Lance Armstrong calls it quits in fight against doping charges

[stevebaby]

Its for the prosecutor to prove their testing procedures are robust and not able to be tampered with or cross contaminated, not mine.

 

Do you know there was a guy arrested in the UK for rape recently because the DNA samples 'proved' he was guilty?

 

Except he was able to prove he was over 100 miles away at the exact time. It came out that the DNA samples of evidence had been cross contaminated.

 

Dont say 'oh the police fucked up' because the police dont do the dna evidence examination. Like I said, it's the prosecutors ie USADA etc, to prove beyond doubt (not rumour, inuendo and plea bargains etc) their procedures are robust.

 

Im not seeing that detail. Are you?

The place to do that is in the arbitration process, which Armstrong refuses to participate in.

DNA is not EPO. It's possible to contaminate a DNA sample with just a partial fingerprint or a single skin cell and DNA testing only requires the presence , however small, of a person's DNA. It's not possible for EPO to suddenly appear in someone's blood unless someone put it there in very specific, tiny amounts. If it came from another athlete's sample, then the sample would also be contaminated by that athlete's blood and that's going to show up immediately.

You still fail to answer the question...how could EPO be in Armstrong's samples in such a manner that exactly mimics known profiles?

[stevebaby]

In any case, whether Armstrong tested positive or not, there are still at least 10 witnesses to Armstrong's doping.

If you rob a bank and there are 10+ witnesses who know you well and can identify you...DNA evidence is not required for a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.

[TheBitch]

Serious question.

 

'performance enhancing' how much difference do these drugs make and what are their affects on the body etc?

[Lee909]

I don't know anything on cycling but there are similar issues in MMA.

The drug used have changed massively over the past decade or so.Its not a case of 'anabolic steroids' to get bigger a d stringer these days but mostly HGH(Human growth Hormone) and testostorone replacement therapy.

Mostly it is used to help with muscle injuries and recovery times.If you can train through injuries and recover quicker you obviously can train harder and for longer than a natural athlete.

 

Testostorone is generally used by older athletes and it gives them the testostorone levels of fighters 10/15 years younger.One of the major issues is that these older athlete used older types of performance enhancers that effected there natural testostorone levels and now they are low.

Some athlete are legal allowed to use them as they are a certificate for usage,but this depends on what the guidelines are from local boxing commissions.

[stevebaby]

Serious question.

 

'performance enhancing' how much difference do these drugs make and what are their affects on the body etc?

I'm reading David Millar's autobiography atm, and he says EPO can give up to 16% improvement. In a sport where an improvement of 1-2% from clean training is regarded as very good, that's a huge margin. I had a course of it when I was having chemo.At the time, I was riding my bike 10k to hospital every day and timing the ride.After the first injection I knocked about 20% off my time, although that's hardly scientific as there were other variables such as traffic to be considered. My 30 minute walk to the railway station went down to 15 minutes. I only had 5 doses which kept me going until chemo finished 3 weeks later. It definitely works.

EPO has some risks. EPO injections thicken the blood, which increases the strain on the heart. This is particularly dangerous when the heart rate slows down, such as during sleep. The increased thickness, or viscosity, of the blood increases the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. According to the book "The death of Marco Pantani" by Matt Rendell, some cyclists reportedly set an alarm each night to wake up and cycle on a trainer for ten minutes to jump-start their circulation and reduce the possible health risks of using EPO.

There are a few young fit and otherwise healthy pros who've died in their sleep and EPO was suspected. There has also been some speculation that Armstrong's testicular cancer may have been caused by doping withEPO and human growth hormone and steroids, but nobody will ever know. Testicular cancer is a known side effect of steroid abuse.

Edited August 26, 2012 by stevebaby

[TheBitch]

Bloody hell, I never thought there would be a 16% improvement, that's huge.

 

What does it do that made you walk and cycle so much faster (what's the science behind it)? Could you tell the difference, did it make you feel good?

[stevebaby]

Bloody hell, I never thought there would be a 16% improvement, that's huge.

 

What does it do that made you walk and cycle so much faster (what's the science behind it)? Could you tell the difference, did it make you feel good?

EPO increases the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen, so it increases the athletes aerobic capacity.

Mentally, it had no effect on me. It just meant I was less out of breath and had a bit more energy, but it's not a recreational drug and it also has the risk of significant liver damage. My sister had a major operation in March after delaying it for a year due to persistent anemia. She also had either EPO or a similar drug after the operation, for anemia. Her liver started to fail and she died 7 weeks ago from it, although she had no history of liver disease. There were other factors too, so I can't say it was the cause, but I do wonder.

[Code]

I think there is quite a lot of proof, hence the concrete charges that have been laid. All his former teammates have either got caught or admitted taking drugs and almost all his former rivals have been done too. I think it's fairly unlikely that Armstrong was the only member of his team not cheating.

 

Thats not true mate, not all his former team mates have been caught and not all of them have admitted cheating.

 

Some of those who were supposed to witness are still riding, why is that?

[L19red]

My thoughts on this thread

Merckx failed 3 tests and was kicked out of the Giro in 69 when in the lead.

