Really Lance? For the better part of a decade and a half you have utterly denied ever taking banned substances. You have literally destroyed dozens of careers. It was all a witch hunt, everyone out to get you. (*)(*)(*)(*), you sued a newspaper for having the audacity to accuse you of what turned out to be the truth. You bullied and harassed. Remember when out called your masseuse a drunken whore? Or drove Lemond out of the bike business? Or called that reporter a cancer for questioning you? You took countless millions in endorsements based on lies, and now because you don't get to run triathlons anymore you are going to confess? Now? Lance, you are a miserable and disgusting human being. How about you start (*)(*)(*)(*)ing apologizing to the folks who you screwed over in your desperate attempt to perpetuate your dishonesty? http://communities.washingtontimes....n/6/lance-armstrong-doping-confession-coming/ WASHINGTON, January 6, 2012 — Is the Golden Boy of Cycling about to ‘fess up? Will Lance Armstrong change direction and finally admit that he used performance-enhancing drugs all those years of touring? Anonymous sources close to Armstrong have told several news outlets that he is seriously considering admitting that he did. Last year the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stripped the 41-year-old cyclist of his seven Tour de Tour titles, claiming that he had been the ring leader of a innovative doping operation that used banned drugs and blood transfusions, which successfully avoided detection. He was also prohibited from participating in all forms of professional sports. However, a spokesperson for the USADA said it had no comment on the possible confession and Armstrong’s attorney Tim Herman had said that Armstrong has not contact USADA or the World Anti-Doping Agency. Herman, when asked if the former champion is about to end the ten years of denial and confess, said, “Lance has to speak for himself on that.” So why confess at this time? The rumors about Armstrong coming clean at last seem to be a trial balloon to assess the mood of the public and USADA. But there are other strong reasons to own up to the doping charges as well. One is Livestrong, the anti-cancer charity he founded, after nearly dying from and then defeating testicular cancer. It wants him to come clean for the health of the charity. After losing his titles last fall, Armstrong severed his ties with Livestrong, but as far as the public is concerned, they are still one and the same, which is why Livestrong wants a repentant and not defiant Armstrong. Also Armstrong, according to the Sunday Telegraph, wants to start competing in sports again, not cycling but in triathlons and running races. But a confession would mean he could face charges of perjury as well as paying out enormous compensation to former sponsors such as the U.S. Post Office, which sponsored his team between 2000 and 2004. He also took a personal financial beating as sponsors like Nike, Trek, and Budweiser withdrew their sponsorships. And Armstrong has large legal fees to bear, including being sued for $12 million by an insurance company for bonuses it rewarded to Armstrong. Obviously, one of the things that Armstrong would look for if he does confess is immunity from perjury charges. Armstrong had sworn under oath that he never used performance-enhancing drugs. What he has to be worried about is that track star and Olympic champion Marion Jones ended up in federal prison for six months, including time in solitary confinement, on perjury charges when she lied to a grand jury about her drug use. Even if Lance Armstrong finally comes clean, will it make a difference on how the public and the sports world view him? Would he be welcomed into the triathlon? Would he find himself booed once he entered a race? Will a confession help Livestrong gain its momentum as an anti-cancer charity?
To all the cynics, I'm sorry for you, ... I'm sorry you can't believe in miracles. This is a great sporting event and hard work wins it. If you consider my situation: a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy. I would never do that. No. No way" If you dominate a world sport you will always have questions and doubts. Perhaps at the end of the day we were too successful. When you win the Tour once, twice, seven times, it is just too hard to believe. Its our word against his word. I like our word. We like our credibility. Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago. Wow Lance, it sounds like you were really against doping, all the while doping. Latest reports are that Lance will come clean. After denying it for years, destroying the careers of others, it turns out he was just another doper. http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/st...o-admit-doping-oprah-winfrey-interview-011113 Lance Armstrong plans to admit to doping throughout his career during an upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, USA Today reported late Friday. The interview, scheduled to be taped Monday and broadcast Thursday night on the Oprah Winfrey Network, will be conducted at Armstrong's home in Austin, Texas. Citing an anonymous source, USA Today reported that the disgraced cyclist plans to admit using performance-enhancing drugs, but likely will not get into details of the allegations outlined in a 2012 report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from the sport. His representatives declined comment late Friday, including attorney Tim Herman, but Armstrong sent a text to the Associated Press early Saturday morning saying: ''I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly, candidly. That's all I can say.'' The New York Times first reported last week that Armstrong was considering making a confession. The 41-year-old Armstrong, who vehemently denied doping for years, has not spoken publicly about the USADA report that cast him as the leader of a sophisticated and brazen doping program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included use of steroids, blood boosters and illegal blood transfusions. Winfrey's network announced Tuesday that Armstrong agreed to a ''no holds barred'' interview with her. A confession to Winfrey would come at a time when some of Armstrong's legal troubles appear to be clearing up. Any potential perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony denying doping in a 2005 arbitration fight with a Dallas promotions company over a contract bonus worth $7.5 million have passed the statute of limitations. Armstrong faces a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, but the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to announce if it will join the case. The British newspaper The Sunday Times is suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit. Armstrong lost most of his personal sponsorship - worth tens of millions of dollars - after USADA issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still said to be worth an estimated $100 million.
