[QUOTE=VoIPA,Aug 25 2005, 11:08 PM] I also heard that he was caught by the French with banned substances:

 

Sour grapes, the guy kicked Cancer and tour de france and now people are B~t~hing. Please give me a break!

 

I watched the interview on CNN. He said something to this effect "I almost die, come back, and you think I want to do anything to jeapordize my health?"

Asshats are just jealous as hell. What kind of performing enhancers anyway? The fuker is skinny as all getup.

He won 7 in a row, fair and square, so STFU! And I'm not even a fan

 

dude, saying that without being able to prove it 100% is just as bad as people claiming that he used enhancers...

 

that's just nothing more than rhetorics. it could easily be argued that after his near death experience, he was afraid that he may never achieve his goal of becoming a top athlete and so became desperate and was willing to do whatever's necessary to achieve those goals, including taking enhancers. of course i'm only playing devil's advocate here.

 

EPO allows red blood cells to carry more oxygen.

Why have they only tested 1999? Why not all the other years afterwards?

Armstrong said he was given EPO as part of his postchemo treatment. Who knows how long that lasted. Are there rules stipulating that you can dope yourself up and then stop when the next cycling season rolls around?

I don't believe the French. But I'm also losing confidence in Lance.

 

I'm a big fan of Armstrong because of his amazing achievements in cycling and mainly what he has done towards the fight against cancer.

The French media has been accusing him since 1999 of doping. Its all a load of bullshit. I mean come on, using 6 year old second sample piss that can't even be proved to belong to Armstrong as the basis for accuding him of using EPO? Give me a break. The French media is just jealous because an American has dominated their sport and their Tour de France for seven years.

 

LMAO! He is tested more than any other athelete and never failed once. Give it a rest.

 

His wife was later arrested for similar transgressions, but faces an additional year in jail for the razor she was found in posession of. She attempted to claim it was her husbands, but unfortunately the Venus razor was well labled for women.





(Yes I know he and his wife are no longer together, but it is just a joke. )


I will say that I have no where near enough information to say if this is a solid accusation or typical French whinning. However, I will say that chances are many, many different organizations have tested Lance for quite some time since his bout with cancer and only the French are complaining? Seems suspect. And, the chances of any positive tests from 1999 coming from cancer treatments is pretty solid. They need to produce proof, have it verified by an outside (of France) organization, and be able to prove authenticity before smearing his name.

 

It is unfortunate that, no matter what the outcome of this investigation is, neither the Tour organization nor the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) can take any action or penalize him, on the basis of those "B" tests.
So, this might just be the French's way of slapping Armstrong's face and not allowing him to strike back, as there are no additional samples from that time, and nothing else can be done about it, so it is just an accusation that will have no "bite" to it, he cannot be penalized in any way, but it will remain as a blemish on his otherwise stellar record.
That REALLY sucks. If he has been clean all these years, with all that hard work in training and during competition, this is most unfair and cowardly on the part of the French.
As with the accusations against Pedro Delgado and Marco Pantani in previous years (These based on far clearer evidence) people will remember and doubt...sad for the sport.