Indurain doped.

Lance Armstrong has failed tests

He failed a test in 1999 for Cortisone. He got off on a technciality that would not be allowed today involving an after the fact doctors note.

 

In the 2001 Tour De Suisse the director of the lab, Martel Saugy, who performed the doping controls said of Lance that his samples were "consistent with the use of EPO" This time he got off with a $100,000 bribe to the UCI.

 

Lance has not been tested 500 times, its less than half that, here is a nice picture showing all the official tests he had in each season. http://dimspace.co.uk/lancetesthistory.png

 

Lance has never faced doping charges in court and been proven innocent, what he has done is successfully avoid facing charges.

 

The evidence that some of you are looking for will be released, USADA has first to supply it to the UCI who could then go to CAS if they choose or accept the findings and strip Lance of his titles. USADA protocol states

“USADA shall publicly report the disposition of anti-doping matters no later than five business days after … (2) such hearing has been waived.”.

 

Additionally “After an anti-doping rule violation has been established, USADA may comment upon any aspect of the case.”.

 

Its likely that some of the evidence is still confidential as it relates to the cases involving Johan Bruyneel and others, but it will come out and Lance's decision not to contest the case wont stop that.

 

The uniballer is a guilty as a fox in a henhouse.

 

Edit: some more with thanks to @theraceradio that guy really knows his onions

 

Armstrong's testosterone-epitestosterone ratio was reported to be higher than normal on three occasions between 1993 and 1996, but in each case the test was dismissed by the UCLA lab of renowned anti-doping expert Don Catlin, whose lab tested the Texan some two dozen times between 1990 and 2000. In addition to detailing those test results, SI reveals what appears to have been a reluctance from USOC officials to sanction athletes using performance-enhancing drugs.

 

In 1999, USA Cycling sent a formal request to Catlin for past test results -- specifically, testosterone-epitestosterone ratios -- for a cyclist identified only by his drug-testing code numbers. A source with knowledge of the request says that the cyclist was Armstrong. In a letter responding to those requests, Catlin informed USA Cycling that his lab could not recover five of the cyclist's test results. Of the results that could be found, "three stand out," SI reports: "a 9.0-to-1 ratio from a sample collected on June 23, 1993; a 7.6-to-1 from July 7, 1994; and a 6.5-to-1 from June 4, 1996. Most people have a ratio of 1-to-1. Prior to 2005, any ratio above 6.0-to-1 was considered abnormally high and evidence of doping; in 2005 that ratio was lowered to 4.0-to-1."

Sports Illustrated*reports*new information on Lance Armstrong - More Sports - SI.com

Edited August 27, 2012 by L19red

[Guest ShoePiss]

BBC Sport - Lance Armstrong: Usada report reveals doping evidence

 

 

Lance Armstrong: Usada report reveals doping evidence

 

Cycling legend Lance Armstrong's team ran "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme the sport has ever seen" according to a report by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

 

In its report, Usada said Armstrong, 41, "engaged in serial cheating" associated with doping.

 

The report contains testimony from 11 of his ex-US Postal Service team-mates.

 

He has always denied doping allegations but has not contested Usada's charges.

 

Armstrong analysis

 

 

"Usada chief executive Travis Tygart promised the evidence against Lance Armstrong and his five co-defendants would be thorough, and he wasn't kidding.

 

"As requested by the sport's governing body, the UCI, Usada has now sent them its 'reasoned decision' as to how it found the seven-time Tour de France champion guilty of running a systematic doping ring. It has also sent 1,000 pages of eye-witness testimony, lab results, scientific data, emails and financial records, evidence Tygart describes as overwhelming, conclusive and undeniable.

 

"Cycling's equivalent of War & Peace will also be published on Usada's website later today... it will be gruesome bedtime reading for Lance Armstrong's dwindling band of believers."

 

In an accompanying statement, Usada chief executive Travis T Tygart said there was "conclusive and undeniable proof" of a team-run doping conspiracy.

 

The organisation has sent its "reasoned decision" document in the Armstrong case to the International Cycling Union (UCI), the World Anti-Doping Agency and the World Triathlon Corporation.

 

In it, Usada say it has "found proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Lance Armstrong engaged in serial cheating through the use, administration and trafficking of performance-enhancing drugs and methods that Armstrong participated in running in the US Postal Service Team as a doping conspiracy".

 

It adds: "His [Armstrong's] goal [of winning the Tour de France multiple times] led him to depend on EPO, testosterone and blood transfusions but also, more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his team-mates would likewise use drugs to support his goals if not their own.

 

"It was not enough that his team-mates give maximum effort on the bike, he also required that they adhere to the doping programme outlined for them or be replaced.

 

"He was not just a part of the doping culture on his team, he enforced and re-enforced it.

 

"Armstrong's use of drugs was extensive, and the doping programme on his team, designed in large part to benefit Armstrong, was massive and pervasive.

 

"Armstrong and his co-conspirators sought to achieve their ambitions through a massive fraud now more fully exposed. So ends one of the most sordid chapters in sports history."

