Je l'admets volontiers malgré la controverse, j'adorais voir courir Armstrong et j'admirais sa discipline à l'entraînement. Dopé ou pas, il a dominé les meilleurs coureurs au monde sur leur terrain en raison de son caractère et du souci maniaque qu'il portait à tous les aspects de sa préparation. Bien sûr, cette question du dopage est un gigantesque nuage noir sur la carrière d'un athlète d'exception. Je ne peux me résoudre à oublier que la course à la performance ne doit pas passer par le recours au dopage systématique, mais ce que je regrette c'est qu'on fasse payer le prix uniquement aux athlètes alors que les directeurs, les propriétaires et, surtout, les commanditaires s'en tirent généralement plutôt bien. L'athlète est bien souvent l'outil d'un système qui enrichit bien des gens. Oui, ils sont coupables, mais le ménage ne devrait pas se limiter qu'aux seuls coureurs. Une victoire pour la lutte antidopage donc, mais un autre jour triste pour un sport que j'adore et qui vient de voir tomber un géant...
Très bel article dans le NY Times de ce matin: "He said again and again that he had never tested positive — though he did test positive at the 1999 Tour for a corticosteroid, for which he produced a backdated doctor’s prescription. Armstrong also said the case against him was flimsy without that physical evidence.
“Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims,” Armstrong said. “The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors.”
But even without a positive test, the antidoping agency appeared set to move forward with arbitration. It claimed to have more than 10 eyewitnesses who would testify that Armstrong used banned blood transfusions, the blood booster EPO, testosterone and other drugs to win the Tour. Some of Armstrong’s closest teammates, including George Hincapie — one of the most respected American riders — were also expected to testify against him.
The antidoping agency also said it had blood test results of Armstrong’s from 2009 and 2010 that were consistent with doping.
This is not the first time a top cyclist has suffered such a career implosion — it has been common in cycling in recent years, as doping has crippled the sport. Several recent Tour de France champions have been found guilty of doping, including the American rider Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador of Spain. But none of them had the stature of Armstrong.
Although it is possible that the International Cycling Union, the world’s governing body for cycling, will appeal his suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because it had battled over jurisdiction over this case, Armstrong’s choice to accept his sanction tarnishes the athletic achievements of an athlete who inspired millions with his story of cancer survival."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/sports/cycling/lance-armstrong-ends-fight-against-doping-charges-losing-his-7-tour-de-france-titles.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120824
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