David Walsh - Lanced- The Shaming of Lance Armstro

LANCED

TheshamingofLanceArmstrong

CopyrightTimesNewspapersLtd2012Allrightsreserved,nottobecopiedorreproducedwithoutpermission

ContentsIntroductionRidingoutthestorminyellowFlawedfairytalePoisonintheheartofsportPuzzlingsilenceofaninspirationalfighterPharmacyonwheelsbecomesasickjokeWhenthelyinghadtostopSaddledwithsuspicionParadiselostonTourStopwatchbringsuncertaintimeforTourChorusofboossoundslikelostinnocenceBeautifulandthedamnedLAconfidentialThebattleandthewarArmstrongtheironrulerChamporcheat?ThecleanmachineBlood,sweatandfearsThelonelinessofthelong-distancecyclistAcycleofdeceitItsnotaboutthebike,itsaboutthedrugsRidingintoastormOffyerbike!Brokenonthewheeloftruth'IhopeLancecantellthetruth.Wewerepartofascrewed-upworld'ThewomenwhostooduptothebullyLance,theliesandme

Foreword

OnelinesticksoutinallthemanythousandsofwordswrittenaboutLanceArmstrong.Itwasaquote fromGregLeMond, the firstAmericanwinner indeed,nowofficially theonlyAmericanwinneroftheTourdeFrance.

TalkingaboutArmstrongsrecoveryfromcancertowintherace,hesaid:IfLanceisclean,itisthegreatestcomebackinthehistoryofsport.Ifheisnt,itwouldbethegreatestfraud.

LeMondspokethosewords in2001but itwasonly thisyear thatArmstrongwasunmaskedasoneofsportsmostnotoriouscheats.ThathewasfinallybroughttojusticewasinnosmallparttheresultofthetirelesseffortsofDavidWalsh,thechiefsportswriterofTheSundayTimes.

As this collection reveals, Walsh knew something wasnt right about Armstrongs amazingrecoveryfromcancerasearlyas1999,whentheTexanwonhisfirstTour(allhissevenconsecutivevictories have now been expunged from the record books). That year was supposed to be aboutredeemingtheraceafter thedrugbustsof thepreviousyear,but, incredibly,Armstrongwasridingtheracefasterthanthedrug-assistedcompetitorsofpreviousyears.

Walshwasoneofthefewjournalistswhodaredtodoubtthemiracleofthecancersurvivorwhohadcomebacknearlyfromthedeadtowinarguablythetoughestraceinsport.Astheyearswentby,theotherreporterslargelymeltedaway,feelingthatiftheycouldnottellthetruthabouttheraceanditswinner,theydidntwanttowriteanythingaboutitatall.

Walsh,however,persisted,exposingArmstrongs linkstoMicheleFerrari,adisgraceddopingdoctor,andgraduallypiecing togetherevidenceofArmstrongsguilt, throughfirst-hand testimonyfromthosewhohadwitnessedhimtakingperformance-enhancingdrugs.

ThecombinationofArmstrongsholdoverthesportofcyclingandBritainslibellawswastoprove costly for The Sunday Times. The newspaper was sued for libel by Armstrong after wepublishedareport(reprintedherewiththeheadline'LAconfidential')aboutanewbookbyWalshandaFrenchjournalist.Thecasewaseventuallysettledforasix-figuresum,althoughTheSundayTimesisnowtakingstepstorecoverthemoneyspentindamagesandlegalfees.

Here we present Walshs articles, and a number written by other colleagues on The SundayTimes.TheyshowthetenacitywithwhichthenewspaperpursuedArmstrongandthedrugcheats.Ofcourse,theyareoftheirtime,andshouldbetakenashistoricaldocuments,recordingthebestofourknowledgeonanyparticulardate.

As awhole, they represent some of the finest investigative reporting inBritish journalism inrecenttimes.

AlexButler,SportsEditor,TheSundayTimes

November2012

Ridingoutthestorminyellow

DavidWalsh

July18,1999

"Icanstillwriteaboutcycling,butnotinthesameway,notwiththeoldpassion.Cyclinghastochange

"

Ayear ago the policemoved in and found drugswherever they looked:WillyVoet's car, theriders'suitcases,theteam'scampervan.HadtheTourbeenalow-classcasino,itwouldhavebeenshutdown.Scandalsfell likebouldersontotheroute,but theraceweaveditswayroundthemandontoParis.TheysaiditwasasadTour.Itwasn't.ThisisthesadTour.Forbackthenthepoliceexposedthedeceitandofferedthesportanopportunitytobeginagain.JeanMarieLeblanc, theTourorganiser,saidthatcyclingneeded"anewmorality"andthatthe1999racewouldbe"theTourofRestoration".

ItisTuesdayafternoonandPhilippeBouvetsitsintheTour'stentedpressroomattheItalianskiresortofSestriere.Thesonofaprofessionalrider,BouvetisL'Equipe'scyclingcorrespondent.For14yearshehaswrittenaboutthesportandformostofthattimehewasdrivenbyhispassion.

AstheAmericanLanceArmstrongslashesonthepedalsandsurgesclearofhisrivalsonthelast6kmoftheclimbtoSestriere,Bouvetwatchesdispassionately.Toothers,Armstrong'svictorymaybeanexploit;Bouvetisoneofmanyjournalistswhoarenotsure.

"Thereisanewkindofcycling,"hesaid."Youseethingsyoudon'tunderstand.Dopingisanoldstoryincycling,butoverthepastfewyearsthemanipulationofriders'bloodhaschangedthenatureofcompetition.Whatwearegetting isacaricatureofcompetition. It iskilling thesport. Icanstillwriteaboutcycling,butnotinthesameway,notwiththeoldpassion.Cyclinghastochange."

Armstrong has never tested positive in his career. There is no evidence linking him to drugtakingandyetthereticencetoacclaimhissuccesshasbeenwidespreadinFrance.Bouvetwroteofthepelotontravellingat"deuxvitesses"(twospeeds)-Armstrong'sandeverybodyelse's.

Therewasn'tahintofcelebrationinhisreport.NeitherwasthereinanyotherFrenchnewspaper."Ihaven'twrittenanenthusiasticlineaboutArmstrong,"saidJeanFrancoisQuenet,ofOuestFrance."Theytolduscyclingwouldchange,butithasn't.Afterallthedrugslastyear,theysaidthiswouldbeslowerbecausetherewouldbenodope.Thisyear'sracewillbethefastestinhistory."

The journalists play for high stakes.Without evidence, they cannot accuseArmstrong but, byrefusing to applaud, they effectively do just that. JeanMichel Rouet is cycling editor at L'Equipe."Whatwediscoveredonlastyear'sTourwasthateverybodyinthissportcanf***us,"hesaid."Thisis acleanerTour than formanyyears,but there is aquestionabout theyellow jersey.There isnoevidenceagainsthim(Armstrong)soheisinnocent,butheisastrangecase.

"Twoyearsagohewasclose todeathbecauseofcancer,nowhe is thestrongestathlete in theworld.Other riders sayprivately theydon'tbelieve inhim, that theyareno longerdoing thesamesportashim.Heisonanotherplanet.Youhavetoaskhowthishashappened."

DURING his recovery from the most aggressive form of testicular cancer two years ago,Armstrongspokeabout thefuture."I'mattemptingoneof thebiggestcomebacks, ifnot thebiggestcomeback,inthehistoryofsport,"hesaid.Givenwherehenowstands,leaderoftheTourdeFrancebyalmosteightminutes,theclaimwasnotfar-fetched.

Armstronghadalwaysbeena strangecase.LindaWalling,hismother,was17when shegavebirth toherson,andeventhoughshemarriedLance'sfather therelationshipwasshortlivedandheleft. They live in Plano, Texas, and a couple of years after the break-up she remarried. Her newhusbandlegallyadoptedLance,buttheynevergoton.Lancewas14or15whenhisstepfatherleft.

