Wiggins dug deep and hung on to Paris. He had finished his first Tour in 124th place — three hours and 24 minutes behind the winner, Floyd Landis — and celebrated that evening with his wife, Cath, happy and proud to have survived.
But three days later, his joy was tarnished when it was announced that Landis had tested positive. In his autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory, Wiggins records the moment vividly:
‘I felt physically sick when I heard the news. My first reaction was purely selfish and related only to me. “You b****** Landis,” I thought. “You have completely ruined my own small achievement of getting around the Tour de France and being a small part of cycling history. You and guys like you are p***ing on my sport and my dreams.
Why do guys like you keep cheating? How many of you are out there, taking the p*** and getting away with it? Sod you all. You are a bunch of cheating b******* and I hope one day they catch the lot of you and ban you all for life. You can keep doing it your way and I will keep doing it mine. You won’t ever change me, you sods. B******s to all of you. At least I can look myself in the mirror”.’
I think the USADA have said they are going to release information on Armstrong.I think if the USADA has evidence and tests they should present it.
But honestly, with all these shady people around Armstrong, it's hard to believe there isn't something shady going on with him.
10 of his former team mates ready to testify against him alone says something.USADA maintains that Armstrong used banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions dating back to 1996, and said 10 of his former team-mates were ready to testify against him.
Yeah 10 of his former teammates that have a lot more to gain by saying "yeah we saw him take something". Like it's been said, you either present some type of positive test or you just let it go. Even the judge who upheld the USADA's ruling questioned why they were going after Armstrong so strongly. If this was a criminal case, Armstrong would walk.
There are times when you just can't fight anymore due to the stress of the situation or the fact that it seems like a hopeless battle, etc. Think of if you were fired and trying to get your job back. You keep trying to fight to get your job back, but after a while, you might just say "what's the point" and end it.It seems to me, that if Armstrong isn't going to at least challenge these allegations, it looks like an admission of guilt. Regardless of the outcome, it's a shame.
This is the biggest thing that gets me. He's passed all sorts of tests, and yet he's still being accused.This. No failed tests, not guilty of doping. Lance just got tired of it all. No one would back him up and he was fighting this on his own. He couldn't win this and he knew it. The USADA was going to get it's way no matter what. Why drag it out any further? He's still a 7 time winner in my eyes, no matter what the record books say.
problem you have here is the dopers are usually way ahead of the testers in terms of technology like masking agents, etc. That's why they freeze samples and years later test them for things they couldn't or didnt even know existed at the initial time.
So Armstrong being tested 300 times over that time span means really little, if they can produce evidence to the contrary now with new science, which you would assume they will quite shortly.
Also keep in mind this is the USADA doing this to him. Not some French biking federation on a witch hunt or something. It's his own country dropping the hammer on him.
Agreed.If they have actual proof that he was doping, outside of hearsay, then my thoughts on it will obviously change. IMO, I don't think they have that.
I think the 10 guys narking on him just reinforces the findings of the test results.
I always hated Lance Armstrong so I'm glad that he was caught cheating and now is being punished by his own country for it. I hope the UCI follows suit with their own punishments.
I don't like Armstrong because he competed in one race and won it several times and people equate that to being the best bicyclist in the world. I also find his personality to be grating.