The Curious Case of Lance Armstrong
Why Lance Armstrong Needs to Lose the Tour de France
Lance Armstrong has one of the most impressive resume’s in the world. He has won seven Tour de France titles, completed several sub-3 hour marathons, created a foundation un-matched in funding the fight against cancer, and can seemingly have any woman he wants. Lance Armstrong has a track record of success that cannot be matched. After 3 years away from the Tour de France, Lance is back….back to win. However, this time is different. This time, for Lance to win, he most definitely needs to lose.
When Armstrong announced his return to cycling, he said he would put doping speculation to rest by conducting the most rigorous drug testing program in the world. That program, the one meant to end doping speculation, never materialized. The testing program was scrapped before it even started. There were differing opinions between Armstrong and Dr. Don Catlin, the expert drug tester that was to head up the testing effort. Not the least of the problems was the cost of the program. The dollar amount was too high, even for someone as wealthy as Lance Armstrong.
When a professional cyclist makes big improvements, doping is the first suspicion. When Frankie Andreu turned from domestique to super climber, his wife suspected doping. When Floyd Landis took off like a rocket to win the 2006 Tour de France, doping was suspected. When Michael Rasmussen went from best climber in the world to an overall Tour de France contender, doping was suspected. This year, when Bradley Wiggins went from super-awesome track rider to one of the best overall riders in the Tour de France, many people suspected doping.
So, why would anyone be surprised that a return victory for Lance Armstrong would elicit more doubt? It is for this reason that Armstrong is in an impossible position. He is left with only one option: In order to win with the public, Armstrong needs to show that he is human, and lose the race.
3 Responses to “The Curious Case of Lance Armstrong”
1 gob 13 July 2009 @ 6:08 pm
Um, Brad Wiggins has not been caught doping, nor has he admitted to doping, and he belongs to a team, Garmin Slipstream, which is quite transparent about the testing they do to ensure their riders are clean. You could have been a bit more clear.
Armstrong, on the otherhand, is filthy. For all of his early claims of transparency, he has been anything but in practice, and whines bitterly everytime he is tested.
Maybe if he used his considerable power to advocate actively against doping, instead of actively acting like the problem didn’t exist, the problem might finally cease to exist.
2 Del Duncan 13 July 2009 @ 7:13 pm
And you know he is filthy - how?
3 admin 14 July 2009 @ 9:36 am
gob….or is it mr. bluth? thanks for the comment. nobody here accused Wiggins of being dirty. only reported the fact that his performance had people talking….even he acknowledged it several times in the past few days. As far as Armstrong goes, I think your sentiment is exactly what the article is talking about. Thanks for reading.
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