Oops! Or maybe Oprah! Yet another cheating American sportsman finally outs himself. http://www.torontosun.com/2013/01/14/lance-armstrong-admits-to-oprah-he-cheated-report
George Bush and Lance Armstrong - two deceivers riding along. You know what they say about birds of a feather do flock together:
And Greipel wins the first stage of the tour down under. Not surprising given it was a relatively flat and very short course. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...-tour-down-under/story-fngr0c3f-1226558851377 Lotto’s Greipel, a two-time overall champion, stamped his authority on the event with a powerful sprinting finish, easily holding off Frenchman Arnaud Demare with Aussie Mark Renshaw third. The victory was well set up by Lotto, who controlled the peloton for much of the 135km journey. "We expected more attacks,’’ Greipel said afterwards. "The team did an awesome job again. It was hard to control and keep me up the front but the team did an awesome job." Frenchman Blel Kadri made an audacious bid for victory when he attacked with 6km remaining. His efforts were to no avail, however, and he was overhauled by the peloton. Sky again took control of the peloton with Lotto also well placed with plenty of numbers. But it was all Greipel in the final sprint as he justified pre-stage favouritism. Greipel is highly unlikely to contend for the overall win this year despite being clearly the top sprinter in the field. The course for the six-stage tour is much tougher than when Greipel won three years ago and tomorrow's brutal corkscrew road climb will put him and the other sprinters out of overall contention. Australian defending champion Simon Gerrans picked up valuable bonus seconds by placing runner-up in the first intermediate sprint during the opening stage. Newly-crowned Australian under-23 road champion Jordan Kerby broke away in the first few kilometres and was only caught with 36km left. Greipel had claimed the Prologue win in Adelaide on Sunday and will now take a four-second lead into tomorrow's Stage 2. Demare is second with Renshaw two seconds further back. Gerrans and world champion Philippe Gilbert are another second back.
On occasion. Currently, yes. It has been crystal clear here, but cold. Now when I say cold, I mean California cold. I bundle and ride when it is 35 or 40 out.
Lucky. It's around -2 with wind chill in NY. But have you ever felt dizzy in the cold when you're going fast? - - - Updated - - - Lucky. It's around -2 with wind chill in NY. But have you ever felt dizzy in the cold when you're going fast?
End the ban on drugs in all sports. Sports are entertainment. Marvel at those 275lbs linemen who can run the 40 in 4.8. Allowing drugs is the only way to level the playing field. What we will experience are improving performances.
