Showing posts with label Greg Lemond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg Lemond. Show all posts

Saturday, January 5, 2013

LANCE ! "Does he think people completely stupid?"

CONTROVERSY rages , just about ALL the Major News Networks are abuzz with " Speculation about a "POSSIBILITY "! That a Cycling Journo that haunts the " Le Tour " each year , offers the idea , that there are  people " close "to Armstrong , sounding out the atmosphere , regarding " An Admission of Guilt ", makes good copy , is debatable ? Would YOU , if you were Lance , have " Close Friends " , talking to the Media ? Who in their right mind , dealing with such a sensitive subject , would allow this type of disclosure ?

BBC World News are treating this " possibility " on their Sports News Feed ticker tape , just before an item about Macclesfield , the fourth Division Football Team , making theirv way into the fourth round of a football tournament . Aljazeera , RT News , Sky News and CNN News , ALL , are constantly parroting this development !

Last month , we had Sally Jenkins , the co author of a number of " Lance books " , declare her continuing support for Lance , now we have Juliet Moncur , known in past years , as a L.A. " Groupie , come out with what i regard as an early " April Fools Joke "! That Juliet works for the New York Times , and has written many articles about Lance ,  makes this story viable and thus visible . Seems like it must be a slow News day  , as most News Sport segments , are sidelining the " Racist Controversy " involving Boateng of AC Milan Football team , to run with this myth .

CNN Sport , having received an email from the Armstrong Lawyer , Tim Herman ,  declaring  “He’s doing O.K. for a guy that has had his livelihood and his life torn from him, but he’s very strong,” have been presenting a more balanced perspective .

Follows are a few items to give you an idea of how MOST have received the reports , but at the bottom you will find a copy of this item :

http://de.scribd.com/doc/116345925/Outline-of-failure-to-respond

Does this ring any bells ? Causes me to think about what could happen in thre near future !

Most of the Social Media sites are carrying a variety of POV from ALL sides of the Controversy .

Twitter being 140 characters carries condensed view points :

 David Walsh , Well Known for writing many books about Lance since 1999 , when his doubts first surfaced , tweeted these : Read from the bottom for best appreciation , even then may be confusing , at least to me :
                                -------------------------------------------------------

David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
LA and the truth? Provided it is the whole truth, and comes with contrition, my instinct would be to say well done. 1st time for everything.

1h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
Forgive the ineptitude shown in not sending No.2 in correct sequence. But put that little jigsaw together. It's worth it.

1h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
2. "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to . . .

1h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
4. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

1h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
3. separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. . .

1h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
1. Before the urge to bury Lance Armstrong even deeper consider this quote from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: . . .

2h David Walsh ‏@DavidWalshST
He cannot rebuild his life until he tells the truth, so the confession is going to happen. Also, Livestrong's only chance lies in truth.

Others had their say :



1h Athlete Motivation ‏@LV_Sports
Whoever said winning isn't everything probably didn't win.
 Retweeted by Hannah Cockroft

34m Charles Pelkey ‏@Charles_Pelkey
Lance Armstrong is thinking about admitting he's a doper. In other news, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may soon cop to being tall.

Fat Cyclist ‏@fatcyclist
.@UCI_Overlord If I confess, it will be an exclusive interview with @RippFinklemann so I can ask about his hair care product strategy.

37m Fat Cyclist ‏@fatcyclist
YES ON ALL ACCOUNTS. RT @paulvt: But have you denied it for decades? Or sued people for saying or printing that you did it?

41m Fat Cyclist ‏@fatcyclist
BREAKING NEWS: I'm considering leaking to the press speculation that I'm considering acknowledging something that everyone already knows.

                     ---------------------------------------------------

Comments in some Blogs about the situation that is " possibilly  presenting :


Lance Armstrong has less integrity than Bernie Madoff. Let the vultures at him.

I think we've all heard enough from this charlatan. Can we all move on now, please?

We just spent an entire election cycle forced to deal with another transparently mendacious, me-at-all-costs alpha male who came dangerously close to duping his way to the white house. 

Let's call this behavior for what it is and do our part to not perpetuate it by banning this cheating perjurer from sport permanently and refusing to allow his slithering return to the limelight.

