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Lance Armstrong 'will admit doping to stage a comeback'

Reportedly told friends he would publicly acknowledge his cheating… but there are likely to be strings attached

Lance Armstrong could publically admit his secret doping and cheating that led him to seven Tour titles, in a bid to stage a comeback into sport.

A public confession could see him returning to competition - Armstrong had latterly been competing in triathlons following his second retirement from competitive cycing - in less than four years, as opposed to the lifetime ban he now faces.

According to the New York Times, Armstrong has met Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Authority (USADA), to discuss a confession

And a friend added that he had also sought to meet David Howman, the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency,although the paper said that Tygart declined to comment and Mr Howman was unavailable for comment. Both claims were denied by Armstrong's lawyer, Tim Herman.

An admission might mean that Armstrong was able to begin competing again, while he is still being pursued for damages. The Sunday Times has sued him for the return of money paid for him to settle a libel claim. In 2006, the newspaper paid Armstrong £300,000 in an out-of-court settlement relating to its publication in 2004 of allegations that he doped - it could cost him £1 million.

The financial impact of the Sunday Times action however amounts to little more than small change when set against the money he is already being asked to repay by the Texan insurance company SCA promotions - a figure put at $12m dollars; and the amount the he will have to pay the United States Postal Service should a federal whistleblower case brought by Floyd Landis be successful. The Landis suit alleges that Tailwind Sports, the team management company, of which Armstrong was part owner, defrauded the US Government over the terms of its sponsorship agreement because undertakings were given that the team was not engaged in any form of doping. The US Postal Service paid $30 million to be title sponsor of Armstrong's team from 1999 to 2004 when he 'won' five of his Tour titles. As yet Armstrong's personal and team sponsors have not publicly at least asked for their money back.

That would change should Armstrong confess particularly were he to face a perjury charge over evidence he gave  under oath that he did not take performance enhancing drugs when he sued SCA over money it withheld from paying out in relation to insured win bonuses.

However what worries Armstrong and his lawyers most, according to the New York Times' sources is the prospect of perjury charges should he confess. A conviction would entail jail time and if a confession hadn't already triggered a tidal wave of litigation from former sponsors a perjury case certainly would. That would spell financial ruin for the Texan who has lost $50 million in sponsorship deals since his fall from grace and although his fortune is considerable it still at best only adds up to roughly the same as the amounts he could be sued for… at a conservative estimate.

No surprise then that Armstrong is reported to be be seeking assurances from the Justice Department that he would be immune from prosecution those assurances might be difficult to give if the US Government joins Landis as a plaintiff in the USPS funding case.

Judged dispassionately the New York Times story could be seen as an attempt by Armstrong and his associates to test the waters regarding a possible confession or partial confession while still keeping things at arms length from the man himself. The need to keep all this discussion at the level of unnamed associates while accompanied by denials from his lawyer is the simple fact that once  Armstrong or his legal team enter in to discussions about a confession they are admitting his guilt to the charges made against him by USADA and so many of his former teammates.

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37 comments

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Gkam84 | 11 years ago
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Right, I said a bit earlier, I was not going to read any Armstrong stories today. But it was staring me in the face when I came on.

I just don't care what he does anymore, its been drawn out enough and I am SICK of hearing about him

So many young riders being killed or injured recently by cars, can someone not just put us all out of misery and take him out.

Not only would it take him out as an issue, but with the publicity, it would make cycling safer for everyone.......

(THIS IS A JOKE, BEFORE ANYONE GETS ALL SERIOUS)

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Super Domestique | 11 years ago
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So the saga drags on and on............oh dear !!

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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Aww Gkam, I was with you there until the very last sentence!  4

Just go away already.

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Bob's Bikes | 11 years ago
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Quote. All that means is that he would seek assurances that he was immune to legal action before confessing.

Gosh we Can clear up every unsolved crime in this country just by letting everybody admit all their past crimes knowing that they will be immune to prosecution!

Agree with people above, the cycling world would be better off without this person being allowed to breathe let alone speak

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Karbon Kev | 11 years ago
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Quite disgusting if this is allowed to happen

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robert.brady | 11 years ago
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Seeking reassurance that he won't face prosecution IF he confesses is surely an admission that he has something (doping) to confess, isn't it?

Or, if he gets that reassurance, does he think he can 'lie' about his doping to get some sort of a race licence?

Either way he's deluded.

Rob

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TheOldCog | 11 years ago
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lock the door and throw the key away, if this proves to be true and he does confess, then well, he's lost every everything and rightly so.

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davidtcycle | 11 years ago
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Going to be a lot of other people feeling very uncomfortable this weekend  1

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Rupert49 | 11 years ago
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Does anyone care about what Lance Arsestrong has to say let alone believe what he says?

