<p>^^^ Great read.</p>
<p>do we assume Lemond is clean?</p>
<p>Apparently so. There is a link to another article about the woman who heard him tell doctors about the drugs he had taken at the end of that article. Betty Abreu? The wife of another cyclist? Apparently her H rode with and without drugs, and was dropped from the team when he competed while clean and wasn’t willing to “do what he needed to do” or words to that effect. Make one think that some cycling managers/organizers are going to fall as more is known.</p>
<p>Wow, Lamond’s wife really nailed it.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that Armstrong had done those kinds of things. I guess I just never thought it was that interesting, cycling, and I didn’t know it was so competitive. I mean, nobody I grew up with wanted to be a cycler. But, Armstrong really comes off like a mobster.</p>
<p>Betsy Andreau. Had to do with pre-cancer doping. Lance addressed it Thirs night- not well, but he addressed it.</p>
<p>Well, he may really change over time. He may only be embarrassed at this point, or only remorseful because of his children, but he would not be the first imperfect man who learned to be a better man when he finally saw his behavior through his children’s eyes.</p>
<p>Hard to feel an iota of sympathy for this nacissistic jerk. His kids aren’t going to be filling out FAFSA forms…</p>
<p>I didn’t see either interview. Did he apologize directly to Lemond and Andreu? Did he admit that he not only lied about them, but tried to destroy them?</p>
<p>I know what you mean, poetgrl, but “imperfect” seems like too mild a term.</p>
<p>I wonder if Trek will restore their sponsorship and admit that they were deluded. But of course, plenty of industry entities had a lot invested in maintaining the myth of Lance…and so they did.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t usually pay any attention to sponsorship. But I do recall very clearly when Centrum dropped Billie Jean King when she was outed. I have very, very consciously chosen NOT to purchase their product since then.</p>
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<p>Boy, she really did nail it.</p>
<p>Calling Lance Armstrong “flawed” and “imperfect” is such a complete understatement. We are ALL flawed and imperfect. He is despicable. He cannot possibly have done the things he has done AND have a conscience.</p>
<p>I agree with Gail Collins:
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<p>Of course, I feel that way about any number of “celebrities” who “err”, publicly repent, and worm their way back into the limelight.</p>
<p>I’m reading this book “the Secret Race” which was partner written with a guy who rode with Lance Armstrong and a guy, Daniel Coyle, who wrote a bio on Lance. It’s not about Lance Armstrong, but it is about cycling at the time he was participating. The author was caught doping when he almost medalled in the olympics, fwiw.</p>
<p>It puts this in perspective. </p>
<p>It seems Lamond quit racing before EPO was discovered, or just as it was beginning to come onto the scene in Europe.</p>
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<p>I do feel sorry for his kids, especially his 13 year old boy who had to defend Armstrong to his school mates. </p>
<p>Must really f’ a kid up for life to find out one’s father is a lying cheat who’s destroyed countless people’s lives & reputations. This is orders of magnitude beyond finding out there is no Santa Claus…</p>
<p>Poetgrl… the co-author of The Secret Race is Tyler Hamilton, who is far more than “a guy who rode with Lance.” Yes, he rode with Lance, but in cycling he’s known as the guy who rode the Tour de France with a broken collarbone. He broke it on the first day. Yes, he doped, but he was also pretty damn tough.</p>
<p>Sorry, dmd, his name was covered up in the kindle by the % read sign. But, honestly, the guy seems more than likable and interesting to me. I specifically bought the book because I wanted a perspective from a successful cyclist who was NOT Lance Armstrong.</p>
<p>The sense I get from the book was that he did not want to dope, at first. I’m actually at the point where you can tell it’s dope or quit racing, where the US racers are hoping the bike people will come in and sanction the dopers. It’s very interesting.</p>
<p>Why not give the man a chance? He took a first step. If he follows it with more steps (donations, raising awareness, charity work, and genuinely apologizing at length to those he wronged and compensating them appropriately for the damage he inflicted on them etc…), he could redeem himself. People have done much worse.</p>
<p>Alexandre, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Do you think he is going to give the Lemonds the money he cost them? With interest? Or any fraction of it? Do you think he is going to make a detailed public statement describing precisely the lies he told about Greg and others?</p>
<p>Your guess is as good as mine consolation. I always have faith in people. Hopefully, Lance will follow through. I just do not think we should judge him quite yet.</p>
<p>A very prominent athlete in my sport wrote this before the interviews:</p>
<p>“Even if he admits to ALL of it, and it seems they all are guilty, I’ll still watch the Tour. Lance gave us something to cheer about and anyone who watched the tour during his reign LOVED it. Skipping work to sit on my indoor trainer and ride with USPS, Discovery, and RadioShack during the summer was some of the best summers of my life. I cheered and even bought several bikes and got into triathlons and time trials. I made some amazing friends during those years and found a new way to better fitness thanks to Lance and his crew. His guilt will not affect the memories or the thousands of miles I rode and my love of cycling. Much like those who commit horrendous crimes against humanity, I will focus on the survivors and not the criminals. The positive memories must survive long after this tragedy is over.”</p>
<p>Alexandre- I completely agree. This is a start and I am pulling for Lance to do the right thing going forward. Many, many people made a lot of money due to his success, too.</p>
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[quote[Why not give the man a chance? He took a first step. If he follows it with more steps (donations, raising awareness, charity work, and genuinely apologizing at length to those he wronged and compensating them appropriately for the damage he inflicted on them etc…), he could redeem himself. People have done much worse.
[/quote]
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<p>Why GIVE him a chance? He had numerous opportunities to come clean over many years. He enjoyed the fruits of his cheating and bullying for more than a decade. Greg LeMond can’t put a dollar value on what Lance’s dishonesty and scare tactics cost him, or assess the psychic costs to himself and his family. Neither can the Andreus or anyone else LA trampled over in his ruthless quest to win.</p>
<p>Here’s why I don’t think Armstrong deserves any kind of “chance”: He lied continuously until he was caught. He has never contacted the people he harassed and vilified to beg their forgiveness. He chose to make his “confession” on Oprah, a crass attempt to stay in the public eye and salvage his butt when he should have kept his head down and simply issued a press release. I don’t see one bit of behavior that suggests he deserves anything other than obscurity for the rest of his life, and for a narcissist like him, that’s the best punishment he could receive.</p>