cycling Lance Armstrong stripped of all seven Tour de France wins by UCI

[remixedcat]

He was still a damn good person and role model. The people that wanna shame him should be ashamed of themselves for being such pitiful jealous babies that throw a fit when someone is better then them.

[ahhell]

He was still a damn good person and role model. The people that wanna shame him should be ashamed of themselves for being such pitiful jealous babies that throw a fit when someone is better then them.

LOL WAT?

He was a ****ty person and a fraud. How exactly does that make him a good role model? :s

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

A pretty sad story all round :(

[PGHammer]

He was still a damn good person and role model. The people that wanna shame him should be ashamed of themselves for being such pitiful jealous babies that throw a fit when someone is better then them.

And that's what the whole thing comes down to, remixed - jealousy.

Does anyone remember Greg LeMond (if anything, the original inspiration for Americans in world-class cycling in Europe)? HE was accused (roundly) of cheating, and it was the investigation of him that originally caught all those teams in that massive doping scandal that forced one European superteam to disband entirely - and he was merely the first American to win back-to-back Tours.

Bicycle road racing is as bad (easily) as F1 racing in Europe, and there's ALWAYS been a strong sense of "Europe over all" in both sports (the Italians tried to "claim" Mario Andretti when he won his first F1 driving title, despite there being plenty of evidence that he had never raced in Italy outside of F1 AND that his racing career began in Pennsylvania - Emerson Fittipaldi got HIS share of jeers, because he was from SOUTH America).

And it really does NOT help that the United States (and especially our bureaucracies) have their share of Europhiles.

[MDboyz]

He is still the winner at this point for me. They have to release the physical evidents that he used drugs. I don't care that because all his team mates were cheated and they said he did it too. Who knows all his team mates may have the issue with him, and wanted to pull him down with them.

[theyarecomingforyou]

He was still a damn good person and role model. The people that wanna shame him should be ashamed of themselves for being such pitiful jealous babies that throw a fit when someone is better then them.

Cheating and fraud are characteristics antithesis to the concept of being a "good person" and a "role model". Further, it's unfathomable that you could suggest people are jealous when it is patently apparent people are outraged that he defrauded the sport and brought shame to the US. You are clearly not being objective or rational. However, I cannot stop people deluding themselves as to his innocence and if people can't look at the situation objectively then I think that reflects poorly on them. It's no different to the people who believe who 9/11 was an inside job, that the moon landings were faked, that climate change isn't real or who believe Obama isn't really a US citizen - people would rather believe in a massive conspiracy than an inconvenient truth.

There seems to be a disconnect when it comes to people's opinions of celebrities and common sense. People invest emotionally in a brand and refuse to accept anything that tarnishes that image for embarrassment that they were deceived, that their judgement isn't perfect. The evidence strongly points to his guilt, hence why he was stripped of the medals - this isn't just the word of a few people against him. Could it all be an elaborate and extremely well orchestrated conspiracy against him? Sure, but there is no evidence to suggest that and evidence should always be the basis for a belief. If people are so outraged at the idea of eyewitness testimony then it may be time to petition the government for a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system, as I hear it's occasionally used in a court of law.

[remixedcat]

hey they are just overclocking thier systems... just like hardcore gamers do... it's thier body so whatever... if they wanna do that and possibly **** themselves over but still win... that's fine.... all the hardcore gamers that have overclocked systems still are good gamers, they just are smarter for overclocking and getting the extra FPS to do better.

[ahhell]

hey they are just overclocking thier systems... just like hardcore gamers do... it's thier body so whatever... if they wanna do that and possibly **** themselves over but still win... that's fine.... all the hardcore gamers that have overclocked systems still are good gamers, they just are smarter for overclocking and getting the extra FPS to do better.

:o

[Anibal P]

Till I see actual PROOF that he doped and not the tainted "testimony" of other cheaters then it still boils down to jealousy, if the French who took pints of his blood could not find anything and I guarantee you they tested for every conceivable thing you could possibly test blood, then it's still a witch hunt, and Lance just giving up because he's tired of the BS proves nothing other than harassing a person will make them eventually give up

[theyarecomingforyou]

hey they are just overclocking thier systems... just like hardcore gamers do... it's thier body so whatever... if they wanna do that and possibly **** themselves over but still win... that's fine.... all the hardcore gamers that have overclocked systems still are good gamers, they just are smarter for overclocking and getting the extra FPS to do better.

And if Lance Armstrong had set up his own cycling league for cheats then it wouldn't have been an issue. However, he broke the rules of the sport and committed fraud by misrepresenting his business dealings. He tried to pass himself off as a legitimate sportsman when the evidence overwhelmingly points to the contrary. Your excuses are getting pretty desperate.

Till I see actual PROOF that he doped and not the tainted "testimony" of other cheaters then it still boils down to jealousy, if the French who took pints of his blood could not find anything and I guarantee you they tested for every conceivable thing you could possibly test blood, then it's still a witch hunt, and Lance just giving up because he's tired of the BS proves nothing other than harassing a person will make them eventually give up

They have more evidence that the testimony of others:

USADA said the evidence includes "direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding."

