Lance Armstrong cleared of doping charges.

[alfredo]

For years some very nationalistic members of the French media and within the cycling community have been trying to soil the name of Lance Armstrong. They just couldn't believe he could be that good without being drugged.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2464102


"Today's comprehensive report makes it clear that there is no truth to that accusation," Armstrong said in a statement. "I have now retired, but for the sake of all athletes still competing who deserve a level playing field and a fair system of drug testing, the time has come to take action against these kinds of attacks before they destroy the credibility of WADA and, in turn, the international anti-doping system."

The International Cycling Union appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman last October to investigate the handling of urine tests from the 1999 Tour by the French national anti-doping laboratory, known by its French acronym LNDD.

Vrijman said Wednesday his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France


----

In my opinion, it wasn't just his incredible physique, but his ability to handle pain. His suffering during his bout with cancer may have given him insight into how much pain he can endure. Put that on top of superior training, technique, strategy, team work and intelligence (both types), and you can see why he is a champion of champions.

[Ezlivin]

1. Two Americans who won the Tour both bounced back from tragedy

Greg Lemond won after being shot (!).

And Lance won after nearly dying from cancer.

[Che_Nuevara]

2. I still don't like him.

[cboy4]

4. Huh come?

:shrug:

[Che_Nuevara]

6. The way he treated his wife was pretty crappy.

[cboy4]

7. Got it.

[Dudley_DUright]

3. I never doubted him

I had heard about him years before he became world famous through the cycling grapevine and knew how much raw talent he had. His near death experience focused all that talent and made him a champion for the ages.

[Lexingtonian]

5. cleared of doping, but not of being a dope

I'm no fan of Lance. First of all, testicular cancer is a well known occasional side effect of steroid usage. Some hero, that boy. Testicular cancer in sport where steroid use was rampant when he became a pro...gee, what a coincidence.

Guess when and where Lance was first introduced to EPO. In chemo, of course. In 1995-96 Amgen was selling $800m worth of the stuff a year. All the effects were known. It was a cheaper and easier way to do blood packing.

Armstrong always hedges his claims of innocence; some of them are clearcut non-denial denials, others about technicalities. True, everyone else in pro biking was (and perhaps still is) doing funny stuff too.

Maybe Armstrong is better than the rest, juiced or not. But with as much doping as went on during the Nineties and until recently, it all has about the standing with me of pro "wrestling".

[Caution]

8. Where do you see cancer being a side effect of steroid usage?

I see the exact opposite, that steroids can be used in treating people who have cancer, certainly not the other way around. Could you please provide a citation for this?

[alfredo]

9. I knew people who worked with the US cycling team and

US Pro. They said he had a work ethic beyond anyone they knew. They also were very strict about doping. If he was doping his huge staff of sports medicine doctors would have known. They gave him blood tests periodically. His contract with the USPS addressed doping and made sure he was tested.

There was a lot more science behind Lance than most people know. Nothing was left to chance. They weighed ever ounce of food he ate. His vital signs were monitored constantly. His position on the bike, the style of his stroke, the shoes he wore and the fabric in his clothes were designed for one thing: going fast.

Most pro racers raced themselves into shape, not Lance, and not his team. He trained eight hours a day, eleven months a year. Even on his one month vacation, he kept up his fitness regime. Months before the tour he was riding the course. On segments where he had trouble, he road over and over again until he got it right. No other pro cyclist had this focus on the tour. Most pros had to race all over the world, Lance and his team worked for one goal, the tour. That was all that mattered to him and his sponsors. Doped or not doped, Lance and his team started the race in the lead because of their focus and training. Once on the course, they had superior tactics and superior technology. The team coach had telemetry on everyone on the team. They knew who could pull extra duty and who had to go easy that day.

One word for the team, there was not a team anywhere in cycling as good at the team assembled for Lance. Not only were they champions in their own right, they were fiercely loyal to Lance, and some of the meanest motherfuckers on the road. He couldn't have won without their help.


On the down side, Lance has always been too cocky for some people's taste, but he was able to back it up on the road.

the only link between testicular cancer and steroids is if the mother took estrogen or DES. Testicular cancer is the most prominent cancer in males between 15 to 35.