Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 152 total)
  • He's back in the news
  • whitestone
    Free Member

    Well a cheat is the only person who can explain why they took the course of action that they did. If they spill the beans naming others then they don’t have any threat of exposure in retaliation whereas someone who is “clean” may well do or at least they have the threat of “dirt by association”.

    Not an easy subject to get to the heart of in an objective manner.

    Lawmanmx
    Free Member

    I’m just watching Auschwitz anniversary.
    The awful things that happened there by so many Nazi soldiers.
    Soldiers who probably had wives and kids at home.
    They killed and tortured these poor British/Polish/Russian/French And Jews including women, children, even shooting babies in front of their mother.
    According to some views on this thread it must have been alright because “at that time everyone was doing it”
    .
    .
    FTFY 😉

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    Well a cheat is the only person who can explain why they took the course of action that they did.

    Yes, but are they telling the “truth” or just contriving a public apology to make a nice litle earner from a book 😕

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    bikebouy
    Free Member

    ^^ strange link there lolo.. Comparing Auschwitz with Lance, what exactly are you implying there? I do wonder.

    Perhaps you are linking that most of todays Drugs were at the impliment stage during WW2, being designed and tested on Jews you know, just to see if they worked.

    Is that your point, if so I think you have a good one.

    I see Lance as the figurehead for a sport that pushed it’s own boundaries in the name of Entertainment. The infrastructure, the people who designed courses, the Management, the TV, the Press, the Athletes, the Support Crews, the Teams. All complicit, all knew and understood what the boundaries were, all pushed them. Pushed them in the name of entertainment.

    And yet today it still happens all be it without the Drugs (or so we are told and hope) The TdF is still massively hard, ridiculous climbs, terribly long stages, climbs that most wouldn’t walk up let along ride a bike at pace, the Athletes are supposed to perform for the cameras, for the press, for the “glory” for the fight. Continuous pressure, ribbons of winding roads, eating both calories and mind numbing rumble. Races continue to fight for being the “hardest” the longest, the fastest, the most extreme and yet we all love it, we love the fight and the desperate faces of failed knackered riders who cross the line 30mins behind the winner.

    I suggest we’re all complicit in watching, supporting and setting lofty goals for our favourite riders. But in that what can we do? Should we make stages of the TdF shorter say max 150k? 2 mountain top finishes in the whole 3 weeks? sprint stages that are only 50k’s long? 2 days off a week during the 3 weeks tour?
    Of course not, that would belittle the fact that we all still crave the desperation of the riders, the glory of the winners and the courses continue to get longer, get harder, finish higher, and test the riders to the absolute limits.

    I’m surprised that in todays era Drugs are not used more or allowed even to help and support riders in their quest to keep us entertained.

    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    Is he still KOM on buttertubs? That’s his crowning glory.

    cupra
    Free Member

    Armstrong to Auschwitz – a bit of a leap?

    Not an LA fan and think he is a limelight craving somewhat twisted individual but I do almost have a grudging respect for saying that back in 1995 he would dope again.

    iolo
    Free Member

    I’m just saying people try to justify all kinds of wrong doings by using the sentence “everyone else was doing it so it must have been ok”.
    It might have been too strong an analogy but that’s the point I was trying to make.

    Speeder
    Full Member

    I’m all for ignoring the bloke, really don’t think that any more air time should be given to him. It’s not like we’re learning anything new any more. Same old same old.

    Two things I don’t with this though:

    How come it’s just LA that’s been scrubbed out from the TdF winners list? For example, Pantani won it the year before according to WIKI but he’s not been scrubbed out even though he’s also a well known drugs cheat. Surely there’s more?

    Winners list

    If he didn’t win it who did? Who was the next clean rider and how could they prove it? Or are we just ignoring that aspect as they were all assumed dirty?

    Klunk
    Free Member

    The awful things that happened there by so many Nazi soldiers.

    I hate the nullification of guilt the term “Nazi” is used for in those kinds of statements. Were all the soldiers at Auschwitz fully paid up and active members of the Nazi party or is there a better descriptive term we could use ?

    tpbiker
    Free Member

    Armstrong to Auschwitz – a bit of a leap?

    Possibly one of the most distastful comparisons I’ve ever read….

    ransos
    Free Member

    IMO he played the game well and won.

    He won the world road race championship in 1993, but there’s not a lot else on his Palmares.

    You must have a different view on what “playing the ghame well” means.

    nickc
    Full Member

    I see Lance as the figurehead for a sport that pushed it’s own boundaries in the name of Entertainment.

    Hmmm, not sure. This would be true if they said “hey, public these guys are juiced like you wouldn’t believe, we’ve let them take everything they can, and now we’re going to see what they can do!!”

    But the UCI and teams and riders didn’t say that at all…

    mikey3
    Free Member

    What about the people in the UCI who let him backdate a prescription when he got tested positive,they let him cheat and they knew he was cheating.

    bombjack
    Free Member

    What about the people in the UCI who let him backdate a prescription when he got tested positive,they let him cheat and they knew he was cheating.

