[Closed] Lance to ride Tour de Ben Nevis?

I'll get banned if I say 😉

Why not? bit of publicity, gives folks a chance to ride with him and weep as the cry "for the love of god, why did you do it Lance, WHY?"

Got to be a piss take.

I wonder if he'll use a big ring.

Why not, just go up and spectate.

[img] [/img]

I read one response which suggested that he'd better have his lawyers explain "banter" to him prior to the event.

I'd say yes feel free to come and ride.

The people charged with dishing out punishment for his violations have done that and by their ruling he's free to ride this event. The man should be punished to the extent of the rules of his sport and the law of the land beyond that he should be free to live his life like anyone else, and that includes riding his bike.

He should be able to ride in any event other than the top professional level.

I would ambush him on the first real climb and pelt him with eggs,all the while shouting "Can't you take a yolk big man?" 🙂

If the aim of justice is to rehabilitate wrongdoers once they have shown contrition rather than to "punish" them then of course he should be allowed to ride. If not then, yes, the egg thing.

If his bans don't apply to the event - ie under the sport's laws he's allowed to compete, then of course. He's a punter like anyone else.

Presumably his bans only apply to professional events.

Wouldn't it be great to say that you've actually raced against Lance Armstrong..... Oh, no. Actually it wouldn't.

Lets face it, you'd have a better chance of beating him now the playing field is more level against him.

Me and Lance are tied on Tour titles. 8)

I don't think he should be allowed to enter. Full stop.

"I raced against lance and i was clean!"
he still beat me thou.

If the event is not sanctioned by the governing body in this case UCI, then he is not band from it.
Would be interesting to hear from the event sponsors, as to whether they would a take the "don't want to be associated with him" or "there's only one thing worse than being talked about" line

advertisers were paying big buck for the OW show last week.

If the aim of justice is to rehabilitate wrongdoers once they have shown contrition rather than to "punish" them then of course he should be allowed to ride

You appear to be all confused about what he "showed" in his PR stunt with Oprah.

"hora - Member
Me and Lance are tied on Tour titles."

No i can think of one you've got over him 😀

He should be allowed, but he should have to come in fancy dress as a big performance-enhancing tablet....or something .. 😕

You appear to be all confused about what he "showed" in his PR stunt with Oprah.

Good bit of marketing and PR from Frazer indeed 😛

I don't think he should be allowed to enter. Full stop.

Why not?

He's Joe Schmoe just like you and me. Unless the rules prevent him, he should be able to pay his fee and turn up on the startline just like anyone else.

Should David Millar be accepted? What about someone with a drink drive conviction, or a doping offence in another sport? How to decide who's in or out?

Wouldnt it be better for the riders who all rode beside him to decide if he should compete again or not. They are the ones who have a clue about the sport, unlike STW that it.

He's Joe Schmoe just like you and me.

Except he's not. He's a convicted drugs cheat currently serving a ban from all sanctioned sports covered by WADA. I'm sure it sends a really wonderful message if you allow such a person to compete in your event (making the completely unfounded assumption that such an e-mail came from Lance and is serious).

Should David Millar be accepted? What about someone with a drink drive conviction, or a doping offence in another sport?

Millar has served his ban is rehabilitated and is now allowed to compete in all sports. Why does everybody have to keep bringing him up as a strawman whenever Lance is mentioned? Somebody serving a ban for a doping offence in another sport is in exactly the same position as Lance. It's really not anything like as complicated as you make out.

Wouldnt it be better for the riders who all rode beside him to decide if he should compete again or not.

Or how about - hold on to your hats, I've got a totally off the wall suggestion here - how about we let USADA / WADA decide?

If he is not breaking any rules he should be allowed to do it and we al know LA never breaks the rules 😉

Its interesting throughout all this I find myself suddenly becoming a bleeding heart liberal again - after months/years of saying burn him. he ha sbeen caught now lest deal with this.

You either believe in rehabilitation or you dont and this will define your answer
I believe in rehabilitation - its a very very long road for LA and, like most of you, I doubt i will ever believe him

Worse folk have reformed than him and everyone deserves a chance even him

I am suspecting this will be a popular view on here 😀

Wouldnt it be better for the riders who all rode beside him to decide if he should compete again or not.

I imagine a fair few would object. I'd also say LA isn't in the clear to compete. Hes under investigation effectively where Millar is in the clear to do whatever he wants.

You either believe in rehabilitation or you dont and this will define your answer

You'll have to explain your view of punishment and rehabilitation to me. Should he be punished, and if so, what punishment has he had? How can he be rehabilitated if he hasn't been punished, he hasn't (really) shown any remorse for his offences ("they were all doing it", "I looked up cheat in the dictionary") and he hasn't changed?

