Lance Armstrong cleared of doping charges (and now drops the fight)

[Donger]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

The French Lose Again.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Independent Dutch investigators cleared Lance Armstrong of doping in the 1999 Tour de France on Wednesday, and blamed anti-doping authorities for misconduct in dealing with the American cyclist.

A 132-page report recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations."

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's urine samples from 1999, when he won the first of his record seven-straight Tour titles, came back positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO when they were retested in 2004.

Armstrong has repeatedly denied using banned substances.

The International Cycling Union appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman last October to investigate the handling of urine tests from the 1999 Tour by the French national anti-doping laboratory, known by its French acronym LNDD.

Vrijman said Wednesday his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France."

The report also said the UCI had not damaged Armstrong by releasing doping control forms to the French newspaper.

The report said WADA and the LNDD may have "behaved in ways that are completely inconsistent with the rules and regulations of international anti-doping control testing," and may also have been against the law.

Vrijman, who headed the Dutch anti-doping agency for 10 years and later defended athletes accused of doping, worked on the report with Adriaan van der Veen, a scientist with the Dutch Metrology Laboratory.

EPO, or erythropoietin, is a synthetic hormone that boosts the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Testing for EPO only began in 2001.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

Most likely.

Others thought to include,

George Hincapie
Levi Leipheimer
Christian Vande Velde
David Zabriskie

Why would he do it in front of people? That many people?

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Why would he do it in front of people? That many people?

Its a Team Thing.
Have you ever watched cycling? Serious.

Watch the USPS year clips. Almost every teamate of Armstrongs were present on the last big climbs of the day protecting Lance.

It was a Team Doping Program.

[Chest Rockwell]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Why would he do it in front of people? That many people?

The USADA case is actually against teams (USPS, Discovery, Radio Shack, Astana...); most of those people were Lance's teammates.

I'm not sure if the alleged witnesses are going to testify that they saw him doing it, or that it was an organized team thing. Team management and doctors are implicated as well.

The current rumor/theory is those teammates that are thought to be witnesses cut a deal with investigators.

[L.A. Chieffan]

Let them roid, who cares?

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

98-99 on US Postal.

Oh yeah. My mistake.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

Its a Team Thing.
Have you ever watched cycling? Serious.

Watch the USPS year clips. Almost every teamate of Armstrongs were present on the last big climbs of the day protecting Lance.

It was a Team Doping Program.

No, I haven't watched much cycling though I respect the sport for the mind-blowing endurance and stamina it requires as well as the teamwork.

Any of this in-race doping captured by the multiple TV cameras, cell phone cameras, photographers, etc.?

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

The USADA case is actually against teams (USPS, Discovery, Radio Shack, Astana...); most of those people were Lance's teammates.

I'm not sure if the alleged witnesses are going to testify that they saw him doing it, or that it was an organized team thing. Team management and doctors are implicated as well.

The current rumor/theory is those teammates that are thought to be witnesses cut a deal with investigators.

Thanks, this is enlightening. The last sentence in your post would seem to severely undermine the credibility of the "witnesses".

[Donger]

Originally Posted by vailpass

No, I haven't watched much cycling though I respect the sport for the mind-blowing endurance and stamina it requires as well as the teamwork.

Any of this in-race doping captured by the multiple TV cameras, cell phone cameras, photographers, etc.?

It isn't done while they are in the saddle.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Donger

It isn't done while they are in the saddle.

After the race back in the hotel room kind of thing?

[Chest Rockwell]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Thanks, this is enlightening. The last sentence in your post would seem to severely undermine the credibility of the "witnesses".

Oh, there's certainly some self interest being served, especially since many of the witnesses are either still riding or leading teams, etc.

But if it ends up that you get 10+ people corroborating stories like Hamilton's and Landis' about systematic, organized doping on those teams, stories that have been so attacked by the Lance camp and reputations ruined...well that would be interesting to say the least.

Especially coming from people like Leipheimer and especially Hincappe.

But, at this point, all still hersey and speculation.

[Chest Rockwell]

Originally Posted by vailpass

After the race back in the hotel room kind of thing?

At the time (at least part of the time) it was blood transfusions. Pull high hematocrit, healthy blood enough before the race to recover and get oil-changes along the way. Tired, depleted blood out, fresh blood in.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by vailpass

After the race back in the hotel room kind of thing?

Yep. Back in the good old days, they used to take speed. Tommy Simpson, perhaps the greatest British rider ever, died on a climb (Ventoux, I think) because he took speed and booze.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by vailpass

After the race back in the hotel room kind of thing?

NTTAWWT

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

Oh, there's certainly some self interest being served, especially since many of the witnesses are either still riding or leading teams, etc.

But if it ends up that you get 10+ people corroborating stories like Hamilton's and Landis' about systematic, organized doping on those teams, stories that have been so attacked by the Lance camp and reputations ruined...well that would be interesting to say the least.

Especially coming from people like Leipheimer and especially Hincappe.

But, at this point, all still hersey and speculation.

Don't forget Frankie and Betsy Andreu. Armstrong wrecked Frankies career because they were in the hospital when Lance told the doctors all the PED's he had taken.
PEDS took Lances nut.
PEDS took away the 7 Tour Victories.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Swanman

NTTAWWT

Sometimes the cyclists bonk on the climbs, though. It isn't pretty.