointed because there will no recovery – but come on seriously its bike racing – he made the tour biggest three week event in the world – he did – not greg – not any others – and it was grand – and even without the “doping story” there is no one in the pelton interesting to the USA – so please my writer give me back your friday ride, review some tires (tyres) go ride with alberto (another one) or even greg (and you can defend greg (you defended Lance) but please don’t forget he beat fignon who later adimited to using whatever he could get his hands on – amphetamines & steriods) or watch wiggins (who kimmage is now telling us must be doping)and leave Lance to Lance (he doesn’t care that much about what we think and he sure won’t be just “paying” anymore folks off) i laugh out loud every time i hear betsy say she was a friend to Lance.. i just shake my head when you write about him. good thing this website is free to me… thank you for biking today.
Andi: It’s with some relief that I can say your view, based on the comments voiced here, on the rides I do and the forums out there, is far outside the mainstream. You’re welcome to keep worshipping Armstrong and his tactics, but don’t be surprised if you’re the only person doing so.
Worship not a chance
1 you had to know all along he was doping the whole group was. So nothing is new news to me
2 If there was any balance to articles like this i would not defend him
3 head on over to pinkbike and read what mtb riders have to say
4 watch bigger faster stronger and then contact me
5 everyone hates a winner,
Winning seven tours unheard of. Winning the tour after chemo therapy unheard of.
@Andi: I grow sooooo weary of “everyone is/ was doing it”. NO they weren’t. I don’t care at all about what the MTB community thinks. Why should I?
Read this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2013/01/18/the-anti-lance-armstrong-bicycling-champion-nicole-cooke-calls-him-a-criminal-who-should-go-to-jail/
BTW: Great letter Pat.
Ummmm Ya they were! and the MTB comunity thinks roadies are snobs you just proved them right scale. Lance was winning tri nationals at 16 are you going to tell he was doping then. The idea you have that it is not wide spread is no nieve its scary. I guess youll buy anything.
I got some land for sale in Nevada its a great investment youll love it call me
You’d have Lance write a check to Andreu and Landis? They both admitted to doping, too! I guess your rationale is they deserve something from Lance since they weren’t as good at cheating as he was. Sorry man… you lost me there.
Why is there the hating on LeMond…not just accusations of possible cheating on this forum, but on other forums as well? As well as comments throughout the interwebs that he’s a DB, AH, etc?
I ask, cuz I don’t know the answer and I’m hoping someone will clue me in.
When I first climbed on a bike in earnest (I’m dating myself here) LeMond was the man, and he was the guy on all the magazine covers. He seemed like a likable, pleasant guy. And it’s not like he didn’t have to overcome adversity, either. Try getting shot by a 12 gauge sometime and nearly dying, only to come back and race again.
Now, as LeMond lobbies for real change at the UCI, he continues to appear to be a stand-up guy.
As for the doping, Padraig states clearly above (as does Kimmage and others), LeMond rode clean, not a whiff of suspicion regarding his days on the bike.
So…I don’t get it. Why the LeMond hate?
@Andi: I have friends that raced in Europe in the late 90′s and 2000′s. They. Weren’t. Doping. Period.
And I’m not snobish about MTB-ers, but them having opinion about road cycling makes as much sense as a Formula I fan caring about what a NASCAR fan thinks. They both use cars, but are totally different sports.
I had his photograph on the wall while I went through chemotherapy, an operation and follow up chemotherapy. I reasoned that if he could do it so could I , and luckily that is the case. I thank Lance for the inspiration to survive and for the work he has done for the cancer community, but curse him to hell for what he has done to cycling and sport. We all need sporting heroes to inspire and motivate us and it is sad that Lance can no longer fill that role. He is just another lying, thieving cheat.
Don’t hate the player. Hate the game. Admittedly, this is still the same guy. Nothing in the Oprah interview would suggest otherwise. He’s also still the same guy the that stood at the edge of a cliff and overcame odds none of us will fully understand and that includes Greg Lemond. He’s also the guy that inspired millions of survivors to fight on. All of the attributes that you crucify him for now and the same personality traits that you worshiped him for during his time as a champion so spare me your self righteous indignation. As for sending a check to former teammates like Hamilton, Frank and Landis; do you honestly believe those guys would have made a half of what they made or what they are making now without Armstrong? Grow up Padraig. Put on your big boy pants and admit if Lance Armstrong had not come back in 2009 and 2010 you and all the rest of the press in The US would still be kissing his ass knowing full well that he had used PEDs.
