Is it a plane? Is it a man? Is it a brand? Or a cancer survivor who became the greatest Tour rider by merit of his seven victories, all while juiced up like Hunter S Thompson on a wild weekend in Vegas?
I know, I know, it never seems to end, does it? It just keeps oozing forth like some primordial slime, its acid eating through everything it touches.
Journalists can’t stop writing about it, you can’t stop reading about it, and soon it’s going to be all over our television sets and computer screens in even greater quantities. Then it’ll be Tweeted and Facebooked like a dead horse until you just can’t take anymore.
What is it? ArmstrongGate. What else?
While his guilt seems completely undeniable, the question now is was he good for the sport? Or simply a despotic patron of the peloton, who manipulated the press and public to steal millions from sponsors and fans?
Was he a saintly shifter of yellow bracelets? Or a blood-doped grifter with souped-up platelets?
He was, of course, all these things, all at the same time.
Some swear he was the best thing that ever happened to cycling and wonder why the heck ‘they’ are all picking on him.
“He brought hundreds of thousands of people into the sport,” they cry. “He injected glitz and showbiz to an ailing circus, directly increased bike sales for Trek, sunglass sales for Oakley, EPO sales for China, and indirectly increased sales for the rest of the industry.”
(Ok maybe they don’t shout too much about the EPO one, but you catch my drift.)
Some say circumstance forced him to dope. Former pro John Eustice claims that the poor, impressionable and, if I read him right, not-too-well-educated Lance had no choice:
“For some of his teammates, ones with strong families and educational backgrounds, the decision to retreat from the brutal realities of pro sport is not a difficult one. But for Lance, born to a 16-year-old single mother and having gambled his future on becoming a successful pro athlete, there was really little choice. The working conditions of his job demanded that he dope.”
John apparently believes single mothers can’t provide a ‘strong family’ and that not going to university means you’re a dunce. But each man is entitled to his own opinions – no matter how unpalatable.
Another poster on a famous bike forum had this to say (the following posts from forums are direct quotes, so please excuse the spelling errors and other mistakes):
“It’s amazing listening to the retards on the various cycling forums bad mouth Armstrong. Yeah, he does have an Ego, but part of that is what made him a winner. As far as doping, you have to do it.”
(Whether you agree with those sentiments or not, it’s nice to know some people are still using the word ‘retard’.)
Others say he is the figurehead for all that went wrong with the sport – Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid’s prickly love child, the Dictator of Dope, the Quasher of Hope, the Banisher of Soap (not too keen on being clean, is Mr. A).
On another forum, ‘Marcus 777’ had this to say:
“It’s funny how those of you who defend the cheats do not give a cuss about the more honest athletes who were cheated.”
‘Duffster 7’ said:
“[The Armstrong supporters] don’t mention Lance’s bullying tactics, or how he won 7 tours simply because he doped better, and how he ruined many people’s reputations that suggested he doped. We all hear 100s of times lance mention that he was the cleanest rider in sports. What a liar. Where are his apologies?”
Look out Duffster, they could be coming to a TV screen near you very soon!
Some wonder why the heck we don’t just leave him alone to carry on with his crocheting, water colours and future domination of American politics. ‘Footlaps’ on Singletrack had this to say:
“Why are they bothering going after a retired Athlete? It just seems like a vendetta now. Whether or not the guy did dope, he no longer competes professionally, so even if they did convict him, it won’t change anything. Seems like a huge PR stunt when they should be worrying about current doping in professional sport.”
Some, like ‘jimjones’ on Bike Forums, have just given up:
“Don’t… give…a….****.”
In real terms, it is an unavoidable fact that Lance Armstrong and his success at the Tour de France brought in huge droves of new fans and increased bike sales across the globe, especially in the USA.
Nike didn’t do too bad either, nor did Lance’s personal coach Chris Carmichael, whose business Carmichael Training Systems is still doing a roaring trade.
However it’s also true that Lance was at the pinnacle of a doping culture that has brought us to this point, a sort of ‘Ground Zero’ for cycling. All that was shining and beautiful has gone. We are wading through the debris with little more than bewilderment etched across our dusty faces.
So where do you stand? Did Lance do more for the sport, in terms of increasing its popularity and the business side of things, than harm? Should we accept that he was a product of his environment, and that he did what they were all doing anyway?
Or does he bear more responsibility than the rest?
I know where I stand, and no matter what I’ve heard, I haven’t been shifted an inch.
Having said that, people I respect and who have a great deal of experience in the sport completely and utterly disagree with me.
Are those who vilify him being too naïve and dodging their own responsibility in all this? Or are those who say he was more good than bad somehow morally compromised themselves?
Where do you stand?
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