Have you read either or both of his books? He defends himself just fine there. Read, dude. Hear what he says, my opinion don't mean much.

Hinault Criticizes Lemond and Ullrich
Say what you will about Bernard Hinault, but two things are clear: he was without a doubt one of the greatest cyclists ever, and he says whatever the hell he wants to. If you want some candid words, just talk to Hinault, he always has an opinion, and for the most part, though sometimes a bit harsh, he speaks the truth.

In the past couple of days, Hinault has toed the line on Greg LeMond's recent comments on Lance Armstrong, as well as the ever-popular Jan Ullrich debate.

First, on Lemond, who openly insinuated that he believes Mr. Armstrong to be, for lack of a better term, doped to the gills...

"This is something that keeps coming back, and I think that some of it may be linked to LeMond's jealousy of Armstrong. The fact is that Armstrong has never tested positive. And as long as you don't have evidence I don't see how you can accuse him."

There is indeed no love lost to this DAY between Hinault and LeMond is there?

And now for Jan Ullrich and Hinault's take on it all...

"When Ullrich won the Tour the first time, he won it by a large margin, and was the best in the peloton. Then he did all these stupid things, and exaggerated it all in the winter. He has never achieved that same level again. Yeah, I am a bit disappointed."

When asked whether or not he might be able to win the Tour again... "When one looks at what has happened in the past five or six years, it's pretty hard to believe. On the day that Armstrong retires, Ullrich will have 30 young riders who will all be ready to challenge him. There is Basso, there's Valverde and Cunego, who just won the Giro in an impressive manner at 22. These youngsters have the temperament and they won't deliver any gifts. It will be hotly contested."

What do you think is the cause for Ullrich's weak performance so far this year? Hinault: "I ask myself: has he done everything that was necessary? He rode well at the Tour de Suisse, but now there's nothing doing. With him it always has to do with the kilos. When someone is overweight, you have to do a lot more to lose that weight, and at a certain point, you lose that necessary energy. I once got a little out of hand over the winter and subsequently suffered, but after that it registered with me. After that, I never took on more than 2 or 3 extra kilos over the winter, because it was so tough to come back into good form. You just can't let it get out of hand over the winter."

And this from Bernard Hinault re: Greg LeMond.
You knew this was coming....

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=2438

la confidential highlights a positive drug test by lance. it was for a simulant and was deamed insignificant so he was let off

Tricky Dick Virenque wrote himself a fine book proving that he had never done drugs...titled "Ma Verite" (My Truth)..too bad in the end it was ONLY his truth and not the real worlds (note: I am not saying Armstrong is a doper because he and Richard both wrote books..that'd be a real stretch)..

I found this article by Vaughn Trevi and Matt Decanio which I think puts some real insight into the subject. He also highlights that one can win clean and perform better w/o doping.

http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6472

Blad da da blab blab blab #2

no one dopes till you prove they dope, those are the rules. but just because lance passes all the test and he says he doesnt, does not mean he does not dope.

Even this opening paragraph is nonsense- How can you say in the same breath that no one dopes......and just because LA passes the test does not mean he does not dope? (Meaning he dopes.....)

He is either innocent until proven guilty or you agree with the white labcoat people- In American justice, there are VERY rare times where one is innocent but guilty- remember OJ? Well the facts were pretty decisive but the glove did not fit.

So let's move on and ask the question does Jan dope? How about Basso?

So let's move on and ask the question does Jan dope? How about Basso?

it's a level playing field.