Jan Ullrich says Lance Armstrong Tour victories should be reinstated: "That’s how things were"

Jan - you've got to love him. He's a sort of teutonic village idiot; a buffoon on and off the bicycle.

Not sure I agree with the idea that as all were doping it was a level playing field so reinstate the records because the best doper won. It sounds fair but the fact of the matter is doping is not a level playing field. It is done in secret and as such the level of doping varies foprm one rider to another.

He who doped most wins? I don't think that is an acceptible solution. He who doped least wins? Well who knows what form of doping was or has ever been going on from one individual to another. Was Armstrong only blood doping or was he taking other drugs and to what doseage? We'll never know as his doping records are unavailable. Even if they were available no one would trust the accuracy of them.

Doping goes back a long long way in professional cycling and I suspect sponsors have known about it or condoned it since their involvement in the sport. Some amateur sports supporters would cite professionalism as the reason for the doping in the first place.

You can't really blame the pro cyclist completely. The whole structure of pro cycling is to blame. If your living is reliant up on your securing pro team membership because prize money is too small and only limited to a small pot then sponsors will employ people who will get the win or media coverage they seek at any cost and without any concern for the sportsman.

I fully understand peoples view regards the hypocracy of the UCI, stripping some dopers of titles and not others, then reinstating in some cases or only stripping titles from the recent past and not the distant past. It does stink. How far back would they go if they start stripping more titles? None of the so called Cycling Greats; Mercxx, Indurain, Anquetil, etc., the list is endless have spoken about there involvement or, indeed, how they rode clean. Their silence speaks volumes.

I'm not convinced about reinstatement because the world of cycling is so much bigger now than it ever was so nothing can be done without huge media attention and it would seriously undermine what little credibility the UCI still has. What is done is done.

I do believe that the UCI should state that it regards all participants in all their pro events up to 2005 to be likely dopers to some degree and that Armstrong's extraordinary abuse of an abusive system singles him out for particular punishment as a way of sending a message to sponsors and riders alike.

I have strong suspicions Virenque may have knowingly doped at some time

He admitted it. It's one reason I find it bizarre that Eurosport in France still use him so much. That said, it was quite funny when they had him riding up Alpe d'Huez saying how much harder it was than when he was a pro... I wonder why

As far as Lance goes, he's a "victim" of his own behaviour. If he'd copped for it and cooperated he'd have lost two jerseys and probably not have the lifetime ban. However, personally I'm glad he behaved according to type and has been publicly outed as a bully and a cheat. His treatment of riders who spoke out ruined careers and for that, at least, he deserves everything he gets.

Armstrong was the pinnacle of doping. Hopefully we are moving down the other side now. Ullrich's comments were - regardless of his belief, irresponsible. I think the sport needs to clear out the UCI with the next election and move on from this period working hard to look forwards.

My "suspicions" remark was irony. Perhaps I should have said "I am suspicious that Virenque willingly and intentionally took drugs," and that would have been a more accurate criticism of Richard's stance. Still stinks to high heaven. I'll agree the UCI should have done more about Virenque when they could, but there is no double standard in their treatment of Virenque as opposed to Armstrong. They did all they could to help Armstrong get away with it as well.

It's the dirtiest race there is and has been since it's inception. Huffing ether, rubbing cocaine into the gums, drinking rum all to numb the pain of the demands placed on the riders.

If they were all at it then it was a level playing field and a wins a win in my book.

If racers currently aren't "doping" they most certainly are taking medical science and pushing it as close to the line as possible.