Leipheimer, Zabriskie, Van de Velde, Danielson, George Hincapie and Michael Barry all suspended. Hincapie and Barry have both confessed to doping. Lance Armstrong continues to use money donated to his cancer charity to pay lawyers to discredit the anti-doping agency that has banned him for life. He's gotta be the sickest b@st@rd in sports history. An utterly irredeemable cretin who made his fame by lying to sports fans and cancer patients. Hopefully McQuaid and Verdruggen will be exposed as badly as Armstrong when the full USADA report is available.
It took tremendous courage for the riders on the USPS Team and others to come forward and speak truthfully. It is not easy to admit your mistakes and accept your punishment. But that is what these riders have done for the good of the sport, and for the young riders who hope to one day reach their dreams without using dangerous drugs or methods.
These eleven (11) teammates of Lance Armstrong, in alphabetical order, are Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.
The riders who participated in the USPS Team doping conspiracy and truthfully assisted have been courageous in making the choice to stop perpetuating the sporting fraud, and they have suffered greatly. In addition to the public revelations, the active riders have been suspended and disqualified appropriately in line with the rules. In some part, it would have been easier for them if it all would just go away; however, they love the sport, and they want to help young athletes have hope that they are not put in the position they were -- to face the reality that in order to climb to the heights of their sport they had to sink to the depths of dangerous cheating.
I have personally talked with and heard these athletes’ stories and firmly believe that, collectively, these athletes, if forgiven and embraced, have a chance to leave a legacy far greater for the good of the sport than anything they ever did on a bike.
Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution. He rejected it.
+1
Note cdn Mike Barry has finally spoken up. Feel sorry for his mum and dad. She was Ontario cycling association president and he owned a great bike shop (bicyclesport) and frame buildng business. (Mariposa). Helped me out as a junior, repairing a frame that broke on me, very reasonably. Don't know many other dopers personally, but it tells me something of the pressure when a good guy from that background falls into it. Makes me angrier than ever at MacDruggen.
“Cycling has always been a part of my life. As a boy my dream was to become a professional cyclist who raced at the highest level in Europe. I achieved my goal when I first signed a contract with the United States Postal Service Cycling team in 2002. Soon after I realized reality was not what I had dreamed. Doping had become an epidemic problem in professional cycling.”
“Recently, I was contacted by United States Anti-Doping Agency to testify in their investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs on the United States Postal Service Team. I agreed to participate as it allowed me to explain my experiences, which I believe will help improve the sport for today’s youth who aspire to be tomorrow’s champions.”
“After being encouraged by the team, pressured to perform and pushed to my physical limits I crossed a line I promised myself and others I would not: I doped. It was a decision I deeply regret. It caused me sleepless nights, took the fun out of cycling and racing, and tainted the success I achieved at the time. This was not how I wanted to live or race.”
“In the summer of 2006, I never doped again and became a proponent of clean cycling through my writing and interviews.”
“From 2006 until the end of my career in 2012, I chose to race for teams that took a strong stance against doping. Although I never confessed to my past, I wrote and spoke about the need for change. Cycling is now a cleaner sport, many teams have adopted anti-doping policies and most importantly I know a clean rider can now win at the highest level.”
“I apologize to those I deceived. I will accept my suspension and any other consequences. I will work hard to regain people’s trust.”
“The lessons I learned through my experiences have been valuable. My goal now is to help turn the sport into a place where riders are not tempted to dope, have coaches who they can trust, race on teams that nurture talent and have doctors who are concerned for their health. From direct experience, I know there are already teams doing this but it needs to be universal throughout cycling.”
“Progressive change is occurring. My hope is that this case will further that evolution.”
