Crime and Punishment

It’s being widely reported that lance Armstrong has admitted to doping in his pre-recorded interview with Oprah and that he is likely to attempt to testify in court against other major figures in cycling in an effort to reduce his competition ban.

I’m sure this will win him back some fans although it’s entirely hard to see how he should be allowed this forgiveness when all the evidence points towards him being at the centre of doping in the 90s, including actively intimidating those who spoke out, or who didn’t follow the culture.

I’m all for cyclists who legitimately felt pressured, and who caved, being given a second chance, and David Millar is a fine example. But Armstrong appears to have been right in the centre of that pressure, and has since lied, and continued to deny involvement in the face of overwhelming evidence. He cheated the sport and made huge amounts of money based on his cheating and there’s still much to be done to clean up the reputation that he helped to bring to cycling. No amount of emotional confession on a chat show should really allow him off the hook in my opinion.

If you need a reminder of the impact he had on cycling across the board there is one in the full statement from former British, Commonwealth, World and Olympic champion, Nicole Cooke as she retires from professional cycling. The full statement’s worth a read as a tale of a pioneering cyclist who relied on hard work against a background of doping to still win at the highest levels. If you allow yourself to feel any forgiveness for Armstrong when he inevitably chokes his way through the broadcasts over the next couple of nights then remember Cooke and the athletes like her who have been racing clean the whole time.

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