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

[Deberg_1990]

Ouch.....Dude is guilty as sin.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...oping/1624551/



The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Wednesday said it is releasing its evidence against Lance Armstrong – a dossier of more than 1,000 pages with sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 cyclists with knowledge of Armstrong's doping activities on the U.S. Postal Service Cycling team.

"The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," USADA chief executive officer Travis Tygart said in a statement.

USADA said the evidence includes "direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding."

Eleven Armstrong teammates testified against him and were suspended for their own doping: Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.

"Together these different categories of eyewitness, documentary, first-hand, scientific, direct and circumstantial evidence reveal conclusive and undeniable proof that brings to the light of day for the first time this systemic, sustained and highly professionalized team-run doping conspiracy," USADA said.

All of the material will be released this afternoon, USADA said.

Hincapie issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging that he used performance-enhancing drugs and saying he had been truthful with investigators.

"Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them. I deeply regret that choice and sincerely apologize to my family, teammates and fans," Hincapie's statement said.

Hincapie said he had talked to both federal investigators and USADA about his doping as well as the activities of teammates.

"I would have been much more comfortable talking only about myself, but understood that I was obligated to tell the truth about everything I knew. So that is what I did," his statement said.

USADA is releasing the report as required by its decision in August to give Armstrong a lifetime ban and strip him of his seven titles in the Tour de France. In June, the agency formally accused Armstrong and other team officials of using banned drugs and blood transfusions to gain an edge in competition over several years.

By rule, USADA was mandated by the World Anti-Doping Code to deliver a detailed report on its decision to the interested parties, which include the World Anti-Doping Agency and the athlete's international federation.

In this case, the Armstrong's international federation for cycling is the International Cycling Union (UCI). After receiving the report, UCI has 21 days to appeal the Armstrong sanctions. If an appeal is lodged, the matter will go to arbitration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

UCI previously has been critical of USADA's case against Armstrong, questioning whether he received his due process. UCI also questioned the fairness of making deals with other riders to testify against Armstrong in exchange for less severe punishment for doping.

USADA shot back at UCI and accused the organization of having a lackluster record on doping and a cozy relationship with Armstrong. In "The Secret Race," the recent book by cyclist Tyler Hamilton, the author alleges Armstrong worked with UCI to have a positive drug test covered up at the Tour of Switzerland in 2001.

Armstrong could have fought USADA's charges by going to arbitration in front of a three-person panel, with one panelist picked by both sides and the other selected by the other two. But he claimed the process as "rigged" against him and announced in August he would no longer fight the charges.

He maintained his innocence, saying he never failed a drug test. USADA noted that Armstrong's team used sophisticated techniques to avoid testing positive and that there is no test for blood transfusions.

[jd1020]

I'd give a shit about his doping if he was in a minority of riders who doped. Take away his victories, fine. Who are you going to give them to? The other top riders that weren't as good as him but doped just as much?

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by jd1020

I'd give a shit about his doping if he was in a minority of riders who doped. Take away his victories, fine. Who are you going to give them to? The other top riders that weren't as good as him but doped just as much?

Exactly. Everyone in professional cycling dopes to some degree or another. Anyone who knows anything about cycling is aware of this. It's not even a well kept secret, dirty little secret, or any kind of secret. It's just a known part of the sport.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by jd1020

I'd give a shit about his doping if he was in a minority of riders who doped. Take away his victories, fine. Who are you going to give them to? The other top riders that weren't as good as him but doped just as much?

Not sure if anyone is getting those titles, most of the riders who finished behind him are now known to have cheated. If the sport was clean, he probably would have been one of the greatest cyclists in the world. Maybe not 7 titles, the US team had a better doping program than the competition, but everyone was cheating so it was kinda sorta a level playing field.

The titles still have to be stripped obviously, but Armstrong is mostly being condemned and criticized for defiantly continuing his lie to the grave. He would have been forgiven long ago had he just explained that they really had no choice, they could either cheat or finish well behind all the other cheaters.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by alnorth

The titles still have to be stripped obviously, but Armstrong is mostly being condemned and criticized for defiantly continuing his lie to the grave. He would have been forgiven long ago had he just explained that they really had no choice, they could either cheat or finish well behind all the other cheaters.

