to move up and down
Bruce Arthur: There was no contrition and nothing much that qualified as real. This was Lance Armstrong, unable to hide himself, no matter how hard he tried
This was Lance Armstrong, even if he tried to be someone else. He did try, of course: he looked back on his younger self on the podium of the Tour de France, telling people he was sorry for them because they couldn’t believe in miracles, and he pretended to shudder. He tried to act like he regretted some of the things he had done. It was, at long last, impossible to believe.
Armstrong’s two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey will conclude Friday night, and it will be fascinating to see what Lance Armstrong has left, because this part revealed him in a way he surely didn’t intend. From the start it was apparent — there was a list in his head of truths he could tell and truths he could not, and you could see him parsing them in real time. He could say he took performance-enhancing drugs while winning seven Tour de Frances, but he had to insist that he was clean during his comeback in 2009 and 2010, despite evidence to the contrary. He could take some measure of responsibility, but he could not say he was in charge, or that he forced or directed any teammates to use, despite evidence to the contrary, given under oath. He could say he had called Betsy Andreu, but he could not say he had sued Emma O’Reilly. (Oprah.com)
Lance Armstrong admits to doping in Oprah interview: source
After a decade of denial, Lance Armstrong has finally come clean: He used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.
The disgraced cyclist made the confession to Oprah Winfrey during an interview taped Monday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the interview is to be broadcast Thursday on Winfrey’s network.
The admission Monday came hours after an emotional apology by Armstrong to the Livestrong charity that he founded and took global on the strength of his celebrity as a cancer survivor who came back to win one of sport’s most grueling events.
The confession was a stunning reversal, after years of public statements, interviews and court battles in which he denied doping and zealously protected his reputation. (Nathalie Magniez/AFP/GettyImages)
Lance Armstrong has cut formal ties with his cancer-fighting charity. Over the weekend, he posted a photograph on Twitter of him lying on a couch at his home with seven yellow Tour de France jerseys mounted on the wall.
Lance gets burned: U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong has been unveiled as this year’s Edenbridge Bonfire Society celebrity guy. The Edenbridge Bonfire Society has a long tradition of building symbolic effigies of famous people to burn during their Guy Fawkes bonfire night, and this year it will be the disgraced Tour de France cyclist, who gets torched for his villainy in sport. (Photo: Gareth Fuller/The Associated Press/PA)
Lance Armstrong deletes Tour de France titles
Having won seven Tour de France titles is no longer part of Lance Armstrong’s Twitter profile.
As late as Monday night, Armstrong’s bio on the social media site included a mention of his seven Tour wins from 1999-2005, but reference to the race was removed hours after he was stripped of the titles by the International Cycling Union and banned from the sport for life for his involvement in what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency described as a massive doping program.
Early Tuesday, Armstrong’s profile said: “Raising my five kids. Fighting Cancer. Swim, bike, run and golf whenever I can.” Previously, the profile said: “Father of 5 amazing kids, 7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter, part time triathlete.”
Lance Armstrong stripped of all seven Tour de France titles, banned from cycling for life after doping report
Cycling’s governing body agreed Monday to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life, following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams.
UCI President Pat McQuaid announced that the federation accepted the USADA’s report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The decision clears the way for Tour de France organizers to officially remove Armstrong’s name from the record books, erasing his consecutive victories from 1999-2005. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Bruce Arthur: Lance Armstrong was like all the rest in cycling, during the era when supermen climbed Mont Ventoux at unimaginable speeds. Lance cheated, and hid that fact with a degree of organization worthy of the mob. On Friday, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped him of his Tour de France titles and slapped him with a lifetime ban from the sport. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images
USADA says it will strip Lance Armstrong of all seven Tour de France titles
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he declared he was finished fighting the drug charges that threaten his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.
Travis Tygart, USADA’s chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday.
“I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999,” Armstrong said. “The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today — finished with this nonsense.” (Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)
Tour de France racers are used to dodging flags, people and the odd stray dog along the race route.
But flares?
Overall leader Bradley Wiggins wasn’t so lucky during Friday’s 12th stage from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Annonay in the Ardeche region. The Briton was burnt on the arm by a spectator carrying a flare and running alongside the peloton as it raced over the Col du Granier, one of the two category-1 climbs during the stage.
“I got hit in the arm with a flare, it burnt my arm a bit,” Wiggins said after the race. “It was some nutter running up the hill and it shows you freak things like that can happen in the Tour. I’m fine though.”
Paying homage to Forrest Gump at the Tour de France: Pumping his arms in victory, Peter Sagan of Slovakia won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday as cycling’s showcase race returned to its home country.
Sagan, at 22 one of cycling’s brightest stars, won his second stage in his debut Tour by bolting from the splintered pack with less than 300 metres left. He crossed the line several lengths and one second – ahead of runner-up Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway and third-place finisher Peter Velits of Slovakia.
Sagan enjoys putting on a show for fans. He churned his arms, as a runner might, in a nod to the title character in the movie “Forrest Gump.”
“It’s a thing I’d discussed with my teammates about what kind of gesture I’d do on the line,” said Sagan, who rides for Liquigas-Cannondale. “Everybody said, ‘Do a Forrest Gump’ because when he was told to run, he ran. And when I’m told to win, I win.”
