Lance Armstrong accepts lifetime ban, loss of Tour de France

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The Chief

climber
Climber from the Land Mongols under the Whites
Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 23, 2012 - 10:08pm PT
Chaz

Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:10pm PT
Does this mean they give him his cancer back too?
skywalker

climber
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:12pm PT
Bummer,

Was a hero to many many people even beyond cycling.

S...
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:16pm PT
Whatever...!
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:17pm PT
Lance didn't really dope....Common sense tells me so...RJ
jmap

Social climber
NC
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:18pm PT
What a total crock of sh#t. There's not a clean cyclist in the peloton.

Sonic

Trad climber
Boulder, CO
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:19pm PT
Still would be hard to win a tour de France with doping.
mitchy

Trad climber
new england
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:22pm PT
So the cat is getting rail roaded, and is sick of the BS.
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:28pm PT
Chief...There is no such thing as doping...Doping is a cyclical thing....RJ
Srbphoto

climber
Kennewick wa
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:30pm PT
Armstrong does not recognize agency's right to ban him
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lance-armstrongs-full-statement-on-usada



Statement by Lance Armstrong

There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense. I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA's charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA's motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.

If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and - once and for all - put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?

From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA's improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA's own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers' expense.

For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today. The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It's an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It's just not right.

USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.

Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:31pm PT
What a f*#king joke. It's like giveing sport climbers sh#t for pre hung draws.... i bet there was nobody in the top 20 that was not dopeing.........
Srbphoto

climber
Kennewick wa
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:36pm PT
I bet there are some of those TDFs that at least the top 5 have been accused of doping. I do know that the yellow jersey for the 2004 TDF will be given to Roberto Albertini. He crashed out during the prologue. Since he never finished a stage he never was tested. Now he is a TDF Champion!!!


VIVA Albertini!!!!!!!
pazzo

climber
Vancouver BC
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:36pm PT
If they all dope then who cares. It’s fair right?
Anastasia

climber
InLOVEwithAris.
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:41pm PT
Why do they need to break down everything, make such a stink that we can't have heroes anymore? If he passed then, why does he have to keep dealing with the questions years later? It doesn't feel right, or fair...
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:42pm PT
That is so fckin weak.. give it to the only guy we didn't catch dopeing and we only did not catch him because he did not finish.........
climbski2

Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:46pm PT
I've seen no proof that he doped. I have no idea if he did or not. It is clear that Millions of dollars have been spent trying to discredit him.. but still no PROOF?

Odd isn't it.

Without PROOF, he is innocent.

That is all.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Aug 23, 2012 - 10:57pm PT
So, chiefman, why do have such a hard-on for this? He doped? He didn't dope? What knowledge do you actually have? Seems you just get a giant boner at the thought of pushing some hero off a pedestal.

Suppose he did dope. Strip him of his titles, and...

...and what? Award the win to whatever doper placed second?

And don't tell me that all those guys that placed second were clean when the guy that placed first wasn't. You've got no more clue about that than about whether or not Armstrong doped.

Or do you? Do you have all the evidence, but somehow were just too busy to bring it to the cycling authorities?

Who gives a flying f*#k? The guy, doper or not, was a better cyclist than all the other dopers he raced against, and also did something none of them did -- raised half a billion for cancer research.
Matt

Trad climber
it's all turtles, all the way dooowwwwwnn!!!!!
Aug 23, 2012 - 11:00pm PT
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/judge-issues-stinging-criticism-of-usada-in-armstrong-case

interesting angle on the mess
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Aug 23, 2012 - 11:06pm PT
Bingo!
heck there were losers dopeing in our gym who had never won anything significant and you know damn well all the top guys wrer doing the same crap X10. BFD
Kalimon

Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
Aug 23, 2012 - 11:07pm PT
Hey The Chief . . . you are the f*#king pathetic loser. What have you dedicated you efforts to, besides being a willy waver?
Messages 1 - 20 of total 798 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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