If he pays back all of the money and spends some time in jail, I'd be happy to forgive him. Anything less simply dishonors sport. Talent or not, he cheated, he lied, he must pay the consequences. Any punishment less than that would be a travesty. And I don't care if everyone else was doing it. That is no defense. Remember Nuremberg?

 so in essence that friend is saying, "This money means more to me than your respect for me", and since friends don't think to themselves about how they could profit from their relationship with you, that person never really was your friend.



“Will he pay Christophe millions of dollars for forcing him out of the sport?” Andreu asked, referring to Christophe Bassons. Bassons has said that Armstrong threatened him because he suggested banned drugs fueled Armstrong’s comeback from cancer.

“Will he compensate (Tour de France champion) Greg LeMond for ruining his bicycle business? Will he apologize to Emma (O’Reilly, Armstrong’s former masseuse) for calling her a prostitute? Forgiving doesn’t mean being a doormat. Being a Christian doesn’t mean allowing people to profit from their crimes.”


Race Radio ‏@TheRaceRadio
NYDN on the #crapfession http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/cyclist-lance-armstrong-public-confession-drug-article-1.1233634 … “Will he pay Christophe for forcing him out of the sport?”

                      ------------------------------------------------
AS most can see , the comments on the " Possibility " of a Confession are " Toxic " to put it kindly !




Some wags on a variety of Forums , have created scenarios where he would make a " Confession " at some point in the Future !



1/  From the desk of Armstrong:

Dear fans, cyclists, patriots, and others:

It is with great dismay that I have wrestled with what the USADA has wrought upon me. With great conviction and spirit, my therapist and I have struggled with the issue of 'who am I' and 'who I was'. With much soul searching and a series of breakthroughs, we both discovered that I was essentially in a Dissociative Fugue state during most of my time I 'was' a cyclist. So you see friends, what I mean to say is that who I was was not who I really am.

The hallowed reserve of truth that is Wikipedia states that a "Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity." The wandering I exhibited was mostly contained to France, the new identity was that of a world class cyclist. But you see, the problem was that I was not as good as I thought I could be, so in order to put some foundation to this identity I skirted rules, purchased souls, and injested a small pharmacy worth of drugs, all this so that I could be a lycra wearing alpha male.

Sadly, this '7 Time Tour Winner' is not who I really am or in fact was. What caused this fugue state to grip and corrode my soul? Was it the cancer? Was it the sight of Didi Senft in a red unitard? I don't know if I'll ever know.

Currently, my goals and aspirations are much more modest. My therapist and I have both concluded that a life outside of the spotlight is much more agreeable to who I really am. Therefore, I plan on retiring to an Idaho potato farm to raise championship potatos, with the hopes that some day one of my prize potatoes will somehow land me on a taping of Hee Haw. That would be.....nice.



2/    Originally Posted by DirtyWorks 
I second Race Radio, blame it entirely on some external forces. If he can burn Johan and not implicate the UCI, I think he'll try to discredit Contador too. it's a viable strategy.


3/    The statement will be more lies and personal attack. . Even though I doped a little in 2010 with Contador by my side while Johan supervised, the USADA is still wrong about the rest, Johan loves cancer. The statement ends with "please forgive me so I can continue to fight cancer appearing at triathlons" And the faithful launch into a weird ejaculatory glee and the rest of us just shake our heads.

4/    I don't know if it would be a letter though. Maybe a TV guest appearance.


5/    "When I came back from cancer, I walked into a culture of doping. I simply had to take drugs to get my job back.
I was amazed to win in 1999 and even more amazed by how much I achieved to raise awareness of cancer, and raise money.
I was embarrassed by my success. But the cancer sufferers begged me to continue. 'Win again, Lance' they implored. How could I refuse their pleas?
Six years later my feelings of conscience became overbearing. I quit the sport I loved.
But the cancer sufferers haunted me. 'I could be doing so much more for them' I thought. And the profits at Livestrong were down.
So, in 2009, I headed for the kitchen, reached for the oil, and got back on my bike.
If you punish me now, you will be denying millions of cancer sufferers the chance of a new life"
Coming to the Oprah show any time after 13 August......

6/    .. Everyone stricken by cancer knows that you have to take medication...

