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Lance Armstrong part of cycling's 'most successful doping program,' USADA says
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says it will release Wednesday more than 1,000 pages of evidence detailing the involvement of cyclist Lance Armstrong in what the agency calls "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."
Armstrong, who won an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles, announced in August that he would no longer fight doping charges that the USADA brought against him earlier in the year. The famed cyclist's decision prompted the USADA to ban the 40-year-old athlete from competition and strip him of his wins dating to 1998, though there were questions of whether the organization had the authority to take such action.
The USADA filed doping charges against Armstrong in June. Armstrong retired from professional cycling in February 2011, though he continued to compete in triathlon events.
The USADA, a quasi-government agency recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sports in the United States, accused Armstrong of using, possessing, trafficking and giving to others performance-enhancing drugs, as well as covering up doping violations.
Armstrong's attorney blasted the accusations as "wrong" and "baseless," much like Armstrong has vehemently denied other such claims in the past.
Armstrong, when he announced in August that he wouldn't fight the charges, said there was "zero physical evidence" to support the USADA's claims, and that he was "finished with this nonsense" of fighting charges after fighting against such allegations for years.
"The only physical evidence there is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors," Armstrong said in August. "I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?"
On Wednesday, Armstrong's teammate George Hincape admitted he used banned substances.
"It is extremely difficult today to acknowledge that during a part of my career I used banned substances," Hincape said in a statement. "Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them. I deeply regret that choice and sincerely apologize to my family, teammates and fans."
August 26, 2012: Armstrong: 'I'm more at ease now than I have been in 10 years'
August 24, 2012: Armstrong's statement about ending fight against charges
August 24, 2012: Armstrong's cancer foundation still strong
Does this accusation by the The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency change your feelings about Armstrong? Share your reaction in the comments below.
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Sorta shows how stupid it is to get so worked up about a guy riding a bicycle...
Have you ever raced a bicycle?
Go back to your potato chips.
Agreed.
Interesting that they just say they have evidence and none of the evidence is mentioned. Meanwhile, Armstrong's defense is I did all your tests and passed them all. So the question is, what are the 1000 pages of evidence? Armstong is innocent until proven guilty and the commission has done nothing to prove he is guilty yet.
The commission are a bunch of punks. AND they don't ride.
The point in a race is to see who can go from point A to point B in the quickest period of time, in this case, using a bicycle to get there. It does not matter one bit of difference what someone does to get there, as long as they peddle the bicycle the correct way. All this talk about taking something to aid in your ability to get there is all a bunch of non-sense. If you can take something that would make you 50% smarter than the rest of the population, or 50% stronger than the rest of the population, you should be able to do that. We are only better in the evolution of our own species by benefitting from such strategies to enhance our wellness and performance.
Post the 1,000 pages and be done with it. OR shut up!
Guys,
The real truth is this: Lance Armstrong is a grade A @$$wipe. It is very obvious there is a long line of people that want him to go down as so many are turning on him. Yeah, he cheated, and yes, everyone at that level cheats - however, not all of them seem to have as many enemies as ol' Lance. This pretty much proves what we (and his ex-wife) know, that Lance is a jerk who needs to be taken down a couple hundred pegs. For further reference, see Barry Bonds. Hello asterisks!
You're a frickin idiot.
"successful doping program that sport has ever seen." so they put him on that program from beginning ??
Lance Armstrong beat doped-up cyclists not once, not twice, but seven times. Did anyone truly think this was because he was just better at it only the physical aspect of pumping the pedals? He cheated, he lied about, he got caught. End of story.
AMERICAN got OWNED by USADA.... Tax payer scams. hhahahahhahhahahhah.
BEST THING EVER SEEN..... USADA made AMERICANS MAD. SUPER MAD. LOL.
Trooper knocks on door, announces to resident, you are under arrest for DUI. You were cited for a parking violation 6 yrs ago, however, an investigation by a newly appointed parking agency has determined that you were illegally parked due to substance abuse, a sober person would not have parked a vehicle in such a manner....by the way, you are being charged with cocaine possession from 6 years ago that our dope dog wasn't trained to sniff yet.
How is it possible that the Armstrong "helpers" with less talent than him did not have to take anything?
This is the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful witch hunt that sport has ever seen. How do we know this? Simple. The level of sophistication, the secretive nature of the witnesses, and the lack of physical evidence obviously points to the degree of guilt on the part of USADA. Absurd? So is logic behind USADA's charges.
Indeed.
Okay, so it is not hard to imagine that a considerable proportion of sports persons in all sports disciplines use everyday medications and products that contain substances that are on the "banned substances" list, in addition to actual banned substances, just to be able to continuously compete through their sporting careers, without their bodies falling apart around them.
So, hear me out for a moment. If you are a Lance Armstrong, you are a pariah. But, if you are an everyday mediocre, middle of the pack, professional sports nodody, you get a "pass", no press intrusion, no character assassination, no threats from oversight committee's to throw your tail in jail, etc., etc., for doing exactly the same thing.
Sorry, but all this amounts to is a bunch of little minded people playing politics and media frenzy with other people's lives. We lift up our sports heroes and hoot and holler for them when they're on top. And then, find any excuse to rip 'em apart and feed 'em to the wolves when we're done with 'em. Welcome to the human race!
Well, Joe...you have issues if you think Fox is giving you the real scoop...however, the only reason I came on here is to state..."who cares?" If they are all cheating, then what? There are more important things going on with the planet.
I, for one, did not see this on Fox News but, if I had, I sure would have believed them over CNN. CNN has a bad habit of torquing the truth, so to speak, and I won't even mention how bad MSNBC is! There IS a reason that Fox is the MOST watched cable news outlet. They tell the truth!
Ummm, just about everybody in the country BUT you cares, that's who. This isn't about Armstrong and it isn't about cycling. It's about honesty, integrity, and objectivity in a "semi-government" agency. The agency perpetrating this (politically motivated) witch hunt and hatchet job is the same organization charged with testing and honestly reporting on our OLYMPIC athletes. If, despite all evidence to the contrary, they will expel an innocent man for doing something he didn't do, it's a very serious problem and demands our attention.
This is more about control than right or wrong. Lance Armstrong is a BIG fish. The USADA couldn't bully him into copping a plea so now they'll destroy him in order to keep others in line.
In all sports, one should not forget that it's all about the Benjamins.