"When Iwasveryyoung, Igot alongwithhimall right,"Armstrong said. "But the firstday Ilearnttodislikesomebody,Idislikedhim.Itookonhisnamebecauseheadoptedme.Idon'tcaretocarryiton,butit'snowatapointwhereitwouldbekindofhardtochangeit."

Motherandsonlivedforeachother.Hewasaswimmer,thenatriathlete;shewashisdriver,hismotivator,hisseamstress,hisnurse,hiscompanion,hissoul-mate."Lance,"shewould tellhim,"ifyougiveup,yougivein."UnabletofindasponsorfortheUStriathlonchampionships,hewenttoalocalshopinPlanoandhad"Ilovemymum"printedonhistanktop.

From the triathlon, he moved to cycling and progressed rapidly. Four years after dedicating

himself to thesport,hesignedaprofessionalcontractwith theMotorola team.Inhisfirst fullyearridinginEuropehewonastageoftheTourand,laterintheseason,theworldchampionshipsroadrace.Armstrong set out so fast that therewas no tellingwhere hewould end up.He once tried toarticulatehisgreateststrength:"PhysicallyI'mnotanymoregiftedthananybodyelse,butit'sjustthisdesire.I'monthebikeandIgointoarage.Ijustshriekforaboutfiveseconds.Ishakelikemad,myeyeskindabulgeandmyheartrategoesto200."Astreetkidnameddesire.

Hethinksthatthefirstrealsignsoftroublecameintheautumnof1996.BackinTexasattheendoftheEuropeanseason,hebegantofeelunwell.Oneevening,afteraconcert,hisvisionwasblurred,hisheadachedandoneofhistesticleswassore.Thencametheblood,everytimehecoughed.

OnOctober2,hevisitedanAustinurologistandwastoldhehadchoriocarcinoma,thefastest-spreading form of testicular cancer. The story would worsen: a chest X-ray revealed 11 cysts onArmstrong'slungs,anotherX-rayshowedtwolesionsonthebrainand,informedoftheextentofhisillness,Armstrongmentallypreparedhimselffordeath."IwenttovisithiminthehospitalatIndianawhen hewas very ill," Paul Sherwen, the former professional cyclist, said. "I spoke to one of thesurgeons,whosaidtheyhadtoldLancehehada20to50%chanceofrecoveringandhadquotedthatfiguretokeephismoralehigh."

ARMSTRONG had the testicle removed, the cysts and lesions cut away, then four rounds ofchemotherapy, the most prescribed for such patients and given only in the severest cases. ThetreatmentlastedalmostthreemonthsandDrCraigNichols,oncologistatIndiana,toldArmstronghecouldgetback"95%ofhisformercondition".

In February 1998, 17 months after the first diagnosis of cancer, Armstrong returned tocompetitionintheRutadelSolandperformedencouragingly.HethenwenttotheParistoNicerace,butwhenhewasdroppedbythepackonthefirststagehepulledout.HereturnedtoAmerica,lefthisbikeinthegarageforamonthorsoandthenstartedagain.Trainingwithhisfriend,BobRoll,andhiscoach,ChrisCarmichael,Armstrongsaysherediscoveredhisloveforthebike.

Hedidmore than that.He returned toEurope in June that year, immediatelywon theTourofLuxembourgand"themost remarkablecomeback in thehistoryof sport"wasunderway.Late lastseasonhe finishedfourth in theTourofSpainandfourth in theworldchampionships roadrace. ItwasclearthenthatArmstronghadalreadyexceededNichols'sexpectations.OnthisTour,thingshavebeenlessclear.

Beforehiscancer,Armstrongsawhimselfasaone-dayriderwhodidnotclimbandtime-trialwellenoughtowintheTour.Infourattemptshefinished36thonceanddroppedoutoftheotherthree.NomatterhowoneviewedArmstrong's cyclingcareer, itwashard to seehimchallenging for therace.

Ontheopeningdayofthisyear'sTour,ArmstrongrodethesameprologuecoursehehadriddeninhisfirstToursixyearsbefore.Thenhehadtriedhisdamndestbutriddenbadly,recording8min59sec for the 6.8km circuit. Two weeks ago, Armstrong blew away 179 of the world's bestprofessionalsinatimeof8:02,morethaneightsecondsperkilometrefasterthanin1993.

ThatperformancecatapultedArmstrong toanewleveland, ina race inwhichnobody issurewhattobelieve,therewasscepticism.Butitwashardtoimaginethatamanwhohadbeenatdeath'sdoorwithcancerwouldtakedangerousdrugstomakehimabettercyclist-hestrenuouslydeniesthathehas.Ontheeveningofhisprologue,hewasaskedaboutcycling'sdopingtroubles.

"IT'SBEENalongyearforcyclingand,asfarasI'mconcerned,it'shistory.Perhapstherewasaproblem,butproblemsexistineveryfacetoflife,"hesaid.RememberingthatthepastthreewinnersoftheTourhavebeentaintedwithdopingandthatinthissportyesterday'sscandalsareovertakenbytoday's,Armstrongcouldnotbeaccusedofexaggeratingtheproblem.

Hehasbeenmore forthrighton thebike, exceptional in the time-trial atMetz lastSundayand

then extraordinary on the stage to Sestriere. Alex Zulle, Ivan Gotti and Fernando Escartin werealongside him when he attacked, but such was the violence of the acceleration they never had achance.Hisexpressionwasdeterminedbutclinical,hiseyesfocusedbutalert,hisbreathingfastbutcontrolled.HeseemedlikeariderfromanotherplanetandtwoFrenchnewspapersreferredtohimas"theMartian".

It was strange to sit among the rows of journalists in Sestriere.Many of thosewhowatcheddispassionatelyhadcheeredandcriedwhenClaudioChiappucciachievedanotherspectacularvictoryon the samemountain seven years before.Chiappucciwould later be suspected of usingEPO andmostofthejournalistsrememberedhowtheyhadcelebratedhissuccess.

TheyalsolaudedBjarneRiisin1996,JanUllrichin1997andMarcoPantanilastyear,andallhavesincebeenimplicatedindrugcontroversies.Sotheylookatthisrider,whomtheyhavealwaysknowntobeaone-dayrider,whoissuddenlyoneofthegreatstageracers.Theydon'tcriticise,theydon'taccuse,theysimplyreservetheirrightnottoapplaud.AwarethatArmstronghaslost10kilosinweightsincehiscancerandsoisabletoclimbbetter,remindedthathehaspreparedthoroughlyforthisrace,manyremainunsurenonetheless.

Isthisthedeathofprofessionalsportorthebirthofamoreaggressive,lesscheerleadingsportsjournalism?OnenewspaperaskedVincenzoSantini, theItalianmanagerof theCantinaTollo team,whathethoughtofArmstrong."Idon'tknow,"hesaid."Onecancertainlyaskquestions.Cyclinghasbecomebigbusiness.Shouldweapplaudornot?Me,itisthesportthatIlove.

"I hope that the governments and the cycling authorities can find a way out of themess thatcyclingisin.Untilthathappenswecanforgetthejoyofthevictory.Andincycling,thatisthemostbeautifulthing."

Witnesses to Armstrong's extraordinary performances over the past two weeks understandSantini'slament.

Flawedfairytale

DavidWalsh

July25,1999

"Fortoolongsportswritinghasbeenunrestrainedcheerleading,suspendinglegitimatedoubtsand

settlingforstoriesofsportingheroism

"

Theysay theTourdeFrancehas regained itseminence; thatLanceArmstrongwillbeagreatwinnerofagreatrace.Theyquotethenumberofridersdrug-testedandremindustherehavebeennoscandalsthisyear."TheTour,"saiditsorganiser,Jean-MarieLeblanc,onThursday,"hasbeensaved."Theycanpeddle any line theywish.What theycannotdo is controlour emotional response to therace.

This afternoon the yellow-jerseyedArmstrong and his fellow riderswill speed downRue deRivoli,wheel left into thePlacede laConcordebefore turningrightonto theChampsElysees,andsomeofuswillwatchinsadness.ThishasbeennorenaissanceTour,ratheraretreatintotheoldwaysof the peloton, where doping is their business, not ours.Where the law of silence supersedes allothers.

