I don’t know where I’ve been or how I could have missed this, but I clicked on this ad and got to a website plugging Levi’s movie that is going to be shown nationwide on Oct. 23rd.
This is a quote from the ad – The Levi Effect is the true story of Levi Leipheimer’s ascent up the ranks of cycling’s elite. Honest and un-censored, this personal account will share not only the agonizing competition of a grueling sport, but also the enduring legacy of Levi’s charitable efforts.
Wow, I think we should all go out and pay the $12.50 and see what it really takes to “ascent up the ranks”. Tommy Danielson is listed as guest panelist. Maybe I’ll wait until it comes out in the Redbox.
The story nobody asked to hear. Who is he kidding. If it doesn’t cover the current topics, he should be rotten tomatoed.
I guess I need to pay to have Levi tell me I just dont have it….no talent
I guess I need to stop being a jealous lemon and just move on like Andy Schleck says.
Cycling needs to live in the clean present, never mind that $10,000 payment to that expert training doctor last month.
“Cycling must turn away from its past and look to the future. Especially it needs to turn away from those results that sort of stand out like a sore thumb, you know, the ones where a guy slays all then disappears for months, if not years, on end. Ignore that man behind the Luxembourg flag, er, curtain . . .”
— A. Schleck
I heard local folks in Santa Rosa were shocked at the recent confession. Why doesn’t BikeMonkey shut this promotion down? Levi did the movie knowing at some point it was going to be a fraud when he finally confessed?
Don’t worry, the whole movie is subtitled with an asterik.
If it wasn’t bad enough a few years back when they started the campaign “Let Levi Ride” when he was “wrongfully” not allowed to race the TDF due to being on a team that had been linked to doping. So he was willing to support this campaign all the while he was racing illegally? Now a movie that has Tommy D listed as a guest panelist?? So they can send back, cash in during their big suspension.
Maybe they will have to ride clean this next spring..big maybe but if so..please go hand it to them Steve!
Will kind of be like Floyd Landis’s book “Positively False”. Addendum required.
Why are you obsessed like this, Steve? It’s getting quite sad.
* I say this as someone who loves that cycling’s dirty laundry is finally getting air. How you yell at the kids from your porch is tiring. Whatever.
This is actually a sad story. The film was put together and is being promoted by folks in Santa Rosa who do a lot for cycling and who have been long-time friends with Levi. How could they have known unless Levi admitted to them what he did? And by all accounts, Levi didn’t tell them– he left his friends in the lurch and went through with the story like the arrogant prick that he is (as Richard would say, atmo!). The film was being finished just before the USADA documents were released, and the timing couldn’t be worse for the folks who worked on this movie. It’s another example of collateral damage that affects not just the riders who decided to dope.
While that’s a bummer for the film makers, they have a tin ear if they think any cycling fan wants to see anything about Levi leipheimer. Zero charisma. And to the guy who tells Steve this is sad and obsessive, stop reading. This is good stuff.
let’s get all the dirty laundry out now before next season, a bit cleaner I hope
Just as fictional as anything else you have seen the last 20 years. The voice-over from Phil and Paul is very appropriate. What am I on? It’s a 30 second commercial, not enough time to list it all. I loved the story about the sale of the national championship race, unbelievable. Och needs to be the next to fall, that story won’t be pretty.
Let Levi Lie.
Wouldn’t be interesting if the UCI accepts the USADA Finding for a lifetime suspension for LA , but decides to appeal to a panel of arbitrators the six month “sweet heart suspensions” given to the other Posty Riders ? Also, they could appeal the non-suspension of the world class liar and hypocrite Jonathan Vaughters. Another guy I am really disliking is everyone’s favorite Canadian Michael Barry. Barry wrote in articles for the NY Times and other illustrious publications that he made the decision to not dope and ride clean and that he was a virtuous creature. He deserves a special contempt like JV. I would think that the UCI is hearing from national cycling federations that the six month suspensions (in the non-season for the most part ) are too lenient. Why should American Cyclists get this great deal. ? Regarding Levi, I wonder if Tommy D will really show up. Tommy D gets stressed easily. Also, for the $12.50 price of admission, does Dave Zabriskie show up in his Captain American Costume with the cape and shoes ? My heroes in cycling are the guys who never cheated. Many of these men, I will never know their names because they did not get the opportunity to race at a professional level or for a major team. Let’s hope we get a nice surprise in the coming days from the UCI.
