BREAKING: Lance Armstrong has issued a statement in which he drops his fight against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, putting at risk his seven Tour de France titles and his enormous legacy in cycling.
The decision sets up a likely lifetime ban from the sport and the possibility that Armstrong will be stripped of his achievements – including his signature extraordinary run of Tour titles he won from 1999-2005.
Full statement from Armstrong:
“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense.
I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.
If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right.
USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.
Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.”
Tony Hill
Guest
Lroy you keep your head in the sand and all will be well. The reason Lance did not fight the case was because he knew the evidence against him is overwhelming and that by contesting it the UCI, who turned a blind eye for years, would be exposed to as much scrutiny as he has had which would probably had lead to more secrets coming out! Lance has bullied people for years who told the truth against him and now he has no balls to face his own Drug assc. Tells me everything about who is telling the truth and who is not.
Tony Hill
Guest
The people running the sport,UCI,have discredited the sport as much as the Lance Armstrongs of this world. Too long they turned a blind eye for certain cyclists to compete whilst knowing they were using performance enhancing methods & cheating the clean cyclists. The UCI are running scared of the USADA who,if rumours are to be believed,have evidence that they were co operating with Lance to cover some of his misdemenours.
jeznez
Roar Guru
.
sittingbison
Guest
the banned list has several instances of substances that are not specifically named but are in the same class as a named substance. It also has substances that are known by several different names that sometimes quite similar. It can be quite confusing, especially when you are taking supplements with lots of chemical ingredients. Is this substance in the class of banned substances? Am I a pharmacologist?? Anyhow, Blake and three others tested positive to a stimulant. A panel of JADCO (Jamaicas version of USADA) cleared them as it was not specifically on the list (remember Lance has already gone before the independent tribunal of USADA, who recommended the charges had enough merit for arbitration?). However JADCO itself appealed the panels decision, citing the stimulant fell into the first category I mentioned, being structurally similar to a banned stimulant. The appeal succeeded, and they were banned for THREE MONTHS. Lies? Misdirection? Why only three months? Anyones guess lol.
sittingbison
Guest
"...offering my thoughts to known roarers who had genuine queries..." Mattwa, you and others asked some genuine questions, I answered as best I could without being rude or aggressive but being forthright and factual. I have never said you were a fanboy or employee of Armstrong. I have been civil and respectful to everybody that deserves my respect. There are however plenty of comments on this thread that most certainly are. Why do I respond to "on every single post"? Because it is very clear who is trolling and who is not. I was particularly concerned at the Roar being used as a vehicle to perpetuate lies deceit and drivel - USADA unconstitutional, witch hunt, never tested positive, 500 tests, where is the evidence bla bla bla. These are NOT the truth, and when stated categorically they are not opinion. When asked as a question though? Not a problem. Mattwa, the actual article is not a an article composed by a Roarer, it is a PR statement put out by Armstrong. I have no problem if you think I am a troll for telling the truth. So be it. Believe it or not I have better things to do with my time as well.
Mattwa
Guest
Okay sittingbison, not everyone has time to spend a whole day arguing on the Internet. I think most if not all of the posts on this thread were made in good faith based on the information at hand. If you honestly think all the people who commented here are part of the Lance Armstrong PR machine then you may need a good lie down. I don't appreciate being called a Lance fanboy or an employee of Lance Armstrong. I may not know as much as a lot of people here about cycling, but I think I should be entitled to an opinion without having the self appointed king of the roarers jump down my throat for it. I laughed when you accused fanboys of hijacking threads just as you did exactly the same thing. Maybe if you tried being civil and respectful, you might elicit some reasonable discussion, but by aggressively posting on every single post you don't agree with, you just come across as a troll.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
How is that misdirection? Are you suggesting that athletes should be sanctioned for substances which aren't on the banned list? Or was it in fact on the banned list, which would make it a lie, not mere misdirection.
sittingbison
Guest
hahaha this thread is sooooo funny. Roarers, I spent almost a whole daydebunking every post I considered was Lance PR bull, or offering my thoughts to known roarers who had genuine queries. Anyhoo, the funny thing is of the fifty or so comments I debunked, not a single one has responded, even though some of my comments were purposely slightly aggressive. I also did not recognize any of the handles. FYI Lance owns an internet company that trawls the net and fills up blogs with rubbish comment wherever he is mentioned - this is the "interns" rather than the usual delusional fanboys. This thread is a living example to genuine roarers that the Lance PR machine is alive and kicking, and just what genuine informed debate is up against.
sittingbison
Guest
james, there is also the fact that "evidence" is specifically allowed under the WADA code to be "non-analytical" ie witness testimony, recordings, photos and the like rather than failing a test. This is overlooked by the general public due to Lances PR bull. This is exactly how Marion Jones got done for doping - but she is in jail for perjury, not doping. Blake was let off the hook by his federation. A disgraceful state of affairs, which combined with their lack of testing casts the performance of the Jamaican sprinters into a new light - well another new light along with they are genetically superior coming as they do from slave stock. One excuse is the substance is not on the banned list - another bit of misdirection.
arthur
Guest
No Australians, swimmers, cyclists?How do they win titles if every other nation is dirty. I don't think you know what you are talking about but you think if you talk loudly and often enough people will believe some of your cr.p
jameswm
Guest
Does anyone remember - I said a month or so ago, what odds Lance will throw in the towel - saying I'm innocent, but I'm sick of fighting? Everyone said he won't do it because he'll lose his titles. Made my day - because it makes me look sharp! And by the way don't anyone believe the no evidence thing - he has 5-10 former team-mates ready to testify they doped and saw him dope. That's evidence. Remember - Marion Jones never tested positive, and she was doped to the eyeballs. What happened with Blake by the way?
matt h
Guest
Damn that polyjuice potion!
amazonfan
Roar Guru
If they greatly violated the salary cap, how did they no cheat? That is absurd.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
Bonds and Clemens weren't busted. Still, you have a good point.
Steve
Guest
Fair enough: I was thinking of the likes of Carl Lewis and the problems with assuming guilt by insinuation, but Armstrong is way past all that anyway. I suppose instead of saying it's not fair because others have got away with it, we should make it fair by chasing down all the cheats, every time.
Bondy.
Guest
Jono. Good point ,Armstrong and Ulrich were serious sparing partners for about four years ,once Ulrich went deutsche telekom T-Mobile withdrew form the sport.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
I'm no fan of America, however that is a massive generalization.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
I'm pretty sure that Blake has already been sanctioned for it. Many of those would be huge stories (especially Bolt and Phelps IMO), but there is no evidence to suggest that many of the people you identified are cheats.
sittingbison
Guest
Haha there is always one on the horizon, but it could be...hmmm let's see...In no particular order: Wiggo and systematic team based doping at Sky when Froome implodes after caning Contador and Valverde Bolt and Blake when Jamaican sprint program finally starts testing (or sanctioning in Blake's case) Phelps and USA swim team, funny the Chinese are doing genetic upgrades on their 16yo but the US 15yo are clean USA female sprint team after demolishing East German 30yo record by half a second, when Jetter and co. likewise turns into a male. That's a start
sittingbison
Guest
It's been a long haul Harry, but I am sick of the fanboys hijacking every thread with inane rubbish, or well meaning people being duped by PR bull. Not long until S15 season starts lol