The sadness lies in how this damned race still enraptures us. Theway a small town tends itschrysanthemumsbeforetherace'sarrival,thereverencewithwhichafanreachesouttotoucharideronthemountainside.Andthesheermajestyofthecourse.OnWednesday,weweaveourwaythroughdenselowcloudsaswedrivetowardsthesummitof theTourmaletandthen,magically, less thanamilefromtop,thereissparklingsunshine.TostandabovethecloudsontheTourmaletandwaitforthepelotontoclimbabovethemistisnoeverydayexperience.

Spiritually,theraceremainsintheshadowofitspast.WestopnearanoldchurchontheColdeMentheinthePyrenees.Localpeoplepicniconalowwallfromwhichtheycanseeformiles.Inthevalley, television helicopters hover, telling us the race will soon come. Word comes of 11breakaways,including"troisFrancais".Eyesscanthegapsbetweenthepinetrees,allseekingthefirstsightofthebreakaways.

Thisiswherethemusicdies.Onthishill, inthistinyvillage.Youseetheleadersapproachthefirst steep slopes on the Col deMenthe and, almost immediately, the three French riders are leftbehindbytheothereight.ThereisnologicinwhyJeanCyrilRobinandFrancoisSimonshouldbeoutpaced,fortheyareatleastasgoodastheeightwhonowdistancethem.

"IwasridingalongsideaSpaniard,"saidoneoftheFrenchriders,whowouldnotbenamed."Iwas turning thepedalsas fastas Icould,outofbreathand losingmyplace.Hewaschattingaway,havingnodifficultywiththepace."

Robinfinishedsixthinlastyear'sTourdeFrance.SimonistheFrenchchampion.Butforthreeweeksthepatternhasbeenthesame.WiththeexceptionofthedisgracedRichardVirenque,theother39Frenchridershavebeenunabletokeepup.Theyhavetriedtowinjustoneoftherace's20legsbutfailed-somethingthathasnothappenedfor73Tours.

"HaveyouseenhowfatsomeoftheFrenchteamsare?"askedManoloSaix,theSpaniardwhomanagestheOnceteam.

Temptingasitisforthosewhowanttodismissthelatestlineoflosers,hisviewmakesnosense.Frenchridersarenot lessdedicated than their rivalsand theirobliteration in thisTourcanonlybeexplainedbydoping.Frenchcyclistsareridingthisracewithfewerdrugsthantheirrivals.Thishaslittletodowiththeirvirtueormorality,butfollowstheinterventionofthepolicelastyearandthebi-monthlyblood-testingbytheFrenchfederation.Forsuchtestingdoeshelp.Ithas,however,createdaTourracingtotwospeeds.

"Ifbythisexpressionyoumeantherearecleanridersandotherswhoarenot(clean), thentheanswerisyes:thisiscyclingattwospeeds,"saidDrArmandMegret,headoftheFrenchfederation'smedicalcommission."Dopinghasnotbeeneradicated."

French riders hinted at the beginning of the race that if they believed their rivalswere usingdrugs, theywould not suffer silently. Then theywatched the alienation ofChristopheBassons andthoughtagain.Bassonsdaredtospeakaboutdopinginthepelotonandbecauseofthathebecameanoutcast. His crimes were honesty and innocence.Within the peloton they ridiculed him. Cynicism

withoutfrontiers.BeforethemobturnedthescrewonBassons,heofferedglimpsesofthereality:itwasextremely

difficult for a clean rider towinanything in theTour; anumberof rivals found ithard tobelieveArmstrong'sperformances-andamuchgreaternumber resentedBassons'sopenness."ForacleanTour, youmust haveBassons," said one banner on the road to Saint Flour, but by thenMonsieurProprehadbeencrackedandsentonhisway.

As journalists, we do not care for losers. The former cyclist Paul Kimmage tells a story ofsharingroomswithStephenRocheduringRoche'srunofsuccessin1987:"Atnight thejournalistscametotheroomandcompletelyignoredmypresencebeforesittingonmybed,half-crushingmyfoot."

GillesDelionwas23whenherodehisfirstTourdeFrancein1990anddidoutstandinglywelltofinish15th.Delion,likeKimmageandBassons,wouldn'ttakedrugs,andbeforeithadtrulybegun,apromising career meandered downwards. Who cared? Asked what he thought of the Tour ofRedemption, Delion smiled. "That makes me laugh. The redemption affects just one part of thepeloton,"hesaid.

Ifyouacceptthenotionoftwopelotonsandtwospeeds,thereisanobviousquestion:cansucharacebewonbyacleanrider?Quick,tooquick,tocelebratewinners,the1,200journalistsontheTourhavebeendivided,andasignificantminorityhavechosensimplytoreportArmstrong'svictory.TheFrenchhavebeenthemostsceptical,andeventhoughtheAmericanhasbeenscathinginhiscriticismofthereaction,theFrenchdounderstandthesport.

"The attitude of the French press has been despicable," said a Dutch journalist. "There is noevidence and in Holland everyone gives Armstrong credit." And what if the suspicions are wellfounded?"EveryoneknowsTourdeFranceridersaredoped.Ifyoudon'tacceptthatyoushouldn'tbecoveringthesport."

Fortoolongsportswritinghasbeenunrestrainedcheerleading,suspendinglegitimatedoubtsandsettling forstoriesofsportingheroism.Ofcourse thereare timeswhen it is right tocelebrate,butthereareotheroccasionswhenitisequallycorrecttokeepyourhandsbyyoursideandwonder.

ThisnottosuggestArmstronghasdoneanythingwronginhispreparationforthistriumph,buttheneedforaninquiryisoverwhelming.Hehasalwaysbeenanoutstandingcyclist,somethingthatwasclearfromhisfirstyearinthepeloton.Butforfouryearshewasaone-dayrideranditishighlyunusualinthissportforsucharidertobecomeachampion-stageracer.

Thatthechangehappenedafterhissuccessfulbattlewithlife-threateningcancerthreeyearsagodoesnotmakeitanyeasiertounderstand.PartofArmstrong'sdifficultyisthattheTouritselfissotaintedwithdrugsandthecertaintythatmanyarestilldoping.Beforeanyotherquestion,thereistheissue ofwhether a clean rider canwin the Tour.Neither haveArmstrong nor hisUS Postal teammanager, Johan Bruyneel, reassured us with their words. Asked last month about the problem ofdopinginthesport,Bruyneelsaid:"Thesituationisverysimple.Cyclingisasportinaverybadlightandthereasonwegotthereisthefactthatthreeyearsagotheridersacceptedtooeasilythefactthattheauthoritiescouldinstallbloodcontrols.Havingthesecontrolswouldhavebeenaverygoodthingifithadnotbeendoneonlyincycling."

Reminded that itwas the riderswho proposed the blood controls,Bruyneel replied: "Yes, butwhowerethoseriders?Theywereridersneartheendoftheircareers."

Asked about the exposure of Festina's systematic doping programme,Armstrong said hewas"greatly surprisedby it".Questionedaboutwhetherhediscussed theproblemofdopingwithotherriders,Armstrong replied: "No,not at all."Listening to the race leader,onecouldbe forgiven forconcludingthathissportdidn'thaveaproblem.

Threeofthetopfiveinthisyear'sTourwerepartofFestina'sintensivedopingprogrammelast

season. Two of the three, Alex Zulle and Laurent Dufaux, served absurdly short six-monthsuspensionsandtheother,Virenque,hasyettobesanctioned.

Aswellas refusing toproperlypunish thosewhocheat,cyclinghasyet to implement randomandout-of-competitiondrugtesting.Giventheextentofthesport'sproblem,thisisdepressing.

OnejournalistaskedArmstrongforhisdefinitionofdoping."Theuseofbannedperformance-enhancingdrugs,"hereplied.Thatnarrowunderstandingofdopingallowstheuseofdrugswhicharenot banned but should be.Armstrong could have defined it as "the use of performance-enhancingdrugs".