burn the Trek, buy an Eriksen and ask your lifemate’s employer a tough question. Give George a ring
I’d make a slight change to the sentence given to the six riders – Instead of just a six-month suspension, do that, and then one hour before every race for the next three years of their racing career make them smoke one gram of primo Afghani hashish… If they’re going to be dopers, and have that advantage, it should be compensated, Kurt Vonnegut-style, for a certain length of time in the future, by an appropriate yet ironic handicap. Of course, they’d have to do this well away from the starting line, say a couple of miles of riding, and have street vendors selling munchies on the way.
When the initial documents hit the people behind the movie posted this:
The Levi Effect shared a link. Wednesday.
FAQ: “Does Levi talk about his doping in this documentary?” A: Yes. By far the hardest part of telling his true story.
Honestly, I like movies like Race Across the Sky and Ride the Divide, so I’ll probably check out eventually.
Patrick Dempsey? who gives a shit what he has to say?
A friend of mine said he saw Levi just before the start of the USA Cycling Challenge and wished him “good luck”. Levi acted like he didn’t even exist. This guy is a douche and deserves a lifetime ban since this is now the second time that he has admitted to doping. DOUCHEBAG!
Reading all these posts on your blog… you are very bitter arnt you. Make sure not to hold back any Steve.
Steve tells it the way it is, without sugar coating or spinning the story. I wouldn’t call that bitterness. If anyone has a right to be bitter though, it’s Steve. He was robbed by a bunch of these doper douche bags.
Kinda late for this comment, but in the 202 page USADA document, it says that a reduction of suspension of up to 3/4 (two years down to six months) can be granted to individuals who turn evidence is within the written rules.
Dicky, you raise a legitimate issue which I considered. These guys for the most part did not give evidence until they received a subpoena and were forced to testify. This is the type of question that arbitrators love to litigate. I would argue that they do not meet the exception.
Maybe once McDreamy tells us about his view on cycling he’ll also share his all-important political views too! We could only be so lucky.
I’m sure that there is evidence in the “pending” file against Och that will set him up for a fall much more spectacular than the one when changing Cadel’s wheel at this year’s TdF. The top-brass at USA Cycling is also likely to be involved.
and I should be banned from commenting for six months for bad grammar
I agree with Tim. The people that put the movie together got screwed by levi just like everybody else. They do a lot of good in the NorCal area and it would be a shame to see them nailed to the cross for someones elses sins. watch the movie if for no other reason to laugh at the lies and know that you are helping to stop levi’s shit from sliding further down stream to those that shouldn’t have to pay for it.
This train wreck has been years in the making…I`ve watched it coming and still can`t turn away.It gets more bizzare by the day.
Just finished watching the film. I wonder if anyone on this page actually went and saw the documentary, because some of these comments look pretty damn ridiculous now. Levi admitted to doping during the actual documentary and also spoke about it after the film during the panel discussion. He didn’t go into deep details and he didn’t need to. He admitted it, described how he felt when he made that decision, and gave a brief description on doping in the peloton during his era. So no, the people who put the film together didn’t get “screwed”. They knew about it. And it wasn’t a film glorifying his athletic accomplishments. The documentary was more about his life off the bike and his charity work within the community.
D, anyone who doped in professional cycling is an unethical douche bag pure and simple. I am fed up with individuals who are trying to make these guys out to be heroes. These people should change the words to the song: My heroes have always been cowboys to My heroes have always been dopers. As far as I am concerned: JV, Tommy D, George Hincapie, Levi, Dave Z, Michael Barry, LA are dead. I have a special contempt for JV and Michael Barry for their world class hypocrisy over the years. My sincere hope is that the Garmin-Sharp Team goes bankrupt real soon. I am boycotting their sponsors’ products.