Lance Armstrong = the McCanns

seriously - so much of this seems familiar...

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/master-of-denial-sees-his-epic-fiction-ripped-to-shreds-3210251.html

Master of denial sees his epic fiction ripped to shreds

By Tommy Conlon Sunday August 26 2012

During his years as king of the road, Lance Armstrong was master of all he surveyed.

He didn't just win the Tour de France in those glory days, he ran it. His word was law. His rivals feared him. His colleagues obeyed him. Cycling's authorities deferred to him. The US media paid homage to him. Corporate America lavished fortunes upon him. Millions of people the world over worshipped him for his cancer crusade.

The hardest man on a bike, he was the greatest humanitarian off it. It was an untouchable combination. Half man half myth, he exuded omnipotence.

One wonders if it was this sense of omnipotence that convinced him he could fool all of the people, all of the time. Did he think he could control everything and everyone? Did he believe he could get away with it forever?

Doubts about his innocence were there from his first Tour victory in 1999 and would persist from then on, riding in tandem with his vertical ascent into cycling history. As the achievements multiplied, so did the suspicions, hardening all the time through scattered scraps of information, telling details, whispered anecdotes. On their own they didn't amount to much. But compiled together they eventually had the makings of a file, an unofficial dossier of circumstantial evidence.

Much of that evidence was unearthed by the journalists David Walsh and Pierre Ballester for their 2004 book L.A. Confidentiel: Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong. In a pattern that would become familiar over the following years, Armstrong came down on them like a ton of bricks, deploying lawyers at great expense to sue for libel and threaten any interested publishers. The book was published in French; it wasn't released in English-speaking territories.

Allegations of various doping offences continued to drip sporadically into the public domain. A positive test during the 1999 Tour for a corticosteroid that was finessed under the carpet. Urine samples showing abnormal testosterone levels, or traces of illegal substances, that somehow never came to light. Frankie Andreu, his former team-mate, alleging he heard Armstrong admit to doctors that he had used steroids, human growth hormone and EPO.

But he survived the long inquisition. Year after year, race after race, he kept everyone at bay: the sceptics, the investigative reporters, the scientists in their laboratories. One of the greatest frauds perpetrated in the history of sport was going undetected, unproven, unsolved. There was an abiding sense that Armstrong, like some Wall Street titan, was too rich, too famous, too powerful, to be caught. He was basically too big to fail.

In April 2010, his friend and former team-mate, Floyd Landis, delivered a hammer blow. Landis accused him of systematic doping during their days together. A year later, Tyler Hamilton, another old team-mate, alleged on American national television that Armstrong had co-ordinated the team's doping programme. These were eyewitness accounts from the inner circle. The brotherhood had finally broken ranks. The cocoon around Armstrong had been breached.

But he responded as he always did; he went on the attack. He brazened it out. A formidable media operator, he looked the world's press in the eye and said it wasn't true. None of it was true.

It was at this point that one wondered about his sense of omnipotence. He was still behaving like a master of the universe, even though the game was up. He was still resorting to the oldest strategy in the business: deny, deny, deny.

And it looked as if he had succeeded when, last February, government agents ended a two-year investigation without bringing any criminal charges. Once again our hero was free.

But the United States Anti-Doping Agency then took up the case. In June they charged Armstrong and others with engaging in a massive doping conspiracy for nine years, during which he'd won his seven Tours. Again he mobilised his lawyers and waged a PR campaign against his accusers.

But USADA had more evidence assembled than ever before. They had incriminating blood samples. They had ten former cyclists lined up to testify against him. They withstood his court challenges and were heading towards an arbitration hearing with Armstrong, probably in November. If it had gone to a hearing, the evidence amassed against him might have destroyed his reputation.

So, last Thursday, he surrendered instead. He wouldn't contest the charges in a public court. USADA has deemed it an admission of guilt. They will recommend he be banned from any sport under its jurisdiction and that he be stripped of his Tour titles. Armstrong issued a statement. It was laced with anger, paranoia and more denials. He proclaimed his innocence while evading the process that would have confirmed his guilt. It would be the last time, he said, that he would ever address this issue.

It's hard to know which is worse, the doping or the lying. One is done in private, the other in public. It is difficult to comprehend the amount of times that Armstrong has looked the public in the eye and told them lies. Millions of people admired and trusted him. And he lied to them.

In his heyday he would cycle himself to a standstill in the Alps. He ultimately lied himself to a standstill too. His final statement was one last sad and desperate fiction. It was the flag on the summit of a mountain of lies.

thecouch@independent.ie

- Tommy Conlon

Well I've not seen a putative Bicycle-McCann link before (Or have I ?)

