AuTX Buckeye;2241230; said:
I know alot of that got reported... but my understanding the only evidence they have is a ton of his teammates who got busted for doping themselves then USADA offered them a lighter sentence to testify against Armstrong...
Again not claiming he's innocent BUT if those guys knew the method of how he was beating the test for YEARs ... don'tcha think they woulda known how to do it too and never gotten caught?
Anyone who thinks that LA was clean is delusional. The only thing that I am surprised by, is people that are surprised about all of this.
LA was the best rider and best doper. It was an exact science. He did what he needed to do to beat the Euros at their own game.
Drugs have always been a part of bike racing, it was part of the culture. So to say that he cheated is too simplistic an answer. He played the game and did what he needed to do to win.
I know personally many of the players involved in this situation so I have quite a bit of insight from the inside.
It's ugly, but we are trying to look at "cheating" through the eyes of today's standards. IMO it isn't cheating if you are just keeping up with the Jones's. He just refined it and was better than anyone else at manipulating pharmaceuticals to his and his teams advantage.
Make no mistake, if you were not on the "program" you have ZERO chance of being competitive in the Pro ranks at that time. NONE. You cannot race for 28 days 5-7 hours a day and recover, it's not humanly possible.
I know a ton of Professionals and many of them blame Lance for the way he conducted his business and wished he had raced clean. BUT, the one thing most of them agree on is that if the race could be 100% clean and free of drugs, Lance probably would have won 7 in a row.
This is not idol worship, I have no boner for Lance. He is an absolute fucking asshole as a person. But I did love it when he rode a bike, good lord he was good at it.