In our opinion: Former cycling champion Lance Armstrong's fall from fame disappointing

We're not sure which is more disappointing: the hard evidence the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says it has against cyclist Lance Armstrong and his decision not to contest those charges, or the way so few people seem surprised by the prospects of another athletic hero being tarnished.

The disappointment stems not so much from the need for genuine heroes in the athletic world, but from the need for genuine heroes in all walks of life who place integrity and fair play above other considerations, especially money and fame. The young people of the world — themselves vulnerable in a world dominated by people older and more powerful than they — need such examples. They need assurances that success in life hinges on things within their grasp — honest effort and hard work — and not on their ability to secure unfair advantages.

The athletic world has seen its share of heroes fall in recent years. Baseball has been riddled by accusations and admissions of steroid use. Former Olympic runner Marion Jones had to give up her medals and serve time in jail. The unfortunate result has been that virtually any major athletic achievement immediately is tainted by suspicion.

Armstrong's case is particularly compelling because he overcame cancer to become a world-class athlete. His victories were seen as inspirational for people undergoing physical challenges. If he tarnished that record through dangerous drugs that might harm his health, the tragedy becomes doubly distressing.

Armstrong still professes his innocence. His decision not to contest the charges against him in arbitration, however, casts doubt on his claims. The USADA says it has strong evidence he used illegal substances and encouraged teammates to do the same. Ten former teammates reportedly were ready to testify against him.

Armstrong may well have decided that contesting the charges would have posed a never-ending battle against his relentless critics. The reason that seems unlikely, however, is that his decision now costs him his record seven Tour de France titles and his legacy as one of the greatest athletes of his era.

To read the remainder of this Deseret News Editorial, click here.

Armstrong gone from America's best rider to hider

So, now what are we supposed to do with this latest bit of news about Lance Armstrong? That the United States Anti-Doping Agency thinks he’s a drug cheat and that it could strip him of his seven Tour de France titles? And that he’s been barred from competing in triathlons, a pursuit he took up after retiring from cycling last year?

It’s one thing when some French newspaper or some foreign event officials or some disgraced racer claims over the past few years that Armstrong used performance-enhancers and that he should be viewed in a whole different light on account of that, but it’s all together another when the organization charged with the responsibility of heading the anti-doping effort for Olympic sports in the United States, a powerful agency that almost never loses cases, jumps aboard that claim.

Armstrong, who was on a mountain in France when he found out about the charges and declined to meet with USADA inside the required week’s time, thought he’d already beaten the rap against him when the feds dropped a two-year investigation into doping-related crimes four months ago.

This time, he was the only one of a number of U.S. cyclists who refused to meet with the agency upon notification. On Twitter, he referred to the inquiry as a "witch hunt," and added in a statement that the charges were "baseless" and "motivated by spite."

"I have never doped," he said. He has never doped. Man, oh man. Lance, we want to believe you, brother.

It occurs that Armstrong is either the most falsely accused, picked on great athlete ever or he’s harboring a huge secret that, bit by bit, is having its cover blown. He’s gone from the greatest American rider of all time to the greatest American hider.

He has meant so much to so many people in this country for so many reasons far beyond his athletic prowess. After these latest charges broke, I talked with a friend, a cancer survivor, who was inspired to fight his own fight, in part, by Armstrong’s story. If the great racer could battle through and come back from testicular cancer, my friend said, then maybe he also could somehow do likewise against the monster that had settled in the form of a grapefruit-sized tumor on his brain. My friend is nine years clean now.

What, then, does he — or any of us who have been moved by Armstrong — do with this kind of information about the great inspirer?

The read the full article by Gordon Monson in the Salt Lake Tribune, please click here.

Alberto Contador: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

Spain's ace cyclist Alberto Contador is once again in the spotlight. Earlier this year he won his third Tour de France, the Holy Grail of road cycling. However, this time he is in media headlines for something less palatable... he has been found with a banned substance in his bloodstream. The tested samples were taken during the actual race. Unfortunately some people are calling for his blood, literally, before the full facts are known. Trial by innuendo, privately or in the press, is not justice and never has been. If proven to be a dope cheat, by an appropriate body, then and only then, should the floggings and lynchings begin! Until then, Contador continues to vigorously maintain his innocence and hide in his grandmother's garage.

The Current Facts:

1. Alberto Contador was declared winner of the the 2010 Tour de France.
2. He tested positive for clenbuterol.
   
3. This substance is banned by the International Cycling Union.
   
4. This has been confirmed by both the A and B tests.
5. The samples were taken in Pau, on July 21 2010, a rest day.
6. Traces of plastic were also found in the samples, suggesting that Contador had received a banned blood transfusion.

The Anomalies:

1. Contador was tested rigorously throughout the entire Tour.
2. This positive test is apparently the only one displaying any blood abnormality.
3. The trace element of the drug found was the extraordinarily low amount of 0.000 000 000 05 grams per millimeter (50 picograms).
   
4. This 400 times less than the minimum volume a World Anti-Doping Agency or UCI accredited tester must be able to detect to formulate a sound analysis.
5. Contador has blamed tainted meat, flown in from Spain for his Astana team, for the trace of clenbuterol.

Because of the delicate nature of this controversy we all need to be patient and wait until all the testing is complete and results in. I truly hope that Contador is innocent because neither he or the Tour need this bad publicity right now. Of course, like Floyd Landis, Contador will be stripped of his Tour win if found guilty. Cycling, and especially the Tour de France, has also been surrounded by dope scandals, with some suggesting that the Tour cannot be won without doping. This, of course, is ridiculous; if nobody doped, then the winner would be clean.