Yes Sopas,
I must agree, Armstrong is not the only one to dope and others are getting off without being stripped of titles or disgraced. His threatening, bullying, suing, denying attitude make it difficult to treat him with sympathy. In the end the stripping of these titles creates a problem however. How far back do they want to go. The UCI and the Tour, had no intention of stripping Armstrong's titles until all the testimonies came out in the USADA investigation. Legally they couldn't do it anyhow based on a single 1999 retain preserved who knows how. Now the Jalabert retain from 1998. And McQuad saying if Pantani retain contains traces of EPO, his title will be stripped. And we have B. Riis's confession. And could Indurain have ridden clean?
The top riders have always had some aids thoughout history for sure, but in the last 20 years the boosts in performance are truly significant. All the riders did not have access to the same technologies and aids, the playing field was no longer level, and the sport is no longer sport. This to me is the sadness of the thing, and it has been obvious for a dozen years. The worst of it was when the Postals were driving up the mountains as a team and known climbers were falling off the back of the group. The passport system is curbing exageration I believe, but the reintegration of own blood, and advanced performance enhancing innovations are surely continuing to create dislevels.
I must agree, Armstrong is not the only one to dope and others are getting off without being stripped of titles or disgraced. His threatening, bullying, suing, denying attitude make it difficult to treat him with sympathy. In the end the stripping of these titles creates a problem however. How far back do they want to go. The UCI and the Tour, had no intention of stripping Armstrong's titles until all the testimonies came out in the USADA investigation. Legally they couldn't do it anyhow based on a single 1999 retain preserved who knows how. Now the Jalabert retain from 1998. And McQuad saying if Pantani retain contains traces of EPO, his title will be stripped. And we have B. Riis's confession. And could Indurain have ridden clean?
The top riders have always had some aids thoughout history for sure, but in the last 20 years the boosts in performance are truly significant. All the riders did not have access to the same technologies and aids, the playing field was no longer level, and the sport is no longer sport. This to me is the sadness of the thing, and it has been obvious for a dozen years. The worst of it was when the Postals were driving up the mountains as a team and known climbers were falling off the back of the group. The passport system is curbing exageration I believe, but the reintegration of own blood, and advanced performance enhancing innovations are surely continuing to create dislevels.