Originally Posted by
Juan Foote
This.
I mean here is a guy that until he pissed off the wrong folks, and the right number of them, suddenly was a witch hunt to show the proof. They went around the damned mountain pulling everyone they could in order to build up enough people saying it that the sport could no longer simply look the other way. It wasn't that anyone didn't (truly) suspect it. There had been allegations for several of those last years. He just had to be a big enough prick about it in his response that the powers that be opted to make it into the embarrassment not only for Lance, but for the sport.
I didn't really WANT to reference him in this thread, but it is a super high profile case of exactly the kind of stuff we have three pages of argument about now.
Even earlier in this post someone referenced Pogacar's time against Lance (and a few others? I didn't go back to look for sure). Well, we now know that those referenced cyclists WERE doping, Pogacar is right on that time, but he is clean? Maybe I am missing something.
Most Americans will always doubt Armstrongs conviction. Im not standing up or defending Armstrong only the method used to obtain the conviction. Armstrong pass all the tests under the cycling worlds protocol. Then the dumb ass Americans decide to prove a point and attack him with all of their considerable resources and he admits guilt. The point is that they have the resources to make anyone and I mean anyone say what ever they want them to say. They not only use fleets of lawyers but routinely use the Rico statutes, which strips the defendant of all resources needed to defend themselves (freeze all bank accounts, prevents them from selling properties, transferring funds). In short, they system is rigged in the states favor and no conviction by the state or feds is fair.