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Lance Armstrong invites Paul Kimmage to interview him at Dublin conference

Texan to appear at One Zero next month

Lance Armstrong has invited Irish journalist Paul Kimmage to take over as chief interviewer when he appears at the One Zero conference in Dublin next month. Kimmage replied that he was willing to “sit down” with him “but not on these terms.”

Taking place on October 21, One Zero – which is billed as a 'sports and tech conference' – has promised a 'no holds barred' interview with the Texan.

Freelance writer Ewan MacKenna is due to host it, but said he would be willing to step aside after Armstrong tweeted Kimmage offering him the role instead.

 

 

In response, Kimmage said: “I'll answer you, although I'm not sure you deserve it. Will I sit down with you? Absolutely. But not on these terms.” He later added: “You're confusing me with one of those muppets that used to dance to your tune.”

One Zero organisers Sport for Business were understandably keen to pursue the idea, but Kimmage remained unimpressed, saying to Armstrong: “You made an agreement with Ewan McKenna, a fine journalist. Honour it.”

As for why Armstrong is appearing in the first place, Independent.ie reports Sport for Business founder Rob Hartnett as saying:

"We wanted to create a space in Dublin, a conference that is looking at sport in all of its various shapes and forms.

"It is about technology and how the lessons of the past can define what can happen in the future. The story of Lance Armstrong is probably the one that has stood out over the last decade.

"We wanted to bring him to Dublin and to learn from him, to learn from, as you say, a disgraced doper, a cheat, the winner of seven Tour de Frances. To ask him serious questions as to how he did it, why he did it, and what impact he thinks he had on sport."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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30 comments

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stevengoodfellow | 7 years ago
0 likes

So maybe Armstrong is now irrelevant, but why are there so many posts about a relatively unimportant exchange with a journalist? Why are people still so interested in this man?  Why in fact was this article published at all?  Surely not that you are all still interested in him, even if it's only to try to bang another nail into his coffin?

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natch1000 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Lance is now (check the record books) a nobody and is a publicity whore, he misse
s the respect he once bullied out of everyone. I don't like the man, there's a special word reserved for people like him and my Mrs doesn't like me saying it.
What I will say (and accept the backlash from) is that if you think your heroes... Mercx, Hainault, Big Mig, etc rode clean then you're deluded.
Armstrong pretty much claims everyone was doing it, he just did it most and did it best, he's probably (rarely) telling the truth.
I hate what he's done to the sport of cycling but if I had to forgive him for the doping or for being an utter C U next Tuesday to anyone and everyone who stood in his way I'd easily choose the doping!

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GREGJONES | 7 years ago
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Do you mean Tony Cascarino?, famously signed by my team (Gillingham FC) for a set of track suits.

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Yorkshire wallet | 7 years ago
0 likes

I think the only reason he's not thrown everyone in that era under the bus is he's still got money at the moment. If that court case goes against him and he gets cleaned out I'd imagine with nothing to lose he may turn grass.

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Subotai | 7 years ago
0 likes

Everything I read by Kimmage suggests to me that he's a very angry individual  surprise

Having said that, I do tend to agree with him more often than not

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psling | 7 years ago
3 likes

Armstrong is quite correctly a target, albeit an easy target, because not only was he cheating  but because his character and attitude are vilified.

He cheated during an era of cheats but stands out because he was winning, ergo in a lot of minds he was cheating more than others. He was subsequently in denial when called out and tried to deflect vitriol on to others to save face and this is correctly what a lot of people hate about him.

He would be better served nowadays in trying to promote clean riding, in supporting WADA and the UCI in removing drugs from the sport but he's not going to do this if he is jeopardising himself knowing that every bit of information he offers from his era may be used against him. That is the level of vitriol there is against him; it's almost counter-productive because we can never learn from his experiences because of the hate.

Cycling as a sport needs to continue to move forward; learning from history is necessary but living in the past does not help. The furore around LA, the legal battles, the dismissal of anything he says just because it's him saying it, that's not learning from history, it's living in the past.

He should do interviews and he should be listened to; maybe it is a long shot to expect him to be honest and truthful about anything but as long as everything he says is used to beat him with a big (legal) stick then he's never going to tell the whole story.