It's also worth pointing out that his teammates went through the same drug testing and managed to avoid detection, so the lack of a positive result is not proof of his innocence. It's naive - and verging on delusional - to believe that 'passing' the drugs tests in any way supports his innocence. Further, the idea that it's a massive conspiracy against him just isn't plausible and there isn't any evidence to support that. We have testimony from a dozen of his teammates implicating him; financial payments; emails; drug tests (yes, they went back and found evidence he was using hormones and EPO). It was grounds enough to strip him of his titles, so it's more than just a few unreliable people making baseless claims.

One aspect that doesn't seem to have got much attention is that the team received millions of dollars from the US government. It seems Americans are always whining about wasteful government spending yet nobody seems to be criticising the giving of millions of dollars to a team full of cheats.

[Astra.Xtreme]

Don't forget that the Livestrong Foundation has raised about $500 Million so far. Whether or not you respect the guy as an athlete anymore, you have to respect that he has helped tens or hundreds of thousands of people due to his foundation efforts.

I've worn the yellow band and I've participated in his fundraising events, so he'll always be a hero in my book.

[Nerd Rage]

A cheater won in the age of cheating. He will still be the winner of those races in my book...just like Barry Bonds is the home run king in my book.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Don't forget that the Livestrong Foundation has raised about $500 Million so far. Whether or not you respect the guy as an athlete anymore, you have to respect that he has helped tens or hundreds of thousands of people due to his foundation efforts.

While I don't have any respect for him as a sportsman or as an individual he has obviously done a lot for charity and that should certainly be recognised. He still has the potential to be a good role model for people but - assuming he is guilty as the evidence suggests - he can only do that by admitting that he cheated and asking for forgiveness from his fans and his country. My concern is that the arrogance that lead him to cheat in the first place will prevent him from admitting his guilt. He has already been stripped of his medals and titles, so there really isn't any point protesting his innocence any more.

A cheater won in the age of cheating. He will still be the winner of those races in my book...just like Barry Bonds is the home run king in my book.

Trying to rationalise cheating is irrational.

[Nerd Rage]

While I don't have any respect for him as a sportsman or as an individual he has obviously done a lot for charity and that should certainly be recognised. He still has the potential to be a good role model for people but - assuming he is guilty as the evidence suggests - he can only do that by admitting that he cheated and asking for forgiveness from his fans and his country. My concern is that the arrogance that lead him to cheat in the first place will prevent him from admitting his guilt. He has already been stripped of his medals and titles, so there really isn't any point protesting his innocence any more.

Trying to rationalise cheating is irrational.

I'm not trying to rationalize cheating, I'm just saying that it happened on a wide scale and we can't turn back the clock. Take the wins for what they are, tainted wins. All my opinion of course.

[ahhell]

Don't forget that the Livestrong Foundation has raised about $500 Million so far. Whether or not you respect the guy as an athlete anymore, you have to respect that he has helped tens or hundreds of thousands of people due to his foundation efforts.

I've worn the yellow band and I've participated in his fundraising events, so he'll always be a hero in my book.

About that....

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html

[theyarecomingforyou]

I'm not trying to rationalize cheating, I'm just saying that it happened on a wide scale and we can't turn back the clock. Take the wins for what they are, tainted wins. All my opinion of course.

No, you should take the wins for what they were: invalid. It has been determined that he cheated and he has been stripped of the titles. You can't simply make up your own version of the results when you don't agree with the real results.

[Shadrack]

He was probably competing against other folks who were all doping. But that doesn't really matter. He deserves to be made an example of. What's more disgraceful is that he is still denying the overwhelming evidence against him.

[Praetor]

Well if he was so doped, then they could've easily came up with actual proof. it's all bs.

they said it was the worlds most sophisticated doping environment ever, so it's most likely they were a few steps ahead of current dope detection methods.

[Nerd Rage]

No, you should take the wins for what they were: invalid. It has been determined that he cheated and he has been stripped of the titles. You can't simply make up your own version of the results when you don't agree with the real results.

Exactly. And the real results are that Lance Armstrong crossed the finish line first. Now all of these agencies are trying to make up their own version of the results because they don't agree with how the real results were attained.

[The Laughing Man]

I feel as if I have no reason to look up to any athlete anymore. Time to become fat!

[seta-san]

I'm starting to think he doesn't even deserve the millions of dollars he got from cycling. . . . Hm.

what about the fact that he generated interest and funding and advertising in what was otherwise a sport no one cared about.

[DrJohnSmitherson]

He still crossed that finish line first.

[Calum Veteran]

He was still a damn good person and role model. The people that wanna shame him should be ashamed of themselves for being such pitiful jealous babies that throw a fit when someone is better then them.

A cheater is not a good role model. I'm pretty sure that most people who are shaming him aren't jealous.

[theyarecomingforyou]

And the real results are that Lance Armstrong crossed the finish line first. Now all of these agencies are trying to make up their own version of the results because they don't agree with how the real results were attained.

Cheating is against the rules and the organisations involved have the power to strip competitors of fraudulently earned titles - in fact they are obligated to. They certainly aren't trying to "make up their own version of the results" and you know that.

If you refuse to accept the official results then that's up to you but as you can see here Lance Armstrong at no point won the Tour de France. The reality is that doping is endemic in US cycling and Lance Armstrong certainly isn't the first US cyclist to be stripped of a title.

[remixedcat]

*in cris crocker voice*

LEAVE LANCE ALONE!!!!