Other Sports Lance Armstrong cleared of doping charges (and now drops the fight) - Page 3

**Donger** · 05-31-2006, 08:29 AM

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.

big nasty kcnut · 08-24-2012, 03:03 AM

Lance armstrong didn't cheat where were these alleged witnesses when he was winning the races and by the usada own admission the statue of limitation is already past for these issues to be brought up all this is is a high tech lynching of a great rider.

**Saulbadguy** · 08-24-2012, 04:08 AM

hahahaha

Caseyguyrr · 08-24-2012, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munson

The French are just butt hurt that an American beat them on their own turf.

thats goddamn right

|Zach| · 08-24-2012, 04:42 AM

Bummer to see it all go down like this.

Boxing and cycling are shady as ****.

NewChief · 08-24-2012, 05:00 AM

Of course Lance doped. Everybody at that level of cycling dopes to the maximum amount they can get away with, even to this day. Anyone who knows anything about cycling is aware of this. The farce is the witch hunt of going after Lance so single-mindedly in an effort to tarnish his accomplishments in what was a level-doping field.

Doesn't change the fact he's a badass. I wish they'd just throw open a sport to whatever level of PEDs one wants to use being acceptable. If you want to cut off your legs and replace them with steroid-fueled hydraulics, go for it.

**Bane** · 08-24-2012, 05:21 AM

**** France.

Braincase · 08-24-2012, 05:27 AM

All it takes is accusations these days. I wonder how much $$$ he's had to spend on attorneys over the years to fight this.

Red Dawg · 08-24-2012, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

Lance Armstrong abandons fight against doping charges. Will be stripped of Tour de France titles and banned for life. Story to follow. —

@NYDNSportsITeam via Twitter

This doesn't exactly go along with the thread title. ooops

Red Dawg · 08-24-2012, 05:30 AM

Who cares. It's cycling.

NewChief · 08-24-2012, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braincase

All it takes is accusations these days. I wonder how much $$$ he's had to spend on attorneys over the years to fight this.

I don't blame him for just giving it up. At this point, it makes the anti-doping forces look like vindictive jackasses for pursuing it this hard for this long.

It also puts them in the awkward spot of, "What do they do now?" They can strip him, but they're going to be the assholes that are tarnishing the Livestrong legacy as well as cycling in general.

**Dartgod** · 08-24-2012, 06:22 AM

**Saulbadguy** · 08-24-2012, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

That's all well and good. But I don't cycle competitively for one reason and one reason alone:

1. Saddles.

Yeah, probably not your first guess huh? Have you ever sat on one of these things doing 35 MPH in France?

Sure the dude had a distinct advantage but that has been disclosed for a long time. Sheryl Crow told me in 1997. Seriously, Lance Armstrong is the king of the TdF because he has but one schwetty ball. Imagine if you will just how deeply you could thrust your wife if you dropped from a 54" waist to a 34", for instance. This is precisely the same benefit provided to Armstrong by virtue of his brave Halfstration.

Judge less, neuter more.

This is a top shelf post.

**Donger** · 08-24-2012, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth

You almost dont even need the testimony.

The basic case against Armstrong, without witnesses, and without a positive drug test, is this:

The tour des france is an incredibly long race. Several days. Despite the race lasting several days of racing time, the winner always wins by minutes.

During Armstrong's time, we know that EVERY SINGLE ONE of his top rivals cheated. They were all caught, red-handed, no doubt about it, proven, everyone Armstrong raced against was a cheater. When cycling was cleaned up and enforcement was massively increased and cyclists had to race clean, race times ballooned to a huge extent, by several hours.

It is simply not reasonable to believe that Armstrong could have won those races, clean, against a field full of cheaters. You can say maybe he had to do what he had to do because everyone else was breaking the rules, but he's a liar.

That's odd. I remember watching Greg LeMond ride the fastest time trial ever to beat Fignon by seven seconds in 1989.

**Donger** · 08-24-2012, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Ouch.

rageeumr · 08-24-2012, 07:51 AM

I am admittedly hypocritical when it comes to Lance.

I hate Barry Bonds. Hate him. I hope he never sniffs the hall.

Yet I like Lance. I was super pissed that the World Triathlon Corp ruled him ineligible while this USADA mess is going on. I really wanted to see him race the Ironman World Championship this year.

05-31-2006, 08:29 AM
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10439900 VARSITY	Lance Armstrong cleared of doping charges (and now drops the fight) 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.
Posts: 180,514

08-24-2012, 03:03 AM	#31
big nasty kcnut The pizza king of kansas Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Somewhere in the u.s.a. Casino cash: $1710900	Lance armstrong didn't cheat where were these alleged witnesses when he was winning the races and by the usada own admission the statue of limitation is already past for these issues to be brought up all this is is a high tech lynching of a great rider. __________________ When it's grim, be the grim reaper and go get it. Adopt a chiefs Travis Kelce. You woke up the wrong mother****er!
Posts: 18,801

08-24-2012, 04:08 AM	#32
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $2706966	hahahaha __________________ http://www.goemaw.com
Posts: 46,964

08-24-2012, 04:42 AM	#34
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5366768	Bummer to see it all go down like this. Boxing and cycling are shady as ****.
Posts: 53,406

08-24-2012, 05:00 AM	#35
NewChief In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Fayetteville, AR Casino cash: $9730204	Of course Lance doped. Everybody at that level of cycling dopes to the maximum amount they can get away with, even to this day. Anyone who knows anything about cycling is aware of this. The farce is the witch hunt of going after Lance so single-mindedly in an effort to tarnish his accomplishments in what was a level-doping field. Doesn't change the fact he's a badass. I wish they'd just throw open a sport to whatever level of PEDs one wants to use being acceptable. If you want to cut off your legs and replace them with steroid-fueled hydraulics, go for it. __________________ In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. - H. L. Mencken
Posts: 21,758

08-24-2012, 05:21 AM	#36
Bane C.H.I.E.F.S Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: **** your face Casino cash: $10005055	**** France.
Posts: 12,621

08-24-2012, 05:27 AM	#37
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	All it takes is accusations these days. I wonder how much $$$ he's had to spend on attorneys over the years to fight this. __________________ BrainCase
Posts: 15,429

08-24-2012, 05:30 AM	#39
Red Dawg Going home eventually Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $4822858	Who cares. It's cycling. __________________ If you're not first you're last!
Posts: 30,349

08-24-2012, 06:22 AM	#41
Dartgod Wasted away again... Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: in Margaritaville Casino cash: $7480000	__________________ If you shed a tear for me, please make it a tear of joy. -Joe Tracy (Nzoner) . .
Posts: 51,113

08-24-2012, 07:51 AM	#45
rageeumr Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: St. Louis :( Casino cash: $9989900	I am admittedly hypocritical when it comes to Lance. I hate Barry Bonds. Hate him. I hope he never sniffs the hall. Yet I like Lance. I was super pissed that the World Triathlon Corp ruled him ineligible while this USADA mess is going on. I really wanted to see him race the Ironman World Championship this year.
Posts: 2,313