Food for thought!

Interesting parallels!

Proves once again that if you've got pots and pots of ill-gotten, you can bully, deflect and throw writs about for a good chunk of your natural.
That and permanently puffing yourself up with self-righteous indignation in the face of anyone accusing you of even having as much as a parking ticket ( a bit like Andy Hayman's how-very-dare-you moment at the select committee).

Still, it proves that pulling the wool can't go on for ever.
It's just bl**dy annoying while it's happening.

Not being a sports fan, I didn't know anything about this until now. I had heard of Lance Armstrong because of his battle with cancer and his relationship with the singer Sheryl Crow. It probably says a lot about the type of news I read! Apparently the relationship ended because she wanted a family and he didn't, having three children already. He then went on to have two children with a new partner which must have been very galling for Sheryl!

Most people are eventually brought to book for their misdeeds which is good news.

No I had not really heard about Lance Armstrong either.

Maybe he just tired of it all in the end. It must be difficult to keep fighting all the accusations over and over and he just reached a point where it became unbearable. It was all a sham - he wasn't really a great athlete at all. All the awards meant nothing - a waste.

Search of Vista Mar Villa, 02 August 2007 - In The McCanns' Bedroom

During the PJ searches of the villa rented by the McCanns, it was observed that Gerry McCann's bedside reading material included Every Second Counts: From Recovery To Victory by Lance Armstrong.

Nice one! Birds of a feather flock together as they say.

Apologies if I am being too harsh on Mr Armstrong.

I think it a bit harsh to consider Armstrong and the McCanns in the same sentance. Then again, personally I can think of very very few people in the world I would put in the same class as the McCanns and not the "class" they like to think of themselves.

I have no idea whether Armstrong is guilty or not. It appears he never failed a drugs test and the case built against him was largely due to ex team mates and other cyclists who themselves failed tests and were banned from the sport.

However his foundation and their work appears to have done a great service to people, he appears to be a good father and family man. It is a pity for the sport and himself if he was cheating but really as it stands nothing was proven.

Supporters of the McCanns will be quick to say nothing has been proven against them either, which may be the case at this point in time. However, their own foundation or fund or whatever they want to call it is most certainly questionable as is their parenting skills.

So at the end of the day if he is lying, he has hurt himself and perhaps the sport. He has disappointed his many supporters around the world who believe in him. He has not however refused to help in the search of a missing child, told lies about the events surrounding her disappearance, or used her like a commodity for his own financial gain. A big difference.

Annabel wrote:
Search of Vista Mar Villa, 02 August 2007 - In The McCanns' Bedroom

During the PJ searches of the villa rented by the McCanns, it was observed that Gerry McCann's bedside reading material included Every Second Counts: From Recovery To Victory by Lance Armstrong.

Good morning Annabel

There was another book that Gerry McCann was reading, that was very chilling. Sorry I can't remember what the name of the book was called.

More information about Gerry's choice of books.

http://www.gerrymccan-abuseofpower-humanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/kate-and-gerry-mccann-books-found-in.html

No I didn't mean that Lance Armstrong was that bad!

From my own experience I cann't believe for a moment if someone has so much energy during chemo therapie. I think he used medicins which could n't be tested for doping.

Whilst his choice of reading material is intersting and questionable what I also find strange is the amount of books he had with him.

He was initially on holiday for one week and from what we are told thought of himself as some sort of mini action man with all of the sporting activities he wanted to partake in. He then had three children who had to be bathed every night and a very hectic social life thereafter. When was he supposed to read all of these books ?

Perhaps he acquired some after the event. This I find even more bizzare. His child is missing, in a foreign country,he has two other children still left to care for, and he gets more books to read. When was he going to find the time to read those ?

When I go on holiday I would not get through one book in a three or four week period. I would read a lot at home, at night, when the kids are in bed. On holiday I just never seem to have the time.

Gerry is some man for one man.

Annabel wrote:From my own experience I cann't believe for a moment if someone has so much energy during chemo therapie. I think he used medicins which could n't be tested for doping.

Hello Annabel, yes, it would seem all rather strange and who knows what the story is. I am not for a minute suggesting he is totally innocent, I simply do not know. I just cannot put him in the same category as the McCanns, that is all.

