I too think it was a good interview. A couple of details were new to me and it presented credible info to the masses who still do not believe systemic doping was prevalent in the pro ranks, and to an extent still is. Maybe people will now focus some of the doping attention on the DS's, coaches, soigneurs, UCI, WADA, and IOC insiders who are also dirty.

I wonder what Chris Carmichael will do now that his system has been exposed as inferior to Ferrari's?

I also think the relationship between Hincapie and LA is not as close as most believe. The broseph thing wore off some time ago.

Next on 60 Minutes: Pro Wrestling is not real...

They're all idiots. Rarely, if ever, do crimes this significant escape the notice of the world at large. I only hope future generations of cyclists and baseball players (and others) can learn from this.

at the end of the day if it means lance tweets less i'll call it fed money well spent

It appears that the statement issued by Hincapie denying the 60 Minutes allegations has not been read by this forum.

In response to the article, Hincapie said, "I have no idea where they got their information."

He added, "I can confirm to you I never spoke with '60 Minutes'."

60 Minutes is not a credible venue of journalism. They have been caught lying and editing footage and using suspect sources for their stories in the past.

On the other hand, Hincapie's statements do not mean he didn't testify that he and Lance doped; only that he did not talk to 60 Minutes. When Landis made allegations against Hincapie, George denied them.

The federal investigation is likely to continue for years with the prosecutor hoping to catch someone lying so they can bust them for perjury. That will most likely be the only outcome of this investigation. If somebody had real concrete evidence against Lance or George or anybody else, they would've have produced it by now.

(personally, I believe doping is rampant and that more testing and a lifetime ban for time offenders is needed. Watching Contador destroying his competitors in the Giro this year, I want to ask him how many steaks he ate the night before.)

George is not denying doping allegations. He is denying that any of the allegations came from him.

And Jim Och saying the allegations are "outrageous" is pure gold.

no one is claiming GH talked to 60 min.

60 min claims to have leaked info that GH's testimony include admissions and implication of LA.

no one except lances lawyers is currently disputing that much.

basically nobody thought twice about lying to the toothless CAS or WADA or the media or the public, but federal perjury charges have some weight so folks with more to lose from lying to protect the omerta are thinking twice whem they testify under oath.

It's sad that watching the Giro, everytime I see Contador consistantly blowing away all challengers, when I think what a great dominating cyclist he is, I get a nagging feeling that doping is involved. Going back, the same dominance was shown by Pantoni, when he blew away everyone in the mountains (only he was proven to have used drugs).

Is it greatness, or cheating? Sad that greatness now has to be questioned, thanks to doping.

Kind of like saying, sad that people have to die, thanks to guns. Greatness has to be questioned because these folks aren't truly great.

The damage done is not so much a product of the crime itself, but the doubt that it casts upon the entire sport. It goes to show that there isn't much integrity left in the sporting world. The rule seems to be "Well, everyone else is doing it." Like our moms said, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, does that mean you should?"

These guys dope to keep up with other dopers and not get left in the dust. How they could not see the eventual outcome is tragic.

just seems to me that doping at that level is a sadly foregone conclusion.

what has long nagged at me is the ruthlessness and arrogance with which lance smeared people who tried to speak out. people who it turns out in many cases were introduced to doping by LA himself

imagine youre a young pro and you get invited to ride with USPS and you show up for camp and get a bag from the team doc and an assurance from him and the whole team management that they know what theyre doing and they can protect you and its the only way you can win...

so you trust them, and it works for a while, and it works for everybody else, and you do win and then something goes wrong and you get nailed, and it feels totally unfair cuz you were jsut doign what you were told, except now lance has distanced himself from you, cuz you are a threat to his PR machine, so youre on your own, trying to protect your livelihood, and not be publically shamed for following orders, so you hire lawyers to grasp at straws with outlandish stories and everyone laughs at them and you lose everything. Meanwhile lance gets fatter and richer, and youve become a punchline, until you cant stand it anymore and you have to expose the lie you've been protecting at the expense of your own career and livelihood and self respect, our youre thretened with felony charges if you continue to lie so you speak up... and then you get called a liar again. and not just called a liar, but lances PR machine spends vast amounts of money trying to discredit you and destroy your credibilty as a person. cuz youre a threat to the empire.

i'm not saying theres any heroes here, but when i look at the likelihood of the two possible scenarios, the one i outlined vs "bitter cheaters taking potshots at the champ", the former sounds a lot more plausible to me.

