Lance Armstrong won't fight doping charges; loses titles

BobG

Quote by Astronuc

Was Armstrong not properly tested? If he did use doping, how was it that he didn't fail subsequent tests?

The drug test procedures aren't secret. In effect, they establish the limits on how much a rider can dope and the types of drugs/procedures they can use without failing the tests. For high profile riders that can afford the best procedures, those procedures should provide 100% certainty that they'll always pass a drug test. Except no one can achieve 100% success forever. Eventually, someone always gets caught and, presumably, a long enough career and everyone is sure to get caught at least once.

From Bernard Kohl, who was caught doping after his third place finish in the 2008 Tour: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kohl...about-doping-1

“I was tested 200 times during my career, and 100 times I had drugs in my body,” he said, according to the New York Times. “I was caught, but 99 other times, I wasn’t. Riders think they can get away with doping because most of the time they do. Even if there is a new test for blood doping, I’m not even sure it will scare riders into stopping. The problem is just that bad.”

The younger, anonymous riders are probably clean - simply because they can't afford the procedures used by the top riders. Once the riders have established their careers and can afford the more expensive procedures, they usually use them.

Astronuc

Stories still coming out about Armstrong and his associates.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/sp...tual-fall.html

Astronuc

Lance Armstrong's doping admission: Questions Oprah should have asked
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/questio...230849439.html

Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey during an interview Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, according to the Associated Press.

Dozens of former teammates, support staff and competitors already have detailed Armstrong's use. The United States Anti-Doping Agency released a 1,000-page report that was staggering in its detail proving it. There have been books and investigative reports and on-the-record accusations. Armstrong has been stripped of his titles, dumped by most of his sponsors and banned from competition.
. . . .

*ImaLooser*

Quote by turbo

Sad. He apparently never failed a doping test. Was he hounded out of his sport? I hope not, though much of this stuff goes on "behind the scenes".

He used EPO, which is natural and always present in the body. So as long as you stay inside of a reasonable range then you will pass the test.

Many very close associates testified against him.

BobG

Drugs are such a big part of sports that it's hard to know how to handle doping charges.

Did Armstrong really gain an unfair advantage over his competitors in the races that he won? Or are drugs so deeply ingrained in the sport that competitors won't stop using drugs unless they're absolutely sure their opponents will?

And, if the latter, stripping Armstrong of 7 titles could go a long way to making drugs the exception rather than the rule.

Pro cycling isn't the only sport plagued by drug use.

The 1988 Olympic 100 meter finals was a pretty good example of how prevalent drugs are in track. Of the 8 competitors in that race, 5 tested positive sometime in their careers (and Ben Johnson in that particular race). And of the 3 that never tested positive as an athlete, one (Ray Stewart) was later banned as a coach for helping his athletes dope for races.

And this year, baseball had no one voted into the Hall of Fame because most of the top candidates all used drugs during their career.

Greg Bernhardt

Quote by BobG

And this year, baseball had no one voted into the Hall of Fame because most of the top candidates all used drugs during their career.

Maybe it's worth freezing all the old records/halls and then open a new record book for the current generation to compete against.

lisab

Quote by ImaLooser

Many very close associates testified against him.

Seems he was more feared than respected:

"He was Tony Soprano," author Dan Coyle, who wrote a book about Armstrong, told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "When you crossed him, he cut you dead. You were gone. The question is, is he going to apologize to the people he hurt along the way? "

Former Armstrong teammate Frankie Andreu also talked about Armstrong's wrath.

"Anybody that crossed his path or didn't go along with his plan, he set out to take them down. And he was very powerful and influential and did take them down," Andreu told ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd on Tuesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/us/arm...html?hpt=hp_c1

He sounds like a first-class jerk to me.

fourier jr

spiegel has a couple good stories about this. here's some stuff that caught my eye:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-877550.html

(p.1)

Armstrong benefited from the lax doping tests. Furthermore, he participated in a limited number of races, focusing primarily on the Tour de France, which significantly reduced the number of tests he was exposed to. The UCI also largely spared the pro cyclists unannounced tests during training. The risk of being taken by surprise somewhere was close to zero.

His team also refined its warning system. During the Tour, two observers would sit at the windows in the hotel and would notify the team members when testers turned up. The riders also trusted their crafty team director Johan Bruyneel, who often knew hours or even days in advance when testers were going to appear. No one knew where Bruyneel was getting his tips.

If there was any trouble, if something did go wrong, the boss took care of it. In 2001, a blood test taken from Armstrong during the Tour de Suisse revealed suspicious results, a clear sign for doping analysts. But there was no official investigation. Soon afterwards, Armstrong donated $25,000 to the UCI, and later another $100,000, allegedly to support its efforts to fight doping. To ensure that no one would hit upon the idea that Armstrong was trying to bribe the officials, UCI honorary President Hein Verbruggen said in 2011: "Lance Armstrong has never used doping. Never, never, never. I say this not because I am a friend of his, because that is not true. I say it because I'm sure." Verbruggen has since denied having made the statement, though it was widely reported at the time.

Betsy's father, a man who had been bitterly poor before emigrating to the US from Yugoslavia, was adamant that his daughter should not sully the reputation of an American hero. Frankie's father was also concerned and asked them to find a way to get around testifying. The Andreus were shocked to realize that their parents were trying to encourage them to lie or keep quiet.