Armstrong allegations timeline

 

May 2010: Armstrong's former US Postal team-mate Floyd Landis launches allegations against the Texan

May 2011: Forced to deny claims made by former team-mate Tyler Hamilton that they took performance enhancing drugs together

Feb 2012: An investigation by federal prosecutors into alleged doping by Armstrong is dropped

June: Usada confirms it will file formal doping charges against Armstrong

July: Armstrong files lawsuit against Usada accusing them of "corrupt inducements" to other cyclists to testify against him

20 August: Armstrong's legal action dismissed in court

24 August: Armstrong announces he will not fight the doping charges filed against him but insists he is innocent. He is stripped of all his titles banned for life from cycling by Usada

10 October: Usada claim 11 of Armstrong's former team-mates have testified against him

 

The UCI now has 21 days to lodge an appeal against Usada's decision with Wada or it must comply with the decision to strip Armstrong, who now competes in triathlons, of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life.

 

Armstrong, who overcame cancer to return to professional cycling, won the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He retired in 2005 but returned in 2009 before retiring for good two years later.

 

Usada claim the evidence against Armstrong was "beyond strong" and stretched to more than 1,000 pages - which includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team and its participants' doping activities.

 

"It is as strong as, or stronger than, that presented in any case brought by Usada over the initial 12 years of [its] existence," it said.

 

Among the former team-mates of Armstrong's to testify were George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for failing a dope test and was recently found guilty in a Swiss court of defaming the UCI for alleging they had protected Armstrong from doping claims.

 

Usada praised the "courage" shown by the 11 riders in coming forward and breaking the "code of silence".

 

It said: "Lance Armstrong and his handlers engaged in a massive and long-running scheme to use drugs, cover their tracks, intimidate witnesses, tarnish reputations, lie to hearing panels and the press and do whatever was necessary to conceal the truth."

 

Tygart added: "The riders who participated in the USPS Team doping conspiracy and truthfully assisted have been courageous in making the choice to stop perpetuating the sporting fraud, and they have suffered greatly.

Play media

 

Hamilton saw Armstrong take drugs

 

"I have personally talked with and heard these athletes' stories and firmly believe that, collectively, these athletes, if forgiven and embraced, have a chance to leave a legacy far greater for the good of the sport than anything they ever did on a bike.

 

"Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution. He rejected it.

 

"Instead he exercised his legal right not to contest the evidence and knowingly accepted the imposition of a ban from recognised competition for life and disqualification of his competitive results from 1998 forward."

 

Usada confirmed that two other members of the US Postal Service team, Dr Michele Ferrari and Dr Garcia del Moral, have also received lifetime bans for their part in the doping conspiracy.

 

Three further members - team director Johan Bruyneel, a team doctor Dr Pedro Celaya and team trainer Jose Marti - have chosen to contest the charges and take their cases to arbitration.

 

Tygart also called on the UCI to "act on its own recent suggestion for a meaningful Truth and Reconciliation programme".

 

"Hopefully, the sport can unshackle itself from the past, and once and for all continue to move forward to a better future," he added.

[Duff Man]

Fucking hell. This is going to be a quite spectacular fall from grace.

[Guest ShoePiss]

I know, I wasn't expecting 11 of them to provide testimony. It's a pretty big deal

[Guest LFD]

Undermines his speech in dodgeball now!

 

How sad!

 

Not looking good for him.

[L19red]

have we heard from Fanchester City today?

[L19red]

Undermines his speech in dodgeball now!

 

How sad!

 

Not looking good for him.

 

aye, it'll look a whole lot worse when SCA come after him wanting their money back. They insured against him winning 6 tours, had to pay out and are said to be monitoring the situation.

I guess the Sunday Times will want their damages refunding too although their £400,000 is small beer compared to $7.5M that SCA will want.

[Jose Jones]

aye, it'll look a whole lot worse when SCA come after him wanting their money back. They insured against him winning 6 tours, had to pay out and are said to be monitoring the situation.

I guess the Sunday Times will want their damages refunding too although their £400,000 is small beer compared to $7.5M that SCA will want.

 

What's that?

Why would someone insure against Armstrong winning 6 tours?

Who did they pay?

[Melchett]

How are people so surprised, you don't return from goolie cancer to win 564 Tour de France races without a little sum'n sum'n.

 

plus his name is Lance, I mean come on nobody's really called Lance, it has got to be a pseudonym.

[RobbieOR]

Yeah, but he's innocent.

[Unrighteous]

Release the evidence. Saying you have proof is all well and good... Show us.

[Guest ShoePiss]

They have, it's all over the internet.

[Guest ShoePiss]

Not that I can be arsed reading it, here is a PDF of the report

 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/!invesitgations%20and%20enterprise%20docs/armstrong-reasoned-decision.pdf

[Unrighteous]

They have, it's all over the internet.

 

Oh snap... didn't know

[Unrighteous]

Brutal read this...

[Pony Princess]

Lance Armstrong only has one testicle. Now, given the years of dope abuse... is it a stegged-out mega-testicle... or all shrivelled up like a little chickpea?

 

I want the truth.

[Phoenix]

Guess he was tired of litigation and too mentally exhausting for him