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Greg LeMond: Lance Armstrong should be in jail... and was top 30 rider at bestGreg Lemond gives Lance the big stare

Greg LeMond: Lance Armstrong should be in jail... and was top 30 rider at best

He also says that Armstrong used charity as a shield and "manipulated cancer community"...
by Simon_MacMichael
Tue, Oct 22, 2013 10:25
34

Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond has said that Lance Armstrong, last year stripped of his seven victories in the race for doping, should go to jail as a result of his “criminal” behaviour. He added that without the help of performance enhancing substances, Armstrong would have been “a top 30 at best” rider.

LeMond, aged 52, was speaking last night on the CNN show, Anderson Cooper 360°. In his interview with the talk show host, the double world road champion also described Armstrong as a “thug” who used his recovery from cancer, as well as the charity he founded, as a shield from doping allegations, reports USA Today.

In 2001, quoted in a Sunday Times article regarding Armstrong’s links to the now banned Italian doctor Michele Ferrari, LeMond said: “If Lance is clean, it is the greatest comeback in the history of sport. If he isn't, it would be the greatest fraud."

Those comments were among the reasons that Trek, whose bikes Armstrong rode to all seven of his Tour de France wins, dropped LeMond’s bicycle range. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement in LeMond’s favour last year, although full details were not disclosed.

Asked last night whether he still believed Armstrong had committed the biggest fraud in sporting history, LeMond replied: "Absolutely. Absolutely. The greatest fraud was that – I mean, I know his physical capability.

“He is a top 30 at best. I mean, at best. No matter what. If he was clean, everybody was clean, he was top 30 at best. He is not capable of, not – capable of the top five."

The insinuation is that in an era when doping was rife in the peloton and the vast majority of the riders who achieved top ten positions in the Tour de France were later revealed to have used drugs, Armstrong was gaining more of an edge than any of his rivals.

Armstrong’s first Tour de France victory came in 1999, less than a year after he returned to cycling following his recovery from cancer. By that point, he had already founded his cancer awareness charity the Lance Armstrong Foundation, later rebranded as Livestrong.

But LeMond insisted that Armstrong had ulterior motives, saying: "He manipulated the cancer community.

"I mean, I have family members with cancer. Everybody has been affected by cancer. But it was the manipulation and using that… like Teflon. He used the money, he used the foundation to not only cover for him but also destroy people."

Cooper asked LeMond what he thought should happen to Armstrong now.

"This is not a sporting infraction," LeMond maintained. "This is criminal." Asked if he believed Armstrong should go to jail, he responded, “I do, yes."

So far, however, Armstrong has escaped criminal charges. 

Early last year, a federal investigation into whether Armstrong and others had committed fraud in relation to use of sponsorship funds from the US Postal Service was shelved.

Moreover, potential perjury charges relating to what by his own admission were untruthful statements in his deposition under oath in the SCA Promotions case, which concluded in 2006, cannot be brought since they are statute barred.

He continues to face a number of civil actions, including the whistleblower case brought by former team-mate Floyd Landis, which the US Government has joined.

USPS investigation
Reasoned Decision
Lance Armstrong
Greg LeMond
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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34 comments

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Simon E replied to zok27 | 10 years ago
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zok27 wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, the Live strong wristbands were for his cancer charity. Not really a supporting Armstrong like a football shirt or a discovery channel cycling kit.
39

You don't still believe that rubbish, do you?

Oh dear.

For the people who think it should all be swept under the carpet / we're all kicking a poor fellow when he's down / they were all doping etc etc... I suggest you read Seven Deadly Sins. The lies, bullying and the legal and hateful sh*t Armstrong sprayed for many years, particularly at Greg, the Andreus, Emma O'Reilly and other people who weren't easily silenced, has to be seen to be believed. This is someone who wrecked whole careers, bribed the UCI, brought lawsuits against anyone trying to tell the truth... truly shocking.

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Colin Peyresourde | 10 years ago
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I am reading 'Breaking the Chain'. What strikes me is how natural the drug taking process was in the teams. They are their own test laboratory - testing both 'glow time' and response to each chemical - not every substance has a quantifiable benefit/gain on each person, some work better than others.

The search for an advantage, and the extent that they know the rules, and how to walk round them is astonishing. The current situation with the Jamaican Athletics Association is a topical case in point - no out of competition testing before an Olympic games.

Actually during Lemonds period they started to understand about the drug taking and were a bit more efficient at it, but I don't think Voet and his teams ever stopped. The drugs just became more effective.

I say all this, because I think it unlikely that the culture has changed much, either from before the 1990s, nor since. Some things have adjusted, but I would imagine that bike teams are pretty capable of walking around most of the measures.