Day two of the Santos, and Sky's Geraint Thomas takes the lead. Rather boring sprint stage. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8597886
Rather boring race , to say the least. Geraint Thomas retains the overall lead. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...gter-wins-stage-3-of-tour-down-under/1860757/ ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Tom-Jelte Slagter of the Netherlands claimed the first stage win of his professional career when he won the third stage of the Tour Down Under on Thursday, while Britain's Geraint Thomas retained the overall race lead. Slagter, of the Blanco Pro Cycling team, finished fourth on Wednesday's second stage. His stage win carried a 10 second time bonus which allowed him to close the gap on Thomas to less than five seconds at the midpoint of the six-stage race. Australia's Matthew Goss was second on the 139-kilometer (87-mile) stage between Unley and Stirling and world road racing champion Philippe Gilbert was third. The stage included five laps of a circuit around the town of Stirling in the Adelaide Hills and an uphill finish which tested even the accomplished sprinters. The first and longest attack of the race featured the Australian namesakes Simon Clarke and William Clarke, who led by 3 minutes and 25 seconds after 30 kilometers. But with positions on general classification still defined by seconds, the peleton was not prepared to allow any break to get too far ahead. Eight riders briefly got away but the presence of Andrey Amador of the Movistar team among the leading group ensured the bunch kept them within its sights. Amador was close enough on general classification to be a threat. Later, Simon Clarke of Australia, Valerio Agnoli of Italy and Tiago Pinto Machado of Portugal took turns at the front before the peleton approached the finish. David Tanner of Australia provided an outstanding leadout for Slagter and the Dutch rider capitalized to win comfortably. "It's incredible. I can't believe it," Slagter said. "I saw on the screen behind me that I was the first one and I was looking on the screen behind me. I thought they were coming but I was the strongest. "David Tanner was incredible. He told me he would drop me off in the final few hundred meters and he did it in a perfect way." Thomas finished fourth on the stage to remain first overall ahead of Slagter, Javier Moreno of Spain and Ben Hermans of Belgium. "It was pretty tough out there," Thomas said. "A lot of guys started attacking us three laps out and the boys had to ride really hard. "They did an incredible job today setting a fast tempo all day and I can't thank them enough. "I couldn't manage a podium finish. It would have been nice to get a few more seconds bonus. It was a tough day but that's mission accomplished I guess." Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Advertisement
Apparently it is the Thomas and Greipel show. Not too eventful, and this thing looks like it is over. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...ter-Andre-Greipel-claims-record-13th-win.html German sprinter claimed his second stage win of the week for Lotto-Belisol after staying out of trouble in an eventful sprint finish featuring two separate crashes. Lampre-Merida's Roberto Ferrari and Jonathan Cantwell of the Saxo-Tinkoff team were second and third on the day. Greipel equalled Robbie McEwen's record with his win in the opening stage on Tuesday, and was just as dominant as he won Friday by a bike length ahead of Italy's Ferrari and Australia's Cantwell. Welshman Geraint Thomas finished safely in the peloton to maintain his lead in the general classification, five seconds ahead of Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter of the Blanco outfit. The race was marred by two crashes inside the final two kilometres. The first brought down four riders while the second, just under a kilometre from the finish, involved 15 cyclists. Blanco's Graeme Brown was taken to hospital with a suspected broken wrist, while fellow Australian Bernie Sulzberger was having scans on a possible broken finger. Related Articles Slagter wins stage three Down Under 24 Jan 2013 Thomas takes control Down Under 23 Jan 2013 Greipel wins opening stage of TDU 22 Jan 2013 Kennaugh: we set a high benchmark "The team did a good job [today] to keep me in front and keep me out of trouble," Greipel said. "When you hear there are so many crashes you are just happy no-one from your team was injured." The 126.5-kilometre stage started from the northern Adelaide suburb of Modbury in much cooler conditions than Thursday's heatwave, with temperatures hovering around 24 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit) for much of the day. Philippe Gilbert, BMC Racing's world road race champion, who started the day 2min 53sec behind Thomas in the general classification following a crash on the second stage, launched an attack as soon as the riders cleared the 500m neutral zone. He was joined immediately by young UniSA-Australia rider Damien Howson, with the pair quickly opening a two-minute break on the field. By 50 kilometres the gap was up to just over three minutes but the peloton never allowed them to get any further ahead and as the race approached 20 kilometres to go the advantage was down to just 60 seconds. Eight kilometres from the end they were finally caught and the race was back together. Gilbert said because Wednesday's crash put him out of contention, he thought he would use the remaining stages for some training. "For me the race was finished because I lost a lot of time, so I thought I would make some sort of effort, treat it like training," Gilbert said, adding he never thought he would win the stage. "I knew we had no chance [on the break] because there was only one other rider, but we had a nice ride today. "I told him [Howson] after five kilometres that when it's two guys against the bunch, we don't decide [how far ahead we get], the bunch decides. "We understood that it was three minutes - we knew we'd never have more." With five kilometres to go the teams began to jostle for positions and bring their sprinters to the front. Orica-GreenEdge were first to attack, but they were quickly followed by Team Sky. However, Lotto-Belisol made their move up the inside and there was no stopping them, Greipel swooping past his final lead-out rider Greg Henderson and clearing away. Race leader Thomas said afterwards: "It was a stressful day as there was a bit of wind and I think everyone was thinking about the potential cross-wind sections. "The boys were great. We stayed near the front with about 10 kilometres to go and they kept me out of trouble." Saturday's fifth stage covers 151.5 kilometres, with three laps of a circuit starting from McLaren Vale before the final climb of Old Willunga Hill, with the finish carrying a 10-second time bonus.