7/     Even though I hated to do it for cancer, and hated to do it because of the plague in cycling (from Festina and the evil French, the evil Germans, the evil Italians...), I had no choice. Once I was on medication, I was on an even playing field with the bad dopers. That I survived and won is an inspiration to all cancer sufferers that the medication works.   Regards,

                        ---------------------------------------------------------

Extracts from some of the Blogs , regarding Lance 'situation:

  "  If , when LA is stripped of his 7 titles, all the cancer sufferers whose lives were saved by awareness will immediately turn to dust with only a small grey pile and a yellow rubber bracelet left behind. I bet Travis Tygart didn't think about that when he started this witchhunt, huh?
 He isn't doing this because it is the right thing to do ethically, but because he wants to continue his professional athletic career, such as it is. I say no to that. He should consider getting involved in long-term psychotherapy, not long-distance athletic events. He has the earmarks of a sociopath. If he is not a sociopath, then he suffers from what is sometimes termed 'malignant narcissism'. He could start on a path of personal redemption by apologizing to those who he bullied and cowed into silence, and those he sued who had the courage to say what he was really doing. 

Also, he should hire the best public relations (PR) team available. This PR job being floated by his friends, or, as the article puts it, "the people with knowledge of Armstrong’s situation", contradicts what his own lawyer is saying. What a botched effort this trial balloon is. Whoever is perpetrating this effort is only continuing to enable this ruthless, selfish jerk. Stop enabling him, people, for his sake, and because you are continuing to hurt any chances he could make a real recovery if he ever becomes contrite.  "

  "  Some cyclists had better access to drugs than others. Some cyclists had their doping regimens supervised by more skilled doctors, who knew tricks about dosage, timing and mode of administration that other doctors did not know. Some teams had their own internal blood and urine testing labs, so that they could keep their riders at chemical concentrations just below the legal limit at all times, or stall the authorities if any one rider briefly exceeded the limit. Some teams had inside knowledge of how and when drug tests were going to be administered, via a network of spies, corrupt experts and spotters. "

  "  Lance your offer is still all about getting what you want. Still trying to manipulate your situation. No deals-the ban stays. "

  "  As with all things LA, he will only confess if and when it provides him personal benefit, he will not because he thinks that it is the right thing to do. He has spent his life convincing himself and others of his greatness, nothing will change that . "

  "  As for rescinding, his life-time ban: NO WAY! He is serial cheat: I wish that USADA could go all the way back to his early days and document that he was juiced then as well and later in his career.  "

  "  Had he been truthful from the start, how different things would be. This is not a conscience thing, it's a manipulation of public opinion. It's also human, none of us are exempt from trying to brazen things out hoping we can escape our feet being put the fire. Okay, Lance, you screwed up, and had you not being taking drugs, my son would have stayed in Madrid and trained as a cyclist, but he knew he couldn't compete with you or your confederates. You got fame and fortune and deserved neither. The irony is, had you not had cheater genes working, and my son did not, who is now a cardio/thoracic surgeon, you will be haunted for essentially ruining the cycling thing for years, and the irony referred to, "You might have been a world champion anyway, not to the extent you were under the influence, but participating adding validity to the sport and being credited for what you naturally are whether you were first or fiftieth, it would add up to something admirable. You need to apologize from the heart, but you're not ready yet  "


Betty Andreu , is the author of the " headline quote " , i think she has best summed up the situation !

My take is that Juliet Macur , has sought an advantage , reported rumours , and her integrity will suffer a hit .

Lance tweeted regarding Graham Watson , the photographer recently :


It took a "photographer" to "write" the most balanced piece we've seen yet. 


This tweet was in response to Graham's recent Blog on the situation of Cycling as we enter the  2013 Cycling Season :

http://www.grahamwatson.com/view/viewmain.html

Not a great fan of Graham , but enjoyed his take on the current Cycling Scene and his picks for winners of a variety of events , would recommend people to have a read of an excellently written article .


NB: Item discovered : http://de.scribd.com/doc/116345925/Outline-of-failure-to-respond

Another good article worth the read :
http://www.5280.com/magazine/2013/01/talking-points?page=0,1http://www.5280.com/magazine/2013/01/talking-points?page=0,1


My comment to the " EXPLAINER " , weekly effort by Charles Pelkey :

    "  Been left wondering if MACUR feels like the victim of an early " April Fools Day Joke ! Last year we saw sally jenkins create controversy and this week Graham Watson write his blog . Not having read any of his previous efforts , i can't tell , if it was spoon fed to him ?


