Lance Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles

[Adam]

That bit in Dodgeball is now far less inspirational.

Nothing can ever sully any part of Dodgeball.

[Gazz]

I've actually realised something, if enough people get stripped of their titles for doping, I'll be the 2006 Tour de France winner.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

It appears that Lance Arnmstrong doped, promoted doping and was central in the organisation of doping within his American team towards other American riders such as Funky Floyd Landis, George Hincapie and Jonathan Vaughters. Other European riders who rode for him have also come forward to talk about it. I can see why his American fans are devastated (and many of them refusing to accept that he could be guilty).

There have been suspicions and rumours for the last decade but he's always dodged them. It's been shown that EPO tests from back in the day were useless and could be passed with the help of a good team doctor at the time. With Armstrong so proud of all his "passed tests" it seemed like a man protesting too much.

It is a dirty business, messy, terrible really but now the thread has been pulled, you have to keep pulling. The way cycling works, you have to erase his name from the record books. It's worked that way for yeeears and yeeeears. Ullrich's "new" wins are probably safe. Basso's might come under some scrutiny and there are suspicions over Kloden from around the time he now "won". Zulle from '99 is dirty as. Yes it is nonsense but it does have to be done. Those years from 1995-2007 were horrible really. So go hard on them, go nasty, scrub hard, do tough. Make the riders and doctors learn. Change the climate and thinking within the sport and the team medical staff. Build a way of riding that doesn't even allow the thought of drugs (American team Garmin for example).

The rules are clear. You dope and are caught? You get two years. Dope again? Banned for life. Those are great rules and I hope for more tough drug testing. Get 'em out. The vast majority of recent positive tests have been the old guys. See the old guys in the tour recently, they're a shadow of their former selves. Armstrong didn't have the zing when he returned, despite all the team support. Instead you've got younger guys going about it the right way, killing themselves on the mountains, putting in the hours on the rollers (bike treadmills) and on training rides.

Sadly the most suspicious rider at the moment with regards to performance and meteoric rise is Bradley Wiggins.

The morale of the cycling story is, as a supporter, be more French. Love your favourite riders, cheer on anyone who rides with panache and courage. Sing their names, celebrate them. But don't hold them too closely to heart. No public figure should be idolised. No-one is perfect, everyone makes stupid mistakes. I love David Millar but, if, after all his books about his ex-doping, despite him being the spokesman for anti-doping and all of that, if it was shown he was doping again, I need to be able to just call him a wanker and cross him off the list of favourite riders. No screaming, ranting, tears. Hold on tightly, let go lightly (as Clive Owen said in Croupier).

[METALMAN]

[naiwf]

They should just give the yellow jersey to the chemist from the winning team. Problem solved.

[METALMAN]

I think the guy that drew that must have been a bit high

[Cymbols]

That can't be right surely? Cause that's mental.

[Gazz]

I would imagine so, I saw an article entitled 'Who get's Armstrong's Tour titles' and even with my limited knowledge of cycling, I knew Ulrich and Vinokourov were dopers.

It's out of date as well because one of the Schleck brothers failed a test on this year's tour.

[Adam]

I just read a list doing the same thing of the top 5 in all of Armstrong's winning years, which came up like this:

1999

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Alex Zülle (‘98 busted for EPO)

3. Fernando Escartín (Systematic team doping exposed in ‘04)

4. Laurent Dufaux (‘98 busted for EPO)

5. Ángel Casero (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

2000

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Jan Ullrich (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

3. Joseba Beloki (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

4. Christophe Moraue (‘98 busted for EPO)

5. Roberto Heras (‘05 busted for EPO)

2001

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Jan Ullrich (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

3. Joseba Beloki (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

4. Andrei Kivilev

5. Igor González de Galdeano (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

2002

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Joseba Beloki (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

3. Raimondas Rumšas (Suspended in ‘03 for doping)

4. Santiago Botero (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

5. Igor González de Galdeano (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

2003

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Jan Ullrich (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

3. Alexander Vinokourov (Suspended in ‘07 for CERA)

4. Tyler Hamilton (Suspended ‘04 for blood doping)

5. Haimar Zubeldia

2004

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Andreas Kloden (Named in doping case in ‘08)

3. Ivan Basso (Suspended in ‘07 for Operacion Puerto ties)

4. Jan Ullrich (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

5. Jose Azevedo (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

2005

1. Lance Armstrong

2. Ivan Basso (Suspended in ‘07 for Operacion Puerto ties)

3. Jan Ullrich (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

4. Fransico Mancebo (‘06 implicated in Operacion Puerto)

5. Alexander Vinokourov (Suspended in ‘07 for CERA)

So going by that, the only two people who came in the top 5 you could even award the title are Andrei Kivilev (2001) and Haimar Zubeldia (2003). And Kivilev died in the Paris-Nice race in 2003 .

If they are stripping him of the titles, then simply put you have to just expunge the winning columns from those 7 years and leave them empty, a very dark spot on the grand hisory of Road Cycling.

[METALMAN]

Rumour has it he'll be back next week as a Newco with his trophies intact, known as The Lance Armstrong

[EndOfAnEra]

I think all this has done for non-cycling fans is show how bad the history of the Tour is. Seriously, I had no idea that many of them were doping. And at least Armstrong brought some semblance of recognition, so what exactly is the point of it here?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

It is the older, less good Schleck who is undergoing doping tests.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm not surprised at the support Lance is getting through his charity with donations jumping. A lot of people will say that he was the victim of a witch hunt for the rest of their lives unless a sample actually does come back. And a test that proves he cheated now that is something we truly are unlikely to see happen. He knows his cult will treat him like a winner and spend money on him like he was a winner. That will keep him financially secure for the rest of his life, he doesn't need cycling.

[METALMAN]

His brother was so disappointed that he died.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

As the cyclist David Millar tweeted today "Not a good week for the Armstrongs".

People would have wanted MPH banned for a similar comment.

[Gazz]

Well, if David Millar ever signs up to the board...

[Noah]

Give Cadel Evans all the titles!

[SeanDMan]

I think the problem with stripping Armstrong and deciding who gets the golden jacket is that so many of those guys were on banned substances as well. For years, it was basically a viscous cycle: in order to beat the dopers, you had to dope yourself.

I mean there's a reason people have started calling it the Tour De Farce, when so many of the top competitors have been implicated in scandal if not outright been found guilty.

I am a little disappointed that so many people seem to be throwing Armstrong under the table without any real evidence, I had no idea that EWB was such a homogenous cycle jerk.

[RoHitman Reigns]

Im waiting to see if the one other guy goes to trial later this year from the US team.which could unearthed stuff about Lance anyways possibly. Sure it would be hearsay, but it would give the ability to hear some of the arguments.

[Adam]

As the cyclist David Millar tweeted today "Not a good week for the Armstrongs".

People would have wanted MPH banned for a similar comment.

Pfft, David Millar absolutely must have copied my Facebook status from last night