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davidtcycle | 7 years ago
2 likes

Armstrong looking for oxygen to fuel his fire, even this post will be recorded as being in his favour, all publicity is good publicity. Even if I put in Armstrong is an arsehole no one will care.

Only thing to do is keep very, very, quiet - and eventually, he will go away

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LJS | 7 years ago
2 likes

They still refer to him as winning the TDF, pretty sure that on the official record I have the same number of gc wins

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fukawitribe replied to LJS | 7 years ago
0 likes
LJS wrote:

They still refer to him as winning the TDF, pretty sure that on the official record I have the same number of gc wins

He did win, however he was later (rightly) stripped of the title.

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GoSlowToo | 7 years ago
2 likes

That yankee twat isn't worth the shit on anyone's shoes. 

 

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Kadinkski | 7 years ago
4 likes

Lance is cool - I've grown to really admire him.

You personally may not like him, but you can't say he's not relevant. He is the most famous cyclist in the history of cycling. Wherever he goes, media and crowds follow. He has more followers on twitter than Froome, Wiggins, Cavendish, Hoy, Trott, and Boardman combined.  In the last two years this site has had more articles about him than Froome  - and Froome has been winning races while Lance has been retired for 6 or 7 years. He is the biggest thing in cycling. 

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NOC40 replied to Kadinkski | 7 years ago
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Kadinkski wrote:

He is the most famous cyclist in the history of cycling. 

True, but only for people who don't know the history of cycling.

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Jackson replied to Kadinkski | 7 years ago
1 like
Kadinkski wrote:

Lance is cool - I've grown to really admire him.

You personally may not like him, but you can't say he's not relevant. He is the most famous cyclist in the history of cycling. Wherever he goes, media and crowds follow. He has more followers on twitter than Froome, Wiggins, Cavendish, Hoy, Trott, and Boardman combined.  In the last two years this site has had more articles about him than Froome  - and Froome has been winning races while Lance has been retired for 6 or 7 years. He is the biggest thing in cycling. 

I agree. And a Lance - Kimmage interview is bound to be a bit more interesting  and insightful than some other recent high-profile cyclist interviews I can think of.

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madcarew | 7 years ago
1 like

Agree with the sapniard. BEst resonse would be "Yeah, Lance, I'd love to, but I'm afraid you're irrelevant these days"

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TheSpaniard | 7 years ago
1 like

The funny thing is, Kimmage doesn't need Lance any more. He made his name by revealing the biggest name in cycling at the time to be a cheat and a nobody. His work is done and he's moved on.

Lance is old news and that must hurt like hell.

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peted76 | 7 years ago
3 likes

At the risk of being put in the stocks and have tomatoes thrown at me, I just want to say that I am still interested in Lance - NOT what has happened in the past, god knows that been covered to death (and that awful film!!).. BUT I am genuinley interested in him as he is today and what he'll do next.

Did anyone read the engaging two issue interview which I think was published last year in rouleur magazine? It basically covered him dossing about the house, playing golf, nipping to the shops... bugger all really, but this this air of 'how real is he?' being played out ....  

He also still draws a huge crowd at any given public appearance? He may be the anti-christ of cycling but he's still an enigma. 

 

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Bill H | 7 years ago
1 like

Classic journalism used the Five W's:

What happened?
Who did that?
When did it take place?
Where did it take place?
Why did that happen?

In the case of Lance Armstrong all of the above have been extensively written about, I cannot imagine that there is anything left worth knowing.

 

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A2thaJ | 7 years ago
3 likes

First question. given the expo is about tech,

'Lance, as one of the greatest cheats in the history of sports, what do you think about concealing motors in your bike, would you do that?'

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dreamlx10 | 7 years ago
2 likes

Where can I get one of these "high horses" everyone seems to ride in this country when it comes to cycling and doping. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

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tritecommentbot replied to dreamlx10 | 7 years ago
5 likes
dreamlx10 wrote:

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

 

And what did your invisible man say about taking drugs and cheating, street-preacher?