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LeDomestique | 11 years ago
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Armstrong is a busted flush and should not be allowed back into cycling or any other sport for that matter. A confession now would be purely cynical.

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Bobbys boys | 11 years ago
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Legal system is ridiculous ......

Options:
1. He is honest and admits guilt (albeit very belatedly).
2. He continues his public lie of cleanliness.

Outcomes:
1. Locked up
2. Not locked up.

How can that be right and just?!

"The law is an ass"

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joebee9870 | 11 years ago
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Lance Who? That all history lets talk about the people of tomorrow and move on from the negative stuff He and MANY of his piers did to better themselves and nearly destroy this great sport/pastime/excuse to get out and about.

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CraigS replied to Karbon Kev | 11 years ago
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Karbon Kev wrote:

Quite disgusting if this is allowed to happen

It already has for all the people who confessed in the USADA investigation or before and what's worse is that Tyler Hamilton has made a fortune out if it.

As much as I dislike Lance and what he did, he shouldn't be the one who has to pay for the sins of the entire peloton whilst they all walk away.

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andyp | 11 years ago
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Is anyone suggesting that he has to pay for the sins of the entire peleton? Isn't it his own cheating, bullying and perjury that he has to pay for?

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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What exactly is he planning to achieve at the age of 45 and clean? Any admission should not get him out of a life time ban. What a funt.

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andyp | 11 years ago
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sod the lifetime ban, he needs a spell in the clink.

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ubercurmudgeon replied to Rupert49 | 11 years ago
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Rupert49 wrote:

Does anyone care about what Lance Arsestrong has to say

Johan Bruyneel certainly will care, seeing as he is actively mounting a defence against the charges he shares with Mr Dopestrong.

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graphite | 11 years ago
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I honestly couldn't give a crap what Armstrong says - I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of his lying mouth.

There's only one person in the world LA gives a shit about and that's himself. Given how much he craves publicity and being centre of attention there should be a lifetime ban on media stories about him - that would would probably hurt him more than anything else.

Spleen, vented  20

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road ronin | 11 years ago
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you can usally tell when Lance is lying his lips are moving,  19

lets just leave him to his own little world of deception and move on to hopefully a brighter cleaner future for a sport that should be admired at the feats of clean pro riders  4

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onlyonediane | 11 years ago
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Confesses, then ok to stand for election as Governor of Texas. Spell in the White House is possible.

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ped | 11 years ago
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It's too late. Confession or not, what he's done to the integrity of 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story' is unforgivable.

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fourstringsisplenty | 11 years ago
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+1 for CraigS AND graphite.

Go away, Lance; we're bored of you.

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Gkam84 replied to Leviathan | 11 years ago
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bikeboy76 wrote:

What exactly is he planning to achieve at the age of 45 and clean? Any admission should not get him out of a life time ban. What a funt.

I think it will be so he carry on his Triathlon's that he's been working on for a while now.

I doubt he'll be back in the pro cycling ranks ever again, if he did, everyone else would refuse to race

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The Rumpo Kid | 11 years ago
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This just doesn't ring true. Any admission of guilt from Armstrong is also an admission of perjury, and a confession that everyone he sued over the years was right all along. He would face financial ruin at best, and imprisonment at worst. Would Armstrong risk all of that for an opportunity to compete in triathlons in four years time?

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Carl | 11 years ago
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I read another good comment on the subject and thought it was worth sharing

http://read.bi/VBMtgq

By Henry Blodget (who knows a bit about downfall and redemption himself)

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Bez | 11 years ago
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Devious, cowardly, self-important arse-covering. He makes Jeffrey Archer look like a decent sort of chap.

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Lungsofa74yearold | 11 years ago
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Carl - good link to Henry Blodget - spot on argument and totally sums up the self-serving, self obsessed nature of LA. personally, I hope USADA does not negotiate at all - a spot of jail time is the least he could do given all the damage and hurt he's caused down the years.

Can't wait to see the twisted logic the LA fanboys use to explain this one away....  19

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Pitstone Peddler | 11 years ago
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Fucking hell, go away Lance Armstrong, you have no place in cycling, you are a fraudster, liar and cheat. Despite all the other dopers of which there are hundreds, you took it to an incredible level. Someone pass him a loaded revolver. I despise you now as I despised you then, fuck off out of my life.

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wingsofspeed68 | 11 years ago
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Don't you just love Karma!

You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Lance be damned; financial ruin awaits, me thinks. Just when I thought I'd had all my Christmas presents!

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Dr. Ko | 11 years ago
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Easy. Just like that French guy with the big nose he will apply for Russian Citizenship.  44
He could than join his friend Ekimov on Katuscha in the new Russian Break away league!

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