I read here at Velonation that the UCI made an official request to USADA asking to take over control of the investigation of Lance Armstrong and Co. Man, does this stink. I saw an interview with Pat McQuaid saying that the UCI knew nothing about the investigation and it was “nothing to do with the UCI.” Here is a link to that very interview.
Pat McQuaid stated in his letter – “The UCI wants that the whole case file with all the evidence is assessed by an independent panel who shall then decide if the respondents have a case to answer.” USADA responded to the request with a big fat NO!
Wow, why would the UCI try to take this investigation away from USADA? That isn’t their place in the sport. That isn’t how things work in this process. It is just a huge political and stupid jester that won’t be construed any way but badly. These guys are complete idiots. Corruption might be a reach, but I’d like to hear the explanation of why they made this request. I’ll be waiting patiently.
There is nothing behind the curtain. Do not look over here. Everything is fine. Move along.
The UCI knows Armstrong is guilty; they know he will be found guilty by USADA; and they know it will do irreparable damage to the sport. The UCI’s request reflects desperation.
Take a look at that honest face dispayed in your blog ! Wouldn’t you want to vote him in for another term ?
Fact is he is so jealous of the attention that Tygart is getting that he wants to jump on the band wagon !
Truth is there are questions being asked by people about ” Who was asleep at the wheel ” these past few years ! We all know that the ” IOC ” makes lots of money from Sport and the ” UCI ” have expanded their mandate to include ” Badging ” Bikes , checking that seats are parellel to the ground and the Cyclists are living on bread and water rather than some exotic mixtures !
Lance and other sufferers of maladies only have to comply with ” WADA ” regs to avoid controversy but there are ” Lawyers ” out there looking for a ” Pay Cheque ” screaming ” Foul “!
No doubt , once the sun stops shining , the money will dry up , the sponsors will turn their back on this Sport and the USADA will realise they have killed the golden goose !
Roll on the day that JV and his cohorts get an alternative to the UCI up and running !
The Livestrong Foundation does not do cancer research nor does it pay more than lip service to prevention. It’s main function is to “raise awareness” that cancer is treatable. That is to say, it advertizes for the pharmaceutical/insurance industrial complex. Also, it helps cancer victims figure out how to pay for their treatment -so Livestrong pipelines cash donations to the health care industry -to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
The publicist for Livestrong, Katherine McLane, came to the foundation in 2007 from the Bush Department of Education.
Mark McKinnon, a GOP consultant who was instrumental in getting George W. Bush elected is on the board of Livestrong.
Lance Armstrong’s lawyers are all Bush family pit-bulls. Robert Luskin defended Karl Rove during the Valery Plame case. Tim Herman volunteered to work on George W. Bush’s behalf in Florida in 2000, and has worked for Bush in many capacities for at least two decades. Judge Sam Sparks was appointed by Bush Sr.
Phillip-I just left the grave of my father who fought for 5 years to beat the bastard cancer and lost when he was only 39. I was only 10 when he died. I have a passion for cycling and welcome what the Livestrong Foundation does for those fighting their battles! Put your political beliefs aside Republican/Democrat and just pray for those fighting this bastard disease.
Steve Tilford it was great to see you racing this past weekend at the Springfield Crit. Thanks for coming down and mixing it up with Brad and the boys.
I sure it has nothing to do with the fact that of the 10 ex-teamates that testified, 4 or 5 of them verified that LA test positive and it was retracted by the UCI
Lance just needs to come clean and admit guilt, take his lumps, and move on w/ life. Nobody likes a cheater, having raced mt bikes pro for a few years I’d like to see justice served. If everyone on the Tour was doing it he’ll not likely be judged as harshly if he comes clean. If he fights it to the end he’ll go down in flames. Be a man Lance, tell the truth. If Livestrong is his penance, then he will be forgiven in time. I’m sure everyone with cancer who’s benefitted from Livestrong will forgive him in a blink of an eye.
It’s a tragedy that cycling has become a sport that’s known for drug use. My earliest days as a rider were done on my way to kindergarten in Lafayette, CA. Nowadays I wonder what people think about my favorite sport, a sport and lifestyle that has always shown me the right way. Thanks for sharing Steve.
