Who would you most like to see go down?

[theswordsman]

Floyd Landis. He's looking squeeky clean all of a sudden. Almost hero like He's quite the snake. By the way, when is he going to pay back all that money he cheated people out of with his Fairness Fund? If Floyd can hide behind any whistleblower law for immunity, then anyone can walk on the charges. Fair is fair.

He's not squeaky clean. He came forward when he did because the statute of limitations was soon to come into effect for the things he did wrong.

This from today's Velonation interview with Betsy Andreu:

VN: Floyd Landis has obviously been a big part of this investigation. Do you know how he is doing – have you been in contact with him?

BA: Infrequent contact…I think I spoke to him on the phone maybe once, or twice. When I asked him how he was doing, he said ‘I have good days and bad days.’ The words out of his mouth were, ‘if I could say sorry to every single person I hurt, I would.’ He really feels bad about that.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5...vement-in-the-Floyd-Landis-investigation.aspx

Floyd doesn't have the option of repaying people because he doesn't have the money. It's only conjecture, but seem people here hope that the whistle blower lawsuit is successful and that Floyd will use the money to write a check and an apology to everyone who donated.

It will be up to various governing bodies to decide what if any punishment Floyd receives. He's told everything, done so at a time when it's all still punishable, and seems to be cooperating with everyone he can. He's seen himself called horrible things for months, and attracted lots of haters. Do a Google News search on his name just to see what he's been called as a result of World's organizers. Yet instead of lying low, he's attending that conference to chat with doping experts about ways the sport can be cleaner in the future.

If he gets punished in the end, I'm cool with it, and I (without knowing him) imagine he will be too. It would give closure. But for now, the cycling world is a better place with him out talking to people who can make a difference.

 

[Berzin]

Armstrong, of course tops the list. Here are the rest-

"Fat" Pat McQuaid-every conspiracy needs a bloated, bumbling, bureaucratic hack to grease the wheels and make it possible for a-holes like Armstrong to circumvent rules that should apply to everyone.

DR. Michele Ferarri-he has done more damage to the sport than possibly all others combined in the last almost 20 years.

Chris "Extract of Cortisone" Carmichael-just because I can't stand his greasy, smarmy, hamster face. He really does think he's Armstrong's coach.

Johan "The Hog" Bruyneel-the title to his next book should be-"We Might As Well Go To Jail".

George Hincapie-for all those feats of improbability, riding tempo in the mountains at 27 mph with a straight face. And for being one of the riders who made it a point to congratulate Armstrong after Lance classlessly chased Simeoni out of that meaningless breakaway.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Start with Lance, then Bruyneel, then McFat, Verbruggen. Continuing up the food chain to Rogge, then the heads of International Football, American Football, Aussie rules, NBA NHL every one of the MFers who let a few guys get caught so their sport looks clean and then turn a blind eye to what is really going on. Ahh but that is way too much to hope, so Verbruggen!

 

[HL2037]

Winners are selfish. That's how they win. Cavendish isn't giving stages to to the other sprinters, is he????? Selfish ******* keeps taking all them for himself.

Mark Cavendish gifted a stage win to Andre Greipel in the Giro of 08.

 

[HL2037]

Because the fans by in large demand super human performance and only winning counts.

I personally find it much more exiting when the human factor is in play, when even the athletes don't know how their bodies will react once the mountain gets steep, when they are struggling the physical and mental limits, when everything can happen. It is much more inspiring when somebody takes a crazy chance and finds ressources in himself that nobody knew were there, even if he fails ind the end, than when somebody casually destroys all competition without even breaking a sweat. That gets boring rather quickly, unless you have some strange religious need to worship a hero.

 

[jbenedict]

He's not squeaky clean. He came forward when he did because the statute of limitations was soon to come into effect for the things he did wrong.

This from today's Velonation interview with Betsy Andreu:



http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5...vement-in-the-Floyd-Landis-investigation.aspx

Floyd doesn't have the option of repaying people because he doesn't have the money. It's only conjecture, but seem people here hope that the whistle blower lawsuit is successful and that Floyd will use the money to write a check and an apology to everyone who donated.

It will be up to various governing bodies to decide what if any punishment Floyd receives. He's told everything, done so at a time when it's all still punishable, and seems to be cooperating with everyone he can. He's seen himself called horrible things for months, and attracted lots of haters. Do a Google News search on his name just to see what he's been called as a result of World's organizers. Yet instead of lying low, he's attending that conference to chat with doping experts about ways the sport can be cleaner in the future.

If he gets punished in the end, I'm cool with it, and I (without knowing him) imagine he will be too. It would give closure. But for now, the cycling world is a better place with him out talking to people who can make a difference.

