only a bit. i'd really like to hear/read in details about the corruption in pro cycling, from a person who has been in the very center of affairs

how can we even think or talk about any change when the official state of affairs is: we've caught the biggest cheater, lesson learned, walk away'. with LA's confession all the cyclists, present and past, wouldn't be given a benefit of doubt anymore whether they cheat(ed) or not. and yes, i'd very much like him to give names. all the names he could think of. if the greatest champ of all times states (presumably) 'we've all done that, and to my knowledge it's still going on' that would mean much more than any prosecution, official report or all those tons of BS interviews with self proclaimed 'clean' or 'fair' cyclists and managers

I'm living dangerously now, as they may sue me, since I've implied they have something to which to confess.

Really? Because from the point of view before all the doping fuss, Armstrong was the one why cycling had developed so fast in US, not to mention all the rest of the world. Lots of kids started cycling because of him, every little kid on his bike wanted to be him. Every tour contender at that time was full of epo, some may say it wasn't a playing field because of money and sources Armstrong had, but that's not really true. When the doping scandals appeared to the general public, cycling had become known as doping sport. I believe some people just truly want to destroy cycling this way. Sometimes you just have to lie, sometimes lies are better than telling the truth.
I don't effing understand why are we still talking about this. It's 2013, move on people!
I'm not a fan of Armstrong, and I have neber been, but to me he still has 7 tour titles and he is a cycling legend.


I remember one interview from Vaughters when he said that his team exists mostly thanks to Lance. Funny when JV and JB had a fight

"we've caught the biggest cheater" Wrong . Former team mates and other riders have been caught doping and have done a deal with Typratt to get reduced sentences or in the case of Landis avoid Jail for fraud so Typratt can get something on LA after the criminal charges failed. LA won the most Tours but was no more of a cheat than any of the other main teams. T Mobile etc etc all had systematic doping programes.
Of course It's still going on . You don't need Armstrong to tell you that . Im sure the UCI and the many ex doper managers and Dr's and staff that are hired could tell you exactly what's happening . But they won't unless they have to. Hypocrisy astounds me .

Kasparz

Just my vacuous opinion, but I don't think he will, and I can't see anything good coming out of a confession for anyone involved.

While there are a lot of people who are convinced LA is guilty, I suspect that to the vast majority of people who aren't emotionally invested in the case, Lance is still just the 7-Time Champion that never failed a single drug test but is being persecuted by the Frenchies and a few convicted druggies and serial liars.

Regardless of what the pure truth really is, which none of us really know, LA can simply walk away from cycling and everything associated with it and lead a comfortable life as a multimillionaire in seclusion. He probably opens this thread and reads it once a month or so just to get a few laughs.

I don't think he will, for one he could be charged with perjury, let alone the pandoras box of sponsors sueing to get their money back. I think he will just let it lie and do some Non sanctioned triathlons and running

I believe he will, he's met Tygart already...it's the litigation and financial implications by confessing that are the issue.

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"It never gets easier, you just go faster..." - Greg Lemond

"Because technology alone is a poor substitute for experience." - Richard Sachs

More like LA throw's them under the bus.

I think the upshot of this story is that, psychologically, Lance cannot just walk away and live in seclusion. He has the economic wherewithal, surely. But he needs to compete and he needs to be in the spotlight.

I agree with tymon_tm that he could do a lot for the sport if he came clean about how ingrained and systematic doping has been -- all the way up to the UCI heads. I also agree with wingnut that the legal problems are quite daunting. My guess is that his lawyers are already on the phone with the Justice Department people to work out a plea of some kind that would include a payment to the US govenment to settle the False Claims Act suit filed by Floyd. After that, he has enough money left to settle with SCA and the Sunday Times. (His net worth is estimated at $125 million. He could probably settle all these suits and still have 80 or 90 million left over.)

The legal maneuvering is delicate, but basically it is all doable.

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"I can't understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I'm frightened of old ones." -- John Cage

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... 928#126928

I can see where anyone who wins the TDF 7 times would naturally develop some "arrogance" and ego; but I never really sensed that Lance had the personality where he "needed to be in the spotlight". In fact, most pro cyclists, including Lance, seem pretty "incognito" about everything compared to most sports stars.

But again, I don't really know.

swinter,

How doable is it for Armstrong to admit doping while avoiding going to the slammer for perjury in his SCA Promotions case sworn testimony?

Have you never heard of the Olsen twins?


In principle, it should be doable. Think of all the cheap ass settlements that the banks and the Wall Street types have successfully negotiated since the 2008 meltdown. He would have to fork over some big bucks to the government as a fine and/or settlement of the False Claims Act suit. (The latter would involve the Justice Department exercising its statutory authority to intervene and take over Floyd's lawsuit; Floyd would still get up to 30% of any settlement, as the judge would have to determine.) But it is all within Lance's economic wherewithal. Say (and these are very rough "ballpark" numbers) $25 million to the US, $7.5 million to settle with SCA productions, and another 2.5 million to settle with the Sunday Times -- that would still leave him with roughly $90 million to live on.

I think the harder thing, actually, would be to work out a satisfactory deal with USADA and WADA. Macur's article in the NY Times (which broke this story) suggests that, in addition to the pressure from the Livestrong donors, the other motivator for Lance is that he wants to regain the ability to compete in marathons and triathlons. (Rick, take note. This is part of why why I said that he needs to be able to compete and be in the spotlight.) At this point, they're not likely to give him the sweetheart 6 month deal they gave to people like Leipheimer and Vandervelde. A four to eight year ban probably wouldn't be acceptable to Lance, since he would be a bit past his middle-aged prime before he could compete again.

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"I can't understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I'm frightened of old ones." -- John Cage

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... 928#126928

Some of you guys are overrating Armstrong's net worth.

If he was so wealthy, why the need to procure a line of credit against his home in Austin that's he's been trying to sell for the last few years?

This guy has been bleeding money ever since he hired Fabiani to pressure the district attorney in California to drop the Federal case. The billable hours have been stacking up at an alarming rate, which is why he's had his hired legal hacks sending out feelers to SCA about a possible settlement that is nowhere near the amount they are looking for.

For those who think an Armstrong admission will do nothing, he'll be forced to give up names. Names like Dr. Ferrari, who's been the driving force of the EPO era in modern day cycling and will be facing serious charges in Italy of drug trafficking and money laundering. Travis Tygart isn't going to let Armstrong get away with an innocuous admission of guilt just so he can regale his fanboy hyenas in his Speedos at Kona.

Armstrong is getting desperate and doesn't know which way to turn. These are the actions of a desperate egomaniac who cannot deal with having been marginalized into irrelevancy in such a swift and surgical fashion.

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http://berzin.blogspot.com/

+1 for that summation. To his lawyers and lobbyists, he's just another piece of meat like any other client. They all got their digs in with supersized 7-figure billings. Serious legal problems have drained many a multi-millionaire. And it's the loss of future income that hurts the most.

I'm very disappointed J-Nice...I was hoping you would include at least about a third of the adjectives you use in your blog...

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"It never gets easier, you just go faster..." - Greg Lemond

"Because technology alone is a poor substitute for experience." - Richard Sachs