@aracer yeah you're right, someone whose ban is up is a different case

I think what the TBN organisers need to decide is if currently banned pros are allowed in their event. (Maybe they already have a rule or policy covering this).

Then they apply that.

What I don't think they should do is make a special case for LA. The policy/rules apply to everyone, however it falls.

Part of his punishment is that he can longer participate in WADA sanctioned events. I'm not familiar with the tour of Ben Nevis but i assume that it's not a WADA sanctioned event therefore he should be free to take part.

What I don't think they should do is make a special case for LA. The policy/rules apply to everyone, however it falls.

I totally agree. They probably don't get too many banned athletes wanting to compete at their events though (and I should point out it isn't just pros drugs bans apply to - I've competed at events where people have been tested, and I'm certainly not and never have been a professional sportsperson)

Part of his punishment is that he can longer participate in WADA sanctioned events. I'm not familiar with the tour of Ben Nevis but i assume that it's not a WADA sanctioned event therefore he should be free to take part.

So if it's not a WADA sanctioned event you can take whatever drugs you like and the organisors and other competitors are totally happy with that? IMHO allowing athletes undergoing drugs bans to compete in any race is a slippery slope.

Hes under investigation effectively where Millar is in the clear to do whatever he wants.

Is he? USADA has delivered its verdict, the ban is in place and UCI has accepted it, stripping him of titles etc.

As far as TBN is concerned, it's their event and they need to balance the likely positives and negatives of having LA involved. Fairness is a fine thing, but he's not like any other athlete - he'll bring them a media scrum which could affect the running of the event.

You'll have to explain your view of punishment and rehabilitation to me.

Should he be punished, and if so, what punishment has he had?

How can he be rehabilitated if he hasn't been punished, he hasn't (really) shown any remorse for his offences

Truth and reconcilliation and making sure it cannot happen again?
Its more about getting something positive from this than getting my pound of flesh- he does need punishing for sure its just what this should be that I am discussing.

("they were all doing it", "I looked up cheat in the dictionary") and he hasn't changed?

Like i said he is a cheating lying ****er but we can turn this into a positive or we can punish him as an example to others

So if it's not a WADA sanctioned event you can take whatever drugs you like and the organisors and other competitors are totally happy with that?

I doubt that the serious competitors would be happy, organisers? Maybe, depends on how they manage the publicity. People that are riding more as a day out rather than serious attempt to 'win' I'd guess they'd be split some would like the opportunity to be in the same event as Armstrong others would find the idea of him there repulsive and a fair few in the middle wouldn't give a toss.

IMHO allowing athletes undergoing drugs bans to compete in any race is a slippery slope.

generally I'd agree with you, but if they have no rules currently in place to prevent riders serving WADA bans to participate then they should let him ride this year and then set about altering their entry requirements for next year, making a special case of anyone whether that be positive or negative discrimination is unjust.

My view remains that he should be punished to the full extent of the rules of the sport and the law of the land but beyond that he should have the same opportunities as everyone else.

If I was competing in an event and they let him in, I'd walk out.

i hear rabobank are sending a team...

Good men do bad things, bad men do good things.....

In the spirit of reconcilliation...I'd be happy to ride with him...

lazybike are you sure you'd be riding against a clean competitor?

I saw a stage-managed 'confession'. No tears, breakdown or confession before he was caught.

Frazer must be delighted with this bouncing round the net... marketing WIN!

Letting him compete would make a mockery of the event and detract the attention from those genuine people who have entered and want to race. A race is a private event and the organisers have the right to refuse anyone they wish.

If I was in with a shout of winning a race and I saw Lance at the start line I'd be seriously annoyed.

lazybike are you sure you'd be riding against a clean competitor?

Of course in a race, I aint going to be riding "with" him 😉

I must work through my forgiveness issues.

[i]I would still egg him[/i] 🙂

He wouldn't be the only cheat 😉 They let one organise events for them never mind race in them. But maybe drugs cheating is worse than just cheating cheating, who knows.

If I was in with a shout of winning a race and I saw Lance at the start line I'd be seriously annoyed.

Hes got a point to prove to the world. Must keep winning therefore you'd suspect ANY sort of strong performance from him is growth-hormone etc etc enhanced.

Reconciliation? I think we need to stop the cheats once and for all not show you can be rehabilitated and re compete.

Reconciliation? I think we need to stop the cheats once and for all not show you can be rehabilitated and re compete.

Is sport an issue aside from the rest of life or do you think the same principle should apply to all crimes and indiscretions?

I'll tell you what though, the schtick'll really hit the fan if he wins! 😆 😆 😆

If I was competing in an event and they let him in, I'd walk out.

