drb716 said:
I note the hint of sarcasm in your last sentences, but in all seriousness, would Armstrong's fall really change anything in the sport? Big names have been chased out before, and where are we? Vino 2.0, Basso 2.0, Garzelli, Scarponi, Ricco, etc... Furthermore, if the doping has been so widespread before, should we simply assume Cavendish, Sagan, Gerdemann, Nibali, and other of today's better riders are doped as well? With Armstrong gone, what changes?
...nothing changes...american cycling goes in the trashcan [barely enough big races/sponsors now]...while each and every winner of major races is met with suspicion of doping, especially unusual performances...Walsh and LeMond are already going after Contador and the Science of Sport article about pre and post LeMond w/kg is an eye-opener...and then you start wondering about Indurain and how he was able to beat a man by over 4 minutes when the year before the difference between them over similar distance was less than 10 seconds...even Indurain's numbers skyrocketed as EPO came to the fore...if LeMond's 5.7 w/kg represents some type of baseline then everything that has come after it is evidence that something more than technological advances and training techniques are at work...
...i'll go on the record as being in Armstrong's corner but do i think beyond the doubt he has'nt indulged in a little "tweaking"...absolutely not...he would've been on EPO during his recovery from cancer...
...Armstrong's relevance in professional cycling is fast fading, comeback notwithstanding...and somebody has to win these races, even if you believe that everybody does it...at some point a totally clean peloton will still produce a winner and perhaps a dominant one...that is the specific point of a race, to find a winner, regardless of the route taken to said victory...and if Armstrong's tour wins are bad then what remains at the top of cycling that is good?
...interests internationally will of course have more interest in seeing him torn down but my fellow Americans are fooling themselves if they think that Armstrong's head on a platter will be good for American cycling...cycling is'nt really cultivated in the US...not like Europe and it could be a long time before another american rider stands on a podium in France...
...as far as Landis is concerned, he's trying to be a hero but he's anything but...he tried to bankrupt the forces aligned against him while extracting monies from fans who believed that he was innocent...and for him to state that his positive is still bogus but that he extensively used dope is an exercise in some serious denial/dissonance...the good Dr. Kay believes he's innocent but what must he believe after his confessions and allegations?...
...his motivations must be questioned and altruism ain't high on that list...why haggle Bruyneel and Armstrong during the past four years why haggle the TOC organizer...my take is that Floyd could'nt extract what he wanted from those he deemed capabale of helping restore his place in cycling...if Bruyneel lets him on the team [or helps him financially] and if TOC allowed him to race do we believe that he keeps his mouth shut and continues his denials of using PED's?...Landis is trying to ride a coin and land on the right side but it won't happen, regardless of what happens with Armstrong...
...he's misrepresented himself too many times and in too many ways to be seen as anything more than a rat...and no i'm not calling him that personally but his represents a scorched-earth policy laced with vindictiveness and it has less to do with sleeping at night than making sure he takes a few down with him...he can sleep better at night by returning all the money he took under false-pretenses...
...there is less a need for a clean up domestically than there is internationally...that's where the most prestigious races occur and where the best in the world compete year-round...even LeMond pretty much threw domestic cycling over his shoulder when he moved to Belgium...stateside racing does'nt bring you much acclaim or money for that matter...cycling is largely an amateur sport in America, much more so than in Europe...
...stateside fans of Armstrong care less about endogenous/exogenous EPO, testosterone, hgh or anything more technical than the absolute number of tour wins and the fact that he's a cancer survivor with world-wide influence...
...LeMond has his heart in the right place but is a bit overzealous with his announcements at times...he's overcompensating now for what he did'nt do before his abuse announcement...sadly, we may never see a totally clean peloton, not when the riders that matter think that their peers are hopped up on a little "orange-juice"...
...as far as Lance goes...he probably should've stayed retired...as the hour grows late someone might just come forth with some pretty damaging information, without worrying about potential retribution...