Back in February, the US Government decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute Lance Armstrong for using performance enhancing drugs. However, that burden is much higher than the US Anti-Doping Agency which says it is investigating Lance. Apparently, the agency says it took blood samples from Lance back in 2009 and 2010 that are consistent with blood manipulation. So, how come they waited two or three years to bring them up? It seems like every biker ever in the Tour de France who has any success has been doping. It does seem hard to believe that Lance could win all those years and be the only person out there not doping. Lance says that he has passed 500 drug tests in 25 years and never failed one.
Because of the investigation, he has been banned in competing in Triathlons until the investigation is complete. He was scheduled to compete in France next week. It's interesting how this came out right around Tour de France time. It seems like this is becoming an annual event.
Cancer itself affects (manipulates) the blood, as does chemotherapy treatment. Just saying. Right off his blood isn't necessarily going to look like a "normal" sample.
ReplyDeleteSaying you've never failed a drug test and saying you've never used performance enhancing drugs are two very separate things.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I thought.
DeleteOk, here's my theory: Feds have to prove that something illegal took place, whereas this USADA just has to prove that doping took place. The agency stepped in to try and nail him because everyone in the know must know this guy's guilty as hell but very slippery.
ReplyDeleteOld Lance must really rub everyone the wrong way for this to still be going on. He is on my short list of folks I despise ( I know he's done lots of good work in the cancer world) because he seems 100% egomaniacal. I hope somebody finally nails him.
I was thinking the same thing he's had cancer and it changes so many things in the body.
ReplyDeleteBut what's the point of taking 500 drug tests and passing all of them -- only to be treated as if there's question and he really hasn't? I'm sure there's some legal equivalent but I'm not awake yet...
ReplyDeleteFrance as a whole just hates this man down to his mitochondria, for chrissakes.
ReplyDeleteSo does most of Austin Texas
ReplyDeleteWord, Kimberly. SA native here, with lots of family in Austin. He stinks like yesterday's fish.
ReplyDeleteHe's a douche. Hope karma bites him in the ass
ReplyDeleteLance Armstrong is a douche and a tool.
ReplyDeleteWho'd he piss off in Austin?
ReplyDeleteI agree that he's an egomanical famewhore.
Everyone!
DeleteITA w/ Frufra. I cannot stand this douche.
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought he was a good guy? That's not the case? Seriously thought the world loved this guy.
ReplyDeleteWondering about the cancer (if that affect tests), too.
Could doping have caused the cancer?
ReplyDeleteJemtastic is spot on. Saying youve never failed a drug test and saying you never took performance enhancers is not the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI also thought everyone loved him but my buddy who ALSO got nut cancer and only has one left really hates him and seems to know about him so there you go.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/columns/story?id=5522910
ReplyDeleteDon't know if this link will work ( I'm horrible at the links), but here's a little story about folks who were in the hospital room with him when he told docs what he'd been taking. They've since recanted.
I will never give up hope that somebody someday will nail this guy to the wall. If the USADA can do it, then godspeed.
ReplyDeleteI can hyperlink it for you, Frufra (I gots mad html skillz, the kids still say that, right?).
ReplyDeleteFeds reach far back in Armstrong probe
He's rather prickly to folks here in Austin...He was outed as using the most water on his personal lawn, something we all treasure in Austin when we have droughts, and yet he was keeping a great lawn...and then he also got into it regarding a natural watering hole that got clogged up from silt when he was developing his property. He has been known to be ugly to people who meet him in the streets. I haven't had personal interaction with him, these are just some of the things he's been known for in Austin that pissed some folks off...
ReplyDeleteThanks, anita! You're awesome - don't know what the kids say these days - very hard to keep track. I know I heard "epic" a lot around here last year.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will modify my prior statement by saying that I think some of those involved recanted and at least one stood by her story.
I read that doping includes blood transfusions and also injecting some protein to have a higher red blood count, thereby increasing performance. I think the term doping is a little deceiving because many think of steroids first and an extra transfusion can be the culprit. Not surprised that some athletes have found a way to circumvent detection and not at all believing bloodstrong's denial.
ReplyDeletegood. he's a douchebag.
ReplyDeleteYep he's a douche, womanizer, and an egomaniac. Plus, I don't think I will every get over him leaving Sheryl Crow during her breast cancer battle. It just pisses me pff even more to hear his shitty non sustainable behavior in Austin.
ReplyDeleteFuckStrong
I detest Lance Armstrong. Talk about a false idol.
ReplyDeleteI really hate those livinstrong bracelets. Whenever I see someone wearing one, I know they are not my kind of people.
ReplyDeleteI fully admit to having the humor sensibilities of a seventh grade boy, but the headline to Frufra's article just set me to giggling.
ReplyDeleteI KNEW I liked you people!
ReplyDeleteMc Cool- possibly. Human growth hormone causes cells to divide and overall cellular growth and repair. Cancers are uncontrolled cellular division and therefore growth. The more cells divide, the greater chance for mutations and for cancers to form.
ReplyDeleteI just took a quick perusal of abstracts and there has been published documented evidence to suggest that taking HGH increases the risk of developing tumors in humans. I am sure that there have been mice trials specifically looking at testicular cancer, but don't have the energy to look it up.
@Sue Ellen, I'm neither pro or anti Armstrong, but I have known several people battling cancer who have been greatly helped by LiveStrong. They provide a ton of services to those battling cancer, all for free. It is a pretty terrific organization. And in Austin you will find both pro and anti Lance people. Many people say, yeah, he can be a dick, but he also works harder than most anyone alive at what he does.The consensus among the cyclists I know is, why go after him now, even if he did dope? It seems suspicious that the U.S. Government abruptly dropped their investigation of him and the the USADA picks it up. I would bet the Feds turned over what they had to the USADA folks, because the burden of proof for them is lower.