And I suspect you'd be far from the only one, which the organisers will want to weigh up when deciding.

Is anyone close enough to the organisers to have a feel for whether this is likely to be for real, or a hoax designed (successfully) to generate some publicity for the event?

I think that people are confusing reconciliation/ rehabilitation with a well choreographed and organised public exhibition of hand-wringing carefully calibrated to manoevre him back into competetive sport .I don't see any genuine remorse or regret, apart from getting caught out -there is rumoured to be a film in the making " cycle of lies " so he is actively profiteering from his wrong-doing .put the one-bollocked bastard in court and make him pay compensation to the cancer charity he has shat on.

He'll need a thick skin if he turns up at this one, as he may get a bit of a flea in his ear from some participants. The reputation of us Scots for not suffering fools gladly must surely have made its way into his PR team's mind, so he'll know what to expect.
Personally, I think it would be a good thing for both him and the event, it would be good to see one or two of our best riders take him on fair and square. Maybe we'll get lucky and the combination of weather and terrain may kick his butt.
He has to start his return to 'sport' in some form of rehab; like for most of us, riding is a way of life for this man. He may prove to be the perfect gentleman and do positive things from now on; after all, this man has also put a lot back into the sport over the years, think of those 'ride with Lance' events that he has done here in the past. The man is not all bad.

"charity he has shat on"

What?

explain? how has he shat on Livestrong?

he started it, raised millons, there is debate on how the money has been spent-ok. Now he has stood down.

i don't think livestrong is about to fold because he has been found out.

ormondroyd - Member
If I was competing in an event and they let him in, I'd walk out.

Why walk when you could ride out on your high horse?

BoardinBob - Member
ormondroyd - Member
If I was competing in an event and they let him in, I'd walk out.
Why walk when you could ride out on your high horse?

Bit pointless taking your bike if your going to walk.

I might go along just on the off chance of meeting him, I would visit a few charity shops on the way up to pick up a stock of his books for him to sign. 😆

 

I think some people are so needing revenge that they are no better than the cheating LA tbh - remember his atacks on those who spoke aout about him and how OTT they were

He may "deserve" it more but its still OTT.

he cheated and lied,. hardly the first fraudster we will ever encounter now is he.

I wonder how people from on here would react if iDave turned up?

I wonder how people from on here would react if iDave turned up?

They may loose their appetites!

glasgowdan - Member

Letting him compete would make a mockery of the event and detract the attention from those genuine people who have entered and want to race.

It's a No Fuss event, 4/5ths of the entrants don't want to race.

I'd say yes feel free to come and ride.

The people charged with dishing out punishment for his violations have done that and by their ruling he's free to ride this event. The man should be punished to the extent of the rules of his sport and the law of the land beyond that he should be free to live his life like anyone else, and that includes riding his bike.

^^ Agreed.

He's lost titles, lost sponsorship income, faced global humiliation and faces a lifetime ban from elite level sport. That in my book is more than enough punishment.

I think there is something very unhealthy about people (who haven't lost out in races to him or whatever) seeming to take delight in watching a man's life in tatters.

I think there is something very unhealthy about people (who haven't lost out in races to him or whatever) seeming to take delight in watching a man's life in tatters.

It's called jumping on the bandwagon

He has acted like a knob over the years - but frankly the same can be said for half the guys i ride with (some of whom are not only knobs but are also known to cheat on strava - something which directly impacts on me whereas cheating to win the Tour de France doesn't 😀 ) and i still put up with them because the positives of riding a bike with those i do enjoy the company of outweigh the negatives of having to put up with some guys that I dont.

Would people really pull out of this event if Armstrong was to enter? If you dont like the guy fair enough but it would be a bit crazy if you would let something like that spoil your enjoyment. If nothing else surely it will be a good story to tell.

It's called jumping on the bandwagon

LA is used to that as he does live in Cowboy Country and has probably circled his wagons by now with all the hostile natives.

He has acted like a knob over the years - but frankly the same can be said for half the guys i ride with (some of whom are not only knobs but are also known to cheat on strava - something which directly impacts on me whereas cheating to win the Tour de France doesn't ) and i still put up with them because the positives of riding a bike with those i do enjoy the company of outweigh the negatives of having to put up with some guys that I dont.

Would people really pull out of this event if Armstrong was to enter? If you dont like the guy fair enough but it would be a bit crazy if you would let something like that spoil your enjoyment. If nothing else surely it will be a good story to tell.

Agreed.

I still believe, let Lance ride! Hora you know you still love him really.

