The Blob

Monday, July 19, 2004

I don't believe a word



It's not easy being Lance Armstrong. I can't imagine being a cancer survivor, let alone trying to win your sixth straight Tour de France. On top of the pressures that go with this and being one of the most famous athletes in the world, Armstrong has recently had to defend himself against allegations that he has used performance enhancing drugs as his competitive edge to win.

I don't believe it. Not a word.

Yes, bicycle racing has been rife with abuse of performance enhancing drugs. It has been for years. The late five time Tour winner Jacques Anqutuil was open about his use of drugs to win. Others have suffered for their abuse. Recent Tour winner Marco Pantani was found dead from a drug overdose earlier this year, having suffered a downward spiral to depression and cocaine abuse after testing positive for EPO masking agents while leading the Giro d'Italia.

Today, athletes of all types seek an edge. The demands of a race like the Tour de France are incredible. Winning or losing can depend on your ability to recover from the demands of 100+ mile days riding flat out, often over trecherous mountain passes and leg-burning climbs of 5,000 vertical feet. But drugs are a cop out.

Unfortunately, doctors and teams have conspired to apply endurance-enhancing drugs like EPO in novel new ways, using masking agents to make their presence harder to detect. But testing technologies are keeping pace, even getting the upper edge. Quite simply, if you're doping, it's hard, if not impossible to hide it. For the testing authorities are searching for masking agents in the blood tests of racers as much as they look for enhancing drugs like EPO (to raise blood hemacrit levels) or steroids (for strength). Today, only a fool would try it.

It's especially so if you are Lance Armstrong. Your every move is being scrutinized. If you win a Tour de France stage, or are the race leader, your blood and urine is tested every day. Despite the allegations of the French news media, there has been and simply is no hard evidence that Lance Armstrong is using drugs to win. He was born with incredible genes, a large heart and the amazing ability to not build lactic acid levels that are common to the rest of us under tremendous exercise stress. Oh, and one more thing. He works and trains harder than anyone else in pro cycling. That is how he wins.

Still not convinced? Think of this: Lance Armstrong is a cancer survior. He is one of the few people in the world to look death in the eye. As important as winning is to him, he will tell you that suriving cancer is far more important. He is a role model, and has deep feelings for being an example to many others who bear the unthinkable suffering of cancer. The pain Lance Armstrong endured to defeat cancer is something few of us could ever imagine. So why would he risk having to battle cancer again by taking injections of EPO, amphetimines or steroids?

It does not make sense.

Instead of facts, I see nasty allegations. Instead of celebrating the incredible achievement of a true champion, I see bitter jealousy, predjudice and hatred. To see a man triumph over cancer and win the toughest athletic test in the world should be cause for celebration. Sadly, we see man's worst instincts at play. Shame on the French news media for dumpster diving and digging so low. I can only hope they are shamed by their arrogance.

Instead of looking for needles in hotel rooms, or paying off a jealous competitor to sow trash talk, we could do something much more productive: help fight cancer. Click here to learn how. All of us can be champions.

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