Anything new here or is it just Lance whinging about how it’s all soooo unfair that they won’t let him race his bike now? I really don’t know if I can be bothered anymore.

Hes not the first and won’t be the last sportsman to manipulate people: Sir Alex Ferguson was famous for it, including bullying and intimidating referees and yet he is lorded and honoured throughout the sporting community.

candidness

Pull the other one 😆

lauded 😉

Anyway, I would suggest that old bacon face is far from universally liked or admired…

I’d go with that – I’d love to see him get his titles back because the internet would probably explode! 😉

Or to put it another way, Jan Ullrich, Big Mig and many others who were successful and doped, didn’t behave in the way Lance did. And FWIW, much as I dislike him, neither has beef-eater Contador and he’s won a fair bit.

They did; they all lied, cheated, propogated the omerta, they all had doctors, team managers etc aiding and abetting them, those doctors/TMs were all bullying and coercing riders, cutting people off if they refused to toe the line.

Only difference is that none of them were multi-million pound, cancer-surviving, all-American heroes. Like it or not, the Tour needed Lance, Lance needed the Tour and everyone bought into it.

I for one can’t stand SAF. He may have been successful but he came across as being thoroughly dislikeable!

They did but I would suggest that they didn’t directly have the effect that LA did. You’re right of course that the doctors and team managers had a major part to play but for me that’s really where most of the blame lies rather than with the majority of riders themselves – not to excuse them but IMO they weren’t the ones with the power. To that point, I’d happily see Riis, Vino and probably more to the point, the doctors and team managers of the time banned from team management.

Lance was an exception to that. He clearly had significant influence in a way that most riders didn’t. That’s why he deserves his lifetime ban.

AlexSimon – Member
Yes, you’re missing the fact that it’s Lance that wants to be back in the public eye and back competing.
If he just quietly went away with his remaining multi-millions it wouldn’t be so bad.

That and the fact that when he was on the ropes, he came out dirtier than ever, with hate campaigns against the USADA prosecutors, threats and, because everyone already knew the truth at that point and were watching closely, he made his personality very very clear to everyone.

I see it the same way. He was the figurehead of that whole scene and ruthlessly lied and bullied people so deserves to be hung out to dry.
He is the one seeking to get back in the public eye so is opening himself to scrutiny.
The only way he would regain any credibility in my eyes would be to come clean and tell all like Tyler Hamilton, but even so I wouldn’t want to see him hosting TV coverage like other ex-pros.