I think some people are so needing revenge that they are no better than the cheating LA tbh - remember his atacks on those who spoke aout about him and how OTT they were

So suggesting LA shouldn't be allowed to ride TdBN is directly equivalent to calling Emma O'Reilly a whore? I'm also not sure why suggesting the ban should extend to all athletic competitions is seeking revenge.

Ok then how about the fact that cycling may be excluded from the next Olympics as it can no longer be guarenteed to be clean, whether this is fair or not [ and he is clearly not the only one] ,what rehabilitaion has he done to make good the irreperable harm he has caused the reputation of cycling

I've ridden "against" Carlos Sastre in a Gran Fondo 2 years ago, now the guys retired, but jeeze even for a bloke that rode "for fun" in the demise of Fuji, holy cow he was fit as..

I suspect Lance is stil waaaaaayyyyy fitter than most/if not all on this forumz. He'd probably tow you in his wake.

Ok then how about the fact that cycling may be excluded from the next Olympics as it can no longer be guarenteed to be clean

It wont be.

Take some EPO , have a blood transfusion and have a little s**** to yourself on the start line!!!!

[quote=mr potatohead ]Ok then how about the fact that cycling may be excluded from the next Olympics as it can no longer be guarenteed to be clean

Mark Cavendish said "[url= http://sports.opera.com/?sport=news&page=news&view=article&news_id=220661&localization_id=www ]We don't assume every current BBC presenter is a sexual deviant because of what Jimmy Savile and his cronies were doing in the 1970s, so why are we carrying the can for Lance and his inner circle?[/url]"

And the IOC have [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21048927 ]played down rumours that cycling may be banned[/url]

So suggesting LA shouldn't be allowed to ride TdBN is directly equivalent to calling Emma O'Reilly a whore?

I'm also not sure why suggesting the ban should extend to all athletic competitions is seeking revenge[

Genuine question - has anyone else had a lifetime ban from all sports?
It just seems harsh to me.

I would love to know (if its true) what Lance said in his email assuming it is the Lance Armstrong or not some other random bloke called Lance.

Whats Lance doing is he sat at home underneath his meaningless yellow jersey's trawling the internet for events he could enter.

Millar has served his ban is rehabilitated and is now allowed to compete in all sports. Why does everybody have to keep bringing him up as a strawman whenever Lance is mentioned?

because he too robbed clean riders of careers and hope. He also made more money from his book on doping than many a clean rider has done in their entire career

explain? how has he shat on Livestrong?

he started it, raised millons, there is debate on how the money has been spent-ok. Now he has stood down

He's lost titles, lost sponsorship income, faced global humiliation and faces a lifetime ban from elite level sport. That in my book is more than enough punishment.

I think there is something very unhealthy about people (who haven't lost out in races to him or whatever) seeming to take delight in watching a man's life in tatters.

there's no delight just a need to recognise the full impact of what he did to so many people and the sad knowledge that despite everything he can still walk back in and claim TV time, column inches and web pages that should be devoted to clean cyclists

Sorry LA should do jailtime. Nothing less. He hasn't suffered. He lived a carefully crafted deceiptful lie.

big_n_daft - Member

the point is how livestrong spends the money, it essentially appears to be spending most of the money paying Lance for his support.

Numbers? This gets repeated a lot but I've not seen anything to support it which makes me suspicious.

Numbers? This gets repeated a lot but I've not seen anything to support it which makes me suspicious.

If you want to know more about Livestrong, read this:

[url= http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html ]Some stuff about Livestrong[/url]

i suppose he'd be welcome on the annual Manchester to Blackpool ride too 😆

edlong- that's one I've read before, and it contradicts what big_n_daft was saying.

Would he survive the experience?

Firstly I don't believe it for a second that he would have any intention of entering

But if he did, is it really such a big deal, hes not banned from such an event is he? And for those on their moral high horse about it all, perhaps you should have a criminal record check done on everyone who enters the field, because I'm pretty sure you will have ridden in events that have contained participants convicted of far worse crimes than he has.

lets not forget, hes not a child molestor (that we know of), never killed anyone, sure hes screwed over people and hes a cheat and a nasty piece of work, but hes not exactly the antichrist. Ban him form top level sport by all means, don't get your knickers in a twist about a fun event that I reckon many people would like to see him at, if only to say 'I was there, I rode with Lance'

Besides, I'm needing one more for my ten under the ben team....

Frazer n' spook are pretty canny when it comes to publicity and spreading the word, move along now....nothing to see here.... that is all.

If some of the high horse cowboys on here think Lance is a bad 'un, they should see some of the evil, lying, thieving, fraudulent and generally criminal creatures that I have to deal with on a regular basis. Wake up- much worse happens every day, just beyond your doorstep.