Oneeveningduring theTour,LaurentMadouasreluctantlyagreed toanswerquestions.NowariderwithFestina,MadouasrodewithArmstrongwhentheywerepartoftheMotorolateam.Wemetlateintheevening,afterhehadhadabaddayinthemountains."Irodehardyesterday,todayIhadn'tthe legs." Madouas understood that the conversation would soon turn to Armstrong. "LanceArmstrongwasalwaysanaturalleader."

What of his Tour de France performances?Were the suspicions about him unfair?Madouasdidn't like the question and spent time considering his answer. "I thinkwhat LanceArmstrong hasdone,comingbackfromcancer,hasbeenafantasticthing.Iwouldnothavehadthecouragetogetbackonthebikeafteranillnesslikethat.TocomebackandwintheTourissomethingelse.Whateverwayhehasdoneit,itisafantasticthing."

AndthatwasasfarasMadouaswishedtogo.Heis,ofcourse,right.Armstrong'srecoveryfromthemostvirulentformof testicularcancer

hasbeeninspirational.Withoutreservation,wecancelebratethat.

Poisonintheheartofsport

DavidWalshandJohnFollain

January9,2000

"ThiswasEastGermanyrevisitedexceptthatinthewayofcapitalism,thegovernmentwasnotinvolved

andtherewardsweregreater

"

Onafreezingmorninglatelastmonth,astatesecurityvanpulledupoutsidetheBolognaofficeoftheprosecutorGiovanniSpinosa.Boxesoffileswerecarriedfrominside,loadedintothewaitingvehicle and soon the vanwasmaking its way south towards the Rome headquarters of the ItalianOlympicAssociation(Coni).ItwasthebeginningofajourneythatwillintimeendattheheartofthenegligenceandcorruptionthathaspoisonedItalianandinternationalsport.

Spinosa's investigation concerneddoping in sport, the trafficking and administrationof drugsdangeroustohealth.SportsdoctorMicheleFerrariandpharmacistMassimoGuandaliniareaccusedofhavingbeeninvolvedinacriminalconspiracyandSpinosahasrecommendedthattheybesenttotrial.

Whileononeofhisafternoonrunslastweek,FrancescoConconiwouldhavethoughtabouthisformer colleagueMichele Ferrari. Ten years ago Conconi was a world leader in sports science,Ferrari was his protege. Now Ferrari faces criminal charges, and a separate investigation intoConconiwillbeconcludedbyJune.

The investigations are twoof sevendoping-relatedprobes takingplace in Italy.Each seeks todiscover the extent of the problem in Italian sport but the implications go beyond this country'sboundaries.AthletesfromdifferentwalksofinternationalsportwilltracktheinquiriesbecausemanyofthemarelistedinthefilesofConconi,Ferrariandotherdoctorsunderofficialscrutiny.

World-class footballerssuchasDidierDeschamps,ZinedineZidaneandAlessandroDelPierowillbeinterestedtoknowtheoutcomeofRaffaeleGuarianello'sprobeinTurin,becausepartofhisbriefistoexamineJuventusFCandthepossibilitythatdopingexistedattheclub.Lastyear'sTourdeFrancewinnerLanceArmstrongwillhaveseenthathismostableteammate,KevinLivingston,waslistedbytheBolognaprosecutorasoneoftheathleteswhodealtwithMicheleFerrari.

Itwillbecomeclearthatdopinginsportdependsupontheincompetenceand,inmanycases,thecomplicity of sport's doctors, officials and organisations. Prosecutor Pierguido Soprani'sinvestigation into Conconi will show that while the professor and his doctors were blood-dopingfrom the university in Ferrara, theywere being funded byConi and by the InternationalOlympicCommittee.Manyofthosecurrentlybeinginvestigatedwould,notsolongago,havebeenregardedaspillarsofItaliansport.

FormuchofthetimethatConconiblood-dopedathletes,thepracticedidnotbreaksport'srules.Butthemanipulationofanathlete'sbloodtoarticificiallycreategreateroxygen-carryingcapacityhasalwaysbeenconsideredunethical,unsafeandunfair.

Over the18yearsofblood-doping, thecheating involvedathletes frommanyOlympicsports.Officialsknewitwashappeningandinsomecasesencouragedathletestobecomepartofit.ThiswasEastGermanyrevisitedexceptthatinthewayofcapitalism,thegovernmentwasnotinvolvedandtherewardsweregreater.Theghostofsystematicdopinghadreturnedtohauntsport.

When that van pulled up outside the offices of the ItalianOlympic Association in Rome, theprosecutor was offering Coni the opportunity to launch its own inquiry. Few inside would haverelishedtheprospect.

INMAY,1996,ItalianpolicebecameawareofapharmacyinTuscanysellinglargequantitiesoftheblood-boostingdrugerythropoietin(EPO)toprofessionalcyclists.LaterthatmonththeTourofItalybeganinGreeceandspentthreedaystherebeforecrossingtheAdriaticandrestartingfromtheItalianportofBrindisi.Secretly,theCarabinieriplannedtobeinBrindisiandexpectedtheirswooptoturnuplargequantitiesofbanneddrugs.TheytelephonedConi,checkedthearrivaltimeoftheferryintoBrindisiandthenbeganthelongtreksouth.Twoinvestigatorstravelledinonecar;thedriverandacolleaguewhoreadLaGazzettadelloSportinthepassenger'sseat.

"Herewewere,"recalledthesecondinvestigatorlastweek,"goingtothesouthtomakearaidonthe Giro d'Italia. I am reading La Gazzetta and I come across a tiny story. It says 'the police are

planningasurprisevisittotheraceinBrindisiwheretheywillchecktheteamcarsfordrugs'.Istruckthedashboardwithmyfist.Iwasangry,angry,angry.Howdidtheyknow?Whywasitprintedinthenewspaper? Itmade usmore determined.We swore that from then onwewould never let go.Wewouldbelikeadogthathasitsenemybytheankle."

Informed that the Carabinieri would be in Brindisi, cycling teams took evasive action. Someteamofficialsopted to return to Italyby road,driving fromGreece, throughAlbania,MontenegroandCroatia,beforereturningtotheracevianorthernItaly.

Others dumped their stock of drugs during the ferry crossing to Brindisi. Vanquished, theCarabinieri returned to their bases and over the following weeks colleagues ribbed them aboutreportsofenormouslybigfish,withlimitlessstamina,swimmingtheAdriaticsea.

The trawl for the big fish of the doping world had only just begun. After the Brindisihumiliation,theCarabinieridecidedallprofessionalcyclingteamsweresuspect.TheylookedcloselyattheteamsandtheridersanddiscoveredmanyuseddoctorswhohadbeentrainedandhadtheirbaseattheUniversityofFerrara,runbythemostfamoussportsdoctorofall,Conconi.Inashorttimetheyhadenoughinformationtoinvestigatetheprofessor.Otherprobeswouldfollow.

ProfessorConconifirstrevealedhisinterestinblood-dopingin1981,althoughhepreferredtocall it "blood transfusion". Conconi had seen the blood-doped Lasse Viren win the 5,000m and10,000mgoldmedalsattheMunichOlympicsin1972andagainatMontrealin1976.Hebelievedhecould improve upon themethods of Finnish doctors. Even though itwaswidely knownViren hadcheated,theIOCdidnotbanblood-dopinguntil1986.

ItsrefusaltoactwasaninvitationtoConconi.HemetwithofficialsofConiandconvincedthemblood-dopingwouldbegoodfor thecountry'sathletes.Coniagreednotonlytogowiththeblood-dopingprogrammebuttofundit.Conialsouseditsinfluencewiththevarioussportsfederationstoencourageco-operationwithConconi.

Theproposalwaspresentedintheguiseofscience:eachathletewouldundertaketheso-called"Conconi test" todeterminehisorherpotentialandwouldthentakepart inaprogrammeofbloodtransfusions. Conconi talked confidently of the benefits of his methods; a 10,000m runner, heclaimed,would improveby30-40seconds,a5,000mrunnerby15-20seconds,a1500mrunnerbythree to five seconds. Many Italian and international athletes worked with Conconi: cyclists andrunners,skiersandcanoeists,basketballplayersandbiathletes.

