Hi All!
As an American cycling enthusiast, I have been following Lance's journey with great interest over the years, from his beginnings as a triathlete to his entry on the world stage of cycling and many eventual wins in the Tour de France. I admired his boyish brashness until it turned to arrogance on the world stage and I cringed at his ill-considered comments to the press and about his competitors, the race, and the sport in the early days of his TdF career. As with many who have suffered life's trials, his battle with cancer seemed to humble him and left him a nicer, less abrasive fellow for awhile; that wore off over time as he fully embraced his return to health and became Lance, Inc. with the well-intended Livestrong foundation and greater corporate involvement.
Discussing his record and history was a favorite pastime during my tours of Europe in 2008, and many of the French, Dutch, and Belgians I spoke with felt there could be no doubt as to his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
I have my own suspicions (and only that; I am speculating like everyone else) he may be telling the truth in the semantic sense -- perhaps he really didn't dope if "doping" means using drugs that were banned and detectable by testing. Remember, these tests only find what they are designed to detect. If he used performance-enhancers that were not on the banned list nor tested for, then he could be telling the truth. That would in no way equate to "riding clean", but it would allow him to have it both ways and so avoid strict prosecution or conviction according the the stated guidelines of the USADA. It would also account for results "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions". In other words, he may have gotten there by unconventional means.
Mostly, I find it sad and deeply disturbing we live in an era where doping has entered the athletic arena and calls into question the accomplishments of all participants and competitors, clean and dirty alike. I long for the days when that was not the case, when true athletic ability was the prime determinant of performance, results, and victory. Or I did, until I read that TdF competitors as early as the second race were rubbing cocaine on their gums to deaden the pain of competing in Henri Desgrange's "death marches" as the unsupported riders called them.
It is always sad when our sports heroes disappoint us. We tend to forget they are also human with feet of clay and the frailties that affect and afflict us all. I was a huge fan of Marco Pantani and found myself actually standing up before the television, cheering and waving my encouragement as he lofted up the mountains after recovering from his horrific head-on crash into a wrong-way vehicle that had entered the closed course. Of course, time showed he was a major doper and he died from his addictions, sad and alone in a hotel room. A broken man who had once ridden like an angel now rides with them.
I hope the real truth will come out about Lance and however the chips fall, will serve to improve the sport and make for a more level, truly fair and even playing field. I'd like to go beyond doping controls and make the entire World Championship (including the Tdf, the Giro d'Italia and all the other major races) a spec sport, with competitors riding equipment as nearly identical as can be. Looking at competitive swimming, the invention of better and faster suits divided competitors into Haves and Have Nots and records set with them were as artificial as if the winners had doped. I think we need to return to the basics in such sports so once again the human element and true physical and mental/tactical prowess are the prime determinants of victory. I'd pay to watch that!
In the meantime, no matter our own passionate opinions, the world will have to wait for full adjudication of Lance's case, and what will be will be. Until then, by any legal standard he must be assumed innocent until guilt is proved.
I love the title of this thread, because it causes us to think deeply about the most influential or important athlete of all time, and not just cyclists. Of course, the argument can be made there is no one "greatest", and that leaves it all open for speculation. I've so enjoyed reading the posts here!
Far from the most important, one of my favorites is Francois Faber, the first non-French rider to win the Tour de France in 1909 (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Faber ). Actually, he was French to the core, having been born and raised and lived most of his life in Colombe, a suburb of Paris. He was a Luxumbourger by virtue of his father's nationality. Still, his victory broke the French hold on their own race, and gave others hope for victory. My research to date shows Faber always rode "clean" and was well-liked by his competitors who regarded him as a fair sportsman. As far as I can tell, his only "performance enhancer" was a musette bag full of cold pork chops which he ate by the bagful as he rode well into the night on the much longer stages of those days. When WWI arrived, he volunteered as a member of the French Foreign Legion and was killed by a sniper's shot as he left the trenches. There is some debate as to whether his end came as he stood and cheered as he read a letter from his wife detailing the arrival of their newborn, or whether he was cut down while carrying a wounded comrade to safety. In any case, there was not the faintest hint of a taint or blemish on his record, and that was surely nice to see.
All the best,
Dan.