If you watched the "60 Minutes" episode, you would have heard them state that GH did *not* talk to them.

When did Pcad become a lawyer???

+1

also blaming the prosecutors/investigators for ruining livestrong is pretty rich.

its like blaming the woodward and bernstein for undermining american faith in the presidency

The sense I got is that he didn't really care about being caught, or at least implicated, he cared more about looking like a rat. IMO, he blames the Feds for making him admit his own failures. It's all he could to do answer truthfully because any evidence if untruth coming from his lips nullifies his limited immunity. The reason the Feds are even involved is because they got a prenup of sorts from the team before agreeing to sponsor them. No doping. The fact that doping on USPS is a foregone conclusion means someone lied to the Feds. They have every right to prosecute to the full extent of the law.

In the future, don't lie to the Feds.

i find that to be a pretty useful philosophy in my own life too.

ditto!!

How about just don't lie. Period. You know, that whole morality/integrity/honesty thing.

Gws ^^^^

What I find it amazing is how fans all want cycling cleaned up and yet go to amazing lengths to defend their heroes.

Tyler's testimony backs up what Landis said about a biased UCI giving preferential treatment to some athletes. Now there is an allegation that a positive test has been hidden. Instead of an uproar over this, instead of a rising tide of opinion against that corrupt bureaucrat, McQuaid, people want to bury the truth.

Why? Because of something completely unrelated to cycling (Livestrong) And because hero worship is putting blinders on the ability of people to think rationally.

And so we get all sorts of reasons by St Lance should be exempt from being held to the same standards as everyone else.

I got one thing to say: f**k all you hypocritical a$$holes that are willing to let your fanboi hero-worship come in the way of critical thinking.

Livestrong has nothing to do with cycling. If you are going to use that as a reason to exempt St Lance from whatever happens, then give Landis his win back -he was nice to his grandparents. Or dismiss the case against Contador - he's very classy in supporting his team-mates. What, you say? Those arent enough reasons to exempt them? In that case, please define how much philanthropy enables an athlete for special treatment.

Rules are rules. If Lance doped, then the facts should emerge. It shouldnt be hidden just b/c this is St Lance we are talking about and poor fanboi sheeple lose their idol or are afraid of the consequences.

Sometimes, taking down the Colossus could be what is needed to instil large-scale change. In this case, that starts with UCI. I so wish the teams would leave and start a breakaway league of their own.

well said.

i just have a really hard time with the line people are spouting that his behavior should slide because of his good works and the suggestion that the investigators are destroying livestrong and undermining the fight on cancer.

People who hold themselves up as paragons of virtue and character, and market that character to raise money really ought to be held to a higher moral standard, not a lower one. Building a sustainable perpetual charity on a lie is a dangerous and irresponsible enterprise. and using that empire to arrogantly destroy people who try to tell the truth is deplorable.

Lance undermined livestrong. not the investigators.

There are a lot of bigger, more important wastes of tax dollars going on out there, so why complain about this one?

And to make it clear - I don't think they should take away his TdF titles or anything. I don't care about the punitive aspects. I'd just like the truth to emerge.

If Lance is innocent, I'd like to know.

If he is guilty and has built himself into a hero by using his cancer as a cloak, and at the same time ruthlessly ruined the reputation of others, I'd like to know.

Trying to hide the truth b/c of Livestrong, etc is BS. We are adults and don't need coddling from the truth. To me, all those reasons are justifications of people who are really motivated by one thing only: blind love for Lance, which MAY have been built on a foundation of lies. If you guys are afraid to deal with it, that's your problem.