Not all surrendered to the promise of improved performance. Stefano Mao, the outstandinglong-distancerunnerofthelateEighties,consistentlyrefusedtoworkwithConconi.So,too,didthemilerClaudioPatrignani,whovisitedtheprofessorinearly1984."HeinvitedmetotheUniversityofFerrara andwhenwemet he proposed blood transfusion. I said no, Iwas the son of very simplepeople,myfatherwasarefusecollector.Iwantedtobeabletolookatmyselfinthemirror."

From1981-86,Conconiblood-dopedwiththeco-operationofConiandthetacitapprovaloftheIOC,whodidnotbantheunethicalanddangerouspractice.Conconiwas,infact,verymuchpartofthe sporting establishment, a member of the medical committee of Coni and also on a medicalresearchcommitteeoftheIOC.

In 1986 the Italian governmentmade it unlawful to blood-dope and soon afterwards the IOCadded the practice to its list of banned products. Three years later EPOmade itsway onto sport'sillicitdrugmarketandwasquicklybanned.Thegame,aswehadknownit,wouldneverbethesame.EPOachievedthesameresultsastheold-fashionedblood-dopingbutwaseasier,quickerandmorepowerful.

ConconiandhisteamofdoctorsattheUniversityofFerrararemainedinthefrontlineofelitesport. As well as Conconi himself, Michele Ferrari, Ilario Casoni, Luigi Cecchini and GiovanniGrazziwerelaudedfortheirabilitiesassportstrainers.Theywerekeyplayers,themenwhogottheir

athletes going faster and then kept them going. All five doctors are now official suspects in theFerrarainvestigation.

Remarkably,Conconistayedabovesuspicionforalmost15years.Butthenhewaswonderfullyconnected. On his training rides, he was accompanied by the current president of the EuropeanCommission, Romano Prodi. Asked what he spent his time doing at the University of Ferrara,ConconisaidhewasintheprocessoffindingatestthatwouldridsportoftheEPOscourge.In1994he applied toConi for funding to continue his search for anEPO test and,when turned down, hesought and received financial backing from the IOC.DrPatrickSchamasch, the head of the IOC'smedicalcommission,hassaidConconiwasgiven$60,000in1996andthesameamountlastyear.

ThatsearchforatesttodetectEPOisanimportantelementinthecaseagainstConconi.Atthe1993WinterOlympicsinLillehammer,hegaveatalktotheIOCwhichdetailedhisattemptstofindwaysof identifyingEPOuse. In thesameyearConconiandhis teamatFerrarahadapaperon thesamesubjectpublishedintheInternationalJournalofSportsMedicine.

Boththetalkandpaperwerebasedonanexperimentthat,accordingtoConconi,wascarriedouton 23 amateur athletes who, with their written consent, had been treated with EPO. Conconi'sconclusionwasthatalthoughhewasmakingprogress,hehadnotcomeupwithadefinitivetestforEPO. Four years later Bologna police raided the University of Ferrara and, as part of theirinvestigation,seizedConconifiles.

BymatchingtheresultsquotedinConconi's1993studywithresultsfoundinthefilestakenfromhis computer, the authorities discovered the 23 amateurs did not exist. They were in fact 23professional athleteswhowerecompetingat thehighest levelof their sportwhile theirblood testswereusedinConconi'sexperiment.Conconi's23includedsixcyclistsfromtheCarrerateam,oneofwhomwas the formerworld champion and Tour de Francewinner Stephen Roche. The Irishmanstressedheworkedwithhisteamdoctor,Grazzi,andonlyoncemetConconi.RochealsoinsistshewasnotawareofbeinginvolvedinanyexperimentandsayshemerelydidbloodtestswhichGrazzipassedontotheUniversityofFerraraforanalysis.

Ononepageof theConconi file the23are listed,with theCarrera riders eachbeinggivenanumber of fictitious names. A source close to the investigation claims that the false names wereprobably created to disguise the frequencywithwhich theCarrera riderswere being blood-tested.This source also claimed he had seen haematocrit readings (percentage of red cells to volume ofblood) of 49.6 and 50.2 forRoche in theConconi files.Readings of 50 or greater are deemed toindicatebutnotproveEPOuse.Rocheclaimshishaematocritneverexceeded46-47%.

Documents in the possession of The Sunday Times show that in Conconi's files there are anumberoflistingsforRocheinacolumnindicatinghewasbeingtreatedwithEPO.

Conconi'stestsoughttohighlighttherateoferythropoiesis,whichisstimulatedbyEPO,intheblood. The results are indicated by what he describes as a transferrin receptor concentration.According to the Conconi study, an untreated athlete (one without EPO) could not have aconcentrationhigher than3.1.The reportconcludes that "the increasedconcentrationof transferrinreceptorcouldbeemployedasanindirectindicatorofEPOmisuseinSports".

TheresultsheandhisdoctorskeyedintotheirsecretfilesafteranalysisofbloodtestsonRocheandotherathletesaredamning.TheyshowRochewiththefifthhighestconcentrationofthe23whoweretested.TestscarriedoutonJune3andJune14of1993(andrevealedinthefilesunderthebogusnamesof"Rocchi"and"Roncati"respectively)bothshowreadingsof5.5.Thehighestlevelisthe6.5recordedunder thenameofacyclistscalled"Chiari"and"Chierici", in realityClaudioChiappucciand Mario Chiesa. Both are former teammates of Roche in the Carrera squad and have deniedinvolvementintheConconiexperiment.

Roche also continues to deny any involvement in doping. He said yesterday that he had not

known about the assumed names until recently, and he had telephoned his former team doctor,GiovanniGrazzi,foranexplanation.

"Grazzihastoldmeitwasn'tthatunusualforcod-namestobeusedforhighprofileathletes.Iamlearningaboutthissituationfromjournalists.Idon'twhereitisallgoingbutIwonderifIshouldbetalkingtomysolictorsandtryingtofindoutexactlywhatishappening.Ican'tunderstandwhythisisinthefiles.IwouldlovetobeabletogetConconitostandupandsaythatItookEPObecauseIknowIdidn't.Iwasneverpartofanystudy,Igavenoconsentforanythinglikethat."

Rochesaysheunderestimatedtheamountofdopingthatwasinthesport."IlookbackonitnowandIthinkImusthaveagreatrider,tohavebeatensomanyguyswhowereusingstuff.MaybeifIhadtakenthestuff,IwouldhavewonfiveToursdeFrance."

TheIOC,meanwhile, is stillexpectingConconi to report to themonhisprogressnextmonth."Wehaveheardnothing for fivemonths,which is normal," saidSchamasch. "Wewill payhimonreceiptofthereport."

ASTHEinvestigatorsburrowdeepinto thesub-cultureofdoping,ProfessorSandroDonati issatisfiedthatatlastsport'ssicknessisbeingseriouslytreatedinhiscountry.HeworksfortheItalianOlympicAssociationandformuchofthelast18yearshishasbeenalonevoiceofoppositionagainstblood-doping.AtthetimeConconifirstproposedhisbloodtransfusions,DonatiwascoachtoItaly's800mand1500mrunners.Headvisedhis athletes to stayaway from theUniversityofFerraraandmost of them did. "There are not bad athletes and good athletes," he says, "there are doctors andofficialsandcoacheswhoinfluenceathletestogoonewayoranother."

Donati remindedhisathletesaboutKaarloMaaninka, theFinnishdistancerunnerwhowon thebronze in the 5000m at the Moscow Olympics. After returning home Maaninka admitted he hadblood-dopedandfeltshameaboutthemedalhehadwon.HeofferedtoreturnhismedalbutastherewasnoIOClawforbiddingblood-doping,theofferwasnottakenup.