That route didn't work so well for Ben Johnson. He's still very much a black sheep. And can you imagine if Barry Bonds ever said anything like that even if it's true?

[Donger]

Ick. Well, I guess we'll get to see what evidence they have. Sans any positives for Armstrong, the best that I guess we get are how USPS avoided positives.

[BlackHelicopters]

Lance, I'll loan you one. Still need it?

[Rain Man]

This is sad. Is it not possible any more for any athletes to compete fairly?

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

This is sad. Is it not possible any more for any athletes to compete fairly?

I watched the 30 for 30 last night on the 1988 Seoul Olympics 100m race and it appeared that the true competition wasn't between the athletes but rather each countries drug program.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

I watched the 30 for 30 last night on the 1988 Seoul Olympics 100m race and it appeared that the true competition wasn't between the athletes but rather each countries drug program.

That's the last 20 years of professional cycling as well, in a nutshell. Except it was about whose drug program could avoid detection.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

This is sad. Is it not possible any more for any athletes to compete fairly?

If you wanted Armstrong to compete on a level playing field with everyone else, then he had to take these drugs. The other choice would have been losing.

[vailpass]

No positive test results? Sounds like all they have is a bunch of sour grapes from those who couldn't be Lance so they want to teal Lance down.
Why do they continue to pursue this? What can you do to him now? Strip his victories? No you can't, he already won. BFD. Move on, spend all that $ where it will do some good.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by vailpass

No positive test results? Sounds like all they have is a bunch of sour grapes from those who couldn't be Lance so they want to teal Lance down.
Why do they continue to pursue this? What can you do to him now? Strip his victories? No you can't, he already won. BFD. Move on, spend all that $ where it will do some good.

First of all, yes, they did have positive results. Its kind of hard to be caught when the UCI is completely, utterly in the tank to protecting you. A big chunk of the report was actually dedicated to strong criticism of the UCI.

Second, the new names we learned today that we didn't know about before are not random cycling nobody's that can be hand-waved away. George Hincapie was probably Armstrong's best friend in cycling and the only rider who ever raced on his team for all 7 titles. He's never spoken before and Armstrong has never spoken of him in anything but glowing terms. Also like Armstrong, Hincapie was never caught, he successfully cheated his entire career and - "officially" - passed every test. Yet now he's willing to admit everything.

Thats kind of a big deal in today's report, Lance cant just say THIS guy is also lying and expect us to believe it.

edit: not sure if its behind a paywall, but this is a pretty good article on Hincapie.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by alnorth

First of all, yes, they did have positive results. Its kind of hard to be caught when the UCI is completely, utterly in the tank to protecting you. A big chunk of the report was actually dedicated to strong criticism of the UCI.

Second, the new names we learned today that we didn't know about before are not random cycling nobody's that can be hand-waved away. George Hincapie was probably Armstrong's best friend in cycling and the only rider who ever raced on his team for all 7 titles. He's never spoken before and Armstrong has never spoken of him in anything but glowing terms. Also like Armstrong, Hincapie was never caught, he successfully cheated his entire career and passed every test. Yet now he's willing to admit everything.

Thats kind of a big deal in today's report, Lance cant just say THIS guy is also lying and expect us to believe it.

My mistake. Where were the positive results published and why wasn't he suspended or penalized at the time the positive results came in?

Other than a verifiable positive test result there is only hearsay, no matter who is doing the saying.

[WoodDraw]

Originally Posted by vailpass

My mistake. Where were the positive results published and why wasn't he suspended or penalized at the time the positive results came in?

Other than a verifiable positive test result there is only hearsay, no matter who is doing the saying.

There are blood samples from 2009 and 2010. He decided not to fight them. It's like charging "no contest" to a crime. "I'm going to say I didn't do it, but you have overwhelming proof, so **** it - here's my public relations team."