(p.2)

A conference on fighting cancer was scheduled for July 2008 in Austin, and Armstrong wanted then Senator Barack Obama as his star guest. But Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate at the time, was on his campaign tour through Europe and had no time for Armstrong's event. Armstrong was furious and called Obama's fellow Democrat, Senator John Kerry, threatening to turn the members of his foundation against Obama. He had become so overcome by hubris that he no longer took no for an answer.

When a doping control officer with the French anti-doping agency came to his villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat to collect urine, blood, fingernail and hair samples, Armstrong had him wait outside for 20 minutes. It was a violation of the rules, because Armstrong was required to remain under supervision once the testers arrived. But there were no consequences. Instead, UCI President Pat McQuaid criticized the French action, calling it "not very professional."

Armstrong came in third in the Tour that year. Many in cycling were pleased to have their superstar back. Doors were flung open for him everywhere he went. French President Nicolas Sarkozy received Armstrong at the Elysée Palace in July 2010. Soon afterwards, the budget of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory in Paris was cut in half. Its director Pierre Bordry, who had ordered strict testing of the pro cyclists during the Tour, resigned in frustration. Armstrong despised Bordry.

"Au revoir Pierre", he tweeted.

US federal authorities investigated Armstrong and his former racing team for almost two years. They suspected the team of having misused taxpayer money for doping purposes, because the US Postal Service, the team sponsor for many years, is a US government agency. On Feb. 3, 2012, a district attorney in California terminated the investigation, but without stating any reasons.

It looked like a big win for Armstrong. "Our legal system has failed," Betsy Andreu said angrily. "That's what happens when someone can afford attorneys with connections at the very top of the Justice Department."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-877960.html

dick pound of wada also says cycling could even get completely dropped from the olympic programme if it doesn't clean itself up. that's a pretty big stick but it seems they have it coming:

*nanosiborg*

Quote by Astronuc

Lance Armstrong's doping admission: Questions Oprah should have asked
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/questio...230849439.html

Good essay. I doubt that Oprah asked any of the hard questions.

fourier jr

the sunday times had an ad in the chicago tribune where they had some questions of their own:

http://deadspin.com/5975562/the-sund...nswer-on-oprah

Evo

What a scum bag.

BobG

Quote by Evo

What a scum bag.

Who's a scum bag? Lance Armstrong, David Walsh, or (gulp) me?

Jimmy Snyder

I believe she was referring to me. Maybe not, but my wife was when she found out I was using performance enhancing drugs.

Evo

Quote by BobG

Who's a scum bag? Lance Armstrong, David Walsh, or (gulp) me?

lol. Lance Armstrong.

Jorriss

Quote by Jimmy Snyder

I believe she was referring to me. Maybe not, but my wife was when she found out I was using performance enhancing drugs.

Well played.

russ_watters

Quote by Jimmy Snyder

I believe she was referring to me. Maybe not, but my wife was when she found out I was using performance enhancing drugs.

Not sure I'd admit to that.

OMGCarlos

It would be impossible, literally impossible, for the human body to train as hard and as long as the top tier athletes do, to include Armstrong, in any sport without some sort of performance enhancement. Fact.

Your body can only process so many nutrients per hour and your muscles can recover only so fast. Even with a "perfect" diet, supplementation and supreme genetics training hard for 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week, for years, will cause you to overtrain.

Supplementation (legal) helps you inch your way closer to the limits. For example, drinking down 200g of whey protein means you don't have to eat 10lbs of meat. Other supplements essential for training come naturally in such small quantities that it would be impossible to compete even at the amateur level without them. Multi-vitamins anyone?

Also, doping doesn't necessarily mean steroids as people I talk to sometimes think...it just refers to illegally using prescription drugs *OR* drugs banned in sports. What's the difference between a drug and a sports supplement?

Walk into GNC or other vitamin/nutrition stores and you'll find plenty of supplements bordering in the "gray area", stating plainly on the label "Taking this dietary supplement may cause you to fail X test" - and yet those aren't illegal to purchase, just banned from said test/sport.

I agree that his title should be stripped - he broke the rules and he got caught...he was stupid. But the sheer will and determination required to be at the level he is at, with or without banned supplements, is ridiculously ridiculous.

[edit]
Also, I'd like to point out...regardless of whether he doped or not, the money he has raised for cancer over the years STILL DID go for the cause. Millions of dollars that would not have otherwise been raised. What does it really matter if he doped in a sport where doping is expected?!

Similar Threads for: Lance Armstrong won't fight doping charges; loses titles
Thread	Forum	Replies
dependency theory using Armstrong's Axioms	Engineering, Comp Sci, & Technology Homework	0
kinematics: the race that Lance could now win	Introductory Physics Homework	5
Armstrong reportedly tested positive for EPO	General Discussion	6
Force of a charging lance?	Classical Physics	4

Astronuc Admin	Stories still coming out about Armstrong and his associates. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/sp...tual-fall.html

fourier jr	the sunday times had an ad in the chicago tribune where they had some questions of their own: http://deadspin.com/5975562/the-sund...nswer-on-oprah

Jimmy Snyder Blog Entries: 1 Recognitions: Gold Member	I believe she was referring to me. Maybe not, but my wife was when she found out I was using performance enhancing drugs.