Ok so this website is all about Greatness, Achievement and Success.
So negativity doesn’t play a role in my life , but i just have to express my feelings about Lance Armstrong. This is being written prior to the release of the Oprah interview in the next day or so. I do not know what will be exposed in this interview and I would like to believe that we will learn that it was all a big mistake.
However I have been one of the biggest admirers of Lance Armstrong over the course of his career. I have totally believed him (maybe i am naive), as he constantly refuted the claims of drug cheating. His standard fall back position of “I have never tested positive” I felt was a compelling reason to support him.
I remember the first time that I read that fantastic book “It’s not about the bike. My journey back to life.” I recall the marvel at the strength of character, the ability to defeat a terrible disease, and the single minded focus this man brought to what ever he was doing. In hind sight this win at all cost attitude was evident in these pages.
What he achieved as a cyclist was virtually unparalleled. Who could forget the 2001 Tour de France and the climb up Alpe d’Huez. Armstrong had appeared to be struggling that day. On the final climb of the day on that famous mountain, Armstrong ground his way to the front of the pelaton and then he simply exploded away from the field. He turned to see Jan Ullrich and gave him what later became know as “the look”. At that moment the 2001 was over even though there was 2 weeks left to ride.
When I reflect on that moment, it used to give me so much joy replaying that sight in my mind. I now have to wonder how much assistance he had on that day. Would he have been able to exert that much authority over the world best cyclists. I have to conclude that he couldn’t have done that without his drug assistance.
That is the shame of all of this. The fans that have been let down. Personally I do feel cheated. Cheated of all of those great memories. I feel for the other cyclists that may have ridden clean (though it seems hard to find them). The one who may have been the most dominant cyclist of that period may never be know or even recognized.
The other disappointing thing is that the Live Strong foundation has been a magnificent achievement and Lance Armstrong need plenty of congratulations for what he has done here. Please do not stop supporting this organization. My understanding is that they have funded some really important research in to the prevention of cancer and their work should continue. Hopefully it can.
So where to from here. reports are coming through that Armstrong want to come clean so that he can possibly compete in Triathlons again. As someone that has represented their country at World Championships in Triathlon, I sincerely hope that he is not allowed into this awesome sport. I am sure that he will do the right thing in the future, but the usual bans that apply to drug cheats should still apply.
I do hope that Lance can find peace with himself. One of the first steps is to take 100%responsibility for your self, so maybe the upcoming interview will create the environment to do this. For me I am struggling to forgive. I think that the longer that I was a defender the harder it is to forgive. I do however know that, at some time in the future I will let go of my disappointment.
