Lance Armstrong
Poll: Lance Armstrong
Total Members Polled: 73
Discussion
I grew up on Lance. I admit I was a big defender. So when it all came out I felt betrayed, maybe I knew but chose to beleive the dream.
What's prompted this topic? I was rewatching the Leadville 100s yesterday and Lance decimated the field on his races quite late in his career. Maybe he was dirty facing a amateur clean field whereas in 1999> most of the podium and notable field were all caught doping as well. Clean in a clean field I think he would have still won maybe 5 of his 7 tainted titles.
With his podcasts since. The times that's travelled
Perpetual villan for all time or time has mellowed your viewpoint?
What's prompted this topic? I was rewatching the Leadville 100s yesterday and Lance decimated the field on his races quite late in his career. Maybe he was dirty facing a amateur clean field whereas in 1999> most of the podium and notable field were all caught doping as well. Clean in a clean field I think he would have still won maybe 5 of his 7 tainted titles.
With his podcasts since. The times that's travelled
Perpetual villan for all time or time has mellowed your viewpoint?
I haven't got a major issue with LA in respect of his cheating, so many were doping back then...and now. What I cannot forgive is how he used his unparalleled position in the sport back then to totally ruin a few individuals lives. He's a piece of s
t, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him.
t, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him. carlo996 said:
I haven't got a major issue with LA in respect of his cheating, so many were doping back then...and now. What I cannot forgive is how he used his unparalleled position in the sport back then to totally ruin a few individuals lives. He's a piece of st, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him.
Agreed. It’s not about the t, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him. I loved watching him at the time but what he did to people should be unforgivable
carlo996 said:
I haven't got a major issue with LA in respect of his cheating, so many were doping back then...and now. What I cannot forgive is how he used his unparalleled position in the sport back then to totally ruin a few individuals lives. He's a piece of st, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him.
++t, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him. Thank you to the OP for the question, because it’s something I think about quite a lot these days. I’ve invested so much time and energy on the subject of Lance, down the years, that my opinion on him is complicated and in many ways still unresolved.
I knew Lance was doping via EPO from 2000 onwards. Probably even 1999, as I watched the “Tour of Redemption”. I watched him by the roadside from 2000 to 2007 during stages in London, Paris and the Alps. Some of my happiest memories of my life are inextricably interconnected with Lance Armstrong.
However, I did hate the hypocrisy around him. I especially hated the ignorance around his talent and the way it was manipulated in advertising, social media (in its fledgling form) and in the media. I knew he was a doper, but it sometimes felt like I was swimming against a fast tide. I remember telling a large group of colleagues that he was a doper, and remember their faces and how not one of them believed me.
I would go on the Clinic section of the cyclingnews.com forum and would take comfort in being amongst fellow non-believers. I was desperate, and I do mean desperate, for him to be busted. I had hated the way he’d treated Greg Lemond, Betsy Andreu, Jan Ulrich, Paul Kimmage and many others. I hated the way he lied his way through life and I hated how he used cancer as a shield against all criticism.
And then Oprah happened. Relief.
Fast forward a few years, and I found myself watching a Tour podcast presented by Lance, and even more strangely, found myself enjoying it. I’ve started to find myself not warming to Lance, but finding him engaging company as someone who basically knows he’s a flawed character but at the same time has the wherewithal to recognise that he is who he is, flaws n all.
So I’ve gone from someone who would have launched punches at him to someone who would probably happily sit and share a few beers with him. Time and wisdom have mellowed me, but I still stand by my notion that what he did from 1999 to 2012 are things he’ll have to spend a lifetime making reparations for. But Lance won’t. Cause he’s Lance.
I knew Lance was doping via EPO from 2000 onwards. Probably even 1999, as I watched the “Tour of Redemption”. I watched him by the roadside from 2000 to 2007 during stages in London, Paris and the Alps. Some of my happiest memories of my life are inextricably interconnected with Lance Armstrong.
However, I did hate the hypocrisy around him. I especially hated the ignorance around his talent and the way it was manipulated in advertising, social media (in its fledgling form) and in the media. I knew he was a doper, but it sometimes felt like I was swimming against a fast tide. I remember telling a large group of colleagues that he was a doper, and remember their faces and how not one of them believed me.