    This. The whole system was (still is?) broken. How Astana are still in the pro tour is a joke.
    Armstrong ruined many careers with his arrogance but in many ways he was just the tip of the needle so to speak, when backed into the corner he tried to force his way out.
    I reckon any dedicated sportsman who was facing losing it all (and quite possibly thought the system would continue to protect him as it had done) would have done the same.
    BTW in no way does that make it right…

    taxi25
    Free Member

    Lance isn’t going to disappear anytime soon. Not whilst he and others ( not all supporters by any means ) feel his lifetime ban is unfair. At least in comparison to the penalties other cheats received. Personaly I’d have given him a ten year ban. Not really sure why anyone would be bothered about a 50yr old man competing in triathlons.

    whitestone
    Free Member

    I suspect that he’s partly victim of the turf wars between WADA and USADA.

    His lifetime ban is a consequence of how he went about cheating rather than the cheating itself. To some extent he is being made an example of but he really doesn’t help his own cause – a case of “he doth protest too much”, if I was on his legal team I’d be telling him to keep his mouth shut.

    Most legal punishments (prison, etc) have a means to reduce the sentence served for good behaviour, LA needs to understand this rather than moan about things being unfair. He’s not going to be a (major) player on the UCI pro-circuit any more but he does need a carrot rather than more stick.

    aracer
    Free Member

    Get off the fence, binners, tell us whether you’re for or against him FFS!

    zakalwe
    Free Member

    I see Lance as the figurehead for a sport that pushed it’s own boundaries in the name of Entertainment. The infrastructure, the people who designed courses, the Management, the TV, the Press, the Athletes, the Support Crews, the Teams. All complicit, all knew and understood what the boundaries were, all pushed them. Pushed them in the name of entertainment.

    In the name of entertainment? Let’s not deceive ourselves: entertainment is a business, and the viewers are customers.

    The cogs in that business (e.g. Armstrong, Ferrari, the UCI apparat, …) generally do what they do to further their careers and increase their salaries, not to “push the boundaries of entertainment”.

    If Armstrong had done what he did all for the sake of entertainment, why did he so viciously attack and bully his sceptics while off the bike? Is it worth ruining people’s careers just to keep providing entertainment?

    I suggest we’re all complicit in watching, supporting and setting lofty goals for our favourite riders. But in that what can we do? Should we make stages of the TdF shorter say max 150k? 2 mountain top finishes in the whole 3 weeks? sprint stages that are only 50k’s long? 2 days off a week during the 3 weeks tour?
    Of course not, that would belittle the fact that we all still crave the desperation of the riders, the glory of the winners and the courses continue to get longer, get harder, finish higher, and test the riders to the absolute limits.

    I’m surprised that in todays era Drugs are not used more or allowed even to help and support riders in their quest to keep us entertained.

    We would be complicit if it were admitted publicly that doping is the done thing. But it’s hushed up and the cycling establishment pretends that it’s not happening, and many people are taken in by the facade. The only ones who are complicit are those who know that doping is a reality but pretend that it isn’t a problem.

    You’re also suggesting that doping is required in order for the Tour in its current form even to be possible. That’s not true – take away the drugs and you’ll get a slower race, but it would still be just as entertaining.

    njee20
    Free Member

    But in that what can we do? Should we make stages of the TdF shorter say max 150k? 2 mountain top finishes in the whole 3 weeks? sprint stages that are only 50k’s long? 2 days off a week during the 3 weeks tour?
    Of course not, that would belittle the fact that we all still crave the desperation of the riders, the glory of the winners and the courses continue to get longer, get harder, finish higher, and test the riders to the absolute limits.

    How would that help? Look at how many (athletics) sprinters fail drugs tests, the 100m is over in 10 seconds, making races shorter wouldn’t make a jot of difference!

    iolo
    Free Member

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/lance-armstrong-future-user-mountain-lion-video-20150127

    His publicity agent is working treble time at the minute.
    Nice to see how serious he takes his apologies.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    I know, I know. Just making an option out of what is a seriously hard event that’s all. You know that.

    However each story plays out it’s his sheer arrogance that get right up peoples chuffs. That and his political manoeuvrings, and his ability to play both press and organising bodies that were/are in place to this day.

    I’d agree with he’s just a pawn between USADA and WADA and UCI and US Presidents, but add in US Postal/Trek/UPS/Nissan/Nike and all the other sponsors that supported him throughout his very successful career.

    I’ve recently read an interview in Rouleur about him and enjoyed it no end. I await P2.

    RamseyNeil
    Free Member

    I actually thought this thread was going to be about Gary Glitter , with quite a clever title . I was obviously wrong , he would attract far less hate .

    RoterStern
    Free Member

    Though LA is a thoroughly objectionable person and he did despicable things to anyone who went against him I still think he’s being treated unfairly by the UCI. If he gets a lifetime ban then really so should everyone else who have doped. You can’t have one standard for one and not the other.

    yunki
    Free Member

    I’m a terrible ****..