And here goes the Tour of Qatar. Brent Bookwalter outsprinted some of the world's best, including Cavendish to take the first stage. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ot...sh-sixth.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#axzz2JrTL1pFw American Brent Bookwalter emerged triumphant from a thrilling sprint finish to win the first stage of the Tour of Qatar, while Mark Cavendish came sixth. Bookwalter (BMC Racing) and Swiss pair Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and Gregory Rast (RadioShack Leopard) broke clear towards the end of the 145.2-kilometre stage from Katara Cultural Village to Dukhan Beach. The trio established a 45-second gap over the peloton at one point, although the chasing pack began to reel them in and in the end they were ahead only by a narrow margin. Elmiger took second ahead of Rast, while Team Sky rider Bernhard Eisel of Austria came in fourth having outsprinted his former colleague Cavendish. Great Britain's Cavendish, now with Omega Pharma-Quick Step, ended up one place behind, with Italian Elia Viviani (Cannondale) coming fifth.
Wait! Rasmussen was doping? The guy thrown out of the TDF for missing doping controls was actually doping? What a shocker! http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/a...nish-cyclist-rasmussen-admits-to-doping-quits HERNING, Denmark (AP) Danish rider Michael Rasmussen admitted Thursday that he took performance-enhancing drugs for more than a decade, the latest cyclist to acknowledge doping since Lance Armstrong's confession this month. Rasmussen, a climbing specialist who won stage victories in the Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta, said he took testosterone and growth hormones and had blood transfusions from 1998-2010 in an effort to boost his performance. The 38-year-old Dane said he would quit the sport and cooperate with anti-doping agencies. In return, Danish anti-doping officials said they would seek a two-year suspension instead of the eight years that normally comes with a second violation. "When I get up from here today and leave this room, it's as a very relieved man," Rasmussen said. "I no longer have a heavy burden to carry, like I have done for the last several years. "I am happy that I don't have to sit and lie to you anymore when you ask about my past." Rasmussen finished the Tour de France in 2005 and 2006 wearing the polka dot jersey as the best climber. He was overall leader of the 2007 Tour until he was kicked off for lying about his whereabouts when he missed pre-race doping tests. He later admitted that he had lied and was banned from cycling for two years, but had insisted he didn't break any rules and never tested positive for any drugs. Rasmussen's confession comes during a turbulent time for cycling, two weeks after Armstrong admitted he doped on his way to seven Tour de France victories. This week, anti-doping authorities suspended Luxembourg cyclist Frank Schleck until July 14 after he tested positive for a banned substance during last year's Tour de France. Schleck has denied any wrongdoing. Rasmussen said he was cooperating with anti-doping agencies in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency, in an effort to "help clean up the sport." The Danish anti-doping agency confirmed that Rasmussen had agreed to "tell everything about his experiences with doping," and that he had already been interrogated in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. "Rasmussen has confessed to having used doping throughout most of his career, including in 2007 when he wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France and when he was unavailable for out-of-competition testing in the crucial period prior to the race," Anti-Doping Denmark said. The agency's leader, Lone Hansen, said Rasmussen had provided "valuable information, not only about other doping offences, but also giving us valuable insights into an otherwise secret part of professional cycling." He admitted to using EPO a mix of growth hormones and cortisone testosterone, insulin, the banned steroid DHEA, and blood transfusions. "I am aware that I have cheated and lied," Rasmussen said. "I am ready to accept my punishment." Denmark's anti-doping agency had scheduled a news conference later Thursday. Rasmussen competed in mountain bike racing before switching to road racing for teams including CSC-Tiscali and Rabobank. Rasmussen's admission was the biggest doping scandal to hit Danish cycling since Bjarne Riis revealed in 2007 that he had used EPO to win the Tour in 1996. Riis is now owner and manager of Team Saxo-Tinkoff.
BMC, my second favorite team won today's TTT. Pretty awesome. http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-qatar-2013/stage-2/results Taylor Phinney was the powerhouse at BMC Racing Team, inspiring his teammates to give their all and take victory. Team Sky looked smooth but finished five second slower. Omega Pharma-Quick Step finished ten seconds slower. Brent Bookwalter finished with his teammates and so took the gold leader's jersey for another day. HE now leads his teammates in the overall standings, with Phinney second at six seconds. Adam Blythe is third at 10 seconds, Greg Van Avermaet is fourth and Michael Schar is fifth, both at 10 seconds. Bernhard Eisel (Team Sky) is sixth, at 11 seconds, after taking some precious bonus seconds on stage one. The Tour of Qatar continues on Tuesday with the 143km third stage from Al Wakra to Mesaieed. Time bonuses, cross winds and early-season form are likely to again decide who comes out on top.
