Monday, October 22, 2012

Lance Armstrong loses Tour de France titles

So the International Cycling Union has voted to strip disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France titles. This is based on evidence that he orchestrated a sophisticated doping regimen within his team.

My first thought when I heard this was that he had already lost the crowns. Odd how that works.

I wrote about this last week, so I won't belabour the point. But I can't help but think that this is a particularly obvious consequence of the win-at-all-costs ethos that seems to drive sport as well as life in general. The concept of gentlemanly/gentlewomanly competition seems to have been lost somewhere along the way. Pity that.

6 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

They sure know how to kick a man down even further!. What about the others on the team that took enhancing drugs? Why not name them???

dean said...

"The concept of gentlemanly/gentlewomanly competition seems to have been lost somewhere along the way."

I believe that disappears right about the time that money starts being made.

Some years ago I heard an interview with someone whose name I can't recall, someone associated with the American Olympic track and field program, and he said (I am paraphrasing) that outside of such obscure sports as archery and sailing, there were virtually no athletes at the elite Olympic level who weren't using performance enhancing substances. What differs is how good their teams are at hiding it.

21 Wits said...

I agree!... and I hate it when you see that kind of mindset on the fields, and sidelines of T-ball, football, soccer, all and any children's sports!

Tim said...

Kalaei's Best Friend:
Others on the team have been named: Dave Zabriske, Levi Leipheimer, Johan Bruyneel, Michael Barry and others.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

@Tim: They may have been named, but not given as much coverage as Armstrong.. I've been out of the loop due to family passings... As Sharon Osborne (Ozzie Osborne's wife) said " What about the millions of money he raised for cancer?"... or do we forget about that and hang the man for life? Hang one, hang the rest along w/him. He shouldn't just be singled out.

Pamela said...

how did it get missed. why did it take so long for those in the "know" to speak

All the people running to point fingers now... where were they when it might have changed something.

so sad is right