Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession)

[MarkvW]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

When addressing the class, Armstrong spoke at length about the supposed failures of the antidoping agency that took him down.

“I have a lot of thoughts about USADA,” Armstrong said. “I think the organization is absolutely necessary.

“I think they are probably one of the most ineffective and inefficient organizations in the world for the amount of money — and I’m not criticizing. It just is what it is — I’m not criticizing Travis or the organization.

“But if you consider a budget of $10 or $15 or $20 million a year, and then you lay that out over the testing results, which come back at … 0.2% … 0.7% come back as positive, we know that is not a realistic number. I don’t know what the number is, whether it’s 10 or 20 or 50, I don’t know. But that tells you that that system is broken, too.

“It’s probably the reason that Travis and USADA needed something — they needed a case, they needed a story. And again, I was that story, I was that case, it is what it is … but they needed something to show that they were effective. And they did, and it worked.

“And now the world views him and them and the organization and all of their peers, and any other antidoping agency, as truly effective, when they’re really not.”

He went on to say, referring to USADA again: “If you have an organization that’s struggling for credibility — and believe me, I was the complete dumb-ass who made it totally easy for them to do this, right? So this is my fault. I did what I did. Our culture and our era did what we did, but I took it so much farther. And that’s really the lesson.”

http://www.dailynewsx.com/news/sports-news/lance-armstrong-visited-a-college-class-and-blasted-the-antidoping-agency-that-took-him-down-51654.html

This story isn't making much of a ripple. Maybe Lance should endorse Donald Trump! That would get him the attention he craves.

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

When addressing the class, Armstrong spoke at length about the supposed failures of the antidoping agency that took him down.

“I have a lot of thoughts about USADA,” Armstrong said. “I think the organization is absolutely necessary.

“I think they are probably one of the most ineffective and inefficient organizations in the world for the amount of money — and I’m not criticizing. It just is what it is — I’m not criticizing Travis or the organization.

“But if you consider a budget of $10 or $15 or $20 million a year, and then you lay that out over the testing results, which come back at … 0.2% … 0.7% come back as positive, we know that is not a realistic number. I don’t know what the number is, whether it’s 10 or 20 or 50, I don’t know. But that tells you that that system is broken, too.

“It’s probably the reason that Travis and USADA needed something — they needed a case, they needed a story. And again, I was that story, I was that case, it is what it is … but they needed something to show that they were effective. And they did, and it worked.

“And now the world views him and them and the organization and all of their peers, and any other antidoping agency, as truly effective, when they’re really not.”

He went on to say, referring to USADA again: “If you have an organization that’s struggling for credibility — and believe me, I was the complete dumb-ass who made it totally easy for them to do this, right? So this is my fault. I did what I did. Our culture and our era did what we did, but I took it so much farther. And that’s really the lesson.”

http://www.dailynewsx.com/news/sports-news/lance-armstrong-visited-a-college-class-and-blasted-the-antidoping-agency-that-took-him-down-51654.html

His point is pretty unassailable.

 

[Benotti69]

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

 

[Maxiton]

Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

 

[thehog]

Re: Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

I tend to agree. Tygart and USADA are still living off the Armstrong cash in since 2012.

Perhaps they need to set their sights on Oregon?

 

[Beech Mtn]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

Lance has gone full Clooney with the hair...

http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_29581489/candid-lance-armstrong-reflects-his-colossal-meltdown-cu

Good interview. Takes a room full of students to ask the intelligent questions that cycling journalists can't

Lance needs to get back on the HGH. Dude is aging faaaast. Looks like he could be Greg LeMond's granddad's skeevy long-lost half-brother or something.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

Others have pointed out USADA's hypocrisy. Doesn't let Armstrong off the hook.

Sorry but cheating does not get a pass because the 'referee' is crap! If Armstrong is bitching about cheating maybe he should've though about that before he cheated.

Poor little ol Armstrong did not cheat like a normal rider. He bought the system FFS. His whinging like a *** is boring!

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

Others have pointed out USADA's hypocrisy. Doesn't let Armstrong off the hook.

Sorry but cheating does not get a pass because the 'referee' is crap! If Armstrong is bitching about cheating maybe he should've though about that before he cheated.

Poor little ol Armstrong did not cheat like a normal rider. He bought the system FFS. His whinging like a *** is boring!

I don't think he's saying that. In this case, for once, what he's saying has nothing to do with him.

 

[Bosco10]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

Lance has gone full Clooney with the hair...

http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_29581489/candid-lance-armstrong-reflects-his-colossal-meltdown-cu

Good interview. Takes a room full of students to ask the intelligent questions that cycling journalists can't

Lance needs to get back on the HGH. Dude is aging faaaast. Looks like he could be Greg LeMond's granddad's skeevy long-lost half-brother or something.

He's always looked older for his age, probably due to genetics. However, the stress of his "complete, colossal meltdown" has got to be a big factor too.

Still the classic Lance though:
"You're not going to hear any BS today. Everything you hear today is true."

 

[mewmewmew13]

"i'm not going to criticize....BUT...Travis & USADA blah blah....." "misuse of budget..$10..15...20 million I don't know..." "i made it easy for them to catch me..."
haha

Scratching out there for some sympathy. Big mean Travis hurt me.
Those students are smart. Lance is not. They're not buying it...btw Travis was there the week before. I think we should now send Betsy in to chat with the students...

 

[Maxiton]

Re:

"i'm not going to criticize....BUT...Travis & USADA blah blah....." "misuse of budget..$10..15...20 million I don't know..." "i made it easy for them to catch me..."
haha

Scratching out there for some sympathy. Big mean Travis hurt me.
Those students are smart. Lance is not. They're not buying it...btw Travis was there the week before. I think we should now send Betsy in to chat with the students...

Armstrong is right, USADA is crap. They've demonstrated that they didn't care so much about doping, they cared about landing a big fish. Did you hear about that deal they did with Floyd Mayweather? Disgusting.

Meanwhile, mister straight-and-narrow investigator for Truth, Justice and the American Way, Jeff Novitsky, is now a highly paid beard for UFC, which has desperate need of a beard.

 

[Archibald]

Re: Re:

"i'm not going to criticize....BUT...Travis & USADA blah blah....." "misuse of budget..$10..15...20 million I don't know..." "i made it easy for them to catch me..."
haha

Scratching out there for some sympathy. Big mean Travis hurt me.
Those students are smart. Lance is not. They're not buying it...btw Travis was there the week before. I think we should now send Betsy in to chat with the students...

Armstrong is right, USADA is crap. They've demonstrated that they didn't care so much about doping, they cared about landing a big fish.

name a law enforcement or policing group that doesn't...
you think DA's give a t0ss about some small-time dealer? I bet they ask every one of them they catch for whoever's higher up the tree

 

[sniper]

Re:

"i'm not going to criticize....BUT...Travis & USADA blah blah....." "misuse of budget..$10..15...20 million I don't know..." "i made it easy for them to catch me..."
haha

Scratching out there for some sympathy. Big mean Travis hurt me.
Those students are smart. Lance is not. They're not buying it...btw Travis was there the week before. I think we should now send Betsy in to chat with the students...

While I do think "Lance should shut up" is a fair enough standpoint, it's not the standpoint I would take.
Generally i don't think verbally isolating Lance is a good option.
Let him speak, even if it may sound hypocrite at times.
And yes, let him criticize the USADA. What negative could come out of that?
I can only see that having a positive effect.

If you say he should place more emphasis on his own cheating, show more sense of guilt about having cheated clean athletes, I would agree.
But we gotta remember this as well: so many people were positively invested in Lance's cheating and winning. From his pov, I can understand it must feel like he's the fall guy for so many individuals who've profited from, and probably encouraged, his doping, and who will probably never face any consequences.

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

More extensive coverage of Pharmstrong's university PR visit:

Lance Armstrong visited a college class and blasted the antidoping agency that took him down

...Armstrong is still fighting a $100 million whistleblower lawsuit brought by former friend and teammate Floyd Landis and later joined by the US government. Armstrong has said he likes his defense team's chances in the case....

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

"i'm not going to criticize....BUT...Travis & USADA blah blah....." "misuse of budget..$10..15...20 million I don't know..." "i made it easy for them to catch me..."
haha

Scratching out there for some sympathy. Big mean Travis hurt me.
Those students are smart. Lance is not. They're not buying it...btw Travis was there the week before. I think we should now send Betsy in to chat with the students...

Armstrong is right, USADA is crap. They've demonstrated that they didn't care so much about doping, they cared about landing a big fish. Did you hear about that deal they did with Floyd Mayweather? Disgusting.

Meanwhile, mister straight-and-narrow investigator for Truth, Justice and the American Way, Jeff Novitsky, is now a highly paid beard for UFC, which has desperate need of a beard.

If Armstrong had balls (at least one) he would've said WADA is crap. But it always personal with Armstrong. Hence it led to his downfall.

Yes USADA is crap doesn't take anyone with half a brain to see that. The whole of sport appears to be a cesspit, those IOC ones.

 

[poupou]

Maybe Lance should speak of lobby that can derail any NADA. What did he say to Mr. Sarkozy? Why was Bordry forced to leave AFLD.

Yes, he is right NADA are crap because of him, and people like him, with poor ethics and morality.

 

[thehog]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

“In any sport, if you throw 10 per cent into it… You might find some success on a stage by stage basis, in a one-day race, but you won’t get over the mountains and win time trials with other guys that are high-octane.”

Yet, Froome can ride faster without the 10%...

 

[Maxiton]

Re:

Maybe Lance should speak of lobby that can derail any NADA. What did he say to Mr. Sarkozy? Why was Bordry forced to leave AFLD.

Yes, he is right NADA are crap because of him, and people like him, with poor ethics and morality.

Thanks for bringing that up. I'd forgotten the details. Once you mentioned it, though, I googled it and found this:

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5817/Pierre-Bordry-resigned-from-ALFD-due-to-lack-of-political-will-to-fight-doping.aspx

Pierre Bordry, the controversial head of the Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD) has spoken for first time about the reasons for his surprise resignation last week. He initially indicated that it had something to do with ongoing budgetary negotiations with the French Ministry for Health, but in an interview with French newspaper LeMonde he goes further.

“There is no political will to support the fight against doping,” he said.

Armstrong intervened directly with Sarkozy to get him fired. Which I guess is pointing out the obvious, but anyway it's easy enough to imagine what he said: this anti-doping thing is killing the sport and killing France's cycling showpiece. Sarkozy apparently agreed with him.

EDIT: I just found this:

French ex-anti doping chief says President Sarkozy forced him out of job at Lance Armstrong's request

Bordry's [fate was] sealed at a dinner attended by Armstrong at the Elysée Palace in July 2010, hosted by Sarkozy who had made little secret of his admiration for the cyclist.

“Armstrong told me about it himself,” Bordry explained to the Nouvel Observateur, saying “he boasted in front of me of having called for my head from the President. I asked for a denial from the Elysée, even a private one, but never received a reply. I was shocked.”

Instead, two months later, Bordry was told that the AFLD’s budget was being slashed by half . . . Demoralised, he resigned, and the clear implication is that the cut in funding was authorised by Sarkozy in compliance with Armstrong’s wish that Bordry be removed.

Armstrong himself greeted news of Bordry’s departure from the agency in September 2010 with a three-word message on Twitter that read “Au Revoir Pierre.”

 

[Spider1964]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

Tweet from Lance

Well said @RogerPielkeJr - thanks for having me. Happy to come back any time.

http://leastthing.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/when-travis-and-lance-came-to-class.html?m=1

 

[86TDFWinner]

Re: Official Lance Armstrong Thread: Part 3 (Post-Confession

Lance has gone full Clooney with the hair...

http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_29581489/candid-lance-armstrong-reflects-his-colossal-meltdown-cu

Good interview. Takes a room full of students to ask the intelligent questions that cycling journalists can't

He just can't help playing the victim card....

 

[86TDFWinner]

Re: Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

Others have pointed out USADA's hypocrisy. Doesn't let Armstrong off the hook.

Sorry but cheating does not get a pass because the 'referee' is crap! If Armstrong is bitching about cheating maybe he should've though about that before he cheated.

Poor little ol Armstrong did not cheat like a normal rider. He bought the system FFS. His whinging like a *** is boring!

I don't think he's saying that. In this case, for once, what he's saying has nothing to do with him.

It's ALWAYS about Wonderboy.....ALWAYS.

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Re:

Armstrong tying to rewrite history. Sorry too late. He got busted. End of. Others haven't but that doesn't make his cheating ok!

Tumble weed..............

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

Others have pointed out USADA's hypocrisy. Doesn't let Armstrong off the hook.

Sorry but cheating does not get a pass because the 'referee' is crap! If Armstrong is bitching about cheating maybe he should've though about that before he cheated.

Poor little ol Armstrong did not cheat like a normal rider. He bought the system FFS. His whinging like a *** is boring!

I don't think he's saying that. In this case, for once, what he's saying has nothing to do with him.

It's ALWAYS about Wonderboy.....ALWAYS.

I hear what you're saying. Hearing Armstrong complain that USADA is ineffective is like hearing Al Capone complain that the police are corrupt. While USADA may in fact be ineffective, they caught him, so they're good for something.

I'm only saying that the point he is making is not invalid merely because he is the one making it. On the contrary, and as you can see from the Floyd Mayweather story, calling USADA ineffective seems rather generous.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

[quote="

Point is he has a point. Forget it was him making the point and pretend it was Betsy making it instead. It's a valid point.

Others have pointed out USADA's hypocrisy. Doesn't let Armstrong off the hook.

Sorry but cheating does not get a pass because the 'referee' is crap! If Armstrong is bitching about cheating maybe he should've though about that before he cheated.

Poor little ol Armstrong did not cheat like a normal rider. He bought the system FFS. His whinging like a *** is boring!

I don't think he's saying that. In this case, for once, what he's saying has nothing to do with him.

It's ALWAYS about Wonderboy.....ALWAYS.

I hear what you're saying. Hearing Armstrong complain that USADA is ineffective is like hearing Al Capone complain that the police are corrupt. While USADA may in fact be ineffective, they caught him, so they're good for something.

I'm only saying that the point he is making is not invalid merely because he is the one making it. On the contrary, and as you can see from the Floyd Mayweather story, calling USADA ineffective seems rather generous.

Yep, Armstrong looking around at those let off for their doping but not those who have served their time! Didn't see Landis get off his doping ban or a reduction over the winter!!!!

Armstrong's whinging is pathetic.

 

[Robert21]

Re: Re:

EDIT: I just found this:

French ex-anti doping chief says President Sarkozy forced him out of job at Lance Armstrong's request

It was much the same story with Patrice Clerc when he was president of the ASO. Clerc had adopted a strong anti-doping stance, looking to introduce on the line testing, dope testing independent of the UCI and so on at the Tour, just prior to Armstrong's comeback. Armstrong met with McQuaid, laying out what he wanted from the UCI for his comeback. Shortly afterwards McQuaid met with the the family owners of the ASO (including Marie-Odile Amaury and with ex ski champion Jean-Claude Killy acting as an intermediary) apparently convincing them that it was in their interests to get rid of Patrice Clerc, one must assume because this would help avoid any possible doping-related 'embarrassments'. As a result Clerc was given the push with McQuaid gloating:

"It's something I shouldn't comment on," McQuaid told ESPN.com Wednesday. "It's an internal Amaury decision. All I would say [to Clerc] is 'goodbye,' and you can read between the lines if you like."

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Re:

EDIT: I just found this:

French ex-anti doping chief says President Sarkozy forced him out of job at Lance Armstrong's request

It was much the same story with Patrice Clerc when he was president of the ASO. Clerc had adopted a strong anti-doping stance, looking to introduce on the line testing, dope testing independent of the UCI and so on at the Tour, just prior to Armstrong's comeback. Armstrong met with McQuaid, laying out what he wanted from the UCI for his comeback. Shortly afterwards McQuaid met with the the family owners of the ASO (including Marie-Odile Amaury and with ex ski champion Jean-Claude Killy acting as an intermediary) apparently convincing them that it was in their interests to get rid of Patrice Clerc, one must assume because this would help avoid any possible doping-related 'embarrassments'. As a result Clerc was given the push with McQuaid gloating:

"It's something I shouldn't comment on," McQuaid told ESPN.com Wednesday. "It's an internal Amaury decision. All I would say [to Clerc] is 'goodbye,' and you can read between the lines if you like."

That's right. And wasn't Armstrong at that ASO meeting as well, or had meetings with them of his own?

Edit: And I believe there was a woman at ASO (or maybe she was at AFLD?) who was fired along with Clerc. Anybody remember her name?