Lance, write those checks until your hands bleed and the accounts are all drained of funds. When you are broke on the side of the road with a crooked wheel on your bike looking for a handout, then your apology is acceptable. Until then you are just a (another) weasel sucking money, time and energy from those people and those projects worthwhile. Call me when you reach your new destination.
How different things would have been if Lance hadn’t used PEDs all his life. Imagine if he had won clean!
Unfortunately, he is merely human and a low variety as it turns out. He probably gave himself the cancer with the PEDs he used early on, he is an admitted bully and abuser of women, he is a liar and stealer of dreams.
Ever wonder why we put him on such a pedestal, despite all the indications he didn’t deserve it? Is there something lacking in us that fed this monster?
Why did we not take to LeMond in the same way?
Personally, I prefer now to forget Armstrong. I’ll continue to ride my bike as often as possible, to support cycling and especially women’s cycling, and help others fight cancer, but I will be leery of heroes ’cause they usually aren’t so much.
Ray good for you. it seams that everyone is throwing the baby out with the bath water. Ok 100% were not many were. As a competitor at that level he did what he thought the needed to. the truth is he did not get off the sofa one day after eating a xxl dominos and a pint of choclatchip and say I going to win the tour give me a magic pill.
Right so the test, maybe did balance the loss of a ball sounds good. Epo pretty common stuff. Blood doping ok so those three my uninformed self what percent faster did that make him? My point is he had to train his ass off. He is the Terminator ! super strong super intense, and will not quit. I say that is why he won!
I also say Ray he inspired you and thats great. Try to understand why and who he is cut him some slack. He did more to help your life than you have to help his.
Don’t waste the gift you got on being angry at him.
I sat with my mom for three months everyday while things got worse and all she wanted was to have another shot at her dreams. Here is a guy who got that shot and made the most of it. He did not waste it at all. Put his all into it.
Did he make mistakes ya But ill give lifetime respect to a man who goes 100% once, and little credit to someone going 70% and the other 30 goes to crique, complaints, opinions. So the guy that wrote Ill be alone in my support of Lance cool I can do that. But for everyone who sits back with an opinion about how bad he is Ill bet your the ones that only put 60-70% from there you figure it out.
@Andi: I hate to break the news to you, but Lance was a pretty average cyclist as far as Pro’s go. While the PED’s didn’t take him from couch potato to (non)7 time winner of the TDF, they certainly took him from stage hunter/ one day guy, to that.
He was a talented 16 year old, sure. So was LeMond. And Hampsten. Phinney. The list goes on.
You maintained that Lance did a lot for bringing cycling to the States. Yes he did. But he singlehandedly destroyed cycling’s image the world over, essentially putting our sport to the back burner status. We’d be better off if he’d never ridden a bike. Ever.
So pat yourself on the back, because you’re COTHO’s biggest (only) fan. Head on over here and lay down your thoughts: http://www.velominati.com/evanescent-riders/2012-anti-v-moment-of-the-year-bullies-are-really-just-pussies/
There have been references here to the “damage to cycling” from the whole LA business, and I don’t get it. Could someone expound?
OK, I read Patrick’s comment about a passer-by yelling some nonsense to him about doping. But really, here in Caly the general public attitude toward cycling is so darned positive. Almost everyone from car drivers to people who I meet react very positively to me as a cyclist. I just can’t see that turning around. If the situation isn’t quite the same in other states, I’ll bet that they will catch up.
If the damage is supposed to be that people will quit cycling because of this, then that is just a cleaning out of the non-committed. Or people won’t get into cycling because of LA? “I’d like to try a bicycle, but that LA, ugh! Forget it.” I don’t see that as any kind of national movement.
Damage to the reputation of cycling? Welcome to the club, cycling. News of professional or even college or even high school badass athletes is a staple of the evening news. As American as cocoanut cream pie with chocolate sprinkles (after a hard ride, of course).
So if someone would explain the damage aspect, I’d appreciate it.
