Quote Originally Posted by Cressa121 View Post
Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
I'm glad you said "possible cheating". 'Cause there's been no documented proof that Lance ever used PEDs. And given the way you defend Margarito after he was caught intending to cheat... I'm sure you'll avoid the double-standard.

Rightfully, there are a lot of questions over Armstrong though.

In the 1999 tour he tested positive for corticosteroids, but it was overturned after he produced a prescription for it.

When his frozen samples from '99 were tested in '05 for EPO, which wasn't something that was tested for at the time, they came back positive.

One of his old team mates, Tyler Hamilton, also said Armstrong failed a test at the 2001 Tour de Suisse - for EPO - but the UCI helped brush it under the carpet. The director of the lab that carried out those tests told the FBI that he met with the UCI to discuss the positive test and was told that it wasn't to go any further.

Doping was rampant in cycling in that time and with the amount of people willing to testify that they saw him use drugs, or used drugs alongside him, and the reports above, he has a lot of questions to answer imo.

Unfortunately he's chosen not to answer them.


While I'm not disputing anything you've said, you should consider the following:

a) Corticosteroids, not to be confused with anabolic steroids, are commonly prescribed to reduce inflammation, and are commonly prescribed to reduce pain related to cancer. Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. So it's not far-fetched that he would have a legitimate prescription for the stuff.

b) Testing frozen 1999 samples in 2005, for something that... as you said... wasn't even tested for at the time (EPO), sounds completely "witch-hunt"-ly to me. Maybe it's just me... but it sounds they were working awful hard to try and discredit one of the greatest athletes of our time.

c) Testimony from old teammates can sometimes come across as "sour grapes". I'd have to read something from a more credible source before taking it as gospel.

d) And yes..... doping in cycling WAS rampant during that time. Doesn't it strike you as a bit unfair that they've decided to single out Lance Armstrong and make him the target of this crusade?


I'm not saying there's absolutely no possibility that Lance may have doped. But why now, after 7 years removed from his last title.... does the USADA remain so bent on ruining this man's record? Again, I'm not an advocate of cheating in sports... and there's been plenty of that to go around. But I'm also against witch hunts... and it seems a lot of people see it that way also.