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Cycling great Greg LeMond has rejected any suggestion that fellow American Lance Armstrong should receive a reduction on his life ban.
LeMond says Armstrong “took a good 10 years out of my life” and deserves the ban as much for how treated people as for his doping.
The three-time Tour de France winner – the only official American winner of the race – rejected Armstrong’s argument that he has been made a scapegoat as cycling tries to clean up its act.
“What’s the point? If there’s anybody who deserves a ban, it’s this guy,” LeMond said.
“Otherwise, what’s the point of rules?
“I believe everyone deserves a second chance, but it’s not like he was positive one time and admitted it and said he’s sorry.
“This is repeated cover up…there’s nothing like it in the history of cycling.”
Four years after the Armstrong era transformed Adelaide’s Tour Down Under, LeMond is the guest of honour at the race.
In a wide-ranging media conference in Adelaide before Thursday’s third stage, LeMond praised retiring Australian great Cadel Evans as a clean rider and said the sport was now genuine in regards to anti-doping.
LeMond’s visit to the Tour is rich with symbolism, given cycling’s tumultuous last few years.
Armstrong started his 2009 comeback to racing in Adelaide and raced there three times.
He gave the race a massive boost in exposure and Armstrong is the single-biggest personality in the event’s 17-year history.
But by 2011, Armstrong was fending off constant talk about doping.
The following year, journalists packed the Tour’s media room to watch Armstrong’s televised confession to Oprah Winfrey.
Along with the life ban from all sport, Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles.
Armstrong and LeMond had a vicious falling out in 2001 over the doping issue.
LeMond suffered severe commercial losses he attributes to the Armstrong camp and he said at one point he was not welcome at the Tour de France.
“I’m one that doesn’t really hold a grudge, but I’m also realistic in knowing who I’m dealing with,” he said.
“I don’t think he (Armstrong) has ever shown any real remorse about what he’s done.
“That’s not doping – I’m talking about what he’s done to people’s lives.
“He took a good 10 years out of my life.
“I’d be willing to talk to him under certain circumstances.”
This year’s Tour Down Under is a the last WorldTour race for Evans, the 2011 Tour de France winner, before his February 1 retirement.
“Cadel came into a period of cycling where it was very difficult to show his real talent at that time,” LeMond said.
“I look at the transition after say 2006, ’07, ’08 – especially 2010, ’11 – he rose to the top.
“I always figured that was going to happen (when) you take a certain part of the group out.
“The real talent gets to rise to the top.
“I always liked his personality – he does the talking through his legs, not the mouth.”
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