Andi, you ROCK, could not have said it better myself. I second everything you said and there are lots of us out there who’ve got your back. Padraig, Andi is definitely NOT out of the mainstream, there are many, many cycling fans who are down with this take. To many of us who witnessed the media fawn over and kowtow to Lance all these years and get rich as the sport grew on account of him, all the while knowing full well that he had to be doping as all the other top level pros who wanted a chance to win the Tour were, and then watching you and others Padraig come out with holier than thou pieces of crap like this article and the last few pieces you and Pelkey have published on Lance, makes you all the ultimate hypocrites in our minds. Lance did what he had to do to win in the circumstances he had to compete in. He made exactly the same decision as all the other admitted dopers did who got 6 months and are considered heroes by some and somehow aren’t the media’s current pariah. He just won more then at some point had more to lose and made some very poor decisions. Look, we were all Lance fans because he was an amazing cyclist. If we paid any attention at all we knew he was doping and had to be to have a chance to compete in his given sport. We thrilled in his victories. He was not our hero, he was just a kick ass cyclist. We held no illusions as to his character. We are not Lance apologists. 7 in a row after chemo, can’t take that away no matter what the UCI, USADA, or the media say.
@Ben: He wouldn’t (and didn’t) have won 7 TDF’s WITHOUT FUCKING DRUGS! Is that the legacy you’re defending in your long winded diatribe? He doesn’t care about anything other than getting caught and trying to limit the damage.
At least the other guys felt some sense of remorse. I’m done here. This blog sucks (at least the audience does).
And just to be clear: you and Andi ARE Lance apologists.
Whatever ones’ feelings are out there regarding Armstrong, your Open Letter serves to present one of most intelligently written, thoughtful and articulate pieces I have read to date regarding the whole mess.
Andi,
I don,t waste the gift I have been given. I spend my time training to keep fit and healthy, coaching children to ride and enjoy their bikes and raising funds for cancer research and contributing to my community because I am retired and have the time and commitment to do so. I have no time for hate or being negative. It is my sincere hope that Lance Armstrong seizes the the opportunity to assist in the fight against doping as he did in fighting cancer. He can do this by revealing all and exposing the scumbags who facilitated his doping.
I really don’t understand why people seem to HATE Lance the way they do. Yes, he doped. It was team policy on his teams to dope. If you wanted to be on his team, you had to dope.
The people who rode with him made their choices and got what they got. They did not have to be professional cyclists. They could have gotten jobs and been real estate agents. They could have changed teams. They could have founded team Garmin before there was a Garmin.
Lance royally screwed some people. From what has been written, I would not invite him to my house. He is not be a roll model for my kids.
But as stated in the comments above, for those seven years, he was a beast. I enjoyed watching him destroy the field. Now that I know he had a pharmacy in the team car, I still enjoyed watching him win. It is like watching Johnny Knoxville get knocked out by Butterbean. It’s a train wreck, but you still have to watch it.
Perhaps that is the issue. Did Lance make cycling too much like the Jerry Springer show? (trashy entertainment, not European sophistication)
I think all the law suits will extract whatever can be construed as justice for those that Lance hurt. He is going to pay a lot for his hubris with the truth.
As for extra punishments, isn’t having to swim before and run after each bike ride punishment enough? I bet they make him wear sleeveless jerseys!
I don’t know how to say this politely … I don’t give a shit about Armstrong’s soul, psyche, or spiritual well-being. Apologize, don’t apologize … that’s between him and his God, or at least him and the people he has wronged.
In the last two weeks, I’ve seen the term “psychopath” used more WRT Herr Armstrong than I’ve ever heard it used outside of a movie review or serial killer story. I’m not going to pull a Bill Frist and tele-diagnose, but for the sake of argument, regardless of where he falls on the psychopath scale, let’s agree that the dude has a highly developed sense of self-preservation.
So, then … Oprah? What was that all about?
All kinds of rumors about looking for a reduction of the death penalty, but he offered up nothing there. USADA asked him to testify, he refused, and now he’s kinda sorta confessing, without raising his right hand and all that? His Oprah confession and five bucks will get him a vanilla spice latte, and that’s it.
Rehab his image? Same deal there. Who’s going to pay him to pitch their product? Nobody, not no way, not no how.
So .. What’s left? Make amends? The dude obviously had no intention of making more than the lamest of gestures there. In fact, those he called prior to the appearance all hinted or flat out said they thought part of the reason he called was ‘cuz he knew Oprah would ask him if he had.
