BlazingPedals

This seems to say he's not apologizing; he's just confessing for damage control. Lance being Lance, nobody should expect him to be completely honest. He is still spinning everything to his favor and not admitting to anything he doesn't have to.

oldbobcat

The average income for pro cyclists is not high enough to be a sensible factor in choosing a career. Most riders would have been better off going to college or starting an apprenticeship. Cyclists make the choice out of passion for what they're doing. They make the choice to dope because they're already committed to the sport and it becomes necessary for them to continue being competitive. Read Tyler Hamilton's book.

GeorgeBMac

Good points...

But, just like college sports -- just because the players don't make much money (or any money), doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of money involved.

Also, as you point out, there is more than just monetary pressure involved in giving players an incentive to dope.

It is when the incentives (whether monetary or otherwise) become stronger than the ethics that people start pushing and crossing the boundaries of the ethics.

In college athletics, the schools depend on alumni contributions. To keep those contributions going they use sports to provide pride and emotional involvement with the school. And, to make that work, the athletes are pushed and incentivized to be ever more capable...
... The players don't make (much) money. But big money is very much a part of the system and pushing the players to dope.

Wogster

It's simple in cycling, how many bikes do you think Trek sells, when the winner of the TdF is on a Trek bike?

Cyclists don't draw big salaries, but winners do get endorsement deals, and those can be worth a truck load of cash, especially ones that are not cycling related. Think the WWE wrestler who got his picture on the box of Pebbles, didn't get a nice big fat payment for his image? Think that it would be different if it had been Armstrong, in his glory days. Not such a big deal for cycling in North America, but if the winner is European I expect it could be millions.

oilman_15106

Why so harsh, the other dopers only got a 6 month suspension. USADA is the real hypocrite in my book.

Steve B.

As has been discussed ad nauseum and according to the USADA, many of the team members of LA during the Postal and Discovery years agreed to testify about the doping under oath to the USADA as they were investigating LA as well as the overall usage of PED's among American cyclists during this period. That willingness to testify puts these riders in a different category then LA, who has refused to testify, filed lawsuit against the USADA as well as essentially call the USADA liars in the press about his purported PED usage. The report of the USADA also indicated that they consider LA to be essentially the ringleader, so to speak, and as such view him with much greater concern then the other riders, thus the harshness of the ban.

That all changed on Oprah and essentially what LA admitted to on Oprah was that the USADA was pretty much dead on accurate in the report. Thus they hold all the cards as to his ban time frame.

The USADA has indicated that they want LA to testify under oath as to his usage, his methods and about everyone who he knows used PED's during that period. They have not really indicated that they would consider a reduction in the lifetime ban, but essentially said "come and tell us EVERYTHING you know, and we'll decide if that amount of EVERYTHING is good enough. Then we'll decide if we'll reduce the ban, no guarantees".

He has not come to an agreement about this and has indicated he would rather testify in front of an investigation by the WADA as well as the UCI as to the endemic problem within the entire peloton during this period.

There's a lot of bad blood between LA and the USADA and it's doubtful that tactic will work.

mprelaw

Because he was offered the same deal--6 month suspension and loss of results within the usual 8 year statute of limitations, which would have resulted in him keeping 5 TdF titles, both WCs and his bronze medal from Sydney. Everything prior to 2004. He decided to try to block USADA in court, lost that fight, decided not to take it to an arbitration that would have afforded at least the opportunity to question the other dopers, and then launched a public smear campaign against USADA. He thought that he could win the PR war. Gambled and lost. He could have stayed tied in the record books with Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain, if he took the deal and admitted doping in August.