Lance Armstrong Interview

Watched first part of this. His argument seemed to be that yes I used banned substances but the culture at the time was that everyone used banned substances and that to not take them would have meant he was not on a level playing field with the rest of the riders.

He's pretty much right, I stoped watching it just before he came in, when the entire Festina team was banned.

Agreed. Lets not forget British cyclist Tommy Simpson, who died from a drug-induced heart attack during the Tour de France ascent of Mont Ventoux.

In terms of the toll it takes on the human body, cycling is one of the most punishing sports out there. If you look at pictures of Simpson during the event, you can see just how withered he had become - his body was literally burning muscle to provide the energy to drive his muscles! It's a very dangerous balance...

For many, not just Lance Armstrong, the temptation to overcome these odds and take drugs was just too great - and teams (not just individuals) encouraged performance enhancing drugs, blood doping, etc.

Armstrong simply took it to the next level, and turned doping into part of his race plan.

I admired Armstrong enormously when he fought his way back from Cancer (and will always admire the courage he showed then) - I'm just sad that such a great athlete has destroyed his own reputation and achievements.

Armstrong does have a point, people should acknowledge that. If he hadn't won those 7 Tours, it seems that someone else that was doped would have won the Tours. In those Tours he won at least a third of the top 10 finishers have either admitted to doping or been officially suspected of doping. A former Armstrong teammate, Tyler Hamilton, described in his memoir, The Secret Race, in minute detail how the medical team around a rider with drugs, syringes and blood bags was an essential part of the competition in those years.

Fuck that!

What everyone seems to be missing is it isn't the cheating and doping that Lance done, it's the way he treated people. He destroyed peoples lives and treated them like shit.
It's one thing being a cheat but to treat people the way he done is unforgivable.

I refuse to watch a programme that gives air to a scum bag like Lance Armstrong.

That's a fair point - nothing can undo the court cases, etc. he initiated.

His team mates could have testified against him in the civil cases where he sued people but didn't due to their own self interests.