Where does that leave us? With what he didn’t say. He didn’t implicate a soul, leaving us to believe that Momma Mooneyham was brewing up EPO in her kitchen and he somehow smuggled it into the Postal bus. I have pretty steady hands, but I’ve never been able to put in a transfusion needle all by myself.
But what’s the point of naming names on Oprah’s couch, or even on her hotel room easy chair? It’s not sworn testimony, so all it would do is alert those involved to get their documents in order.
This is all a long, drawn out way of saying that non-contrite Armstrong might have accomplished exactly what he wanted out of the two day snore-fest. Call it a dog whistle, or the dog that didnt bark, or whatever. But by not saying much, he told USADA that they need to be the one offering something if they want to take this any further.
Ray i dont think you waste the gift. I do think that you in a way need to thank him because even if he is an illusion of strength that illusion was there for you.
As for the rest every story you read or film you go to will have those moments those choices. He made a choice way back, he spent a lot of time covering up that choice. We are all at all times doing some form of self preservation or something for the greater good. lance did both. So while being in an individual sport he made some choices that were for him. While many expected him to make any and all choices for the greater good. He did not make every choice for the greater good. Big deal. He recently made a choice to talks about it. Based on what I have read and I have heard NO WONDER HE lied you people are are really brutal. I think again he made a bad choice, If there was any light, any opening for the truth here. Any love Not at all! Time you all stand in the mirror and with a straight face tell yourself how perfect you are. How you have never made a mistake.
Over and Out My last post her Good luck to all of you
Everyone: I hate to have to keep doing it, but I need to remind those of you who wish to comment to keep your comments civil. I don’t want to have to throw anyone in moderation jail, but RKP is a place of polite discourse. If you can’t manage some decorum, we’ll cut you off.
LesB: Some riders who entered cycling due to Lance just because it was the latest hip sport du jour have been gone for years. Thankfully, plenty entered cycling due to Lance and became serious cyclists. The damage I was referring to (which was pretty clear, I think) was the loss of sponsorship. The exit of sponsors has hurt cycling teams, seen races canceled (consider the recent loss of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship) not to mention less television coverage here in the U.S. People I know who have been involved in sponsorship proposals have told me that every single “no” has been preceded by a discussion of doping scandals. Bottom line: There are promising cyclists around the world who are not employed as professional cyclists because of the Armstrong case. I think one of the more troubling aspects of this is that without sponsorship it’s going to be difficult to fund the testing that’s necessary to ensure cycling is as clean as possible. This is essentially the worst-case scenario I feared some months ago when I posted “Endgame.”
Hey Fatty love the name
I think maybe the tour wants to project a clean image. See the fallowing link. From early on and even into the 70′s smoking on the course was going on. And yes tobacco is on the list. So maybe the tour wants to project a clean image and thats what all this is about but that is not reality.
http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2011/1/7/smoking-and-cycling.html
Or
http://www.google.com/search?q=smoking+tour+de+france&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=13n_UJ6tLdHwigKx84CgBg&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=876&bih=865
@Andi – your words ring true to me and since you got so much negative feedback I wanted to say that some of us understand what you are saying. Let the self-righteous live in their world.
I choose not to judge Lance. For those saying that he single-handedly destroyed cycling, what are you thinking? For me, it was Floyd Landis that finally broke my passion for bicycle racing and in the end it was a good thing.
All pro sports have their dark underbelly and all have it exposed sooner or later. Forget about the TV, reading the magazine, or talking about pro sports. Go out and live life. Ride your bike. Enjoy yourself in that perfect bike riding moment. Buy someone you love something nice with the money you were going to spend on a pro sport item (cable, beer, magazine, plane ticket to somewhere, admission ticket, etc.). Spend that time being a better person.
I thank Floyd for giving me so much extra time in my life and saving me money on four different subscriptions and cable TV and on and on. He did me a favor. I can only hope that in the end, Lance can help his haters in some similar way.
I find it a bit contradictory that LA’s apologists seem to justify breaking the rules and using the idea that being ruthless and doing what it takes is justifiable:
“Ok 100% were not many were. As a competitor at that level he did what he thought the needed to. the truth is he did not get off the sofa one day after eating a xxl dominos and a pint of choclatchip and say I going to win the tour give me a magic pill.”
