genec

OK but if stripping him is the right thing to do, then so is stripping the rest of the pack of any potential gains they may have gotten or will get out of this or by their confessions.

The playing field has to be leveled, be it they all dope or no one does. And right now the history is rife with dirty players.

It should be as simple as those 7 TDFs are now all blank in the history book of TDF.

starjag

I don't think we'll hear a confession!

calamarichris

Have to admit; takes a lot of ball to come clean like this.

Altair 4

I'll be here all week. Ask your waiter about the "Rocky Mountain Oysters." Mmm-mmmm good!

Greg_R

Sounds like the confession is on tape (Oprah show leak):

https://espn.go.com/sports/endurance/...ey-report-says

TomM

And now the government may help to recover that money.

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...LEFTTopStories

Homebrew01

Homebrew01

No kidding. I think Lance could confess, explain every single thing he did, and some fans would argue with him that he's wrong, passed all the tests, bitter rivals ... blah blah.

mprelaw

Based on some of the posts I've read so far, that's gonna go over a lot of heads.

Olden Crow

Try to hit the guy in blue glasses.

He counts 1000 points as it is the only drug free podium square!

Caretaker

I think we will.

I don't think we'll hear contrition.

Olden Crow

Maybe everyone in the audience gets a LA bicycle?
LA bobblehead?
LA chain?
LA dinger bell?

Bacciagalupe

NY Times claims that Lance will squeal on McQuaid, Verbruggen and owners of US Postal team, and pay millions in fines, in exchange for being allowed to compete again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/sp...s.html?hp&_r=0

The article doesn't say it, but I assume Brunyeel is on the hit list as well.

hamster

Yes, but why 7? Do you think that the sport magically cleaned itself up the moment LA retired?

Each yer between 2006 and 2010, there was at least one, sometimes two known dopers on the pedestal of TdF. Winners of 2006 and 2010 Tours were later stripped of their titles. The winner of 2007 and 2009 TdF was found guilty of doping a few years later. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, third-place finishers were stripped of titles. The only guy who consistently hung near the top but never really accused of anything was Cadel Evans. These latest developments make me extra skeptical of any stories about a "clean guy successfully competing and beating dirty guys".

The correct thing to do now is for the UCI to announce an immediate suspension of all sanctioned events; to wait for the proceedings against Armstrong & co. to play out; and then to do a complete overhaul of the way doping controls are done, taking into consideration all its numerous failures that led to this dismal state of affairs.

Hey, maybe they can hire Armstrong as an advisor. By the time the dust settles, he'll be completely wiped out (as in, broke, bankrupt, and living in a cardboard box under the bridge), and he'll need a source of income.

merlinextraligh

WSJ article this morning indicated that his attempt to get USADA to reduce his ban didn't go well. Armstrong reportedly met with Tygart, seeking a reduction in the ban in exchange for coming clean. Tygart said the the best he could do was 8 years. Armstrong left the meeting cursing at Tygart.

It takes incredible hubris (but apparently only one ball) to go to Tygart, and expect to get some leniancy. 6 months ago, Armstrong was personally attacking Tygart, suing USADA, and blowing off USADA's overtures to negotiate a deal with USADA where Armstrong would have rolled for a lighter sentence.

Armstrong doesnt' even return USADA's calls before the arbitration. Now that he's lost, and has no other option, he comes hat in hand.

merlinextraligh

I'm not so naive as to think Cycling magically became clean in 2006. I do believe that PED's have less influence on the outcome of races in 2012 than it did in the first half of the previous decade. When there wasn't an effective test for EPO, and riders could use substantial quantities of EPO, it was difficult to compete against that clean.

With a more effective EPO test, stepped up out of competition testing, and the biological passport, it's harder to use EPO in such quantities, without detection, to give a big enough advanatage that it is effectively impossible to compete clean.

So is cycling clean today? Of course not. Has the culture, the enforcement, and the incentives, changed to the point that more riders are competing clean? I hope so.

RedHerring

Because LeMond is a nut and probably doped himself.

ILClyde

Phil Liggett was unavailable for comment . . .

bikepro

I think Brunyeel will change his mind and forego arbitration. From what I hear, Lance won't turn on any riders -- I put Brunyeel in that group. He's a "small catch" compared to McQuaid, and the other at the very top.

tctdvm

Saying "everyone doped, LA was the best doper" is like saying "everyone Tax evades, Al Capone was just the best at it."

He's coming clean because he's attempting to avoid the real charges: An organized crime syndicate that was involved in conspiracy, racketeering, coercion, assault...

This so much deeper than a guy taking a pill, it's baffling that anyone could even remotely compare him to other dopers.
The other dopers were convicted and served their time. If it is proven that they were doping during a specific event, then they have already been disqualified.

"Yeah, Al Capone was a Mob Boss, but I really think he did more for our local business development than anyone else has up till now. He really took crime off the streets"

seriously. wake up.

He threatened people's wives.

I can forgive him for doping. We're WAY deeper than that.

T

merlinextraligh

Uhm, no. The Feds already dropped criminal charges, so he doesn't really have much, if any exposure there. And in that regard he's simply better off keeping his mouth shut.

He's doing it with the hope of: 1) getting the lifetime ban lifted, so he can compete in sanctioned triathlons ( and get endorsements again);

2) ressurecting his public image, to a) get public admoration, and b) potential endorsement deals, and

3) get back in the good graces of his foundation, and make money off that again ( the commercial side of Livestrong made money for Armstrong.)

This all about Armstrong's desire for money, fame, and adoration.

Otherwise, he could simply ride off into the sunset, clutching the money he's already got.

Jed19

I bet a whole lot of people (Hein, McQuaid, Wiesel etc) did not sleep well last night. If LA decides to tell the truth, and nothing but the whole truth, watch out.

Man, this is gonna get more ugly!

Rowan

Armstrong has lost control of the situation, control that he wielded throughout his career.

The control was lost when USADA pressed ahead with its investigations and report, and Armstrong withdrew entirely from any challenge. That might have been his tactical mistake in all this.

Going cap-in-hand to Tygart and USADA would have been so foreign to Armstrong's character, that it is little wonder he left any meeting cursing.

The Soap Oprah "confession", which as some point out is useless unless it is under oath, is a rearguard action. It won't wrest control of the circumstances back to Armstrong.

Rather, I think the whole thing has the potential to spiral way further out of control for him, with consequences that he and his team might have foreseen, but have been too arrogant to understand might become reality.

calamarichris

I just hope the yellow bracelet brigade who uniformly slammed Lemond (The Only American to Have Ever Won the Tour) take a sharp hit on the Ebay resale of their Treks before they go sully some other sport.

He may not have introduced doping to cycling, but he sure brought a lot of dopes into our midst.

karjak

Like a lot of folks, I pretty much always accepted the fact that he was a doper and has been lying about his involvement. Have some friends who have had a chance to ride with him at a publicity ride and who have worn the Livestrong jersey proudly. My son also rode next to him when he came to Sioux Falls to promote Livestrong.

My opinion pretty much corresponds to what Stephan A. Smith said on First Take this morning. Will be interesting to see the Oprah interview in the future. My predjudiced feeling is that it's basically a highly calculated decision made for PR, and might have only been done as a last resort to lessen the damage of further legal actions. Hearing Oprah's statement that "he came Prepared" makes me think this interview is largely self-serving. Have to wait and see.

Lots of dedicated people associated with Livestrong. Truly a shame. A couple of links for anyone interested in more background.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/sp...anted=all&_r=0

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor....html?page=all