Because of his opposition to his country's systematic blood-doping,Donatiwasmarginalisedwithinhisownorganisation.Althoughhehadprovenhimselfasbothagoodandanethicalcoachatthe highest levels, hewasmoved to children's coaching in the late 1980s and from there onto theunderfundedscientificresearchdepartmentofConi.ButDonatirefusedtogiveup.In1994hemovedquietlythroughtheworldofprofessionalcycling.Heintervieweddoctors,ridersandteammanagersand by guaranteeing them anonymity, persuaded them to speak honestly about dopingwithin theirsport.Donati'sreportwasashockingaccountoftheextentofdopingincycling.

"What should I dowith this?" asked the then president ofConi,Mario Pescante,whenDonatipresentedhimwithhisreport."Bringittothemagistrate,"repliedDonati.Pescantenowsayshereadthereportbutthoughtittoogeneralandputitonashelf.Thereportthatlaterwouldbecomeknownas the "Donati dossier" lay onConi shelves for over two years. In the list of 13 suspects into theConconiinvestigation,MarioPescante'snameappearsfirst.

DonatihopestheinvestigatorsandthemagistrateswilldoagoodjobforItaliansportbutinsiststhe problems of his country are the problems of international sport. "Ultimately," he says, "thingscannot change just because of police investigations in Italy. Theywill only change because sportspeoplewantthemtochange."

Puzzlingsilenceofaninspirationalfighter

DavidWalsh

June11,2000

"Theexplorationofhisfear,hisdefianceandhisoccasionaldespairisanabsorbingjourney

"

Occasionally you come across something that gets your attention and locks it in a vice-grip.LanceArmstrong'srecentlypublishedbook,It'sNotAboutTheBike-MyJourneyBacktoLife,doesit.Itisanextraordinarystoryofacancersurvivorand,asthetitlesuggests,ithasn'tthatmuchtodowithArmstrong'sprowessasacyclist.ThefinalthirdofthebookdealswiththeTexan'swininlastyear'sTourdeFrancebuttheclimaxofthestorycamelongbeforethat.

ThelifeandtimesofLanceArmstrongarethestuffofheroism.LindaMooneyhamwas17whenshegavebirthtoLance,butsoonsplitfromherhusband.LindaandLancegrewupinaDallassuburb,asmuchsoul-matesasmotherandson.Lindawasaworkerandafighter,qualitiesshepassedontoherson.

Lifewashardatfirstbutwhereversheworked,Lindagoton.Lancewasatoughkid,anaturalathlete with tremendous endurance. By the time he was 15, he was looking to make money intriathlons and within a year, he was doing that. As soon as he realised he could make it as aprofessional,cyclingbecamehissport.WhereverLancewent,hetravelledwithhiseyeswideopen.

HerodetheTourdeFrancein1993andfulfilledanambitionwhenwinningonelegofthethree-weekrace.Hisvictoryonthe114-milelegtoVerdunwasstaggeringlyassertiveand,at21,hebecametheyoungest everwinner of aTour stage.Aswell as raw strength and endurance,Armstrongwasplucky.Hedidn'twaitforhischancetocomeonthesharphillbeforethedescenttoVerdunthatday,hecreatedit.

The kid genuinely had something. Later that year he won the world championships at Oslo,goingagainwhereno21-year-oldhadgonebefore.Theextraordinarypromiseofthatfirstyearwasnotfullyrealisedoverthefollowingthreeseasons.Armstrongrodewellintheone-dayclassicsandestablishedhimselfasoneof thebest in thatmetierbuthedidnotwinasoften,norasbig,aswasexpected.

InSeptember1996,Armstrongdiscoveredhehadcancer.Testicularcancer,lungcancer,lesionson his brain that required surgery and doctorswho lied that he hadmore than a 50/50 chance ofsurviving.Armstrong'sreactionto thediagnosis,hisdecisionsonthe treatment thatbestsuitedhimandhisfightagainsttheillnessaremagnificentlytold.

Hetellsof theconversationwhichfollowedthenewsthathewouldneedbrainsurgery:"Iwastired,andinastateofdisbelief.Itmademeblunt.'You'llhavetoconvincemeyouknowwhatyou'redoing',IsaidtoScottShapiro,thesurgeon.

"'Look, I've done a large number of these', Shapiro said. 'I've never had anyone die, and I'venevermadeanyoneworse'.

"'Yeah,butwhyshouldyoubethepersonwhooperatesonmyhead?'""'Becauseasgoodasyouareatcycling,I'malotbetteratbrainsurgery'."The clarity of the insight enriches the book. Informed of his illness, Armstrong buys all the

cancerbooks,readsthemandbeginstofullyunderstandthementalandphysicalconditionthatheisgoingthrough.Theexplorationofhisfear,hisdefianceandhisoccasionaldespair isanabsorbingjourney.

Always,thereisthefeelingofArmstrong'ssensesbeingsharpenedbythefearofdeath.Worriedhewouldn'tsurvivehimself,Armstrong'sconcernforothercancersufferersgrewandwouldleadtohimsettinguptheLanceArmstrongFoundationwhichinashorttimehasachievedmuchinthefightagainst cancer. Armstrong's successful fight against his illness is inspirational. The cancercommunityhasabraveandextremelytenaciousadvocate.

Thereis,however,onebitIdon'tget.WherewastheintelligentandthesympatheticArmstrongduringlastyear'sTourdeFrance?Armstrong'svictoryintheracecame12monthsaftertheTourwasexposedasadrug-riddledcircus.Thedullestriderintheraceknewtherewouldbelotsofsuspicionandendlessquestioning.AsraceleaderformostoftheTour,manyofthequestionsweredirectedat

Armstrong.Mostofhisanswerswouldhavemadethedullestguylookclever.He resented the questions and offered thoughtless and overly defensive answers to honest

questions.Manyofhisanswersmadeyouwonderwhathestoodfor.Armstrongtalkedludicrouslyofcycling'sproblemsbeinginthepastandwasbrutallydismissiveoffellowriderChristopheBassons'opinion that doping remained a problem. Bassons may have been slightly naive in the way heexpressedhisviewsbutinasportpoisonedbydoping,twothingswereclear:hewascleanandhewasutterly opposed to doping. The Armstrong of It's Not About The Bike would not have ridiculedBassons.

But he seemed a differentmanduring thatTour.At one press conference,Armstrong said hebelievedhismostdangerousrivalintherace,AlexZulle,wasclean.Almostayearbefore,ZullehadadmittedusingEPO.Sothen,ajournalistaskedArmstrong,didhenotthinkZulleshouldspeakoutagainst doping andwashe not perfectly positioned to do so?Armstrong sidesteppedby sayinghehadn'tspokentoZulleand,ultimately,itwasuptotheSwissrider.Damnit,Lance,whycouldn'tZullesay:"Itookitlastyear,IwaswrongandIamridingbetterwithoutitthisyear?"

Alas,theyellow-jerseyedLancewasnotthestrickenandadmirablecancerpatient.

Pharmacyonwheelsbecomesasickjoke

DavidWalsh

August13,2000

"Isitnotastonishingthataround50%oftheTour'spelotonshouldneedprescriptiondrugstocompete?

"

Aboutthistimelastyear,readersofTheSundayTimeswrotepassionatelyaboutourcoverageofLanceArmstrong'ssensationalwinintheTourdeFrance.AstheonewhohadreportedontheTour,theletterswereaddressedtome.Therewere45letters.Onewascomplimentary.

WhenArmstrongcamedowntheChampsElyseesin1999,Ididnotfeelmovedtoapplaud.Thatoffendedpeople.WehadwitnessedthefastestTourinhistoryandithadcome12monthsafterFrenchpoliceandCustomshadshownthepervasivenatureofdopinginprofessionalcycling.Howcouldwebelievethatdrugsweregonewheneverybodywasridingfaster?

JeanMarieLeblanc,theTourorganiser,hadbilledthe1999raceastheTourofRenewal,butasthepelotonwhizzedfromtowntotowninrecordtime,hesaiditwouldbebettertocalltheracetheTourofTransition.Itwasn'tjusttherecordspeed:itwasclearthepelotonracedattwospeeds-theteamswhohadgenuinelyreformedcouldnotkeepupwiththosewhohadn't.