    I’ve done all sorts of of insidious and heinous things throughout the course of my life if I look back at it and am honest with myself.. Some of you wouldn’t agree if you knew me, others would..

    I wonder how many of us have led a blame free life, could have led a blame free life if our circumstances had been different..
    I’ve read some stuff that made me think LA was a ****, but I don’t tend to believe everything I read and I know that there’s always three sides to every story..

    Let he who is without sin cast the first stone..

    FWIW – My other half knew nothing of bicycle racing or Lance Armstrong but she knows about cancer and Lance Armstrong gave her courage and inspiration when she needed it…

    I can’t judge him… It’s not my place to

    zakalwe
    Free Member

    He took everyone for a ride*, so everyone can judge him. I don’t think many people have caused as much hurt to others as he has – I’d be surprised if you have.

    *pun intended

    aracer
    Free Member

    Even the ones who owned up as soon as they were caught rather than spending years denying it and attempting to destroy their accusers – and still denying it and attempting to find legal loopholes after they’d been found guilty due to a mountain of evidence? Are they all equal?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Is it possible that he has calmed down and learned his lesson? Genuine question – I didn’t watch the interview, I don’t know. But surely it’s possible?

    aracer
    Free Member

    How could you possibly tell?

    I’ve not even read the transcript, but from the descriptions people are giving it seems unlikely he’s changed at all.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    How could I tell what?

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    I hate the nullification of guilt the term “Nazi” is used for in those kinds of statements. Were all the soldiers at Auschwitz fully paid up and active members of the Nazi party or is there a better descriptive term we could use ?

    Humans.

    butcher
    Full Member

    Is it possible that he has calmed down and learned his lesson? Genuine question – I didn’t watch the interview, I don’t know. But surely it’s possible?

    Not heard the whole interview, but I chuckled when he was on the radio. He said, and I paraphrase, “You know what, there was a period of time, for about 15 years or so, when I was a real asshole”. A noble thing to say, I thought! Maybe he gets it. Maybe he’s turned a corner. Then he finishes it off with ‘…to about a dozen people’. Only a dozen Lance? Are we sure? 🙄

    mrhoppy
    Full Member

    And Pat Mcquaid thinks he’s been hard done by oh good grief . To quote mumsnet **** the **** **** off to the **** far **** side of **** **** and when you **** get there **** **** off some **** more the pair of you.

    aracer
    Free Member

    How could you tell if he’s changed, or is still lying.

    cubist
    Free Member

    How about we introduce 2 classes into sports where one lot take the peds and the others don’t. Fiver says the class that did would become the most popular of the two.

    RoterStern
    Free Member

    Even the ones who owned up as soon as they were caught rather than spending years denying it and attempting to destroy their accusers – and still denying it and attempting to find legal loopholes after they’d been found guilty due to a mountain of evidence? Are they all equal?
    They banned him for doping,not being a ****. So on those terms he didn’t do anything different to all the other dopers. So I would answer yes to your question. How many unapologetic ex dopers are still earning money from the sport?

    mrlebowski
    Free Member

    And Pat Mcquaid thinks he’s been hard done by oh good grief . To quote mums net **** the **** **** off to the **** far **** side of **** **** and when you **** get there **** **** off some **** more the pair of you.

    F* Mcquaid – with that comment he’s proved he’s just as culpable as LA!

    Euro
    Free Member

    Are they all equal?

    Yes and no. They are all equally guilty of cheating. Just because Lance was better at racing and cheating shouldn’t mean he should be singled out for being a bit of a wab too.

    Option 1: Anyone who cheats and is caught should be banned – for life. Doesn’t matter if you only cheated a tiny itty, bitty bit or did/do a whole heap of cheating. Get caught – get banned. Forever. Make the consequences for cheating so severe no one would risk it*. If whoever is behind this sport really wants it to be clean that’s one obvious way to do it. Punish those who cheat (equally) and send a message out to anyone thinking about it.

    Option 2: A drug fueled free-for-all. Let’s see what the human body can really do!

    *They’d end up in a rival race series, sponsored by Redbull, where drugs aren’t simply allowed, but encouraged – along with synthetic implants, robotic upgrades and weapons – a death race/roadrash on bicycles 8) .

    p.s.

    piemonster
    Full Member

    He’s a deceitful lying cock wad, one of the worst among many.

    None of which are deserving of reward.

    The only reason LA continues to gain so much negative response is because he continues to seek publicity. If he wants forgiveness he should try **** off, or does he want forgiveness as a press release.

    piemonster
    Full Member

    Option 2: A drug fueled free-for-all. Let’s see what the human body can really do!

    American Football or Bodybuilding?

    Pigface
    Free Member

    Amazed at the hate that Armstrong still provokes.

    It’s over, move on.

Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 152 total)

The topic ‘He's back in the news’ is closed to new replies.