[golux]

As an old road racer I have a few comments:

1. As Maitre Jacques once said: “Nobody rides The Tour on mineral water.” Shall we shame Merckx now? And Poulidor? And Hineault? And LeMond? And the rest? Drugs (even alcohol, tobacco, and amphetamines) and the Tour go back to its founding in the turn of the century. Ask Tom Simpson.

2. Lance has endured possibly THOUSANDS of random high-tech drug tests and has never been positive. His enemies are legion. They hate him, and the USA, and all he stands for. Is this - and a jealous anti-Lance Velo press - not enough? Can we not just let it go?

3. Armstrong is perhaps the greatest athlete of all time. Athletism at that level is a cutting edge marriage of art and science and psychology... And medicine of all kinds.

4. If doping is a cat-and-mouse game, let it be so. What about the altitude chambers the top athletes sleep in to boost RBC levels? Why is it legal just because it is not a pill?

5. Many people cannot believe Lance’s O2 to power-output levels. I can. Lance, unlike any other cyclist with the exception perhaps of LeMond rebuilt himself as a TOTAL cycling monster after health tragedy struck, and he deserves the credit and acclaim he has won.

6. Lance defines the term CHAMPION. He is in a league all his own. Never underestimate the ability or desire of good but lesser men to want to destroy the Champion.

That’s my say.

[rockvillem]

Lance, unlike any other cyclist with the exception perhaps of LeMond rebuilt himself as a TOTAL cycling monster after health tragedy struck, and he deserves the credit and acclaim he has won.

This has always fueled some of my willing suspension of disbelief - Armstrong is almost like the 6 Million Dollar Man: "we can rebuild him . . . better, faster, stronger . . ." He was able to rebuild his wasted body in a way that was optimized for the TDF. Then throw in what has to be an insane pain threshold given what he went through and a thirst for life and achievement that also has to be insane given his cancer situation. At this point the guy is retired and never tested positive - if he used PEDs so be it, but why on earth are our tax dollars being used to investigate his conduct?

[Vision]

2. Lance has endured possibly THOUSANDS of random high-tech drug tests and has never been positive. His enemies are legion. They hate him, and the USA, and all he stands for. Is this - and a jealous anti-Lance Velo press - not enough?

Not Hincapie.

[grey_whiskers]

Just wondering if Indurain (five straight TdF wins between LeMond and Lance, or pretty close?) ever was accused or caught?

I'm on the fence about Lance: I thought all the superfluous tissue in his body melted away during the cancer, and his pain threshold would be nothing short of incredible as well.

LeMond -- I know he had the hunting accident, but I don't see how that would have affected his overall body composition as cancer treatments would.

Finally -- the Fwench always hated Lance. I remember seeing words in English chalked on one of the TdF climbs with Lance in the lead, so he'd be sure to see it:

"Rip their ball off, Lance."

Cheers!

[whattajoke]

Shall we shame Merckx now?

As Merckx was busted for doping at least 3 times I think and has publicly recanted, he's "safe." Of course Indurain used EPO too; no way a 6'3" guy gets over the Pyrenees like he did without some blood boosting.

What sets Lance apart is that he had the best team doctors and scientists at his beck and call to monitor EPO (and now I guess testosterone too) levels and keep his hematocrit under the magic 50% line. (Or whatever they allow.) You can boost red blood cells and oxygen uptake via altitude training and oxygen tenting. Not as quickly as EPO or CERA will do it, but it is still quite effective. It's not by accident that the USOC training facility is in Colorado Springs.

I've always sort of told myself (also as a former Cat 2 racer) that EPO was different. Heck, Amgen who is the main sponsor of the Tour of California makes EPO! - anyway, boosting red blood cells is something different to me from steroids, testosterone patches, amphetamines and the grisly practice of transfusions.

Is it really? No, not really. But when your livlihood is based upon success, and race organizers get off on absurd routes and ultimate pain (See this year's Giro for proof that's not changing), what do you expect?

Eliminate the insane 20+% dirt road grades, the 150 mile torture routes through mountain passes, shorten the Feb-Nov season and then maybe they'll convince the pros to stop the doping.