ReplyDeleteAnd just to clarify, Lance and Sheryl Crow broke up before she got breast cancer. Hate him for being a dick or a suspected cheat, but stick to the facts.
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ReplyDeleteOh God, that title is funny. I guess I was too sophisticated to notice the first time.
ReplyDeleteThe Livestrong bracelets always remind me of The Office when Michael's birthday was overshadowed by Kevin's cancer scare. You see Michael in his office fashioning a bracelet out of a yellow piece of paper.
He really seems like such a pompous ass. I'm sorry, and I know people who know him and have tried to convince me otherwise, however, I'm going with my gut reaction on him b/c sadly, my gut's usually spot on.
ReplyDeleteMoonmaid: I remember the actual annoucement of the split and cancer treatment occurring at the same time. Wikipedia states the same - both publically announced feb 2006. She might not have wanted to deal with his cheating ass any more duringthat trying time, who knows. I am not an insider. I have media "facts". Regardless, I can't stand him for many other reasons.
ReplyDelete@Moonmaid
ReplyDeleteIt's not the organization, it's the effing bracelets and how it became "trendy" to wear them. I bet more than 50% of people who bought them did so because it was cool, and not because they gave a doodle about cancer. When diseases become "trendy" I have a problem.
I've met him and his first wife a couple of times. She was a doll and he is a jerk.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend ride with him in the very early days before he had a ton of sponsors and he was not nice to his teammates. Not a lot of nice stories about him other than he can carry a race but at the expense of his teammates. They were always ok with it because they got bikes and equipment and stipends out of the deals.
The doping thing he beat because the tests they used in the beginning did not catch the supplements his was using. He knew how to beat the tests and how to use the supplements in a way that if there were small amounts present at the end of the races, they were not included in the 'dirty scale' readings since some of the enhancements occur naturally in the body as it is.
Too bad because he has talked some dirty trash about other bikers including his own teammates.
There's a lot of press about how taking steroids is linked to testicular cancer, which is what Lance had. Since I'm not a scientist, don't know if it's true.
ReplyDeleteBut I, personally, think he's a major creep. Just my intuition talking, no interaction to back it up. Just gives me a bad, ugly vibe.
I want to know why Sheryl Crow ever dated him... He obviously has some serious character flaws. The lawn watering is parallel to the doping....both are indicative of an attitude of entitlement and that rules only apply to others.
ReplyDeleteHe's holding up 6 more fingers than he has testicles.
ReplyDeleteI also live in Austin and have heard the stories mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteAlso have heard first hand accounts of his cheating on his baby mama girlfriend.
Saw him riding solo through my neighborhood a couple of months ago. If you can call a giant black SUV following closely behind you in the bikes only lane solo.
I know several people who work with Livestrong. They and the organization really do help many cancer patients and deserve a lot of respect.
I say he's dirty, dirty, dirty.
ReplyDelete@DontRainOnMyPrada Sheryl's past isn't exactly clean. She banged my cousin in his parents' house during her relationship with Armstrong. If you knew what a disgusting pig my cousin is, you'd be completely grossed out by this on several levels.
Ms Cool said...
ReplyDeleteCould doping have caused the cancer?
Yes, and that's likely exactly what happened.
Oh LSMAM: that is some juicy tidbit there!I always heard they split due to their conflicting political beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I heard he'd had ball cancer I knew that he had abused steroids at some time.
ReplyDeleteNot a Lance Armstrong fan either! He was good friends with Thomas Weisel a big shot in the San Francisco area. Thommy (he hates that name) use to run around his Montgomery Securities offices bragging about his "good friend" Lance. Yuck! Lance would come in and be a jerk.
ReplyDeleteSheryl Crow is no saint either. She was sleeping with Don Henly when she was on tour with him. She is also rumored to have had an affair with Eric Clapton. She is quite the groupie.
Remember, having you blood taken out and stored then transfusing it back into yourself after your body has replaced it is not a DRUG, but it helps your stamina a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteMy reasoning is that the Tour de France has a number of people doping in it. Yet, Armstrong managed to win consistently. Stands to reason he might have had some help with that.
@littlemisssmokeandmirrors -- omg...thanks for the dirt (literally)! ;)
ReplyDeleteFrom the perspective of a cancer survivor...the bracelets aren't a bad thing...cancer is...it's very very scary. I'm not a huge Lance fan but his website really helps people like me.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of doping, if this involves foreign drugs like steroids...I think about almost everything that enters my body now. I control what poisons I can...I really doubt that he would do this. It's just too dangerous
@Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors Your comment really cracked me up! I think we are getting a clearer picture of the whole scene now.
ReplyDeleteAs a cancer survivor I can tell you that there is no way anyone could train without epo and finish the tour lost alone win it. I also live on Plano where he was actually raised. He lies about being from Austin . The stories abound about his arrogance and all round douchebaggery.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I grew up in Austin but moved away in 1990 and I had never heard about him being "from Austin" until long after that. The most famous person I knew about was that supposedly Christopher Cross lived in a house on 29th street for awhile...not sure if that was really true. ;)
ReplyDeletehe's a douche. he got his bff to quit his job and be his personal trainer/go-to-guy. then one day he decided he w "done" with him and the guy had to sue him. also changed his mind about his first wife, and sheryl crow. i'm sick of hearing about him.
ReplyDelete