Seems to conflicting info about rider suspensions. Also disqualifications. From the previous ink. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/six-former-armstrong-usps-teammates-receive-bans-from-usada The six active former teammates, Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp), David Zabriskie (Garmin-Sharp), Tom Danielson (Garmin-Sharp), Michael Barry (Sky) and George Hincapie (BMC) have subsequently all been suspended. All actively race but ended their seasons in September. Both Hincapie and Barry announced they would retire this season. Leipheimer accepted a suspension from September 1 and was disqualified from results from June 1999 to July 30, 2006, and from July 7 to July 29, 2007. Hincapie accepted a suspension from September 1 and disqualification from results from May 31, 2004 to July 31, 2006. Vande Velde accepted a suspension from September 9 and disqualification from results from June 4, 2004 to April 31, 2006. Zabriskie accepted a suspension from September 1 and disqualification from results from May 31, 2003 to July 31, 2006. Danielson accepted a suspension from September 1 and disqualification from results from March 1, 2005 to September 23, 2006. Barry accepted a suspension from September 10 and disqualification from results from May 13, 2003 to July 31, 2006. All declined to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games and were praised by USADA for confessing and accepting their suspensions.
I have known for a long time that he was a cheat, and along with him probably every American who has participated in the TDF for the last 15 years. As this realization became clear to me I justified that cheating by making the argument that EVERY rider riding at that level was a cheat, and the only way to even make it to the big show was to take drugs. I then made the argument that Lance was still the best rider, because everyone was on dope.. so the best rider still won. But even that argument has failed me now, I just can no longer justify in anyway what these people did. I am embarrassed as an American, disgusted as a cyclist and immensely let down as a fan. The UCI is complicit in turning their heads for over two decades in their quest of $$. I think every person who has ever bought a Lance Armstrong trinket, jersey, bike, etc should band together in a class action lawsuit and take every penny he as from him, it was all acquired through cheating an lying. These men, George, Lance, Dave, Levi, were my heroes, they are all cheats. The sport, at the highest level is dirty beyond forgiveness, still is IMHO. Whomever has the best doping program wins, Sky had it this year. I have been following this sport a lot longer than Lance, first started riding in High School.. 1984, and I had been a LeMond fan for years before that. I will still ride, but my support for professional cycling may be gone forever.
I would not call it cheating to allow a promising junior to ride with the seniors for training. Lemond did this all the time. Gee, Greg has been pretty quiet lately, someone kidnap him?
how convenient ... suspended on Sept 1 for 6 months... then ends in spring when new season starts. does effectively squat! can you say .... deal....
who cares if they made a deal.. they were all cheats.. the entire peloton was full of cheats.. the fact that they made deals doesnt mean the cheating didnt happen.
OK .. I'll go for that .. but it does mean ALL the testimony is possibly tainted. NO matter how much crap is dug out ... one lb or 1,000lbs it's still crap if it's tainted. as a matter of fact, what I'm most insulted about is the waste of our tax payer $$$ being spent on crap that happen over 12 years ago in another country. 40 million dollars wasted by the justice department and no telling how many millions wasted by USADA trying to justify their existence. all over crap that happen 12 years ago by a retired athlete. why didn't USADA raise an objection then? how is it anywhere close to fair to drag it up now 12+ years later ...after someone is retired? on top of using a different standard of evidence as proof where hard evidence is not needed .... someone tell me how is this fair to anyone? who gives a f##K? now we are getting it all over the news....
Of course they are going to make a deal for testimony. That is the way it works... Lance was running a Mafia like ship where if you didn't dope you were off the team. When you did dope you were coopted and your silence was delivered. Read the reasoned decision and then cry for lance. But by then I think you will think of lance as a pos, like sandusky who is just as delusional as lance. Those on the lance bandwagon will look delusional soon enough to the general public. Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk 2
I don't think USADA was around then. conversation on espn radio of Tygart, LA lawyer and two others. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8487101
Greg Lemond Is he again the greatest US cyclist? I wouldn't really call it cheating either, but does it say something about a culture of entitlement? Dad lobbying for special treatment? I think it's interesting that Hincapie stopped doping when Armstrong initially retired in 06. After reading Tyler's (somewhat self serving) book, it looks like Armstrong was turning screws on everyone to get on his program. Tyler also claims he was busted because LA turned him in.
I haven't heard anything about a claim on LA's winnings. As for Hincapie, what titles? He won a tour stage and USA Pro Champs once or twice, outside of that I'm pretty sure he's only good for minor placings. Maybe he won a semi classic or two but who really cares or remembers? He's going to walk away with a global cycling brand, not a bad reward for a bunch of cheating and lying and breaking the law. At least some riders testified without being subpoenaed. I wonder how the USADA threatened and coerced them? Source on the jailhouse snitches? I haven't really heard of that.
That tour stage win looked semi-ridiculous at the time but of course it all makes sense now. Hincapie had great longevity but without doping he'd have been very average.
I think if they were all not doping, everybody would have been average, the stars would have been the stars no matter what, but they would have had more ups and downs. More bad stages (like Hinault in 86 Tour) more heroic attempts to make up time lost because they were down (Hinault, 86 Tour), and more daring attempts at victory at all costs, via daredevil descents and seemingly doomed breakaways. I loved the way Lemond chased Chiapucci after Chiapucci attacked when Lemond got a flat while in yellow. 1990. Classic.
What a classy guy. Anyone want their kid to admire LA? http://velonews.competitor.com/2012...ng-usada-outlines-witness-intimidation_256702
Steve Tilford ... telling it like it is http://stevetilford.com/ " I say sorry. You guys are all rich. Very rich. Very rich compared to Americans and beyond extremely rich compared to the rest of the world. You get to walk away with all the money that you stole from friends of mine. You get to remember the life experiences that you experienced that others should have as their life experiences. You can’t give that back. Now, all of a sudden, or maybe I should say, for some explained reason, 6 years ago, most of you decided to be moral. If you all are so moral, then maybe you should use those very morals and stop racing. You guys had your chances. You seemed to make the most of it. You have all the spoils. Just fade away and do something else. It seems like the right thing to do. "
Thank you for that. Excellent viewpoint from someone who got robbed by these heroes that finally manned up and admitted to doping. I owe you a cold one should we ever meet up.
Whole thing is a total clusterfuck. I am beyond angry and I'm not just so very sad that the sport I love is being torn apart - AGAIN !! And for those that keep going on about Armstrong never having failed a test (which is incorrect by the way, he has failed a test but got it swept under the carpet), I wonder how many test admitted doper George Hincapie took over the years, none of which, to the best of my knowledge, he failed.
see for yourself ... 66 tests administered by USADA to George http://www.usada.org/athlete-test-history FWIW, Lance = 29 tests Kristen Armstrong (the cyclist, not the ex) = 73
Interesting note about Kristen Armstrong. I noticed a lack of female names in the USADA Reasoned Judgement - does this imply that the distaff peleton is clean?
I dunno .... not real big money in women's racing, so maybe less inclination to be 'on the program'. Recall the name Geneviève Jeanson (Canada), who was absolutely crushing everybody else a few years back...I think she got popped for EPO. Anybody recall track rider Tammy Thomas (below)? Pretty sure she was 'on something' too...
