"No regrets" says Geoff Thomas over Lance Armstrong charity ride invitation

Well done Geoff Thomas a guy with a bit of character. Unlike Brailsford and his placeman Cookson . What ever you may think of him Arnstrong did an enormous amount to break down the stigma of cancer as a disease people didn't talk about which in itself has probably saved a lot of lives .

Don't get me started on Betsy Andreu she frankly makes me sick an egotist who has achieved nothing in her life but jumped on exposing lance as a way to fame and fortune.

Definitely me, but that's ok because I wear my tinfoil hat at all times, not just when I'm on the bike

At the end of the day I really don't give a hoot, I just wish LA would stop sucking all my bandwidth with all these inane comments about him (and yes I do see the irony here).

I'm not being ignorant, but constantly banging on about how he's such a bad man and he should never be allowed to cycle again seems to be justify that's why he's banned. i know all his bullying and sociopathic behaviour came out in the wash, but the USADA banned him for doping NOT being a bad bad man, I was under the impression the lifetime ban was for noncooperation and that's why everyone else got off with what amounts to a slap on the wrist in comparison. I'm sure there are many people just like him at the top level of all sports who treat others like trash yet are adored by their fans. I believe in many ways, it's that very aspect of their personalities that drives them to be the best, unfortunately it means that they are willing to do anything to achieve their goals.

Lance Armstrong is a fraud and a fake. He didn't just 'cheat' he systematically stole the most prestigious prize in cycling not once but seven times. His celebrity status should only be because he is one of the biggest fraudsters in history NOT anything relating to cycling. It's not simply a case that he bent the rules and should be forgiven I'm afraid, he ruined people and threatened anyone who even crossed him slightly, Greg Lemond for example. I honestly don't know how anyone can argue he's served his time and should be forgiven, if anything, lance Armstrong the man should be forgotten, only his actions should be remembered.

Beefy wrote:

I've obviously missed the allegations of LA conning money from charity can anyone enlighten me I've seen a few comments recently but no detail?

Yeah, it's been.....interesting. From what I've read on other road.cc threads in the last 2 days, he has been compared to Jimmy Saville (he did a lot of work for charity too, innit, no smoke without fire, child rape is such a small step from doping etc). And the latest post regarding the charity money is that cancer has already been cured but Lance was diverting the funds he raised to his global banking mates. Literally. Thats what someone is claiming. And by literally I mean literally.

The words 'lunatic fringe' spring to mind.

Another one who seems to delight in the demonstration of ignorance...

There is a great deal of information out there, but it's not going to come and knock at your door.

So did lance receive a ban for being a twat? Because that's all the justification I ever hear for the vitriol. I thought it was the doping he received the ban for, not the way he treated people.

I've obviously missed the allegations of LA conning money from charity can anyone enlighten me I've seen a few comments recently but no detail?

Grrrr....Lance strikes again. He made me do it, innit gov'? Grrrrr.....etc.

It's not about finding a devil to hate, it's about appreciating the impact he had.

He did have an important role in promoting cycling in the US, which has had an effect across the world. He won the Tour on a carbon bike, which opened the industry up to the possibility. He did raise consciousness about cancer, although the impact and funding he received have caused a great deal of comment.

He also hurt a lot of people and helped to change the direction of cycling and it's association with doping.

when he apologises to all he has wronged, and when he pays back all the money that he's conned out of people either through winnings or his 'charity', then I'll agree with you that he's not the devil, merely a complete sociopathic wanker who deserves to be slowly skinned alive and dipped into salt.

La madre dei cretini è sempre incinta.

As noted above, you are simply exposing your ignorance.

"Simeoni's reaction to Armstrong's confession was: "I acknowledge Armstrong's confession on television but he put me through such a humiliating experience and damaged me so much, in terms of sport, morale and finances that I don't know if I could ever forgive him."

Not really such a laugh, is it?

You are simply exposing your ignorance.

...and Betsy Andreu...

http://www.bicycling.com/news/pro-cycling/5-questions-betsy-andreu

...and Emma O'Reilly....

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/lance-armstrong-called-whore-ive...

Quote:

Who's life exactly has been ruined by ol' Lancey Wancey

The problem with people new to cycling is that they have little idea of the way the sport was changed by the advent of oxygen vector doping and the extent to which Lance Armstrong chose to exploit it. Once he made himself into the next big thing by choosing to use PEDs, he effectively chose the direction that cycling would take for the next number of years. Anyone who wouldn't do what he wanted them to was discarded, anyone who attempted to speak out was bullied into silence.

Go read the books, go and do the research.

Who's life exactly has been ruined by ol' Lancey Wancey?