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Why is Armstrong confessing?

Roar Rookie
15th January, 2013
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Lance Armstrong - says he'd probably do it all again. Seriously? (Image: AFP)
Roar Rookie
15th January, 2013
18
1026 Reads

Armstrong is reported to have confessed to Oprah Winfrey during their interview which will be aired on Thursday in America. This may be all good, and help cycling move on, but we can’t overlook the reasons as to why he is doing it or the outcomes from it.

Why is he doing it? Well I believe Armstrong is doing it purely for personal reasons. He wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t going to be beneficial to him.

Now how can Armstrong confess after denying it for so long? And, after calling the whole case against him “lies and a witch hunt”, how can this be beneficial to him?

It is going to cost Armstrong millions of dollars as he gets sued by this, that and every other company that has ever given him money. The Sunday Times is already suing Armstrong for $1.6 million.

But it isn’t just Armstrong being sued that he has to worry about. He is also likely to have to face court and have the federal investigation reopened, in which case he could have jail time.

So why is Armstrong confessing? It doesn’t seem to make sense. A lot of reports suggest that he is doing it to get a reduced sentence so that he will be able to compete in Iron Man Triathlons.

But what use is having a reduced sentence when you’re going to be so busy in court?

Now I can’t quite work out what personal reasons he might have, unless someone at the UCI has annoyed him. If that is the case, he may well be aiming at taking them down with him.

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It would be the best result for cycling if that happened. If Armstrong came out and confessed everything. How he got around the systems. How the UCI is implicit and even helped him.

Doing that would cause a major rebuilding of the UCI from the ground upwards, allowing for stronger doping standards and stricter anti-corruption measures.

It would be a whole new beginning for cycling.

But it can’t stop at the UCI. It should also force some others out of the sport of professional cycling that have strong links to doping. People like Bjarne Riis. People who have strong links to doping and aren’t doing anything for the good of the sport.

Remove the rotten apples and cycling can be rebuilt and regain a clean image. There are a lot of honest young guys being guided by the right hands coming through, and hopefully they can enjoy a clean, even sport, without being constantly suspected of cheating.

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