Armstrong denies Landis’ claims, then crashes

[Stuart G]

Source: MSNBC, AP

Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 3:19 PM

VISALIA, Calif. - Hours after defending himself against doping allegations by an ex-teammate, Lance Armstrong is going to the hospital for X-rays after crashing during the Tour of California.

Armstrong’s longtime coach Johan Bruyneel tweeted Thursday that Armstrong was involved in a “huge” crash and “had to abandon and is going to the hospital for Xrays.”

The cyclists were on a two-lane road outside Visalia a few miles into the race when a rider in the main group skidded on some gravel and fell, causing others, including Armstrong, to crash.






Read more: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37247426/ns/sports-other_sports/

[wtmusic]

1. Oh crap.

Gravel? Doesn't sound like the course was prepped at all.

[stopbush]

7. Happens all the time in the Tour de France. There's gravel along

the berms of these roads. If one biker veers into it, there ca be hell to pay.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. I choose to believe Armstrong.

..and hope he is OK.

[glinda]

4. Me too. He has been tested a lot.

[stopbush]

8. I'd mention that Armstrong has been under suspicion for doping for years.

But here in America, all of that is pushed to the side so we can all worship another American sports hero.

Professional cycling has been a cesspool of drug enhancement abuse for a long time. Landis was an idiot to believe he could knock down the test results that helped to dethrone him. But he wasn't operating in a vacuum. There are plenty of people in and around cycling to "advise" people on the best way to mask drug abuse.

[wtmusic]

9. Under suspicion because he won the TDF seven times

or because someone actually has credible evidence?

[stopbush]

12. I don't want to rehash it all here, but there's lots of articles on the internet

about it, and from reputable sources.

Supposedly he came clean about his drug use when he was lying in the hospital with cancer.

Look, I'm a Lance fan. I watch the Tour de France and was excited when he won, just as I was excited when Landis won, just as I'm always excited, no matter who wins. It's a great sporting event. I would like for it to be a clean race, which it hasn't been for years, just like MLB wasn't clean for years.

If Armstrong cheated, he should come clean about it, as has Landis. I know that one can't prove a negative, and Armstrong has never failed a drug test, so we should take his word for it. I just fear that one day testing will become available that will be retroactively applied to all of those blood samples they keep on file, and we'll learn that every cycling race for the past 30 years has been infested with drug abuse by winners and losers alike.

I'd rather Armstrong got out in front of it while he has the opening from Landis. If Landis is lying about Armstrong's involvement, well, it would be par for the course. Then again, who knows what pressures Landis was under to claim his innocence for the past 4 years? That pressure could have come from the top of American racing. We don't know.

[wtmusic]

14. Landis was on a Swiss team when he "won" the TDF

so I don't know why the "top of American racing" would put pressure on him.

In his book, False Positive, he points out many inconsistencies with his test data, about which he has legitimate complaints. That said, the whole thing has the ring of the OJ Simpson trial - after it's all over, you sit back and say, "Ehhhhhhh...,". Like OJ, Landis didn't immediately deny the allegations but disappeared, staying holed up in his hotel room for a day or two after the finding. This is not the mark of an innocent man, but one who is working on an alibi.

Lance was known as an arrogant SOB in his earlier days, and all the "evidence" that's come forth against him has been talk. Re: past drug use for both of them, I don't anticipate any revelations. It's been hashed over too many times to elicit interest any more, and the fact is drug testing has been remarkably effective in cycling - there wasn't one positive result at last year's Tour. We've likely seen the worst of it at least for awhile.

[regnaD kciN]

15. I don't know if he's guilty of doping or not...

...but crashing during a stage race is no sign that he is. Crashes happen all the time in bicycle racing.

[stopbush]

17. See my post #7 above.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Uh, are we trying to imply something with ta headline

I don't know if he is guilty or not, but it seems that the headline writer is trying to imply he is.

[DJ13]

5. I bet Kaweah Delta hospital was a zoo when he went there

[slackmaster]

6. I'm having a hard time believing anything that any jock says

:nopity:

[joanmj]

13. Me too!

:nopity:

[elocs]

10. Are we supposed to infer there is some sort of connection between Armstrong's denial

and his crashing? :shrug: One doesn't seem to have anything to do with the other.

[wtmusic]

11. MSNBC is happy to "connect the dots" for you

(even when doing so makes no sense at all).

Unfortunately it gets a lot of people to click on their page.

[regnaD kciN]

16. Oh, it's not JUST that he crashed...

...but that Lindsay Lohan was arrested the same day. This is significant!

:sarcasm:

[truthisfreedom]

18. Like these two things are connected.

Right.