...and if Floyd had gotten into the ToC or able to keep his TDF title, we wouldn't be hear. He's a joke of a man. He claims to have had huge conflict in his head, but he seemed pretty content on the podium. If he really had conflict, he would have stepped away from a dirty career of cycling with or wthout a whistle. Floyd Landis is slime.

 

[jbenedict]

Mark Cavendish gifted a stage win to Andre Greipel in the Giro of 08.

Wasn't that his own teammate? Repaying his servants is honorable, but my point is missed.

 

[jbenedict]

I personally find it much more exiting when the human factor is in play, when even the athletes don't know how their bodies will react once the mountain gets steep, when they are struggling the physical and mental limits, when everything can happen. It is much more inspiring when somebody takes a crazy chance and finds ressources in himself that nobody knew were there, even if he fails ind the end, than when somebody casually destroys all competition without even breaking a sweat. That gets boring rather quickly, unless you have some strange religious need to worship a hero.

I agree. It's boring too see a traditional sprinter's finish. The winner gets off his bike without even breaking a sweat or huffing and puffing.

 

[frenchfry]

...and if Floyd had gotten into the ToC or able to keep his TDF title, we wouldn't be hear. He's a joke of a man. He claims to have had huge conflict in his head, but he seemed pretty content on the podium. If he really had conflict, he would have stepped away from a dirty career of cycling with or wthout a whistle. Floyd Landis is slime.

Undoubtedly, there is a lot to criticise Floyd for in his handling of his doping positive. It also could appear ambiguous that those, including myself, who are adamantly against doping now tend to support Floyd and Joe Papp. However to suggest that Floyd is slime in this discussion infers that because he is telling the world the sordid truth about the doping establishment that somehow he is slimier than Armstrong, Verdruggen, McQuaid, Bruyneel, Ferrari etc. Maybe your title of Editor in Chief (though a look at the cyclingnews staff shows no Benedict) has something to do with this - concerned about the goose that laid the golden egg perhaps?

I would suggest that Floyd has already "gone down" for his doping. Now it is time for the major actors to pay their dues. Yes, I would love to see Armstrong, Verdruggen McQuaid, Bruyneel, Ferrari, Hincapie, Weisel, Carmichael, and all their merry band go down big time. They are the real slime.

By the way, would you like to see Armstrong and friends go down?

 

[Hmmmmm]

...and if Floyd had gotten into the ToC or able to keep his TDF title, we wouldn't be hear. He's a joke of a man. He claims to have had huge conflict in his head, but he seemed pretty content on the podium. If he really had conflict, he would have stepped away from a dirty career of cycling with or wthout a whistle. Floyd Landis is slime.

I have to disagree in regards to Floyd being slime. People choose to step away from a career for different reasons and we should not judge them for whether they do or not, regardless of their reason. You are correct though in a sense regarding your first sentence above, because circumstances play a huge part in how the future unfolds. But that is life. Sh!t happens, dirt is dug up, facts that people don't want revealed are revealed, and suddenly life has changed. Landis was cheating. He got caught. He lied. He went on lying. Then he admitted he lied, which is a truth. Now he is telling the truth. If he is telling the truth that makes him a joke? Even liars can tell the truth when they choose to.

 

[HL2037]

When I was racing Cat 5, kids cheated to WIN a bike race. It wasn't a gentleman's game.

God, that is awful, what a terrible place you must live! Where is it?

Wasn't that his own teammate? Repaying his servants is honorable, but my point is missed.

Oh, you had a point?

 

[Hmmmmm]

You have straight away missed the point of why most people enjoy sports - they expect the performance to be real and within human capabilities - not a chemistry experiment.

I would suggest going to an underage race - there are still winners and losers, great and tragic stories.
The only difference between that and those who use PEDs is that they exclude most of the athletes that don't wish to dope.

Which is why I would hope that at the end of all these investigations that there is a change in how sports are administered, in particular to having testing completely independent of the sporting authorities.

(As for Tommy D. - I like him, but his problems are in his head, not his legs)

Thank you Dr. This is so well said. Watching my kids play sports puts a huge smile on my face and they are competitive, some talented and some not, and I wish adults could reflect back on their youth and think about how they approached things then. One thing I disagree with in the post by 9000 is that some people use PEDs even though they are not high paying pros. Some are doping and are not even pros. To me it is a mental thing as well as pressure. What type of person wakes up one day and can not accept that there are limits to their physical abilities and must turn to different means to become "better" at their sport? There are some damn insecure people in this world. Heaven forbid if you don't win! I hope cycling and all sports will be clean one day, but I very much doubt it due to human nature.