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Maybe or maybe not Lance Armstrong personally used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) on his way to winning Le Tour de France seven consecutive times. At the moment there is no proof either way. But, it is not as if the discussion hasn't brought about revelations on the subject. What appears to be less and less debatable is that banned substances such as erythropoietin (EPO), human growth hormone (HGH), and steroids almost certainly helped Armstrong attain his unprecedented string of victories. Even if recent far-reaching accusations of rampant doping by Armstrong's former teammate, Floyd Landis, prove only to be self-incriminating, it is almost undeniable that chemically enhanced muscles, blood, and lungs contributed significantly to at least four of Armstrong's victories.
Professional cycling in events such as Le Tour de France is a team sport. No matter how physically gifted a man might be, no matter how hard he trains, no matter how fiercely determined he is to succeed, he can't win a multistage race of Le Tour's magnitude (typically covering more than 2,100 miles in just three-and-a-half weeks with nearly 100,000 vertical feet of climbing along the way) without the aid of an exceptionally talented team.
Given that absolute reliance on your teammates then, was it not cheating for Armstrong to rely on those who used PEDs on his behalf to bring home that coveted collection of yellow jerseys? If PEDs aren't coursing through your own legs, but rather through the arteries and veins of those who are pacing attack groups for you and reeling in breakaways for your benefit, doesn't that help you win just the same as if you injected the drugs into your own body? If anything it is far more ignoble to rely on others to take the risks of infamy and ill health corresponding with illegal drug use rather than do them yourself in order to capture a trophy you will reap the most reward from. If nothing else, it's cowardly.
As pointed out in a recent Sports Illustrated story by Austin Murphy and Selena Roberts, three riders participating in five of Armstrong's Tour wins have tested positive for PEDs and have been banned from Le Tours alternately from 2005 through this year's race.
Most recently Manuel Beltran tested positive in 2008 for using EPO, which is an illegal substance effective in helping the body produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells to improve muscle efficiency. He was Armstrong's teammate from 2003-05. He built his career by being a team rider who expertly paced lead riders, such as Armstrong, through the critical mountain stages of Le Tour.
Also banned from the Tour for a period of three years was Roberto Heras. He tested positive for EPO in 2005. As with Beltran, he was a climbing specialist whose part on the U.S. Postal team from 2001 through 2003 was to help Armstrong attack during the mountain stages.
Floyd Landis, who tested positive for synthetic steroids in his blood and who initially denied it and for two years vigorously and unsuccessfully fought the case against him, recently admitted using not only steroids, but also HGH and EPO for nearly his entire career, which includes three years as a personal recruit of Armstrong's on the U.S. Postal team.
Another Armstrong teammate, Pavel Padrnos, nimbly negotiated being banished from Le Tour after a raid in San Remo, Italy, netted vials of EPO, HGH, insulin, and testosterone. His usage of PEDs couldn't be conclusively linked to the drugs recovered even though the drugs were allegedly found in his hotel room.
Considering this peripheral evidence that grows increasingly thicker around him, Armstrong's denials of his own PED usage allegations no longer go far enough to defend his seven victory laps down the Champs-Elysees. He now needs to tell us why he deserves to keep his yellow jerseys that were won in the draught of those almost certainly fueled with illegal chemical additives in their own systems.
It seems that the only logical answer he can give is that his victories should stand because every other team in the peloton had as many or more members who he knew were using PEDs. It is not an attractive scenario for Armstrong. It reduces him to being the ruler of a kingdom of filth and corruption. It would make him a co-conspirator in knowledge. It forces him to point fingers that have thus been tightly clenched and pounding on press conference podiums. Ultimately, it might usher in the day of reckoning where professional cycling has to regain credibility by reinventing itself and inescapably discount Armstrong's era in the process.
The alternative notion — that most of the other teams are presumed to be playing by the rules — is far worse for Armstrong. If that is true, then he is knowingly playing with a dirty team against innocents and keeping the victor's spoils for himself. That's cheating by anyone's definition, and leaves him not exactly worthy of the hero status we have granted him.
So, why should Armstrong be called to answer for the illegal conduct of his teammates at all? Has Derek Jeter had to answer for his drug-tarnished New York Yankee teammates who contributed to that team's World Series triumphs? Thus far the answer to that question seems to be a resounding “no.” Baseball fans haven't asked for it, except from each offending individual.
What, then, is the difference in cycling and Armstrong's case? The distinction is that the Yankees play a team game where the name of the team goes on the World Championship trophy. Armstrong plays a team sport where his name is the one etched in the brass. Baseball, football, and basketball players can answer individually for their places under the team name. Armstrong must answer for his own which is forever listed above that of his team. It is a significant distinction.