I’ve been studying and tracking the stock market the last 4 years. After seeing how this World is bought and sold by a bunch of guys w/ the moral equivalent of a bunch of testosterone pumped up high school boys my view has been skewed a bit. Even w/ all the doping (which I deplore), cycling is still in the “Boy Scout” category compared to the Stock Market. Cheating sucks, but raping and pillaging like the Market does is unforgivable.
Philip, since Lance is from Texas, all of what you said makes perfect sense. Quit searching for reasons to hate Lance. Everybody in this country, tears down all the successful people, because it makes them feel better. How about all the people that complained about the American gymnasts hair. Almost all people are a bunch of haters. Tygart is a hater, looking to cash in. He doesn’t really care about the truth, he just wants to be the man who brought down Lance. Quit being a selfish hater, it’s part of the problem in this country.
Verbruggen.
C’mon guys, blood analyzers DO need replacing from time to time.
I don’t see where Philip is hating anything other than stating facts.
Pat McQuaid was banned for life by the IOC in 1976. Hein Verbruggen owns property with Lance in the Caribbean.
Tygart needs to shove off. If he is able to sucessfully prosecute Armstrong, he will be as popular in the USA as OJ. Killing an icon, is not palable in this country. Tygart needs to monitor the future, not dwell in the past.
Some of you need to lay off the koolaid. If Armstrong is a hero based off of a career of lies, then he needs to no longer be a hero. America can handle it. “Killing an icon???” Sheesh. And no, it’s not the past. Lance Armstrong is still competing and his name is still listed as a 7 time winner of the TdF. So many other cyclists have paid for their crimes but it seems that being “the most tested athlete in the world” (another lie) doesn’t really matter when the UCI is in your back pocket.
Ol Fat Pat know that if the Armstrong investigation papers and arbitration hearing testimony see the light of day, then his corrupt ass will be hung out to dry as the industry and it’s coporate benefactors will take their business elsewhere once the UCI’s levels of corruption are exposed. The downside to doing business with the fat cats and big wheelers and dealers is they all have the same moral code as McQuaid and Hein V. and won’t hesitate for a second to dump their asses and move onto greener pastures. Those with the truly deep pockets have all sorts of suitors begging for their coin. The sport of cycling needs a top down enema. Right now their is no hope at all for anyone looking to make a career when the governing bodies are all busy grabbing cash as fast as possible and covering their own duplicit backsides.
“Yesterday US congressman Jim Sensenbrenner demanded answers from the Office of Drug Control Policy, saying that he wanted justification for USADA’s investigation into Lance Armstrong.
Today, USADA got some high profile support from elsewhere in the political system when US senator and former presidential candidate John McCain issued a statement backing that investigation, saying that all athletes regardless of their profile or success are under the jurisdiction of USADA.
“While the charges are serious, and I expect the process to be fair, I fully support USADA and its right to undertake the investigation of, and bring charges against, Lance Armstrong,” he wrote in a statement. “USADA is authorized by Congress and provides assurances to taxpayers, fans and competitors that sports in America are clean. USADA’s rules and processes, approved by America’s athletes, the United States Olympic Committee and all U.S. sport federations, apply to all athletes regardless of their public profile or success in sport.
“This process is the proper forum to decide matters concerning individual cases of alleged doping violations.”
Sensenbrenner, who represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin, raised what he outlined were concerns with the investigation. The language of those complaints closely mirrored that used by Armstrong’s legal team in previous documents.
Amongst the claims made by Sensenbrenner is that “USADA seeks to strip Armstrong of his achievements and the substantial winnings that accompanied them without offering him even basic due process.” He claimed that USADA’s authority over Armstrong “is strained at best,” although USADA is the body charged with overseeing anti-doping in the US.
Trek Bicycles, which is also based in Wisconsin, received a large number of messages to its Twitter account afterwards, with messages accusing the company of seeking Sensenbrenner’s assistance in the matter. Armstrong has close ties to the company.”
Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/12388/John-McCain-gives-his-backing-to-USADA-after-congressman-questions-Armstrong-investigation.aspx
the beat goes on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN_cZa_zhlo
Let’s not forget the fact that Pat McQuaid accepted a $100,000 donation from Armstrong 10 years ago and McQuaid only admitted that it was wrong for the UCI to accept it two years ago.
On July 11th this is what McQuaid is quoted as saying during an interview…
“The position of the UCI is that we are not involved in this…it is a USADA investigation, they are doing all the process in the United States. It is nothing to do with the UCI and we will wait and see what the eventual outcome is.”
According to USADA, two days later McQuaid said the opposite in its letter to the agency and sought to assume control of the investigation from the anti-doping authority. This request has now been rejected.
Furthermore, the UCI has itself been linked to the USADA case following claims made by former USPS riders Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton that it was involved in covering up a positive test by Armstrong for EPO during the 2001 Tour de Suisse.
BTW, great comment by Philip.
Here is the link to the article that was published by The Guardian on May 25, 2010
“UCI admits accepting Lance Armstrong donation was a mistake”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/may/25/uci-lance-armstrong-donation-mistake?fb=optOut
lets say they do find Lance guilty and strip him of his tour titles…..they will have to go 5-10 riders deep at least to find a clean guy to give the yellow jersey……
Philip: not sure what your point is other than you dislike the Bush family. If you have a personal problem withe the GOP, fine. But some of the people you pointlessly call out are great people who have made great contributions. So before you just paint everyone with your biased brush, maybe you should think twice before making such personal attacks. Don’t like the Foundation, don’t give. Simple.
Steve I- I send my sincere condolences to you and your family. We lost my mother to cancer in 2005.
I’m not saying it’s wrong to raise awareness of cancer and help people fight it.
I personally believe it is morally reprehensible to profit off of the suffering of other people, and the Livestrong Foundation is cleverly suited to helping our for-profit health care industry do exactly that, often times with donations given by people who have a real sense of decency and compassion.
To say I dislike the Bush family is an understatement. Lance Armstrong’s close association with them strikes me as a crystal clear indication of just how self-serving and venal he is. If you believe this association comes from a real concern for the victims of cancer, and not a morally abject strategy to win at all cost, well, we have profoundly different views of history and human character.
By the way, I used to be an Armstrong fan. The turning point came for me when he gave his little speech about how he feels sorry for people who don’t believe in miracles from the victory podium at the Tour.
McQuaid is trying to bury this so the testimony does not see the light of day. He is just as much a player in this as the defendants and should be one. Tyler and Floyd have told the truth, we deserve to hear the others.
Rod Lake – I like you to point out one person from the Bush administration that make any contribution – you sound as pathetic as the Obama supporters.
Also, you might want to explain why LA purchased a Gulfstream IV jet and used livestrong.org money to do so?
BTW, he sold livestrong.com to a company that is for profit only and rides off the Livestrong Foundation.
First, Ted, there are a number of people who served their country and made contributions that improved the lives of many during the Bush administration. I’ve seen it first hand. To say otherwise is ignorant and disingenuous. If you want to discuss, we can do it via email and spare viewers the carnage.
Thanks for standing up to the Lanze flamers and telling it as you see it, Steve. I look forward to more as the case develops.
More gasoline: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303612804577531353567249064.html
Rod, what you say is true. Most of those who served their country and made contributions that improved the lives of many weren’t in fact members of the administration, but, well, you know . . .
I’ll never forget an interview that Bush gave after he served as President and stated that the banks did not start the financial crisis.
Rod I know you thinking of Colin Powell and that would be about the only person that I could think of under the Bush administration that was not corrupt.
Wow, now you know what I’m thinking. Guess we no longer need to discuss since it will be you talking for both of us.
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So, show me the non-corrupt sporting body, amateur or professional, any sport.
Hein and Pat are doing the best that they can, with cycling. Really, the UCI: it is less corrupt than our government.
So now we are measuring in terms of who is LESS CORRUPT – is that your point?