It was obvious, too, that the mentality of the peloton hadn't changed. Christophe Bassons, anadmirable young French rider, spoke honestly about the doping problem and enraged his fellowprofessionals.Hefoundahorse'sheadinhisbedandsoonlefttherace.YoucouldnotwatchallofthisandpretendthattheTourhadreturnedtohealth.Minewas,ofcourse,aminorityview.

I have kept the letters. They are my guardian angel, forever protecting me from arrogance.EverysooftenIflickthroughthemandfeelagainthesurgeofhumility.ThefavouriteisonefromKeithMiller.Itwasaneloquenttestimonytohisfaith.

"Ibelievehis[Armstrong's]victorywasamazing,atriumphinsportandlife."Ibelievehesetsagoodexampleforallofus."Ibelieveinsport,inlife,andinhumanity."ButitwasKeith'sclosingthoughtthatremainsmostvivid:"Sometimeswerefusetobelieveforwhateverreason."Sometimespeoplegetacancerofthespirit."Andmaybethatsaysalotaboutthem."I went back to France this year wondering whether anything had changed. Fundamentally, it

hadn't.Theridersgavetheoldequivocalandevasiveanswerswhenaskedaboutdoping;JeanMarieLeblanctailoredhisrepliestoreassuresponsors;andwhenaskedwhattheaveragehaematocritforthe riderswas, theUnionCycliste International (UCI)medical inspector,MartinBruin, smiled andsaid:"Ican'ttellyouthat."

Forthegeneralreader,theaveragehaematocritis43to45%;itshouldbelowerforenduranceathletes.HighhaematocritlevelsindicateEPOuseandcycling'sauthoritiesusea50%cut-offpoint.Exceedthatandyouareoutoftherace.Thisgivesridersasignificantmargintoplaywith.Becausetheynowdoblood tests, theUCIknow from theirhaematocrit readingswhether cyclists areusingEPO.Iftheytoldustheaveragehaematocritforthepeloton,wetoowouldknow.

Tired of the endless pursuit, most of the decent journalists on the Tour have stopped askingquestions.Andasthecoastwasclear, theUCIcamesailingintoannounceproudlythatall96drugtestsonthisyear'sTourwerenegative.TheTourofRenewalhadbecometheTourofAuthenticity.OnTuesdaylast,theCouncilforthePreventionofDopinginFrance(CPLD)offeredadifferenttakeonthesametests.

ThecouncilisfundedbytheFrenchgovernmentandisindependentofallsportsorganisations.Itsentthesame96urinesamplestothenationallaboratoryatChatenay-Malabrayandfound45%ofthesamples contained "doping products". Twenty-eight were positive for corticosteroids (also calledcorticoids),10werepositivefortheasthmadrugssalbutamolandterbutalineandafurtherfivewerepositiveforboth.

Within the sport, fewwere surprised.TheUCIand theTourorganisation said thepresenceofbannedsubstancesdidnotnecessarilymeandoping.Itturnsoutthatallbuttwooftheridersinvolved

inthepositivecaseshadmedicalcertificatesallowingthemtousecorticoidsand/orasthmadrugs.Itisworthbeingpreciseaboutthefigures:43positivesfrom96samplesprovidedby71riders.LanceArmstrong,asTourleader,wouldhavebeentested12or13timesandtheAmericanhassaidhedoesnothaveamedicalcertificateallowinghimtouseanydrug.

Sowhatwe're leftwith is 43 positives from something like 83 or 84 samples, but in the vastmajorityofcasestheridershavemedicalcerts.L'Equipecalledit"DopingOnPrescription".FranceSoircalledit"TheTouroftheHypochondriac".

Andisitnotastonishingthataround50%oftheTour'spelotonshouldneedprescriptiondrugstocompete?

The conclusion doesn't change. Doping is destroying cycling and many other sports. It ispervasiveanditissanctionedbysportsbodiesandeventorganisers.Lastweek,theCPLDinFranceshoweduswhatcanbeachievedwhenthereisawill.

Is there anybody else out there who gives a damn? Who cares that today's champions arehypochondriacsandthattomorrow'swillcomedirectlyfromthelaboratories,injectedwithalienbutpowerfulgenes?

Whenthelyinghadtostop

DavidWalsh

October29,2000

"WemaynotbeconvincedthatArmstrongdopes,butasthechampionprofessionalcyclist,wecannotbe

surethathedoesn't

"

OnFriday,AntoineVayerarrivedathishomeinnorthwestFrance.IthadbeenalongdayatthecyclingdopingtrialinLilleandatoughdrivehome,buthefeltnotahintofweariness.Theday,infactthewholeweekincourt,hadrejuvenatedhim.Henowknewthatthebattleagainstdopingwasn'tashopelessaseveryonehadpresumed."Thistrial,"hesaid,"hasbeenthebestthingtohavehappenedtocycling."

WhenFriday'scourtsessionended,VayerstoodnotfarfromRichardVirenque.OnceasportingiconinFrance,Virenqueisnowadisgraceddrugcheat.Forsolongtheyhadbeenonoppositesidesofsport'sbattleline:Vayer,acoachandtrainer,foughtforcleansport;Virenque,atalentedrider,feltcompelledtocheat.TheywereoncepartofthesameFestinateam,butnotonspeakingterms.

That'swhathappensintheworldofdoping-thosewhocheatdistrustthosewhodon't.Virenqueandmostofhis teammatesridiculedVayerandhisscientific trainingmethods.Agooddoctor, theyknew,wouldbeatanuttyprofessoranyday.WithinthepowerfulFestinateamVirenquewasthestar.Vayerwasanuisance.

But thenVirenque,Festina andprofessional cyclinggot caught.Fourhundredphials of drugswere found in a team car bound for the Tour de France.More than two years have passed sinceFrench Customs made the discovery, and in that time a number of Festina riders served shortsuspensionsbeforequicklyreturningtocompetition.TheTourdeFranceorganisersspokeearnestlyoftheneedforrenewal,but,fundamentally,nothingchanged.

Virenquesworethathehadnotknowinglyuseddrugs,andfortwoyearsheliedshamelessly.Atthe1999TourdeFrancehewasacclaimedwherevertheracewent;itwasasthoughthepurgeofthepreviousyearhadbeenfutile.Virenque,hisfellowriders,thesport'sgoverningbodiesanditspublicwouldnotaddressthetruth.Vayerwasconsideredamarginalfigure,obsessedwithdoping.

Virenqueturnedupatthetriallastweekdeterminedtosticktohisstory.OnMondayhetestifiedunder oath that he had never knowingly used banned substances. Some time between MondayafternoonandTuesdaymorning JudgeDanielDelegove convincedhim the lying couldnotgoon.And on TuesdaymorningVirenque agreed.As soon as he did, a dam broke and the truth pouredthrough.

HisfriendPascalHervealsoadmittedbeingpartofFestina'ssystematicdopingprogrammeandsaid hewould have admitted it earlier if it had not been for the fact that "just us nine idiotswerecaught". Other testimonies were similarly revealing. Laurent Brochard told how he had becomecycling world champion in 1997 but had subsequently tested positive. According to Brochard, anofficial with the sport's world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, told his teammanagerthataforgedmedicalcertificatewouldgethimoff.

Frenchman Thomas Davy, who rode in the same team as five-time Tour de France winnerMiguelInduraininthemid-Nineties,testifiedabouthisexperiencesinthesport.

"AtBanestotherewassystematicdoping,undermedicalsupervision,"hesaid."Dideveryoneintheteamusedrugs?"askedthejudge,curiousaboutIndurain'sstance."Idon'tknow.Ididn'tgoroundalltherooms,butIthinkso,"saidDavy.

OnTuesday,Vayer testified for the first time.Hemadesure the trialwouldnotpasswithoutaconsiderationoftheTour'slatestchampion,AmericanLanceArmstrong."Armstrongridesat54kph(33mph),"Vayersaid."Ifinditscandalous.It'snonsense.Indirectlyitprovesheisdoping."

