Tour de Lance

**rajdet** · July-10-09, 11:12 AM

Is Lance Armstrong the greatest endurance athlete EVER? When I first read that Lance Armstrong at 37 years of age was back in the saddle after years of retirement my original thought was how sad, another former champion about to tarnish his legacy by trying to reclaim his glory days. Lance Armstrong is currently 1 second from the lead going into the mountain stages where he has traditionally smoked his competitors in his previous 7 wins. I consider the Tour de France to be the most grueling endurance competition ever. Think about it, 2200 miles on a bike in 23 stages with only 3 or 4 days off and the final 10 stages are all climbing mountains. I donâ€™t think I even drive 2200 miles in a year. These guys average 34 or 35 miles per hour in a 110 mile flat stage race. Lance is the f^@%ing Man!

**Sstashmoo** · July-10-09, 11:17 AM

He is amazing. He's like the Tiger Woods of cycling. They are two of the greatest athletes that ever lived.

**elganned** · July-10-09, 11:34 AM

Who cares? He's a doper. Better Winning Through Chemistry.

**ejames01** · July-10-09, 12:37 PM

Obviously, you do. Lance is an awesome athlete.

Originally Posted by elganned

Who cares? He's a doper. Better Winning Through Chemistry.

**firstandten** · July-10-09, 12:45 PM

I don't know, there has been talk of him doping for years and that talk won't go away

**rajdet** · July-10-09, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by elganned

Who cares? He's a doper. Better Winning Through Chemistry.

I don't care if he or any of those guys cross the finish line with a needle hanging out of their arm, and the business end of a crack pipe in their mouth. I admire anyone who finishes that race!

**East Detroit** · July-10-09, 02:58 PM

I am glad that he and Team Astana are kicking ass this year.

Particularly since he is being watched and tested and re-tested like a hawk during the whole tour. So, now he can show that he does it clean even with the French after him with a microscope.

**gibran** · July-10-09, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by East Detroit

I am glad that he and Team Astana are kicking ass this year.

Particularly since he is being watched and tested and re-tested like a hawk during the whole tour. So, now he can show that he does it clean even with the French after him with a microscope.

agreed you still have to finish the race..

and didn't the drugs he had in his system relate to his cancer treatments or am i imagining things?

ccbatson · July-10-09, 04:02 PM

Yeah, he cheats/dopes...so do all of the competitors at that level. The dilemma with performance enhancing drugs is that you either have to be 100 percent effective at eliminating them throughout the sport, or not at all. There is no middle ground.

**gibran** · July-10-09, 05:23 PM

was it ever established he cheated or where they drugs used fo rhis treatment of cnacer?

**East Detroit** · July-10-09, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by gibran

was it ever established he cheated or where they drugs used fo rhis treatment of cnacer?

What drugs? He was never found to have illegal drugs in his system. Nobody ever found him to be cheating.

If you cheat you're out. He is obviously not out.

The French are just jealous. Now they are watching him and testing him like crazy and he is still excellent.

Our tabloid and political society just wants to hear and make up dirt.

ccbatson · July-11-09, 01:07 PM

Doping with Epogen...a stretch to attribute to treatment of testicular cancer treated successfully years ago. Possibly a loophole that will keep him out of trouble, but in reality, he was in the game and on top by doing whatever it took to be on a level playing field [[at least).

**East Detroit** · July-11-09, 01:26 PM

Unconfirmed allegation years later to anonymous urine samples from 1999. And he was diagnosed with cancer in 1996.

Now, 10 years later, he is in 3rd place on the Tour and looking good for another win or a great showing. And they have an eagle eye on him and testing at every opportunity.

So, sorry, again.... He was never found to have illegal drugs in his system. Nobody ever found him to be cheating. If he was, he would have been suspended.

ccbatson · July-11-09, 01:31 PM

Testing evasion is not difficult at all....straight cath yourself 30 minutes before giving the sample [[unpleasant, but not so bad with the things elite athletes already put themselves through), and instill clean urine [[from someone else). Sounds nasty, but works like a charm.

**East Detroit** · July-11-09, 01:38 PM

Not sure how you know how to avoid a drug test or if that actually works, but again.... Lance didn't dope. Nobody has proven otherwise.

Too bad everything has to be negative in these forums.

ccbatson · July-11-09, 02:31 PM

Ignorance is bliss for you and your adoration of Lance...no sweat off my nose. Honestly, he is a tremendous athlete without a doubt...but not superhuman to the extent that he can dominate over all of his competitors using performance enhancing drugs. It is naive to believe it is so.

**Patrick** · July-11-09, 02:35 PM

Can they use hair samples to test for performance drugs? I know it can be used for illegal drugs so I figure why not? It would show up in his hair right?

**East Detroit** · July-11-09, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

Ignorance is bliss for you and your adoration of Lance...no sweat off my nose. Honestly, he is a tremendous athlete without a doubt...but not superhuman to the extent that he can dominate over all of his competitors using performance enhancing drugs. It is naive to believe it is so.

Negativity is bliss for the person who submits accusations with no proof.

It is naive to believe you have any more authority of opinion than the next person here.

However, I think we've learned recently that "guilty until proven innocent" is now okay in America.

**gibran** · July-11-09, 04:48 PM

I always felt that all this fuss about his doping was wrong ..that is why I asked my question.."was it attributed to his cancer treatment..".

Let the man ride..he represents those rare athletes [[Tiger, Jordan, Federar et al) that dominate a sport like no others....

**Patrick** · July-11-09, 05:31 PM

Look at baseball. It will forever be tainted because of the widespread use of dope and enhancement drugs. Now, if anyone beats a record or has stellar numbers, they are almost always accused of using drugs.

**East Detroit** · July-11-09, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by gibran

I always felt that all this fuss about his doping was wrong ..that is why I asked my question.."was it attributed to his cancer treatment..".

Let the man ride..he represents those rare athletes [[Tiger, Jordan, Federar et al) that dominate a sport like no others....

He wasn't found to be doping, so there is nothing to attribute to anything.

He is a superstar. If he wins or even places high in the TDF this year [[after a 4 year retirement), I think France will feel that he is somehow questioning the difficulty of their tour.

ccbatson · July-12-09, 12:30 AM

I have been involved with athletes on many levels, the reality is that this is their reason for living and their career [[for professional athletes), they simply cannot allow an unlevel playing field to threaten their lives and livelihood...sadly, there is no choice. If one is doing it, soon, they all will.

**East Detroit** · July-12-09, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

I have been involved with athletes on many levels, the reality is that this is their reason for living and their career [[for professional athletes), they simply cannot allow an unlevel playing field to threaten their lives and livelihood...sadly, there is no choice. If one is doing it, soon, they all will.

Yeah, don't know what your involvement with athletes means. It is not giving your opinion any more authority about drug accusations against a particular individual.

The world is not binary. Not "all" cyclists do drugs or will. Most? Maybe, maybe not. All? No.