Now it's finally all out in the open I'm not as angry as a lot of people seem to be, I'm just really sad, disappointed and let down. Even in my 40s and well past the need for sporting idols here is someone that I actually looked up to. I was proud to be able to say I'd seen him in yellow on his way to winning his 5th tour. Now conjuring up that memory just makes me feel gullible and naive. Like Armstrong himself says I knew the writing was on the wall when Hincapie spoke out but it's still a sad day when one of the great sporting heroes of my lifetime has now admitted that it was all based on cheating.
Always though Armstrong was at it but then my disappointment came with the likes of Virenque, Brochard and Pantani so have been cynical ever since. I feel for those who didn`t take anything to enhance their performance but will we ever know hand on heart who were the clean riders and that is the shame of it all.
Indeed. I came late to cycling as a spectator sport and my interest came (and to a large extent still comes) from my love of the tour. I'll happily watch hour after hour of it - the combination of the individual effort, the tactics and the beautiful countryside is fascinating. Getting to see it a few times in recent years, particularly when it went close to our french house, has been a truly memorable experience. But there's no denying that the whole thing will be forever tainted by this and previous scandals and I'll never look at it in the same way again. I still plan to be at Saint-Amand-Montrond for the stage finish on July 12th though.
At a time when I am losing pateince and carnt be arsed watching a lot of sports that I used to, this event will always be at the top of my sports to view list. Scenery superb and Yorkshire will add to that.
I used to love the tour as a young un, but stopped watching from about the mid-90s to about 2009 when we started getting some British success in it. I was lucky enough to miss the big drug scandals but it has put a serious taint on one of the biggest, toughest and most spectacular sporting events. I do think (based on the "numbers") that the tour is cleaner now than it has been for years. I just fear that it is a matter of time before the cheating starts again...
Wouldn't surprise me if there aren't others doing it - must be pretty brutal on the body - any help to get them through and I'm sure some would take it. Not right though
Just watched the video on the BBC sports website where he admits it all, and I got quite upset. Silly of me, the evidence already out there was irrefutable, but to hear him say it was all a lie... I watched every stage of all his Tour de France victories. I read his books. I thought he was a genuine hero. I probably shouldn't have heroes at my age, that's for children, but I guess I'm still a child inside. That's why I invest so many of my emotions in Barnsley FC. Just another let down.
The sad thing is ...in that era of ubiquitous doping, Armstrong would probably have been at the top of the tree if both he and his competitiors hadn't cheated. Reading Tyler Hamilton's book, on top of the doping revelations you also get a firm impression that Armstrong was talented, single-minded and ruthlessly analytical in his training. Hamilton doesn't blame Armstrong for what he did. He says that when the American team went over to Europe with high hopes only to find themselves at the back of the pack, looking on as the likes of Bjarne Riis rode his bulky frame up mountains like they weren't there, there was only one real option apart from pack up and go home - join them. And so it spiralled from there. Edgar (EPO), red eggs (testosterone) and then the blood transfusions. He does come across as a humourless, childish bully boy though.