Load you up with newer red blood cells, allowing your body to carry more oxygen, giving you an advantage. During competition you can not take EPO to boost red blood cell levels as it is detectable. - - - Updated - - - Load you up with newer red blood cells, allowing your body to carry more oxygen, giving you an advantage. During competition you can not take EPO to boost red blood cell levels as it is detectable.
The Manx Missile strikes! Cavendish wins a stage of the TOQ with a sprint finish. Relatively quiet last year, let's hope Cavendish revs it up a bit this year and makes those flat finishes a bit more exciting. Overall, my own Sonoma County team, BMC, occupies the top three slots. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/feb/05/mark-cavendish-tour-qatar Britain's Mark Cavendish claimed his second win for Omega Pharma-Quick Step on stage three of the Tour of Qatar on Tuesday. The 27-year-old from the Isle of Man, who joined Omega Pharma-Quick Step after spending a year at Team Sky, opened his account for the Belgian squad in the Tour de San Luis and added another victory on the 143km route from Al Wakra to Mesaieed. A 10-second time bonus accompanied the win and moved Cavendish to fourth overall, eight seconds behind the American Brent Bookwalter of the BMC Racing team, who retained the lead. Two of Bookwalter's team-mates – the American Taylor Phinney and Britain's Adam Blythe – remained second and third overall, respectively. Wednesday's fourth stage is the 160km route from Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche.
The Missile wins again. This time he takes the overall lead with two stages to go. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21351303 Britain's Mark Cavendish secured the overall lead in the Tour of Qatar with victory on stage four of the race. The 27-year-old crossed the line ahead of Dutchman Barry Markus and Italy's Andrea Guardini to record his third win for new team Omega Pharma-QuickStep. Cavendish now has a two-second lead over former leader Brent Bokwalter heading into the final two stages. Fellow Briton Adam Blythe was fourth overall after finishing 14th, while Geraint Thomas was 10th overall. The fourth stage was a 160km race from Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche. Manxman Cavendish also won stage three, beating Markus and Lithuania's Addis Kruopis in a sprint finish on the 143km stage between Al Wakra and Mesaieed. Cavendish's wins were his second and third for his new Belgium-based team, following a victory on the opening stage of the Tour of San Luis in Argentina in January.
And again. This time Cavendish broadened his lead over Bookwalter. Indeed, as Qatar lacks things like mountain stages, and there appears to be no other sprinters in the Missile's class, he is dominating. http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-qatar-2013/stage-5/results Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma QuickStep) won his third straight stage in the Tour of Qatar and extended his overall lead in the process. The Manxman edged out Yauheni Hutarovich (Ag2R La Mondiale) and Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) in the race's 5th stage to Madinat Al Shamal. Cavendish now leads the race from Brent Bookwalter (Team BMC) by 15 seconds. Cavendish took the overall lead on stage 4 and has so far relied on his own tactical knowledge and experience in the sprints but today his team provided a perfect leadout train with Niki Terpstra dropping the sprinter off inside the final 250 meters. Terpstra had formed part of an earlier break along Bernhard Eisel (Team Sky) and Taylor Phinney (Team BMC) but with 16 kilometres to go and Terpstra sitting on, Cavendish and his team reeled in the move. Inside the closing 7 kilometres BMC took charge of the peloton, with GreenEdge, FDJ and Liquigas all attempting to assert their dominance as well. However QuickStep were in complete control again with 3 kilometres to go.
One more time. Cavendish wins his 4th stage in a row and the overall. Americans riding for BMC, Bookwalter and Phinney, came in second and 3rd respectively. Could this be a breakout year for Phinney, regarded as an up and comer? http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-qatar-2013/stage-6/results Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won the final stage and the overall at the 2013 Tour of Qatar after another sprint victory in Doha Corniche. It marked Cavendish’s fourth straight stage win in the race and his first overall title in Qatar. In another sprint finish the British rider had the better of Yauheni Hutarovich (Ag2R La Mondiale) and Barry Markus (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team). Cavendish had looked isolated inside the final kilometre as Astana and Sky took control of the peloton, but he came through on the right hand side to time his sprint perfectly.