One thing that does strike me is that there seems to be a code of respect, which meant that no one in his team doped 'excessively' - i.e. the doctors capped EPO use before the UCI did, and that they didn't try to win everything. I think that is Armstrong's mistake - while he missed the classics, he tried to dominate the big race and that wasn't fair. He is reaping his whirlwind.

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zanf replied to Simon E | 10 years ago
0 likes
Simon E wrote:
zok27 wrote:

If I'm not mistaken, the Live strong wristbands were for his cancer charity. Not really a supporting Armstrong like a football shirt or a discovery channel cycling kit.
39

You don't still believe that rubbish, do you?

Oh dear.

Its not even like LiveStrong were donating much, if anything to cancer research.

Avatar
Jasonnz1 | 10 years ago
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A little bit off course but my 2 cents ...

Watch the documentary 9.79, about the Ben Johnson incident, listening to the head tester at the LA and Seoul Olympic games there were so many positives across so many athletes they didn't do anything about it.
Watching Carl lewis and his coaches interviews is like watching lance and his coaches all over again.

Around 200 athletes on the records for Operación Puerto - only the cyclists get named, what about the other athletes?

I don't condone drug taking in any way, I've had people ask me about them and I have explained the dangers and told them if they chose that route there was the door.

Don't get me wrong I definitely think he should pay for the way he destroyed others careers and lives, but if everyone thinks the sports world is clean they really do have their heads in the sand, there will always be the genetic freaks, (Eero Antero Mäntyranta the finish cross country skier, yes I know ironically he got busted for drugs, but his EPO levels were the cause of a genetic mutation) and they usually become the ones who do win more.

How many of you were going crazy when you saw armstrong attack on the hills?... did you really believe that one year after being on his cancer deathbed he could come back and win a race run over 3500+ miles in 3 weeks? seriously?... have you actually met any one who has had cancer or seen how they are feeling recovered from cancer after 1 year??

I loved watching him win, (unfortunately oblivious to his antics towards others, which probably would have influenced my attitude) , I read his books (one actually helped me understand a lot about my dad who died from cancer and what was going through his mind when he had it, but would talk about)
Did I ever think armstrong was clean? no I can honestly say not, in fact I used to argue with a personal friend of his over the issue when I said there was no way he was...however did that stop me enjoying what I saw, no it didn't.
But then I also think the Jamaican's aren't clean either, or a lot of top tennis players, or footballers, or NFL, or Baseball...... etc etc

I'm not cynical just realistic, (I will say though Lemond after reading his book is definitely one of those freaks, and is definitely a cycling hero, as is a guy like Hampsten , who did win clean... but then I also like Coppi, Bartali, Hinault, Merckx and Sean Kelly, and they were all most probably riding on PEDS, but I still like them and reading about and seeing the way they rode)

I wish every one was clean, I love cycling, I love to see the battles in the hills, over the cobbles, the sprints for the line.
We we live in a society where we want hero's, where money and success unfortunately go hand in hand, and sponsors demand results.
it's us who put athletes on a pedestal,
we want our team to win after all who wants to ride a losers bike, or wear a team that never wins jersey
we want to see the records broken,
we want to see people go faster and higher and longer ,

Have you ever asked yourself who it really is putting the pressure on athletes across all sports to achieve these feats?

would you be happy with records never getting broken, seeing no one go faster... it was pretty cool to see Usain break the record huh, how about when he broke it again .. insane!

let me ask you this
have you bought a lighter bike to go faster?
aero wheels?
latest aero kit?
lighter components?

why ?
two answers I can think of
1. Lets face it aero wheels look damn cool
2. You wanted to go faster the pros use them after all.. guess what .. the marketing worked... money out of your pocket to sponsors pocket.

For the record I've had my ass kicked by guys on steel bikes while I was on a carbon bike racing up the hills, I've also had the pleasure to be able to out sprint people on much more expensive bikes than mine with wheels that cost more than my whole bike....its the rider and the results on the scoreboard, not the bike except at the very top levels where seconds and 100th's of seconds can make a difference and mean gold or silver or that hill top win... however I am saving up for some aero wheels they look pretty cool.

Am I saying you cant win without drugs (sprinting yes) ,cycling no, I generally do think it can be done in our sport, and would like to think it is becoming more common place.

Just Enjoy it for what it is and how it makes you feel, and don't be sucked in or surprised when the next one hits the fan, after all we are what make cycling, but we are also the ones who want our guys/girls to win, its what many of us associate with.

it does make us happier when our team/athlete wins, and from my experience people enjoy being happy it feels good.. fact.

... you do want them to win right?

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