 Last year i predicted that the closing of the Grand Jury was an attempt to smooth " feathers ",  and that it would reopen in April/May after the " Presidential Honeymoon period "! Finding this item seems to confirm that conjecture :
http://de.scribd.com/doc/116345925/Outline-of-failure-to-respond 

Some speculate that it has gone away ? How far ? My blog has a few answers but i think " Betty A. summed it up brilliantly , " lance-does-he-think-people-completely-stupid.html "

Kathy LeMond , has added this item , a superb summing up of the obnoctious subject that keeps giving :
http://aol.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2013-01-05/lance-armstrong-caught-in-web-he-created-cyclist-deserves-no-sympathy

Pres.Putin is handing out " Passports " , currently , Lance would do well think of Sochi , as a replacement for Aspen . Perhaps the Russian Mafia can provide a " Horse head for him to sleep with , a la " godfather film "?



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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

COURAGEOUS WOMEN

Betty Andreu and Emma O'Reilly had scorn poured on them for many years and endured heartache and Law Suits ! Today the person that caused them this aggravation was buried in the first avalanche of 202 pages of evidence ! Just so that he doesn't get complacent , there are another 880 pages coming his way !

Lance no doubt has reasons for the way he conducted his life . I know from personal experience that there are things that i did , that i wish could have been done differently . I made my bed and so will have to lie in it and suffer those consequences . Lance set out on a particular path , and TODAY , has discovered that there are consequences ! What the final wash up will be , is anyone's guess at this time .

Apart from Emma and Betty , there are other victims of the Omerta that seems to have surrounded Lance's career and people like David Walsh will find themselves busy fielding calls from colleagues that doubted their ability to discern the truth .

Paul Kimmage was one of the first to be treated as a Pariah because of his writing about " Doping " , in his book " The Rough Ride " and his subsequent career as a journalist . The evidence that USADA has published today , has come too late for the Trial that flandis did not attend but will be usefully available for Paul should the " prats of Aigle " dare to enter the courtroom on December 12th !

Following are a selection of Tweets this evening after the documents were released on :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/109619079/Reasoned-Decision


In before "ah, so you admit it was a witch hunt, then?"

So what do you call a "witch hunt" that actually uncovers a coven of witches?

I did mean to type Emma O'R, and definitely don't want to get on the wrong side of Emma O'Reilly, one of the most formidable women I know!

When reading USADA report, remember Betsy A, Emily O'R and Stephen S who told the truth 10 years ago, without being compelled to do so.  



You know what takes more courage to do than coming forward and admitting ones mistake? Having the fortitude to not do it in the first place.

Oh man, . You're almost as bad at this press statement stuff as George.

Some might say better late than never for GH et al. Not so sure. Would have been never without BA, E O'R and SS and others

I love that those strong women played such a role in bringing the truth to the male sport of pro cycling

No doubt there will be much more to add to this story as Australia wakes !



LADIES , THERE IS MUCH THAT COULD BE SAID !

THANKYOU FOR YOUR FORTITUDE !

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Friday, July 30, 2010

GREG LEMOND'S TAKE ON THE 2010 TOUR

Data of optimism?
By: Greg LeMondPublished: July 26, 10:05, Updated: July 26, 10:23Good news on this year's Tour


LeMond won the 1989 by eight seconds and that Tour is still talked about almost 20 years later.


view thumbnail gallery
Hating to be the bearer of bad news too often, I am really happy to be able to see some real positive statistics come out of this year's Tour de France. The race between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck was great to watch. Either one could have won this year’s Tour de France. What made the racing so exciting was how close the competition was. Most importantly their rides are believable and fall within the historic norms of athletic ability.

I have been very critical of the sport and, I believe, justifiably so. I am a cyclist who took up cycling by accident. This sport is so exciting, so romantic and so beautiful that I spent half of my life dedicated to it. My only hope is to see cycling right itself and gain back the credibility that any sport needs to thrive.


With that said, how do we eliminate the huge advantages of doping? The best way is to use the science and technology that already exists today to help eliminate the possibility of getting the huge benefit from taking doping products. This way a clean rider will have the chance to win in any event that he decides to compete in.

