Thoughtforfood said:
So you believe that if there were a payment made to cover-up a doping positive (I am not certain of that), they would be stupid enough to not really cover it up. They would just leave the positive test around for everyone to see?
The fact is that Mr Armstrong's payment to the UCI is suspicious, and for you to believe that they would simply say "Yea, we did it" when the accusation surfaces is a bit naive, no? I think we can all agree that the paper trail regarding Mr Armstrong's payments to the UCI leaves many questions. Sorry you want to just sweep it under the rug and pretend everyone lives in the land of OZ.
So, we can just argue possibilities and not probablities.
How about instead of the oft opined 'cover up', we actually take a minute to figure out what it would take to cover up a positive result.
1. The guy(s) that tested it have to be bought off, as they would be coming out now saying, "Yeah, there was 'one' positive during the '01 TdS? Funny."
2. Several officials in the UCI have to be bought of, including anti-doping administrators, regualr administrators with knowledge, and UCI leadership. The same UCI that brought down Ullrich and is gunning for Valverde was bought off because Armstrong is special?
3. WADA, who recieves test results and has access to numbers of tests, etc. and is filed with guys gunning for Armstrong were all bought off. And then came out with the 1999 'positives' because they weren't boight off?
4. The Swiss federation and its various officials?
5. And of course, non-of these guys are breaking under the strain placed upon them by the sudden spot light.
And in the opposing side.
1. A conversation 'overheard' during a ride.
2. And the most massive $100,000 cover up the world has ever seen.
Again, not saying Lance rode clean, but if this what we are using to accuse him we are simply not even being close to either rational or reasonable in our standards.
This of course leaves out all the other guys that Landis accussed and for some reason no onw wants to acknowlegde. Levi, Oscar and his other buddies, GH, and friggin Alan Lim .... but we'll ignore these ones and focus on Lance. Why exactly? What is the point?