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davel replied to dreamlx10 | 7 years ago
5 likes
dreamlx10 wrote:

Where can I get one of these "high horses" everyone seems to ride in this country when it comes to cycling and doping. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Eh? I'd wager zero commentators on this thread have doped to get faster on a bike.

I'd go as far as a punt on none of us wrecking colleagues' careers or suing them to safeguard the lie on which our own career is built, too.

"Now look. No-one is to stone anyone until I blow my whistle"

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psling replied to davel | 7 years ago
1 like

 

Quote:

Eh? I'd wager zero commentators on this thread have doped to get faster on a bike... 

Well, I've taken a large infusion of caffeine before now which certainly makes me go fast. But, only to get to the first 'sit down' toilet stop. Does that count? 

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Yorkshire wallet replied to davel | 7 years ago
2 likes
davel wrote:
dreamlx10 wrote:

 

Eh? I'd wager zero commentators on this thread have doped to get faster on a bike.

I've doped to 'level the playing field'  3

I have experimented with various peptides that are supposed to make you release more growth hormone, done TB500 and BPC 157, all for annoying tendonitis injuries. Luckily I don't need a TUE for Strava. 

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peted76 | 7 years ago
0 likes

.... Lance redeems himself, writes a book on it and gets invited to coach the USA Cycling team...  followed by UCI president campaign....

He's already mates and training partners with some US cyclists... it's not a big step... 

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
t's time to meet the Muppets on the He Who Must Not be Named Show tonight.
It's time to put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain on the He Who Must Not be Named Show tonight !

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BL7 | 7 years ago
3 likes

Lance at his mind games again...?  It appears Kimmage his nibbled the bait, purely by the reply, then the after thought.  I find this rather amusing.

Whether Kimmage likes the individual, what he's done, what he didn't do, what was said, what he didn't say, who he used, who/what he abused is all now well documented.  What Kimmage can not change now is the fact that he will ALWAYS be associated with the Armstrong story.  I presume it has taken up a lot of his life, but also probably propelled his own career quite a bit.  Who knew much of Kimmage before he broke Armstrong???

Kimmage needs to embrace this.  Come to the party.  Play your part Paul.  Move this story forward.

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BikeJon replied to BL7 | 7 years ago
4 likes
BL7 wrote:

Who knew much of Kimmage before he broke Armstrong??

Well I did. He was an award winning sports journo before Armstrong came along. He wrote the omertà breaking 'A Rough Ride' after ending his pro cycling career a very dispirited and disillusioned individual. You would know a fair bit about him if you read that, as I did in the early 90s.

David Walsh was also a journo of some repute way before Armstrong. 

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Dr Madvibe replied to BikeJon | 7 years ago
0 likes
BikeJon wrote:
BL7 wrote:

Who knew much of Kimmage before he broke Armstrong??

Well I did. He was an award winning sports journo before Armstrong came along. He wrote the omertà breaking 'A Rough Ride' after ending his pro cycling career a very dispirited and disillusioned individual. You would know a fair bit about him if you read that, as I did in the early 90s.

David Walsh was also a journo of some repute way before Armstrong. 

Me too. He ghost wrote Tony Cacarino's autobiography - he was a footballer if you didn't know - and I think others too.

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notfastenough | 7 years ago
1 like

1. Who cares anymore?*

2.  Clearly Kimmage does, so why not interview him?  In public, get to ask the awkward questions.

*Yes I did read the article, but it just feels like resurrecting an old ghost now.

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Benjamin Nickolls replied to notfastenough | 7 years ago
3 likes
notfastenough wrote:

1. Who cares anymore?*

 

so much this. F*ck off Lance, it's over, and no you're not going to make a mint on your story. 

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Simon E replied to Benjamin Nickolls | 7 years ago
2 likes
benjam wrote:
notfastenough wrote:

1. Who cares anymore?*

so much this. F*ck off Lance, it's over, and no you're not going to make a mint on your story. 

+1.

From what I've seen I don't think Lance has learnt any lessons yet.

These 'One Zero' people would be better off saving the fat fee they are surely paying LA and asking for genuinely enlightened people to discuss the lessons that have been/should be taken from a very damaging era in cycling, not just the one massive ego who's craving a platform to spout yet more sh*t.

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