Armstrong drops fight against doping charges

[Bartelby]

USADA will almost certainly treat Armstrong's decision as an admission of guilt and hang the label of drug cheat on an athlete who was a hero to thousands for overcoming life-threatening testicular cancer and for his foundation's support for cancer research.

The agency can impose a lifetime ban and recommend Armstrong be stripped of his titles. That would put the question in the hands of the International Cycling Union, which has disputed USADA's authority to pursue the investigation, and Tour de France officials, who have had a *****ly relationship with Armstrong over the years.





http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...doping-charges

[NadalAgassi]

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/lanc...5351--spt.html

It looks like they will strip him of his 7 titles.

USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour titles
By JIM VERTUNO (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated Press – 54 minutes ago


AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he declared he was finished fighting the drug charges that threaten his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday.

Still to be heard from was the sport's governing body, the International Cycling Union, which had backed Armstrong's legal challenge to USADA's authority.

Armstrong, who retired last year, declined to enter USADA's arbitration process - his last option - because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he has passed as proof of his innocence during his extraordinary run of Tour titles stretchingfrom1999-2005.

''There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, ''Enough is enough.'' For me, that time is now,'' Armstrong said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He called the USADA investigation an ''unconstitutional witch hunt.''

''I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999,'' he said. ''The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense.''

USADA reacted quickly and treated Armstrong's decision as an admission of guilt, hanging the label of drug cheat on an athlete who was a hero to thousands for overcoming life-threatening testicular cancer and for his foundation's support for cancer research.

''It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and athletes,'' Tygart said. ''It's a heartbreaking example of win at all costs overtaking the fair and safe option. There's no success in cheating to win.''

I am no fan of Armstong and I think he is grossly overrated, especialy in the U.S. I laugh that some Americans think he is the greatest cylicst of all time, even if he were as clean as Apple Pie he wouldnt even be top 5 all time considering there were many past legends like Indurain, Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil, and others who dominated the entire racing year and scene, not just one event the Tour de France. Relative to them he is a one trick pony, who relied on the strongest overall team ever produced in the Tour de France to help carry him to his Tour de France titles, and who basically did nothing the rest of the cycling year. At best I could agree he is the best cyclist of his own era. That said I do not agree that he is probably going to be his stripped of his Tour de France titles because I think everyone in the Tour de France these days is doped up to their eyeballs. Do I believe Lance dopes, hell yeah, but so do all his contemporaries, it is probably a requirement to join any major cycling team today. That said some others have been unlucky and caught and stripped, he hasnt been caught so I dont think it is fair, but it is what it is.

[Bobby Jr]

This is very very cunning by Armstrong. He can now say he never fought the charges and maintain more moral high ground amongst his supporters than if he got convicted of any of the charges at all.

Now... let's see if his corporate supporters, Nike etc, will continue their associations with him.

[fundrazer]

Yep, great news! Fraudstrong/Pharmstrong finally gets what's coming to him. His mountain of lies began to fall down over the past few years, and now it's all finally crumbling down.

Don't listen to the BS about what Livestrong has done for cancer either. Livestrong has contributed almost nothing to cancer research, it is also it's own commercial entity. It's just another way Nike tries to make people feel good about giving them money.

And definitely don't listen to the garbage about being tested however many times. Do the research and get the facts before buying into that junk.

Cycling news compiled a huge list for people who are lazy to look into some of this stuff themselves.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...over-the-years

[smoledman]

Armstrong is right - this is a witchhunt and everyone knows who won those 7 tours.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by fundrazer

Yep, great news! Fraudstrong/Pharmstrong finally gets what's coming to him. His mountain of lies began to fall down over the past few years, and now it's all finally crumbling down.

Don't listen to the BS about what Livestrong has done for cancer either. Livestrong has contributed almost nothing to cancer research, it is also it's own commercial entity. It's just another way Nike tries to make people feel good about giving them money.

And definitely don't listen to the garbage about being tested however many times. Do the research and get the facts before buying into that junk.

I hope you dont seriously believe all his competitors arent as juiced up as he is however. It should be La Tour de Juice. In recent years we have seen almost every noteable cyclist get caught, Contador, Ulrich, Armstrong, Hamilton, Landis, Vinokourov, numerous Tour de France titles and Olympic medals stripped, various teams have been caught overstocked with human growth hormone. Even one of the Schleck brothers, who were potrayed as the wholesome all that is good about the sport, was recently caught. Probably EVERY rider in the Tour de France is doped today, and anyone who believes otherwise is a naive idiot.

[smoledman]

Originally Posted by fundrazer

Yep, great news! Fraudstrong/Pharmstrong finally gets what's coming to him. His mountain of lies began to fall down over the past few years, and now it's all finally crumbling down.

Don't listen to the BS about what Livestrong has done for cancer either. Livestrong has contributed almost nothing to cancer research, it is also it's own commercial entity. It's just another way Nike tries to make people feel good about giving them money.

And definitely don't listen to the garbage about being tested however many times. Do the research and get the facts before buying into that junk.

Cycling news compiled a huge list for people who are lazy to look into some of this stuff themselves.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...over-the-years

So basically let's bring down a great American champion in some misguided witchhunt. I have no dog in this, I just want justice.

[tenniscasey]

Originally Posted by fundrazer

Don't listen to the BS about what Livestrong has done for cancer either. Livestrong has contributed almost nothing to cancer research, it is also it's own commercial entity. It's just another way Nike tries to make people feel good about giving them money.

