The fact that Lance Armstrong is being hit by more doping allegations should not really shock anyone. I have never been on the Lance Armstrong bandwagon, so it is difficult for me to imagine what people see in him. What really amazes me is the number of people who just refuse to believe that he could be doping, even though he is extremely dominant in a sport that I believe is rife with this sort of cheating.
Personally, I like what Greg LeMond has said about Lance in the past. Specifically: "Lance is ready to do anything to keep his secret. I don't know how he can continue to convince everybody of his innocence." You could claim that LeMond is just speaking out of jealousy. However, I don't think that is the case. I think he is speaking out of personal knowledge.
6 comments:
Ken,
I have long wondered if there was something in his cancer treatment protocol that altered his system in such a way as to make him such a powerhouse on two wheels... in which case, the question then becomes a whole other one -- can a competitor gain a competitive advantage by taking a substance that, without which, his/her life would end?
Bob,
That is an interesting question, though I believe he was pretty dominant even before the cancer treatment (at least I think he was, but don't recall now...)
OTOH, I have often wondered if his cancer was not the result of taking performance enhancing drugs. IIRC, it is one of the risks with certain classes of performance enhancers.
I'm late to this party :)
Some quick facts.
He was good (sometimes great) "one day" racer before the cancer, but due to a childhood spent doing triathelons, he carried too much upperbody muscle to do well in "stage races" that last up to 3 weeks, like the 3 "Grand Tours" (Tours de France, Italy, and Spain). Too much climbing, and carrying that extra muscle over the climbs.
The cancer wasted him down, and he never rebuilt the upperbody muscle, but rebuilt the lower body. Same power, less mass, much better climber, and suddenly he was a grand tour rider. Miquel "Big Mig" Indurain, another 5 time winner, had been on him for years to slim down before the cancer did it for him. He actually didn't add any additional power (measured in watts) after the cancer.
He is the most tested athelete in the world, bar none (no one else is really close), and has never tested positive for a perfomance enhancing drug.
A leading scientist for the World Doping Authority, when told about the recent release of the French "testing", basically laughed, and took their protocols (or more accurately, complete lack thereof) to task. Also, she noted that EPO (the substance claimed to be found) degrades beyond recognition even in frozen samples in half the time that the sample was held.
Lance is a complete freak of nature, with some silly genetic advantages that mean if he isn't carrying that extra weight, and he is training regularly and well (something his team does better than any other team in the world), he has a huge advantage before the first pedal is turned. Notably, his heart is immense, and moves more blood (I think I heard 30 percent more?). He resistance to the pain of lactic acid has also been tested very high. He won the genetic lottery.
Them was facts. Now some opinion :)
The French press is very protective of "Their Race." Any foriegn winners come under immediate and constant attack. Especially as no Frenchman has won since Hinault back in the 80's.
My opinion is that LeMond is jealous, but I'm very uniformed. I like LeMond, and I'm sure that he's thinking that if looks like a duck it is probably a duck. All he does is insinuate, which I don't like, but hey, he is more entitled to an opinion than I.
Was his cancer the result of performance enhancing drugs? Interesting question. My opinion is that he would have gotten caught, like most of them. Again, just an opinion.
At the end of the day, I just don't think he could have gotten through the net of testing, and never pegged. Remember, they used the real test starting 4 years ago that they then went back and applied to the frozen samples from previous years. During that time he never tested positive (and was drug tested essentially every day during the 23 days of the tour, and 10-20 times a year besides that).
Is he really that smart? Have you heard the man? I admit I like him, but just don't think he could have gotten away with it.
I'm sure that he's thinking that if looks like a duck it is probably a duck
Which is pretty much the way I look at it, though I am no expert, and don't follow the sport at all...
The one thing I will say in Lance's defense, though (which I forgot in my original post), is that regardless of what becomes of this, it sure has been nice to see an American stick to the French for so many years... :)
Aw, what happened to innocent until proven guilty :)
I think the French press may have just done the one thing that could have made him "unretire."
Lance knows that nothing will piss the French off more than winning "their race" for another year.
In fact, from Lance's website:
by Mark Higgins, CSE:
We have been getting a lot of calls on the Lance comments from today's Austin American Statesman.
Here is a statement from Lance regarding his career:
"While I'm absolutely enjoying my time as a retired athlete with Sheryl and the kids, the recent smear campaign out of France has awoken my competitive side. I'm not willing to put a percentage on the chances but I will no longer rule it out..."
Aw, what happened to innocent until proven guilty :)
That doesn't apply in the court of public opinion. If it did, we couldn't talk about much... :)
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