As my friend Adam says "Lance Armstrong is either the greatest athlete of all time or the greatest liar of all time." Which is more likely? A ten year long conspiracy that foiled hundreds of blood tests, investigations and video surveillance...or he simply did not dope?Of course it is clear now that the former scenario turned out to be the right one. Despite the unlikelihood of it, Lance perpetrated a decade-long conspiracy involving hundreds of willing and unwilling accomplices, beat hundreds of blood tests, lied to everyone, consistently, and never once cracked under the pressure of the improbably complicated house of cards he had built.
Going farther back, here's a gushing homage to Mr. Armstrong I wrote in 2009:
But as an engineer, Armstrong is really the posterboy for biomechanical engineering. From wind tunnel testing to adjusting the bike mechanics and aerodynamics, to ergonomics of the bike seat, to aero bars, to his intense training regimen that is, like horses, set up to peak at race time, to his embrace of new technology, the man and the economy that surrounds Armstrong proves that science and technology can coalesce into a superior version of the human condition. Although most of us do not have 6 hours a day to ride and a team of dieticians to provide us with perfectly designed meals, we do get the shake down of technology that has largely been brought about in the last 10 years...a.k.a. The Reign Of Lance.
Ten years ago you just didn't see people on bikes much. Nowadays you see them on carbon fiber bikes with disc wheels. These technologies weren't invented by Armstrong or even his team. But the freakish success of Armstrong in TdF after TdF has proven the success of the technologies.Yet, its clear now that Mr. Armstrong relied as much on cheating as he did on his technology.
This whole situation makes me sad. I feel betrayed. I feel like a fool. Now, I wasn't a squawking, staunch defender of Lance...the whole situation seemed dubious at its core and I never risked my reputation to defend him. But I assumed he was innocent and idolized him just like everyone else. I dismissed European newspaper article after article because of Nationalistic pride.
So what now? The question I have is whether Lance will go to jail. Maybe not here in America, but abroad. A while back, a newspaper in London claimed that he doped. He sued them for libel, and during the trial (under oath) he denied doping. Will he be arrested on perjury charges? And what of the dozens of other cyclists he admonished and marginalized when they claimed evidence of his cheating? Will he face dozens of libel suits, now reaping what he's sown? I see a fair chance he winds up penniless by the end of this.
What of his sponsors? They probably cannot recoup their losses, but they can blackball him out of the sports world for a long time. When it comes to athletic sponsorships, there is a big difference between a guy who cheats on his wife and a guy who cheats at his game. Remember Pete Rose? Multiply by one thousand.
As for me...I really am just sad. The bike I ride is a Trek 1500 "Team Discovery Edition". I bought it in 2005 after Lance won his 7th Tour. My favorite jersey for riding is my 2007 Team Discovery Levi Leipheimer edition (national road race champion) version. Now, Leipheimer is disgraced too, listed as an admitted doper in the USADA case against Lance.
I have a book I bought, years ago, entitled "The Lance Armstrong Performance Program" written by Chris Carmichael. Perhaps the tagline should read "how to cheat, lie, and manipulate your way into history." The whole thing was a sham. All ten years of it.
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