To get a better idea of what I mean, go to this website, http://www.sportsscientists.com, and read what two very knowledgeable scientists have to say regarding the performance of the riders in this year's Tour. I have read quite a few of their studies and they seem to know what they are talking about. They are very knowledgeable about the physiology and science of cycling, and have been doing this for years now.

When I read what their data indicates, I get hopeful that there has been a big effort to change the old habits of the past. This does not mean that the Tour is 100% clean but it does hint that things are possibly changing for the better.

I think that when you see levels of 5.8 or 5.9 watts per kilo for over 20 minutes, it is believable and falls into historical norms. It depends on the VO2 Max, of course, but I believe that a rider like Contador has a lot of talent and is therefore capable of that.

After reading their article, all I could think of was why doesn't the sport embrace scientists like these two to help figure out a better way to control the doping that has destroyed the integrity of cycling? I am a big believer in science and in the end it is the science that will stand the test of time.

The sportsscientists.com guys were saying that in the 90s and early 2000s, most of the climbs were done at 6.2, 6.3 and even up to 6.7 watts per kilo; this is a sign of blood doping.

As regards the future of drug testing, a better term might be drug controlling, controlling the drugs that really boost an athlete's performance. That would be done by using a combination of blood profiling, wattage output, using a system like the SRM Power meter, and profiling of O2 intake.

If you combine the above with criminal consequences for drug distribution and with the possibility for a positive rider to plea bargain his return back to racing (though only if the positive rider names his or her supplier, and with a life ban for those who refuse to cooperate), you might be able to slowly take out those people who have been a large part of the doping problem.

By controlling the hormones and blood boosting drugs plus the transfusions, all that might be left will be drugs that might give the rider a minimal benefit. The placebo effect can have more power to change a rider's ability than some of the drugs on the list. Hopefully talent, focus and motivation could make up the small difference.

Every athlete has a genetic max. Yes, there are things that even the best sports scientists might not be able to explain or understand at this point but eventually, science will discover the answer to the unanswered. One thing that I believe to be true is that huge gains in wattage cannot occur in a short period of time in a sport that is as competitive as cycling. This sport has been highly competitive for over 40 years and I believe that the performances of riders like Merckx would still stand up to the best in today's cycling.

There is some very good data out there that indicates little improvement in aerobic capacity when you look back at many of the Tour de France champions from the pre-EPO era. Hopefully steps will continue to be taken to ensure that the Tour de France is won by someone with natural talent who shows that his performance is backed up by his natural ability.

One thing is for sure - Alberto Contador is very talented and I am happy to see some data that indicates his victory could be the result of natural ability.

Overall, to me it looked much more like the racing I knew. There was a lot more fatigue and exhaustion - the attacks go, but then they fade. There is this hesitation in the riders, too - when you feel the suffering, you are going to start racing more tactically. That is what I have seen in this Tour. It's very different to the Tours you saw five years ago - then, the flat stages had the bunch in one long line. And when people got to the climbs, they were being dropped, but there was no sign of suffering. This year looked a lot better.

Finishing up, there's been a lot of talk about the chain problem that Schleck had the other day, and the fact that Contador and a few other riders didn't wait. I don't think his victory should be overshadowed by what ifs, as this is part of racing.

I think if it's 30 or 40 kilometers out, then absolutely - wait. But if it's three kilometers from the finish of an uphill, it is different. When you are racing like Contador was, you are not sitting there lucid and aware [of everyone]. You are completely focused on what you are doing.
If you look at the replay, Vinokourov was between Contador and Schleck and I think that obscured his view. I think that Contador did finally see that Schleck had stopped suddenly, but I don't think that he had any idea that he then got off his bike and had to put his chain back on, being further delayed.

It is certainly tragic for Schleck as it was clear that day that he was strong, and perhaps stronger than Contador, but I don't think Contador's victory should have an asterisk next to it. I don't think that Contador took an advantage.

When I look at my own career, I flatted on the last climb going into Pau in 1990. I think it was the Marie Blanc. Chiappucci saw me, got his teammates and just took off and attacked. I think that's different, when you consciously see someone flat and then you take off.

Anyway, I didn't like it, but the fact is that it was part of the race and I had to deal with it. I was more annoyed that my team car wasn't there. We were two minutes down and if it wasn't for Gilbert Duclos Lassalle and, I think, Kvalsvoll, who were up front yet sat and waited for me, I would have definitely lost the Tour.
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