I would go on the Clinic section of the cyclingnews.com forum and would take comfort in being amongst fellow non-believers. I was desperate, and I do mean desperate, for him to be busted. I had hated the way he’d treated Greg Lemond, Betsy Andreu, Jan Ulrich, Paul Kimmage and many others. I hated the way he lied his way through life and I hated how he used cancer as a shield against all criticism.
And then Oprah happened. Relief.
Fast forward a few years, and I found myself watching a Tour podcast presented by Lance, and even more strangely, found myself enjoying it. I’ve started to find myself not warming to Lance, but finding him engaging company as someone who basically knows he’s a flawed character but at the same time has the wherewithal to recognise that he is who he is, flaws n all.
So I’ve gone from someone who would have launched punches at him to someone who would probably happily sit and share a few beers with him. Time and wisdom have mellowed me, but I still stand by my notion that what he did from 1999 to 2012 are things he’ll have to spend a lifetime making reparations for. But Lance won’t. Cause he’s Lance.
Armstrong was no st kicker, but he also wasn’t a TDF winner. Doping changed that, the same as it skews the results of nearly all professional sporting competitions.
The “level playing field” argument doesn’t wash either. Some people are super responders to certain types of doping, and some aren’t. In a field of talented athletes, all doping with the same gear, it’s basically the best responders that rise to the top. The hierarchy is fked, compared to a field of talented athletes who aren’t doping.
I genuinely believe a clean Armstrong wouldn’t have finished in the top 10 of any clean TDF, never mind win one. He simply wasn’t that type of rider… however we will never know.
All that aside, Armstrong has been the most harshly penalised of the dopers, but that’s mainly because he brought it on himself. In the end, nearly everyone hated him for being a prick, to anyone that crossed his path, and that is what ultimately tripped him up.
t kicker, but he also wasn’t a TDF winner. Doping changed that, the same as it skews the results of nearly all professional sporting competitions. The “level playing field” argument doesn’t wash either. Some people are super responders to certain types of doping, and some aren’t. In a field of talented athletes, all doping with the same gear, it’s basically the best responders that rise to the top. The hierarchy is f
ked, compared to a field of talented athletes who aren’t doping.I genuinely believe a clean Armstrong wouldn’t have finished in the top 10 of any clean TDF, never mind win one. He simply wasn’t that type of rider… however we will never know.
All that aside, Armstrong has been the most harshly penalised of the dopers, but that’s mainly because he brought it on himself. In the end, nearly everyone hated him for being a prick, to anyone that crossed his path, and that is what ultimately tripped him up.
Edited by andyeds1234 on Thursday 29th February 22:30
carlo996 said:
I haven't got a major issue with LA in respect of his cheating, so many were doping back then...and now. What I cannot forgive is how he used his unparalleled position in the sport back then to totally ruin a few individuals lives. He's a piece of st, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him.
Agreedt, as confirmed by literally everyone who has interacted with him. I cannot watch Dodgeball due to his presence in the film. Minor thing but he played a part in the film knowing it was a lie
I think one of the strongest things you can say about a person is that they are a liar. It touches on integrity and its far worse than a swear word being used. Lance is a liar
I think one of the strongest things you can say about a person is that they are a liar. It touches on integrity and its far worse than a swear word being used. Lance is a liar
Steve vRS said:
CountyAFC said:
Greg Lemond.
Can you expand on this?It showed Armstrong to be a ruthless nasty piece of work, it's not that he doped (many did) but the way he went about protecting the lie that had got too big to fail.
James6112 said:
Used to enjoy the tdf
Armstrong beating his fellow ‘enhanced’ riders
Remember one stage where he was powering up a mountain, being spat upon by the close crowds, still beat his fellow cheats.
All a bit boring now!
I wouldn't necessarily say that. Armstrong beating his fellow ‘enhanced’ riders
Remember one stage where he was powering up a mountain, being spat upon by the close crowds, still beat his fellow cheats.
All a bit boring now!
It was fun watching Froome run up the hill the other day and he still gets piss thrown on him.
Last year wasn't great but it's still fascinating to me.
CLK-GTR said:
Did anybody watching cycling at that time think they were all anything other than doped to the eyeballs? He competed in a level playing field and decimated it. I still rate him as a cyclist, as a man less so.
It's like watching Ronnie Coleman and co and believing they're all natty. Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff