The Official LANCE ARMSTRONG Thread 2010-2011

[ImmaculateKadence]

First of all I wish your family and friends all the best.

For me it’s a personal thing. It’s not something that should be talked about in every post in reference to my thoughts on cycling or Armstrong related topics. I don’t need to say “I fought this disease” to have credibility. Everyone’s pain is their own. My experience with cancer is not better or worse or trumps someone who has a deaf grandmother!

Yellow wristbands, yellow balloons, t-shirts and fist punching doesn’t soften the physical pain and the pain that the families and friends see from a loved one wasting away.

As you would know there comes a time after grieving that you move on. A certain amount of time passes and you want your life to go back to relative normality. Often my objection to Armstrong is that he’s trying to relive that feeling of overcoming cancer. You can’t. People hate to say but there is an aphrodisiacal quality to overcoming something like cancer. There is also a great relief although you are in a great deal of pain when someone dies after suffering so much pain. I felt relief but I never spoke of it because it was disrespectful but I also felt a great about of energy that I could now achieve anything – after seeing death that is. Everyone who has had cancer knows about this “feeling” – the feeling that you can do anything because of what you had or what you saw. However in saying all this - there comes a time when you’re no longer a survivor and you are a normal person again. There comes a point when you move on. Lance won’t do this and not because he wants to represent the illness because of what it brings him – the marketing, the status, the money the notoriety and most of all “the feeling”.

The comeback 2.0 to raise “awareness” I personally believe was the most disgusting acts I have ever seen in my life. Lance would obviously argue that he’s doing a good thing but the comeback really didn’t have a lot to do with awareness but more with Livestrong Inc. which is Armstrong Inc. His profited well from the comeback. In fact he’s profited extremely well but to do it under the guise of “awareness” is well, its sick. If he wanted to come back and do it for himself to prove he can beat the younger guys then good. Go for it but to disrespect me and my family by telling me he’s doing it for “them” with a Nike logo emblazoned across his message is fraudulent. Because he aint’t doing it for them, he’s doing it for himself. Period. Most of all who elected Lance to represent “them”? I certainly didn’t. And do we have a choice in the matter that he speaks for the cancer community?

Finally. He’s a bad liar and a even worse cyclist.

Thanks for the well wishes, and kudos on an excellent post. It allows me to better understand your criticisms. Many times I don't understand where your comments are coming from, but that makes sense, and though I tend to disagree, you make excellent points. I know he is an ego-maniac of sorts; that's why I feel it necessary to draw the distinction between my support of the LAF and LAP (the person). Sometimes people may confuse my supporting the LAF with an unwavering devotion to him and Team Radioshack. That's really not the case; there is a casual interest though.

EDIT: I do agree with your comments about post cancer feelings. I haven't experienced it personally since, fortunately, I haven't had cancer, but I have seen it that and other illnesses. You described it very well in that paragraph.

Also when I respond the way I do, I'm not being argumentative. It's more of a jestful banter than anything, not to be a ***. Maybe that gets lost in the translation. My favorite users in these forums are the ones I can respectfully disagree with.

 

[Digger]

Thanks for the well wishes, and kudos on an excellent post. It allows me to better understand your criticisms. Many times I don't understand where your comments are coming from, but that makes sense, and though I tend to disagree, you make excellent points. I know he is an ego-maniac of sorts; that's why I feel it necessary to draw the distinction between my support of the LAF and LAP (the person). Sometimes people may confuse my supporting the LAF with an unwavering devotion to him and Team Radioshack. That's really not the case; there is a casual interest though.

I think that for me is a problem. There is becoming less and less of a distinction between the two - the TDU money from last year, the .com and .org are just two examples. He is making money from the livestrong brand - As are Demand Media. Are non cycling fans aware of the .com and .org distinction? Bringing cancer awareness to Australia, but profiting two million dollars (personally) for a week's work is grotesque, when apparently cancer awareness was the paramount goal for being there in the first place.
Even Radioshack have evidence of this brand on their kit. Lance has a separate helmet FFS.
IK, I get so frustrated with the way he hides behind cancer and his foundation. Lemond asked him about testing, in a reasoned and intelligent manner, Lance grabbed the micriphone and said this is about global cancer awareness. Kimmage asked him about supporting cheats and Lance launched into a diatribe about a comeback for noble reasons, i.e. cancer card again. Paul then, quite rightly IMO, said 'you don't have a patent on cancer.'

So, with all respect, I can't see how you can distinguish LAP from LAF. Because from what I can see, he doesn't want a distinction to be made.

I've said it before, and unfortunately it was Cyclingfansanonymous who said it first, (I can't take the credit), if cancer awareness was genuinely such an important part of his comeback, why not cycling the Tour of Langkawi, Tour of Burkino Faso, or even visit third world countries?

 

[altark123]

thank you very much for this thoughtful post !!!!

i wish you the very best and hope altark and the like-minded have read it.

altark started this tired old line that armstrong deserves respect for his anti-cancer work. i countered it that there are many modest proud survivors/forum members who felt quite different and suggested he try to understand them. i intentionally avoided mentioning their handles/names because i felt it is their personal prerogative to speak up or remain silent.

so i thank you again for speaking up.

Python, thanks for being civil on this subject, do you now realize I am not BPC or whoever it was you thought haha?

I know there is large divide in the cancer community but I know all the people in my life directly affected by this terrible disease seem to support Lance and his efforts, but that is just in my life, I realize there are differing opinions.

 

[kurtinsc]

I think that for me is a problem. There is becoming less and less of a distinction between the two - the TDU money from last year, the .com and .org are just two examples. He is making money from the livestrong brand - As are Demand Media. Are non cycling fans aware of the .com and .org distinction? Bringing cancer awareness to Australia, but profiting two million dollars (personally) for a week's work is grotesque, when apparently cancer awareness was the paramount goal for being there in the first place.
Even Radioshack have evidence of this brand on their kit. Lance has a separate helmet FFS.
IK, I get so frustrated with the way he hides behind cancer and his foundation. Lemond asked him about testing, in a reasoned and intelligent manner, Lance grabbed the micriphone and said this is about global cancer awareness. Kimmage asked him about supporting cheats and Lance launched into a diatribe about a comeback for noble reasons, i.e. cancer card again. Paul then, quite rightly IMO, said 'you don't have a patent on cancer.'

So, with all respect, I can't see how you can distinguish LAP from LAF. Because from what I can see, he doesn't want a distinction to be made.

I've said it before, and unfortunately it was Cyclingfansanonymous who said it first, (I can't take the credit), if cancer awareness was genuinely such an important part of his comeback, why not cycling the Tour of Langkawi, Tour of Burkino Faso, or even visit third world countries?

Legally the distinction is as clear as it's always been. There IS no confusion.

But in people's minds, the distinction is not clear.

He is not directly making money from the Livestrong brand. Whenever the LAF licenses the use of the name, they get 100% of the license agreement. Is he indirectly? Yes. Many of the companies that pay to use the brand also pay him to endorse the brand. But he gets paid to endorse other products that dont' have the brand on them. Is DemandMedia? Yes... and they paid the LAF quite handsomely in order to use the brand to make money.

The suggestions that there is some sort of funny business with the financial relationships involved annoy me. Not because they impact Lance... for him I could care less. But rather because they are implying that the LAF is doing illegal things to funnel money donated for cancer to Lance's pocket... and that is simply not happening.

Lance profits from the fact that a good organization bears his name... and that makes him in more demand as a spokesperson and shields him from criticism. But that profit does not come at a financial expense of the LAF. If anything the LAF also benefits because they get publicity (which brings donations) from the association with Lance's name.

But the relationship is akin to Jerry Lewis's with the Muscular Distrophy Association. It's about fundraising. It's not about programs. The LAF's stated goals are not Lance's... and vice versa.


I don't care for Lance as a person... but I respect his work for the LAF.

Similarly I don't care for some of Jerry Lewis' misogynistic and homophobic statements... but I respect his work with the Muscular Distrophy Association.


I think those that follow the line of "Lance is bad, so everything associated with him is bad" need to grow up.

 

[Digger]

Lance comes back for no salary. This one is on me, were his words. He gets 2m dollars for appearance at the TDU. At first he says it's for the foundation, but then admits that it's for himself.
Honestly, do you think this is right?

 

[9000ft]

We do appreciate people popping in now and again to remind us that they're superior to us as human beings.

LOL! Who said anything about being superior? I fact, I can enjoy listening in on the hen house cackling and clucking as much as anybody and that's a pretty low brow form of entertainment.

As I said before, carry on.

 

[Publicus]

Legally the distinction is as clear as it's always been. There IS no confusion.

But in people's minds, the distinction is not clear.

He is not directly making money from the Livestrong brand. Whenever the LAF licenses the use of the name, they get 100% of the license agreement. Is he indirectly? Yes. Many of the companies that pay to use the brand also pay him to endorse the brand. But he gets paid to endorse other products that dont' have the brand on them. Is DemandMedia? Yes... and they paid the LAF quite handsomely in order to use the brand to make money.

The suggestions that there is some sort of funny business with the financial relationships involved annoy me. Not because they impact Lance... for him I could care less. But rather because they are implying that the LAF is doing illegal things to funnel money donated for cancer to Lance's pocket... and that is simply not happening.

Lance profits from the fact that a good organization bears his name... and that makes him in more demand as a spokesperson and shields him from criticism. But that profit does not come at a financial expense of the LAF. If anything the LAF also benefits because they get publicity (which brings donations) from the association with Lance's name.

But the relationship is akin to Jerry Lewis's with the Muscular Distrophy Association. It's about fundraising. It's not about programs. The LAF's stated goals are not Lance's... and vice versa.


I don't care for Lance as a person... but I respect his work for the LAF.

Similarly I don't care for some of Jerry Lewis' misogynistic and homophobic statements... but I respect his work with the Muscular Distrophy Association.


I think those that follow the line of "Lance is bad, so everything associated with him is bad" need to grow up.

You said this before and I think it completely distorts reality. The Jerry Lewis Tele-a-thon is a poor analogy simply because Jerry isn't synonymous with the March of Dimes/MDA the way that Armstrong is synonymous with Livestrong. Everyone understands that Jerry Lewis is not making money off of March of Dimes/MDA from their donations or visiting their website. The same cannot be said about Armstrong and the brand LiveStrong or appearances on behalf of LAF.

Unless you have some definitive proof that JL is receiving considerable appearance fees for showing up at MDA events, or receiving some other in-kind consideration that is not disclosed to the public, I think you should offer up another analogy.

 

[Phlakaton]

Armstrong and can do his thing when it comes to cancer. I for one dont let how he does it ruin my day. There is a thing called the "pain body." It is your mind telling you to be mad about things. I do my best to ignore it. It ruins otherwise good times.

That Lance makes so many people angry to me is silly. He isnt you. You are not him. Live in the now moment and be.

If he manages to get money for more cancer research and awareness then good for the rest of us and people who have cancer like my mom did.

 

[Ferminal]

First of all I wish your family and friends all the best.

For me it’s a personal thing. It’s not something that should be talked about in every post in reference to my thoughts on cycling or Armstrong related topics. I don’t need to say “I fought this disease” to have credibility. Everyone’s pain is their own. My experience with cancer is not better or worse or trumps someone who has a deaf grandmother!

Yellow wristbands, yellow balloons, t-shirts and fist punching doesn’t soften the physical pain and the pain that the families and friends see from a loved one wasting away.

As you would know there comes a time after grieving that you move on. A certain amount of time passes and you want your life to go back to relative normality. Often my objection to Armstrong is that he’s trying to relive that feeling of overcoming cancer. You can’t. People hate to say but there is an aphrodisiacal quality to overcoming something like cancer. There is also a great relief although you are in a great deal of pain when someone dies after suffering so much pain. I felt relief but I never spoke of it because it was disrespectful but I also felt a great about of energy that I could now achieve anything – after seeing death that is. Everyone who has had cancer knows about this “feeling” – the feeling that you can do anything because of what you had or what you saw. However in saying all this - there comes a time when you’re no longer a survivor and you are a normal person again. There comes a point when you move on. Lance won’t do this and not because he wants to represent the illness because of what it brings him – the marketing, the status, the money the notoriety and most of all “the feeling”.

The comeback 2.0 to raise “awareness” I personally believe was the most disgusting acts I have ever seen in my life. Lance would obviously argue that he’s doing a good thing but the comeback really didn’t have a lot to do with awareness but more with Livestrong Inc. which is Armstrong Inc. His profited well from the comeback. In fact he’s profited extremely well but to do it under the guise of “awareness” is well, its sick. If he wanted to come back and do it for himself to prove he can beat the younger guys then good. Go for it but to disrespect me and my family by telling me he’s doing it for “them” with a Nike logo emblazoned across his message is fraudulent. Because he aint’t doing it for them, he’s doing it for himself. Period. Most of all who elected Lance to represent “them”? I certainly didn’t. And do we have a choice in the matter that he speaks for the cancer community?

Finally. He’s a bad liar and a even worse cyclist.

Wow hoggy, best paragraph ever from you!

Personally I've always thought about it that way, but never related that to the way Armstrong deals with it. I could never put my finger on it, but maybe this is the reason why Lance annoys me in glorifying "cancer survival".

 

[Berzin]

Fun to check in on this thread once and a while to see the same old posters posting the same old stuff. I especially like how many of the LA haters who say they don't care about the guy and are sick of him posting away on the official Lance Armstrong thread.

Carry on. It beats working or bike riding I guess.

Ah, the bemused lurker standing at a distance watching the circus and condescendingly wondering out loud why people don't have better things to do, as if no one here works or rides.

Come up with something new, dude. You sound as lame as all the other tired and pathetic fanboys.

Or better yet, get on a bike and go ride. A double century would do you a world of good right about now.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Why is Armstrong blatantly avoiding Contador?
As soon as Contador announced he will ride the Ardennais classics, Armstrong announces he is out.
And he won't ride Dauphine but TdS

Is the old guy so afraid?
Let's hope he changes the Tour de France for the österreich rundfahrt

 

[Anonymous]

But the relationship is akin to Jerry Lewis's with the Muscular Distrophy Association. It's about fundraising. It's not about programs. The LAF's stated goals are not Lance's... and vice versa.


I don't care for Lance as a person... but I respect his work for the LAF.

Similarly I don't care for some of Jerry Lewis' misogynistic and homophobic statements... but I respect his work with the Muscular Distrophy Association.

Really? I don't remember seeing Jerrystrong treadmills or Jerrystrong shoes or Jerrystrong laptops or Jerrystrong bike shops named Melo Jerry's that profit from his association with MD. Lance profits from the suffring of others. He uses their pictures in ads that defend him against his past doping. He cheapens the suffring of everyone with cancer and some think him a hero? I thank the hog for his words. Armstrong is a fraud of the worst kind.

 

[Digger]

Really? I don't remember seeing Jerrystrong treadmills or Jerrystrong shoes or Jerrystrong laptops or Jerrystrong bike shops named Melo Jerry's that profit from his association with MD. Lance profits from the suffring of others. He uses their pictures in ads that defend him against his past doping. He cheapens the suffring of everyone with cancer and some think him a hero? I thank the hog for his words. Armstrong is a fraud of the worst kind.

Even with something as fundamental as whether he cheated or not, he has used the cancer card, saying he would never put that stuff into his body etc. (See my signature). I think even the most fervent of Lance fans accepts that he cheated for his seven tours, so this is another blatant lie, but difficult to call him out, because it is one that is entertwined on cancer survivorship.

 

[Publicus]

Why is Armstrong blatantly avoiding Contador?
As soon as Contador announced he will ride the Ardennais classics, Armstrong announces he is out.
And he won't ride Dauphine but TdS

Is the old guy so afraid?
Let's hope he changes the Tour de France for the österreich rundfahrt

Apparently Radio Shack is vehemently denying that he has decided to ride the TdS. They won't decide until after the Tour of California, but I think everyone knows how this one is going to be played. He's not going to race Alberto Contador up Alpe d'Huez. Just not going to happen.

 

[karlboss]

honestly wouldn't surprise me if he skipped both and tweeted that the tour of california was enough

 

[Beech Mtn]

Who does the drug testing at the Dauphine?
Who handles testing at TdS?
Who just announced an agreement to share evidence with the French police?

My guess is LA never sets foot on French soil this summer, including in July.

 

[python]

Who does the drug testing at the Dauphine?
Who handles testing at TdS?
Who just announced an agreement to share evidence with the French police?

My guess is LA never sets foot on French soil this summer, including in July.

i like the cynic in you

tbh, yesterday's announcement of the alfd cooperation with the french police is not a big news. afld is a civil party to several ongoing investigations and it's done all the time. the curious detail here is the french (under their own law and the wada rules) don't have to cooperate with the uci testers even though officially dauphine testing is the uci business.

if they have the will, they can make contributing a typical unit after the dauphine very problematic.

 

[Publicus]

honestly wouldn't surprise me if he skipped both and tweeted that the tour of california was enough

At this point, nothing he would do would surprise me.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Snipped for brevity

Lance comes back for no salary. This one is on me, were his words. He gets 2m dollars for appearance at the TDU. At first he says it's for the foundation, but then admits that it's for himself.
Honestly, do you think this is right?

To avoid reiterating Kurtinsc's response, I can just answer your questions with a personal opinion.

The helmet thing annoys me to no end, so I can't even comment.

As for the appearance fees, I've said many times in these forums I think Lance should donate a portion of his appearance fees to the LAF, especially if it's not directly related to the foundation. If he collects money for racing, I honestly feel he should donate some of that to his foundation, or better yet other foundations (ACS perhaps) that focus on other areas: maybe putting money directly into the hands of uninsured patients or toward research into treatments or possible cures. He makes loads of money through endorsements, I don't think he would miss a 25% donation to his or other cancer related organizations.

In response to the Greg Lemond issue, Lance was basically ambushed at a press conference that was related to his comeback and the LAF. It was just dreadfully bad timing on Lemond's part, but he has an agenda fueled by jealousy, IMO.

As for Paul Kimmage, you got it all wrong. Lance said that Floyd Landis and Ivan Basso should be welcomed back like David Millar, Paul Kimmage prefaced his question that way, then asked Lance, "What is it about these dopers you seem to admire so much?" It's a loaded question. Not only that but in a prior article he referred to Lance as the "Cancer" of cycling: a metaphor that is beyond the boundaries of good taste. I don't blame Lance for responding the way he did.

To answer your final question, it has to do with publicity. Everytime Lance is in a race, the LAF is mentioned, even if it's explaining what the Livestrong bands on the RS jerseys mean (even when he's not there they mentioned it) or why he wears a different helmet from the rest of his team . They LAF gets more publicity the more he's in the public eye, which brings in more funding. Those races are not major events. Perhaps his presence would bring them some attention, but not near the the level of the Giro, the TdF, etc.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Really? I don't remember seeing Jerrystrong treadmills or Jerrystrong shoes or Jerrystrong laptops or Jerrystrong bike shops named Melo Jerry's that profit from his association with MD. Lance profits from the suffring of others. He uses their pictures in ads that defend him against his past doping. He cheapens the suffring of everyone with cancer and some think him a hero? I thank the hog for his words. Armstrong is a fraud of the worst kind.

While a shop named Mellow Jerry's would be hilarious, Lance profits from only the bike shop. Portions of the profits from the sale of laptops, treadmills and other workout equipment go to the LAF. He is just used as marketing.

When I was working with Nike, we were selling more of the Livestrong collection than other apparel (shoes not included) in some ****'s Sporting Goods stores. 100% percent of that goes to the LAF, now they have worked a deal that a specified amount goes the LAF annually (which is actually more than what is from the Livestong collection). I think you misunderstand the relationship.

 

[kurtinsc]

You said this before and I think it completely distorts reality. The Jerry Lewis Tele-a-thon is a poor analogy simply because Jerry isn't synonymous with the March of Dimes/MDA the way that Armstrong is synonymous with Livestrong. Everyone understands that Jerry Lewis is not making money off of March of Dimes/MDA from their donations or visiting their website. The same cannot be said about Armstrong and the brand LiveStrong or appearances on behalf of LAF.

Unless you have some definitive proof that JL is receiving considerable appearance fees for showing up at MDA events, or receiving some other in-kind consideration that is not disclosed to the public, I think you should offer up another analogy.

Lance isn't making money of the LAF from their donations or visiting their website either.

And to be honest, most people understand that as well. There are a few conspiracy theorists that want to suggest he's somehow funneling donations to Demand Media (a company he owns a very small protion of)... which makes absolutely no sense and isn't backed up by any facts.


Where Lance makes money is from positive publicity due to his ASSOCIATION with the LAF. It makes him a more desireable spokesman. Did Jerry Lewis get positive press from the MDA telethons that may have led to more jobs? I don't know... but it's not hard to imagine.

 

[Digger]

To avoid reiterating Kurtinsc's response, I can just answer your questions with a personal opinion.

The helmet thing annoys me to no end, so I can't even comment.


In response to the Greg Lemond issue, Lance was basically ambushed at a press conference that was related to his comeback and the LAF. It was just dreadfully bad timing on Lemond's part, but he has an agenda fueled by jealousy, IMO.

As for Paul Kimmage, you got it all wrong. Lance said that Floyd Landis and Ivan Basso should be welcomed back like David Millar, Paul Kimmage prefaced his question that way, then asked Lance, "What is it about these dopers you seem to admire so much?" It's a loaded question. Not only that but in a prior article he referred to Lance as the "Cancer" of cycling: a metaphor that is beyond the boundaries of good taste. I don't blame Lance for responding the way he did.

To answer your final question, it has to do with publicity. Everytime Lance is in a race, the LAF is mentioned, even if it's explaining what the Livestrong bands on the RS jerseys mean (even when he's not there they mentioned it) or why he wears a different helmet from the rest of his team . They LAF gets more publicity the more he's in the public eye, which brings in more funding. Those races are not major events. Perhaps his presence would bring them some attention, but not near the the level of the Giro, the TdF, etc.

Lemond ambushed Lance at a press conference in Vegas, and dared ask him questions about testing? Are you forgetting who was sitting beside Lance at that press conference? Don Catlin, the man Lance said at the press conference, would be testing him. So Lemond was perfectly entitled to ask questions abotu testing, when it was Lance who had brought Catlin in hte first place. As for Lemond being jealous, OH MY GOD is all I can say.

Yes I have seen the press conference of kimmage in its entirety. Kimmage asked him a loaded question about DOPING. Kimmage's radio transcript where he referred to Lance as a cancer on the sport, if you read all of it, was in relation to Lance's doping and his attitude to same - bullying of riders etc. So for Lance to defend himself in relation to doping, fair enough. He has a right to do this. But he defended himself by pulling out the 'I'm doing this comeback for a noble cause, so how dare you even attempt to criticise me' attitude. How dare Lance say that the cancer community would not forgive Kimmage? Who the f*** is Lance to speak for the cancer community? Was he elected? It's a human shield. Kimmage asks a doping question. Lance launched into a diatribe about cancer awareness. WTF had the latter got to do with the previous?

You talk about the LAF getting more attention. Livestrong gets alot of attention. Not everyone though who has been drawn to it know about the .com and .org distinction, and that is something that in my view is not on. And talk about the LAF getting more funding - fine in one sense, but if so much of the budget for donations, is being taken up with PERSONAL appearance fees, this argument falls by the wayside. I somehow doubt that the Australian government donated another 2m to the LAF.

 

[frenchfry]

...
As for the appearance fees, I've said many times in these forums I think Lance should donate a portion of his appearance fees to the LAF, especially if it's not directly related to the foundation. If he collects money for racing, I honestly feel he should donate some of that to his foundation, or better yet other foundations (ACS perhaps) that focus on other areas: maybe putting money directly into the hands of uninsured patients or toward research into treatments or possible cures. He makes loads of money through endorsements, I don't think he would miss a 25% donation to his or other cancer related organizations.
...

Of course you mean in addition to his donation(s) to the UCI for "doping testing equipment".

That was probably the best investment he ever made, other than taking on Ferrari with an exclusive contract that is.

 

[Digger]

Lance isn't making money of the LAF from their donations or visiting their website either.

And to be honest, most people understand that as well. There are a few conspiracy theorists that want to suggest he's somehow funneling donations to Demand Media (a company he owns a very small protion of)... which makes absolutely no sense and isn't backed up by any facts.

Where Lance makes money is from positive publicity due to his ASSOCIATION with the LAF. It makes him a more desireable spokesman. Did Jerry Lewis get positive press from the MDA telethons that may have led to more jobs? I don't know... but it's not hard to imagine.

No, we're saying that there's not enough of a distinction between Livestrong.com and livestrong.org. Why not change the name of the livestrong.com and then make all the money he wants, in conjunction with Demand media?

Where Lance is making money, is saying 'this one's on me, I;m not taking a salary,' but takign millions in appearances, to raise awareness. Even IK admits that a percentage of this should be donated.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

To avoid reiterating Kurtinsc's response, I can just answer your questions with a personal opinion.
<snipped for brevity>

In response to the Greg Lemond issue, Lance was basically ambushed at a press conference that was related to his comeback and the LAF. It was just dreadfully bad timing on Lemond's part, but he has an agenda fueled by jealousy, IMO.

That press conferrence had nothing to do with the LAF.

It was in Las Vegas - at the Interbike trade show, which is why Lemond was there - and LA had Don Catlin (remember him?) with him to reveal the testing plans for the upcoming season.

"I thought it was essential that we be here at the trade show to allow you the opportunity to ask questions".