That’s nuts. It’s a sport, not war. Heck, we even have rules for war (Geneva convention). So if you think that “doing what you had to do” is justifiable then doping should be the least of the problems. How about buying a 1 million dollar victory? How about coercing other teams? How about being in the chop with authorities to get ideas on how to beat the dope-o-meter, and also rat on your opponents? Why stop there? Why not tacks behind the breakaway? Or poisoning their food?
Are those things justifiable? Is this why we watch any sport? Should runners “cleat” their opponents in the 1500 m race? Should boxers cheat making weight? Or having 500 cc motorbikes on a 250 cc race. Heck, if you like that “sport” maybe Cancellara should really get a motor on his bike. But in that case admiring Armstrong is selling yourself short, you should aim for someone like Madoff but without getting caught. He even donated to cancer research.
Sorry, to finish the thought: the contradiction I see in some Lance defenders is that they feel we can’t criticize the man unless we’re perfect ourselves. But that’s a criticism itself. And a fallacy. Should the only people to perform jury duty in an fraud be fraudsters?
I’m sure you agree that as people we aspire to and admire to be “better”: better partners, better parents, better workers, better cyclists. Truthful, humble in defeat and magnanimous in victory. Is it that hard to understand that most people don’t like embezzlers, liars and bullies? Even those that cheat don’t like being cheated. If everybody did, no human relationship would ever succeed.
http://www.facebook.com/greglemond = 20,000 likes
http://www.facebook.com/lancearmstrong = 2.4M likes
I just took care of one erroneous Like…
Gee, the Lance Lovers woke up! It took about 80 comments to get the Pro Lance dance to flow.
I have to admitt that I am somewhere in between. I understand Andi’s point. I enjoyed watching those Tours, too. I also think that out of a doped out peloton, Lance was the Tour de France monster. That was inspiring and fun to watch.
I did a season of Elite racing in Italy in ’91. I did some of the same races Lance did there. Even at Elite level, doping was everywhere, nobody was shy about it. Italians, colombians, Spanish, everyone spoke openly about it. Doping talk was as easy flowing as training talk. Everyone knew about drugs and ways to beat the dope controls.
However, I chose to not take anything illegal. I read the labels of every supplement I got, I was very careful about it. One of my teammates also just said no. I knew a couple Italians from other teams, an Argentinan, a Japanese guy who had a strong anti doping position and didn’t take anything.
None of us made it to professional. It was widely known that in Elite level, almost every rider was on something. In Pro level, there were no exceptions. The body of a professional belonged to the team and the sponsors, they did with it whatever it took to get the most out of it.
I am not sour about it, not at all. But what I mean is that even before Festina, Puerto, and the Lance haters, I knew that nobody in those TDF pelotons was riding on water, bread and fruit.
A few of the friends I made did get pro contracts, and I still stay in touch with a few. One of them retired just last year. For what they say, things didn’t get better over the years. So I was not surprised at all to see riders getting busted as the testing improved.
From my personal experience, I believe that back then, racing in the U.S. was generally much healthier than almost anywhere else. The U.S. amateur teams I met overseas seemed focused, disciplined, and I have no reason to think they were doping as the Europeans happily did.
However, when Lance started winning TDFs, I had a view that was opposite to most people. I knew he had to be on something like everyone else in that peloton, but… I had a small doubt: Is it possible that he is really clean? Now I know, but it is not like I was disappointed when The Lie started to crumble.
And this is where I am ambivalent. What he did was completely wrong. Not only he doped; he ruined people’s lives and he deserves everything that is coming his way, mostly because of that. I read Padraig’s open letter and my first thought was “Amen”.
But, you can’t deny that he was an exceptional athlete. VO2 is not everything, it is only one part of the equation. I know. I had the highest VO2 recorded at the Mexican Olympic Training Center until 1993, but that didn’t make me even close to Mexico’s greatest cyclists like Raul Alcala, Miguel Arroyo, Jose Perez Cuapio, or Belem Guerrero. I had a super VO2 but was just above-average cyclist. The opposite is also possible.
Armstrong and all those guys that were on EPO and transfusions still had to train, suffer, and race smart to be up there. I think Armstrong did it all better than the rest, but I wouldn’t single him out as “the” doper of his generation. It’s not like his opposition was on bread and water only.
He was the asshole and the symbol of corruption of his generation, though, and that’s why I think he deserves all the crap that is raining on him right now.
Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor to cycling legend to cancer of the cycling world. fate is clearly not without a sense of irony, no? the question now is, is there a cure for Armstrongitis…? apparently, even an interview with oprah wasn’t good enough to beat the sickness out of the past! that scares me a little…
Why do you want him to write checks to people who were doping? makes no sense…
It really is complicated. Sponsors haven’t fled from any other high profile sport due to widespread doping – nor has the public. Oh, people occasionally feign outrage over an athlete getting a positive test (or a felony conviction) but everyone accepts a multi-game “suspension” in every other sport (as evidenced by viewership) and welcomes back criminals with open arms – as long as they can contribute at the highest levels. To attribute sponsors leaving cycling over a retired athlete who used to dope is a stretch – and an easy excuse.
I do understand the temptation to get your licks in on the fallen bully – and from the sounds of it, Lance deserves some (all?) of that. It also sounds like those that have been wronged all waited in line for this day. I do, however, suspect his lifetime ban & stripping of titles has more to do with his approach over the years – and a desire to have a career-making name on the books – than what he did. The outrage at other cyclists who doped or other organized doping programs seems so trivial in comparison.
This does need to be reeled in and put into a bit of perspective, however. The pressure to dope & cheat goes on every day: when a high school or college coach tells his player he needs to “pack on the pounds and get a little quicker” or when a large financial firm systematically manipulates the libor, the impact is far greater, far more damaging than grown men who want to get paid to race a bike choose to dope (alone or under duress).
Rather than waiting for Lance to “tell all under oath”, the cycling community needs to continue to move forward.
Just a couple of points that come to mind on your attitude toward Lance:
“lengths you went to exert influence over not just your team, but the whole of the peloton included wire taps and private investigators”. And Greg LeMond tape at least one conversation with Betsy without her knowledge (so I read). So wants your point?
His so called friends went public and negative on a guy on his deathbed man! He owes them nothing in my opinion. I would ask respectfully that you get over it.
Jesus – All my pro road racing friends talk about what is out there. They know who is “prepared” for a race and those that are “well prepapred” as Miller puts it. It is no secret drugs are rampant in road racing as well as baseball, football etc.
The point you bring up that noone else mentions is that the training, the planning, surrounding yourself with the best team in the world is how Lance won. Drugs are in all the teams.
Lance was never “busted”, he was up-rooted by the people he trusted. They told the truth and he “couldn’t handle the truth”! So he lashed back. That is where my admiration for his accomplishments fades for me. He buried good people that spoke the truth. Now, he’ll pay. I’m sure Oprah paid him a big chunk of change to appear on her show. He’ll need it.
The field of cycling is never level; genetics, luck, willingness to suffer all play in making a winner. I can train as hard as I like, but there is a guy in our club that can train a fifth as much and ride me off his wheel any time he wishes. That is cycling. So even when drugs can be detected and the riders are “clean”, it will be an unfair sport. I say let them take whatever they want. Just have rules about manners, treating people politely while you ride them off your wheel.
PS – Greg most likely did not dope, but he does cry like a baby. Give me a doper that is polite like Indurian any day. There is a class act!
Patrick: I think you wrote a wonderful letter. What you suggest Lance Armstrong to do is the very minimal he could try to mitigate the enormous harm he caused. In addition to what you mentioned, he robbed every single cyclist of his generation of a fairer place in cycling, as well to all others who didn´t make it or retired because they didn´t want to be part of the doping culture he promoted.
I find amazing that some of the reader´s comments almost condone his actions. I guess we live in a society where the values you promote like honesty and respect for the moral and financial integrity of others have very little weight.
