Lance Armstrong stripped of titles by USADA

Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his titles by the USADA, despite the fact that he has never been found guilty of doping by any test, based on the fact that some people have come forward and said that they saw him dope.
The International Cycling Union wants an explanation from them and the Tour De France has not spoken yet.
What do you think;
1. can the USADA strip Armstrong of French titles?
2. should he have been found guilty despite never testing positive?


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/m...ada-drug-charges/story-e6frfglf-1226457338370

 

So many people have tested positive or been implicated in that period, I no longer think it matters. They all doped, they all cheated, Armstrong still won 7 times.

 

I think USADA has a stockpile of Hatorade.

 

If there is no proof of him doping, I mean proper physical evidence then he should loose his titles. If somebody says they saw him that is not good enough. In my opinion he is innocent until proven guilty.

 

Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his title....

The man has grown weary of constant allegations and hounding. It is NOT an admission of guilt. The man overcame cancer which had spread through most his body giving him a less than 5% chance of survival to smash the tour de france in the fastest unrivalled time ever. Seven times. The man is an inspiration. And has done more for cancer awareness and fundraiser than anyone and even developed new ways of helping others coping after cancer. To the people quick to jump on the bandwagon, go away and read his books.
The man is tired of constant abuse. Until hard evidence comes out proving he was on banned substances I will fully support him. The man is an inspiration.

Raz

 

If the ASADA claims to have positive tests from 2009 (which I read in another news article) then they should show that evidence. If not, then as far as I'm concerned he is innocent and still the champ.

Bike racing has become such a farce, there is no reason to take any interest given how many people test positive.

 

the only ones in my mind that can strip him are the uci
and we'll never know if there was something in the combination of cancermeds that had a positive effect on the races

 

Does USADA have the jurisdiction to strip him of his titles? They're not the governing body of Tour de France and, as far as I'm aware, it would (or should) only be the competition organizers who would hold such authority. I'm proud to be an American, but US bodies gave this embarrassing habit of thinking their rules apply everywhere.

 

If he is officially stripped of his titles do the runner ups in those races claim the titles?

 

As I understand it the USADA and the UCI have both signed on with the WADA, which means if one group proclaims that a person is a drug cheat then all other groups must accept it. I'm not certain on this however.

 

I don't understand why they've done this. Far from being a great victory for them it's a massive embarrassment for them. The most tested athlete in sport cheated for over a decade and didn't submit one positive test? It makes them look incompetent and calls the entire testing system into question.

 

Whoever awards the Tour de France winners should be who decides, though I am sad as someone who loves cycling, maybe it's pointless having competitive cycling, even though I would prefer it to premier league football

 

Damn man. I'm not into cycling at all, other than as a mode of transport, and reading this thread and recent news articles, I have only come to realise how much doping was present in the cycling world!

However, for me, Lance Armstrong is an awe inspiring person in that against the odds he beat cancer and got on with his life.

 

The reality is probably that drugs are prevalent in all professional sports.

 

I'm not sure about that. But there's no doubt that it was widespread in cycling around the time that Lance Armstrong was at his peak. Not so much because riders were looking to gain a competetive advantage as much as simply to keep themselves going through insanely demanding events such as the Tour de France.

Whether Armstrong took drugs or not I have no idea, but I don't see how he can be stripped of any titles without proper evidence that he did. And I don't think that one or two people saying that they saw him do it is sufficient evidence. He won all those events without failing a single test. Unless someone can show that any of those test results were wrong for any reason, then he has to be treated as innocent.

 

Yeah. Anyone who can beat three types of cancer at the same time AND rise to the top of their sport is praiseworthy. Cheat or not, dude is a legend.

 

Yep

Apparantly cycling is rife with drug/doping/whatever its called
Wierd really as you expect it in the likes of sprinting and power lifting etc.