I'm not an Armstrong fan, but the above is an out and out lie.

http://www.livestrong.org/What-We-Do...the-Money-Goes

http://www.charitynavigator.org/inde...ary&orgid=6570

[Underhand]

M. Jones, Landis, Armstrong – couple of years and Phelps gets his cell as well.

[ninman]

What is the evidence that the USDSA, or whatever, has against him?

[rajah84]

Originally Posted by Bobby Jr

This is very very cunning by Armstrong. He can now say he never fought the charges and maintain more moral high ground amongst his supporters than if he got convicted of any of the charges at all.

Now... let's see if his corporate supporters, Nike etc, will continue their associations with him.

He's no dummy. That's what I would do if I was a cheat trying to protect what's left of my image.

What would be great is if the USADA went through with the process and was somehow able to prove he doped, with or without him.

It will be very interesting if evil Nike stands by him. Somethings tells me they will. They never left Tiger after all.

[rajah84]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

I hope you dont seriously believe all his competitors arent as juiced up as he is however. It should be La Tour de Juice. In recent years we have seen almost every noteable cyclist get caught, Contador, Ulrich, Armstrong, Hamilton, Landis, Vinokourov, numerous Tour de France titles and Olympic medals stripped, various teams have been caught overstocked with human growth hormone. Even one of the Schleck brothers, who were potrayed as the wholesome all that is good about the sport, was recently caught. Probably EVERY rider in the Tour de France is doped today, and anyone who believes otherwise is a naive idiot.

You said if yourself. Almost every notable cyclist got caught. But not Lance.

Armstrong's supporters don't mind so much when others are caught. And they call it a witch hunt.

[Bartelby]

Apparently the new detection technique for drugs that are difficult to pick up are old style police methods of collecting witness statements from the immediate circle and convicting on that basis.

This takes some time but if its eyewitness testimony then its solid.

[Benhur]

In August 2005, L'Equipe announced they tested the B sample from one of his 1999 tests, which had been frozen, and it came out positive for EPO (those tests were not available in 1999). The A sample had not been frozen. The ICU did not think it was enough to impose any sanctions, but that finding got the ball rolling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/sp...24cycling.html

I am still surprised he has decided to stop defending himself, which amounts to a de facto admission of guilt. However, it's not clear yet he will be stripped of his titles. The USADA has no authority to do so. Only the ICU can do it, but certainly now it will be very hard for them not to do it.

[Alchemy-Z]

Kinda wonder how long it is until we have approved performance drugs for athletes so we can see the max ability of the human body.

and just do all the record books like Tennis...Open Era

so in all of sport say starting 2015 or something have the performance enhanced era and when you look up records they will just have a PE beside the time/weight/win #

then they can stop spending all this money on keeping one guy in court for 13 years for winning some bike races.

and maybe focus on some real crimes.

[hollywood9826]

I said it at the time he was doing everything and Barry Bonds was at a different level in Baseball than everybody else.

Barry did not go out of his way to hide to hide the fact that he didnt like the media and was genrally an A-Hole.

Lance did everything right from a PR standpoint and used cancer to his advantage and actually won awards over Barry for athele of the year.

Both had in depth books written of numerous accustations.
One was not realeased in the USA.
One was relaesed in the USA and instantly became 100% factual in poeples minds.

One guy was white.
One guy was black.

Of course the white guy gets the benefit of the doubt all these years.

[Sander001]

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles

Weird because they don't have the authority to do so.

Originally Posted by ninman

What is the evidence that the USDSA, or whatever, has against him?

Cyclists who got caught doping and are trying to ease their punishment in exchange for testimony.

[FloridaAG]

Always believed he was a doper, a liar and an a**hole.

That said, belief and proof are 2 different things

[Dedans Penthouse]

Originally Posted by hollywood9826

I said it at the time he was doing everything and Barry Bonds was at a different level in Baseball than everybody else.

Barry did not go out of his way to hide to hide the fact that he didnt like the media and was genrally an A-Hole.

Lance did everything right from a PR standpoint and used cancer to his advantage and actually won awards over Barry for athele of the year.

Both had in depth books written of numerous accustations.
One was not realeased in the USA.
One was relaesed in the USA and instantly became 100% factual in poeples minds.

One guy was white.
One guy was black.

Of course the white guy gets the benefit of the doubt all these years.

Very good post, summed up the contrasting images between the two: Bonds a bonafide creep, Armstrong accessible, etc., ..... but unfortunately you then had to invoke the Rev. Al Sharpton school of thought: playing the race card and "rubber stamping" it as ordained knowledge with a very subjective, cynical ASSUMPTION. Bonds is dispised by many because of who he is: a very unlikeable creep. Honky Roger Clemens is also dispised because (while maybe not a creep on the level of Bonds) he too is judged by what people see him as: an arrogant liar.

Originally Posted by fundrazer

Livestrong has contributed almost nothing to cancer research.

^^^Nice, really nice. This from someone who uses a "pat himself on the back and tell the world about it" username: fundrazer.
Stay classy my friend. And fwiw, I'd never wish stage 4 testicular cancer on you or anyone.



on-topic, I may be wrong but imho, it's mostly ill-willed, agenda driven b.s. from all sides - that sport is as drug-infested and corrupt as they come. For every juiced up Armstrong, there's 10 others who "passed the test" .... technically.

The races crash pileups are cool though.

[volleygirl]

Originally Posted by smoledman

Armstrong is right - this is a witchhunt and everyone knows who won those 7 tours.

Everyone? HAHA How can you guys still think this guy didnt cheat?