Slightly off topic but I watched a detective programme the other night. The police had the dna of their main suspect on file from a number of years previous to the murder they were now investigating. When tested against samples at the scene they were negative. However it turned out the suspect had undergone treatment (either a blood transfusion or bone marrow I cannot remember) in the intervening years which altered his blood samples. So when new samples were taken from him, they matched what was found at the scene. I have no clue as to whether this is medically possible or not, but it was an interesting twist I thought.

So who knows what Armstrongs treatment masked and what leeway the other drugs in his system gave him. It is indeed very likely, it makes me sad, as I was always a fan.

mossman wrote:Whilst his choice of reading material is intersting and questionable what I also find strange is the amount of books he had with him.

He was initially on holiday for one week and from what we are told thought of himself as some sort of mini action man with all of the sporting activities he wanted to partake in. He then had three children who had to be bathed every night and a very hectic social life thereafter. When was he supposed to read all of these books ?

Perhaps he acquired some after the event. This I find even more bizzare. His child is missing, in a foreign country,he has two other children still left to care for, and he gets more books to read. When was he going to find the time to read those ?

When I go on holiday I would not get through one book in a three or four week period. I would read a lot at home, at night, when the kids are in bed. On holiday I just never seem to have the time.

Gerry is some man for one man.

I think the books were actually photographed at the villa they rented sometime after they left the MW complex. The Ceop manuals were amongst them. Also a novel The Interpretation of Murder which I think was popular around that time because I read it myself. So the relatives may have brought them over. But goodness knows how he got hold of the Ceop manuals.

I agree it would be surprising if he took reading material for the first week`s holiday.

If he was on chemotherapy treatment during his battle with cancer it is likely he would have been given steroids and also other drugs to combat the side affects of the chemo regime. I am.

Bobsy wrote:If he was on chemotherapy treatment during his battle with cancer it is likely he would have been given steroids and also other drugs to combat the side affects of the chemo regime. I am.

Hi Bobsy

lots of ((((hugs)))) and xxxx for a speedy recovery.

Bobsy wrote:If he was on chemotherapy treatment during his battle with cancer it is likely he would have been given steroids and also other drugs to combat the side affects of the chemo regime. I am.

Bobsy, I would like to wish you the very best for your treatment.

Bobsy my sister has just finished her chemo, but while she was on it she too had steroids each time to build her up for the next one, its 3 months since her chemo finished, she is doing real well, love to you Bobsy for a speedy recovery

Of course Armstrong could have been living a lie for more than 7 years as far as using doping is concerned, but apart from the living a lie aspect, what parallels are there to the McCann case? I have always been a huge fan of the Tour de France and used to watch the TV coverage every year. Just a thought then - all those who have come out against Armstrong have failed doping tests. If they were all doped and Armstrong wasn't and yet still beat them - then that would certainly make him a really great champion. If Armstrong was guilty of doping too it would admittedly detract somewhat from the greatness, but still wouldn't alter the fact that he won 7 times. In other words, if all the participants of the Tour were doped, including Armstrong - he's still the champion isn't he?

Thank you for the very kind wishes. It's tough going but I'm fighting

Annabel wrote:From my own experience I cann't believe for a moment if someone has so much energy during chemo therapie. I think he used medicins which could n't be tested for doping.

They don't. I have one ex-husband, one brother and one sister who all underwent chemo for various types of cancer. They were all off work for a considerable period of time and trailed about looking like death heated up.

The End Is Nigh wrote:Well I've not seen a putative Bicycle-McCann link before (Or have I ?)

Food for thought!

Well some think they have been taking the GBP for a ride for years!

............ and we're still saddled with them.

Bobsy wrote:If he was on chemotherapy treatment during his battle with cancer it is likely he would have been given steroids and also other drugs to combat the side affects of the chemo regime. I am.

For me the same Bobsy, but it's already five years ago. I'm doing very well now.

T4two wrote:Of course Armstrong could have been living a lie for more than 7 years as far as using doping is concerned, but apart from the living a lie aspect, what parallels are there to the McCann case? I have always been a huge fan of the Tour de France and used to watch the TV coverage every year. Just a thought then - all those who have come out against Armstrong have failed doping tests. If they were all doped and Armstrong wasn't and yet still beat them - then that would certainly make him a really great champion. If Armstrong was guilty of doping too it would admittedly detract somewhat from the greatness, but still wouldn't alter the fact that he won 7 times. In other words, if all the participants of the Tour were doped, including Armstrong - he's still the champion isn't he?

The parallels are - imho

a 'hero' publicly feted by the great and the good and keeping up appearances despite a long-running whispering campaign against him which was kept in check mainly through the use of very expensive lawyers

a relatively large number of people 'hiding something'

eventually getting caught