On Monday in his hometown of Austin, Texas, Lance Armstrong filed an 80 page lawsuit against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) claiming the agency’s accusations were based on fellow cyclists who were offered ‘corrupt inducements’ to testify against him.
It took all of one day for the lawsuit to be dismissed and not without some scathing comments from the judge. Regardless of the outcome of these events no one can doubt that Armstrong is a powerful character. Any sports fan knows that he is not one to easily back down from a fight, and this fight is pretty damn big.
Unfortunately for Armstrong, this latest episode looks like the act of a desperate man.
With seven Tour de France titles under his belt (at least for the time being), Armstrong knows how to defend something important to himself. Watching footage of him powering up the Alps on those gruelling mountain stages its safe to say that he believed attack is the best form of defence.
By lodging these 80 pages of complaints, Armstrong was defending himself by attacking USADA. This would be fine, if his attack was credible, but it wasn’t. The judge concluded the purpose of the vast majority of the lawsuit was ‘solely to increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against Defendants [USADA]’.
Armstrong has never been in this situation. In the past he could easily refute another cyclist’s allegation here, a French newspaper’s report there. They were easy to deal with and disappeared pretty quickly.
This is not going to go away as easily.
USADA are confident their allegations have merit and Armstrong is looking more like someone backed into a corner. And like anyone who finds themselves in a position like that, he’ll lash out.
Let’s hope that whatever the outcome, it is the correct one. Armstrong certainly knows how to fight, we know that, but this may just be the biggest fight of his career.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Tadej Pogacar has won a drama-packed Tour of Flanders, winning in a breakaway with Matieu van der Poel second, Mads Pedersen third and Wout…
Women are not allowed to compete in the Tour de France. However you choose to re-read that sentence, the fact remains: the most famous…
The jam-packed month-by-month quiz full of 2022 sports trivia!
Australian Grace Brown has won silver in the women's time trial, the first event at the world road cycling championships.
