I thought he was offered a deal by Tygart quite early in the process so he could keep 5 TdFs if he came clean to the grand jury?
Iām really conflicted by LA.
In the day I loved watching him race, the way he attacked the raceā¦ and his rivals.
As Iāve grown older and reflect back, I do think he epitomises everything thatās wrong with not only cycling but also dirty sport. The way he went after his critics bordered on psychotic, even when he knew he was living a huge lie.
I listened to a David Whittle podcast a few weeks ago. He had some fascinating news on Armstrong, and how he has supposedly changed (or not). Apparently Whittle reiterated a fact that Armstrong had previously admitted. Whittle received a word sentence email: Who is your legal counsel?
What a dickā¦
ā¦ that said, he is still strangely charismatic and engaging. Even if it is a front.
I always seem to go back to this article. It was written years ago but it is still so relevant.
I realise I was so naive when I first read it. Now Iāve worked for a corporate psychopath I really understand it. And itās now so obvious how much Lance (and his mother) manipulated everyone. Except david Walsh
Watched the first episode. Nothing new if you have watched & read whats gone before.
i doubt he was completely cleanā¦
thy had him too at the start iirc
Iād agree with that largely. Although having some other characters in the mix like McQuaid was new to me. Iāve heard a lot from Hamilton, Betsy Andreu, etc, but havent read anything by Vaughters or Julich yet, so their comments were new. Little titbits like the specific type of cortisone he was taking allowing for the lucky āoutā was also not something Iād heard before.
Iām guessing part 2 will have more info in relation to a lookback to the ultimate downfall and aftermath?
Yes, hoping part 1 sets the scene & thereās more substantial content in part 2.
There may not be any earth shattering new information but thatās like saying youāre not watching Titanic or Apollo 13 because you know it sank or they got back. (Spoiler alert, sorry!)
Having all the main protagonists (including Walsh) in the same program is quite an achievement and being able to play off their versions in the editing is something new and adds to the story. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the 2nd part.
Must try to find a way to watch this, I was, and remain a huge fan of the man.
Iām still waiting for Track & Field to have itās āLance momentā.
And football.
They had the chance with Balco IMO but werenāt interested. Look at the UKA response to Dwain Chambers offers of help. Again with NOP but NIke have way to much sway over USATF and World Athletics for that to happen. Without an insider (or hackers) getting all the dirt it wonāt happen. There would need to be an athletics Floyd, etc. for it to happen.
@joex it wonāt happen in football for the same reasons as above, thereās just too much money at stake and it is in no ones interest to expose it. Look at Fuentes starts blabbing about Real and Atleti (iirc) and a young male tennis player ( ), it got incinerated. Dr del Moral worked for Barca and USPS but again no one wanted that looked into it.
On the NOP, isnāt that largely what has happened though? USADA have hit Salazar in a similar way to Bruyneel and LA? Although it is correct to say theyāve achieved that without also taking down, and nullifying, the results of the (potentially) impacted athletes themselves at the NOP.(so far).
The other difference with sports like football is that the athleticism is not the largest part of the game. The skill based nature gives them a natural āoutā for why breaches are not such a big hit to the integrity of results. Not saying thatās right or wrong, but if a professional footballer was found to be on steroids, or taking EPO, the general public are largely going to say āwell, in reality, one players ability to run a bit faster or longer probably doesnt completely undermine the resultsā. Whereas in sports like cycling and athletics, thatās the physical attribute the sport itself is fundamentally based upon.
I still cannot believe that sprinter bloke was clean all those years. If it looks like a duckā¦
Yes but I think there was a lot more going on than came out. There was a clear misuse of prescriptions but having read the extent too which Salazar will go to get his athletes to win that he stopped at using corticosteroids and thyroxin.
ETA: I agree with you on football and that extends to games like tennis but that peoplesā perception is like that doesnāt make it accurate or correct. In the recent programme about Chrisitano Ronaldo, Gary Neville says he (CR7) went off to compete with Portugal in the summer and came back a completely different physical specimen, the S&C guy at Man Utd was shocked at the transormation and his improvement lead to massive increases in acceleration, jumping, etc. That makes you a better footballer. But I agree with your wider point.
Come on @Jorgan itās not like the 100m has a long history of everyone cheating is it? Also, thereās no one in his training grouup who tested positive or a link to his coach to Angel Heredia.
I donāt disagree, but Im hoping one day the lower leagues will be motivated, or a disgruntled employee blows the whistle on a big name.
I have no skin in the game but it really bugs me that people think cheating os restricted to certain names and certain sports. I just want people to know the truth! . Lord I sound like a missionary.
ftfy
He wanted to race Kona. Could he have won it (I think not but he did win the Hawaii 70.3 before he was banned). Would he have races clean? I suspect doping in Ironman would be easier than in cycling after he retired from cycling a 2nd time. Wasnāt he trash talking with Macca about a 1 on 1 Ironman race at one stage?