Wow. Lot’s of RKP hate, and just hate in general going on here. I’ve only heard rumors of Lemond doping – steroids – and from a source proven to be totally correct about doping in cycling during the LA years. Still, I try to look at proof go with that, which there wasn’t much of until LA’s fellow cyclists started opening up. Even so, I was on the fence until a preponderance of circumstantial and eye witness testimony turned the smoke into a fire for me. Until someone has proof of Lemond doping, I won’t consider it real. But is anyone here mentioning the Machiavellian problems with LA? It’s called Machiavellian because that Italian coined the phrase “then end justifies the means.” Lance followed that ruthlessly and did so without apparent remorse. If you’ve no problem with that, I think you have a big character flaw and I don’t want to know you in case you see profit in screwing me over. For some, that means he did what he had to. For others, there was a real value judgement he failed to make and therefore because less Machiavellian anti-hero but rather Shakespearean tragic villian. I’m glad, in a way, for the second outcome there. It’s not so much that he doped ’cause there were many who did (but not 100% – some were and are totally clean). No. It’s that he deliberately hurt people to get his way. If you can’t understand that, re-examine your philosophy of life.
To the Author:
Maybe you should check some of your facts before you write such idiocies.
Fact: Lance is not a nice guy. Many people at the top of their professions are also not nice people. They tend to be obsessive, overly driven Type A (hole) people that will stop at nothing to win. Welcome to the realities of life.
Fact: EVERY single grand champion of cycling has either been busted for doping, or suspected of doping. Spare me the “Greg was clean” BS too, because its highly unlikely, same for Big Mig. Take a look at who they raced against. Dopers all.
Fact: USADA paid off every doper that would testify against Lance with sweetheart “suspensions”. If that’s not cooking the books, nothing is. But by all means cheer for these snitch dopers when they throw a leg over their bikes this year.
Fact: Lance owes Betsy Andreu NOTHING. She and Frankie tried to blackmail Lance or a spot on his team and Lance said no. Tough luck. Why didn’t Frankie just go o another team? Oh because the great Lance Armstrong prevented it? Betsy Andreu is as big of a fraud as Lance. Spare me the crocodile tears. If Lance had hired Frankie we’d never have heard a peep out if Betsy. She needs to go away, she’s a disgrace.
Fact: The ex teammates of Lance that claim he “forced” them to dope all got busted AFTER they left his team. Am I to understand Lance made them dope on other teams as well? Grow up. They made their own choice to dope and kept doing so long after they left Lance.
Fact: cycling, sponsors, writers and people like you have all profited in one way, or another off the back of Lance. Spare me your tale of woe now.
Time to put your big boy pants on and get a clue. MOST top level pro athletes are cheating somehow. If you haven’t figured it out by now, well I am sorry to burst your bubble.
Lance owes you nothing. You just need to choose your role models more carefully. Take responsibility for yourself and leave others to do the same.
Pete: There’s no doubt that taping a phone call with someone without their knowledge is distasteful. I won’t argue that point. What I will say is that wire taps so that you can hear the contents of a conversation you weren’t party to or read an email you were not sent is in a different class altogether, and last I recall ranks as a felony. It’s a much more serious transgression. As to your assertion that Lance’s friends went public on him while he was on his deathbed, that’s wholly inaccurate. Neither Frankie nor Betsy said a word publicly of what they heard at the hospital until they were deposed in the SCA lawsuit some five or six years later. That is, once their backs were against the wall they reported what they heard him say. Their allegiance was to their sense of morality. Respectfully, that is.
Critracer: Your ability to conflate an accusation of doping with actual doping defies the most common of sense; your comment merits no further response.
@ Padraig;
Exactly how do I “conflate” an accusation of doping?
Perhaps you need to brush up on your cycling knowledge before you prove yourself to be ignorant of that which you speak.
Jacques Anquetil: admitted doper
Eddy Merckx: busted for doping 3x
Laurent Fignon: busted for doping
Pedro Delgado: busted for doping
Bjarne Riis: admitted to doping
Jan Ullrich: busted for drugs, suspected of doping
Marco Pantani: doped to the gills
Carlos Sastre: suspected of doping
Óscar Pereiro: (from Landis) suspected of doping
Alberto contador: busted for doping
Lance Armstrong: admitted doping
Yeah, I guess I am “conflating”.
Now as for Big Mig, the Badger and LeMond. Believe as you will. I guess they are the only ones who weren’t doping, right???
Come back to me when you have done your homework.
tl;dr the uci is at fault not lance
Sigh. Somewhere this went from thoughtful and informative to annoying. I know some of us need to emote about this, and I respect that. But these back and forth finger-pointing diatribes are not why I come to RPK. This low level of conversation has never been a hallmark of this site. Padraig, could you please close this thread?