I honestly don't know why Armstrong should be allowed to keep his collection of yellow jerseys which were almost certainly won with significant help from tainted blood. Clearly there are things I don't understand. I am sure that Lance Armstrong does. He needs to come clean about them.
Professional cycling in events such as Le Tour de France is a team sport. No matter how physically gifted a man might be, no matter how hard he trains, no matter how fiercely determined he is to succeed, he can't win a multistage race of Le Tour's magnitude (typically covering more than 2,100 miles in just three-and-a-half weeks with nearly 100,000 vertical feet of climbing along the way) without the aid of an exceptionally talented team.
Given that absolute reliance on your teammates then, was it not cheating for Armstrong to rely on those who used PEDs on his behalf to bring home that coveted collection of yellow jerseys? If PEDs aren't coursing through your own legs, but rather through the arteries and veins of those who are pacing attack groups for you and reeling in breakaways for your benefit, doesn't that help you win just the same as if you injected the drugs into your own body? If anything it is far more ignoble to rely on others to take the risks of infamy and ill health corresponding with illegal drug use rather than do them yourself in order to capture a trophy you will reap the most reward from. If nothing else, it's cowardly.
As pointed out in a recent Sports Illustrated story by Austin Murphy and Selena Roberts, three riders participating in five of Armstrong's Tour wins have tested positive for PEDs and have been banned from Le Tours alternately from 2005 through this year's race.
Most recently Manuel Beltran tested positive in 2008 for using EPO, which is an illegal substance effective in helping the body produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells to improve muscle efficiency. He was Armstrong's teammate from 2003-05. He built his career by being a team rider who expertly paced lead riders, such as Armstrong, through the critical mountain stages of Le Tour.
Also banned from the Tour for a period of three years was Roberto Heras. He tested positive for EPO in 2005. As with Beltran, he was a climbing specialist whose part on the U.S. Postal team from 2001 through 2003 was to help Armstrong attack during the mountain stages.
Floyd Landis, who tested positive for synthetic steroids in his blood and who initially denied it and for two years vigorously and unsuccessfully fought the case against him, recently admitted using not only steroids, but also HGH and EPO for nearly his entire career, which includes three years as a personal recruit of Armstrong's on the U.S. Postal team.
Another Armstrong teammate, Pavel Padrnos, nimbly negotiated being banished from Le Tour after a raid in San Remo, Italy, netted vials of EPO, HGH, insulin, and testosterone. His usage of PEDs couldn't be conclusively linked to the drugs recovered even though the drugs were allegedly found in his hotel room.
Considering this peripheral evidence that grows increasingly thicker around him, Armstrong's denials of his own PED usage allegations no longer go far enough to defend his seven victory laps down the Champs-Elysees. He now needs to tell us why he deserves to keep his yellow jerseys that were won in the draught of those almost certainly fueled with illegal chemical additives in their own systems.
It seems that the only logical answer he can give is that his victories should stand because every other team in the peloton had as many or more members who he knew were using PEDs. It is not an attractive scenario for Armstrong. It reduces him to being the ruler of a kingdom of filth and corruption. It would make him a co-conspirator in knowledge. It forces him to point fingers that have thus been tightly clenched and pounding on press conference podiums. Ultimately, it might usher in the day of reckoning where professional cycling has to regain credibility by reinventing itself and inescapably discount Armstrong's era in the process.
The alternative notion — that most of the other teams are presumed to be playing by the rules — is far worse for Armstrong. If that is true, then he is knowingly playing with a dirty team against innocents and keeping the victor's spoils for himself. That's cheating by anyone's definition, and leaves him not exactly worthy of the hero status we have granted him.
So, why should Armstrong be called to answer for the illegal conduct of his teammates at all? Has Derek Jeter had to answer for his drug-tarnished New York Yankee teammates who contributed to that team's World Series triumphs? Thus far the answer to that question seems to be a resounding “no.” Baseball fans haven't asked for it, except from each offending individual.
What, then, is the difference in cycling and Armstrong's case? The distinction is that the Yankees play a team game where the name of the team goes on the World Championship trophy. Armstrong plays a team sport where his name is the one etched in the brass. Baseball, football, and basketball players can answer individually for their places under the team name. Armstrong must answer for his own which is forever listed above that of his team. It is a significant distinction.
I honestly don't know why Armstrong should be allowed to keep his collection of yellow jerseys which were almost certainly won with significant help from tainted blood. Clearly there are things I don't understand. I am sure that Lance Armstrong does. He needs to come clean about them.
Roger Marolt is drafting at roger@maroltllp.com.
