Originally Posted by valentine

Same here. I couldn't care less what he has to say.

Originally Posted by Spokes Man

On a cold winter's day in Colorado during the mid-80's, I was riding laps on my bike around Cherry Creek Reservoir. I had just gotten into the world of amateur bike racing the previous summer. I wanted to get a head start on training for the upcoming season, so I was feeling the pain (i.e.: weakness leaving the body! ). I caught up with a young rider I'd seen out there before, and learned he was a professional rider for the Look-Toshiba team. He raced in the few professional bike races in the U.S. at the time, but most of his racing was done in Europe. He had already been on the bike for 7 hours that day, and was just looking for someone to spin with. I'll never forget the conversation we had...especially when he told me that the elite cyclists in Europe used drugs or did blood doping in order to be competitive at that level. Being new to the sport I didn't like hearing that, but I soon came to realize the unvarnished truth of what he said.

The Greg Lemond, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon era of racing soon faded, and this new American guy, Lance Armstrong, came upon the scene in the 90's. I'd heard of his accomplishments as a triathlete, etc, and had followed some of his early bike racing. He was quite the narcissist, but there's an abundance of those in sports and politics. Then Lance's fight with testicular cancer became the headline, and people started jumping on the Lance bandwagon...including myself. His first post-cancer TdF win in 1999 was amazing, and his consecutive victories during the following years pumped more energy into the world of cycling than any other single factor. He became a brand name, and brought Trek bicycles back to life (among other related products). Then he started his Cancer Foundation, and that brought people on board that had no previous interest in cycling. Everyone knows someone who has battled cancer. The dude was a national hero! By that time I was living in California, and I couldn't believe all the Lance-wannabe cyclists that hit the roads and bike paths each summer. We were all living (and cycling) vicariously through Lance. He suffered during training, so we suffered too. We won our little local races, and shared the podium with Lance on the Champs-Elysees!

I always wanted to believe that Lance Armstrong had figured out the "magic formula" for winning the Tour de France races without using drugs. I recall a comment he made in his book, "It's Not About the Bike" where he said: "Why would I do drugs after what my body has been through fighting cancer?" It made sense to me, and I applauded his TdF victories for the next 7 years. I read all his books, and followed his training regimen throughout the years. He religiously put in the time and training, doing equipment research and development, studying nutrition (even weighing his food), etc, so I became convinced that he was clean.

Everyone who races bikes is constantly fine-tuning diet, rest, workout routines, equipment, form, mental toughness, etc, in order to get the edge over the competition. Lance would go to Europe in the early Spring to practice riding in the Alps, etc, while there was still snow on the roads. He loved the sport, and became a Tour de France specialist. He understood that the TdF was where the $$ was, so he concentrated on that race more than any others even though he was loudly criticized for it.

Then critics started speaking out and raising suspicions about Lance's possible drug use, but we dismissed them as more of the jealous losers that had been crying foul for years. Lance was bigger than life, he was rich, and he would prove that he, the most tested athlete in the world, was clean. Then his credible teammates started talking, and it started to get scary and we began to really wonder...could it be?? No!! Then the 1000-page report came out, and Lance is stripped of all 7 TdF victories. He loses sponsorships right and left...even those that stuck by him during his cancer. Then he steps down as chairman of his Livestrong Foundation. It was like a sucker punch to the stomach! Has it gone from Armstrong-Livestrong to Liestrong??

Well, I don't know what Lance will say in his interview with Oprah. I'm a little curious, but I probably won't watch it. He's a very smart, calculating man, and he will probably land on his feet...somehow. However, he's getting old for the sport, and there's not much time left. Maybe he'll write another book...after-the-fact, but I'm not sure I'd read that one. Since there are no "official" podium finishers for the TdF from 1999-2005, it was obviously a level playing field...they all did it. However, it's the deception that Lance put on us...his most avid fans. He looked us in the eye, and lied! I think he got even bigger than he realized he would, and got caught up in the tornado of cover-up and lies. However, he did a lot of good for the cycling world, and giving hope to cancer victims and survivors. It's the Ying-Yang...there's good and bad in everything.

I've purged my "Man Cave" of all things Lance Armstrong, but I still love the sport of cycling and "The Noblest Invention"...The Bicycle. I'll keep riding as long as I can. In fact, I just ordered a new bike. Some of us just have "spokes-in-the-head"...which probably explains why my screen name is "Spokes Man."

Originally Posted by dlq04

Nor do I. I realize in America we love to put people up high and then knock them down for sport but that's not the case here. Given what he projected and then to find out it's all based on a lie . . . screw him.

Originally Posted by boltonblue

No one likes a hypocrite.
Jerry pointed many of the good things he achieved but I wonder about the unintended consequences.
While he was doping and winning, how many honest riders never made he scene.
How many honest heroes never found the limelight they deserved?

Originally Posted by Kyras

Jerry, I enjoyed reading your post, very much. This makes sense to me, "However, it's the deception that Lance put on us...his most avid fans. He looked us in the eye, and lied! I think he got even bigger than he realized he would, and got caught up in the tornado of cover-up and lies. However, he did a lot of good for the cycling world, and giving hope to cancer victims and survivors. It's the Ying-Yang...there's good and bad in everything." I can think of other cases where men have gotten caught up in their lies, thinking they would be able to ride them out, but it bit them in the end.

I hope you watch it and really can't see you not being curious enough to do so.