This was the key statement. Vayer had considered it carefully beforehand. His training is inphysiologyandheclaimsthatscientifictestscanaccuratelyestablishthecapacityofthehumanbody;thatis,thecapacityofacleanathlete."Whatisbeingachievedinprofessionalcyclingthesedaysisajoke.Itiswaybeyondman'snaturalcapacity,"headded.

PaulKimmage,whorodeinthepelotonfrom1986-89andwroteadefinitivebookondopinginprofessionalcycling,sharesVayer'sview:"ThecyclingthatIwatchnowintheTourdeFrancebears

norelationtothesportIcompetedin.Thespeedatwhichtheynowraceupmountainsmakesajokeofthesport."

On Friday, Vayer returned to the witness stand and to the same theme. He spoke of a ridertacklingthesteep13kmclimbtothePyreneanskistationatHautacaminthisyear'sTour:"He'sgoesquickatthebeginning,thenfaster,andfasteragainallthewaytothetop.Itisjustnotpossibletodoitlike that." ItwasArmstrongwho dominated theHautacam ascent this year, and his power amazedseasonedTourobservers.

JudgeDelegoveaskedamedicalexpertifVayer'sanalysismadesense.Thedoctorsaiditmadecomplete sense. Then Vayer detailed the health risks involved in the abuse of banned substances,makingthepoint thatmanyoftoday'sriderswouldsuffer inthefuture.AndsowhenVayerleft thecourtonFridayeveninghefeltthatfinallyhewasgettinghismessagethrough.Beforesettingoutforhomeheaskedifhecouldbeexcusedfromattendingthisweek'scontinuationofthetrial,ashehadnowishtohearcyclingofficialsdefendwhatheseesasindefensible.Thejudgeagreed.

Outsidethecourtroom,Virenquespoketoreporters,andVayersloweddowntohearwhathewassaying."Iamabitafraid," theridersaid,referringto the testimonyofVayerandthedoctoronthelikelihoodofhealthproblemsforthosewhotookdrugs."Idon'twanttothinkaboutthebikenow,Ijustwanttogohomeandseemyfamily.MostofallIwanttoseethemgrowup."

Richard Virenque, the incomparable mountain climber and untouchable drug cheat, was nomore. Torn from his pedestal, he was more to be pitied than laughed at. This was Virenquediminished...and yet somehow redeemed.Vayer felt that at last theywere almost on the same side.WITH somuch evidence of doping in professional cycling, it is natural towonderwhy the latestrevelations are important. But it does matter that the last of the Festina cheats admitted theirwrongdoingpubliclyandaredisgracedintheeyesofthosewholovesport.

ThesignificanceofwhathappenedinLille,however,goesbeyondtheshamingofVirenqueandhis friends.By their testimonies,Virenque,Herve,Brochard,DavyandErwinMentheor implicatedmostridersinthepeloton,especiallythosewhocompeteatthehighestlevel.

"EventhoughIdoped,Ididnothaveanadvantageovermyrivals,"saidVirenqueinadeliberatereferencetothewaysofthepeloton.

Just as important was the courage shown by Vayer. Many coaches and trainers look atachievementsintheirsportandprivatelysaythattheycouldnotbeachievedwithoutdoping.

There ismuchwhispering about the staggering number of exceptionalmen'smarathon timesoverthepasttwoyears,butnobodypubliclyquestionsthem.Vayerhasnowdrawnalineandinsistedthatasasportsscientisthedoesn'tacceptthatacleancyclistcando54kphinaTourdeFrancetimetrial,asthedualOlympianArmstrongdid.

The 29-year-old American refuses to respond to the accusation, but he cannot miss itsimplications.Wemaynotbeconvinced thathedopes,butas thechampionprofessionalcyclist,wecannotbesurethathedoesn't.

WHILEDelegovewas extracting the truth from cyclists in France, thewheels of justicewereturningagainstdopersinItaly.Afteraninvestigationthathaslastedmorethantwoyears,prosecutorPierguidoSopranideliveredhisreportonsystematic,state-fundeddoping.Hisreport,whichrunstomorethan20,000pages,recommendsthatProfessorFrancescoConconiandsevenothersbesentfortrial.

Conconi, a former member ofthe International Olympic Committee's (IOC) medicalcommission, is accused of criminal association, sporting fraud, administration of medicines in adangerouswayandprofessionalmalpractice.This casewillbebigger than theLille trial, andwillimplicatetheItalianOlympicCommittee(CONI)andtheIOCinblooddoping.

In his report to the Italian chief magistrate, Soprani has written about two past presidents of

CONI,FrancoCarraroandArigoGattai."Thereisevidence,"hewrote,"ofaspecialcontractbetweenProfessor Conconi and CONI." The prosecutor alleges that the agreement was to provide blooddopingforItalianathletes.

Soprani also accuses Carraro andGattai of indifference to the health of athletes during theirtermsofofficewithCONI:"UnderItalianlawIcannotaskforCarraroandGattaitobeprosecuted,butitiscleartheydidsomebadthings."Thetwoofficialsescapeprosecutionbecausetheyhadtobechargedwithinfiveyearsofcommittingtheallegedoffences.

Carraro is now president of the Italian Football Association and is on the IOC executivecommittee.

Soprani'scasewilldealindetailwithConconi'sworkattheUniversityofFerraraandtheblood-dopingprogrammethatheran.Itssignificanceliesinthefactthatwhiledopingathletes,ConconiwasfundedbyCONIandtheIOC.

HeandBelgium'sPrinceAlexandredeMerode,chairmanoftheIOCmedicalcommission,havelong been friends, and despite the two-year-long investigation into Conconi, the IOC refuses todenouncehim.

ThecaseagainstConconiwillalsoembarrasssomeofEurope's topsportsmenandwomenofthe Nineties. Many of the great cyclists worked with Conconi or his team of doctors, and oneparticular file will allegedly involve riders such as Gianni Bugno, Claudio Chiappucci, StephenRocheandmanyothers.

Canoeist Beniamino Bonomi, who won an Olympic gold medal in Sydney, is another namebelieved tobeon theConconi files,andSoprani'scasewillseek toprove thatmanyothersavailedthemselvesoftheprofessor'sexpertise.

If there is a bottom line from the judicial investigations in France and Italy, it is that sport'sgoverningbodieshavebeenguiltyofthegreatdopingconspiracy.Insomecasestheyhavefundedthecheating and abetted the cheater. But it is not just the athletes, organisers and administrators;journaliststoohaveturnedablindeye,orevenworse,toaproblemtheyknowabout.

Yesterday'sCorriere dellaSera newspaper in Italy carried a storywhich claimed thatSopraniknewwhotippedoffthecyclingfraternityaboutapoliceraidontheGirod'Italiain1996.Accordingtotheprosecutor,itwastheItaliansportsnewspaperGazzettadellaSport.

Saddledwithsuspicion

DavidWalsh

July8,2001

"Ihavecometodiscussonesubject:doping

"

Heearns$8mayear.Endorsementsruntoanother$5m.HeonceheldapressconferenceinNewYorkandthebillionaireDonaldTrumpturneduptohearhimspeak.Nowadays,hechargestwiceasmuchasformerpresidentBillClintonforspeakingengagementsandwhennotrecountinghistory,heiscreatingit.LanceArmstrongishisname.Heistheworld'sbestcyclist.

Yesterday,helaunchedhisbikefromarampinDunkirkandsetoutontheTourdeFrance.Heisfavourite towin for the third consecutive timeandbecomeonly the fifth cyclist todo so. It is notsolelysuccessthatdrawsustoArmstrongbutalsowhathisachievementssymbolise.Lessthanfiveyearsagohewasstrickenwithtesticularcancerthatspreadtohislungsandbrain.

Surgeonssuggestedhemightnotlivebuttheydidn'tknowtheirpatient.Armstronghasbeentohellandback.Firsttogoodhealth,thentothefamedyellowjersey.Hisspiritandgooddrugsenabledhimtomakethefirstpartofthejourney.ButfortwoyearstherehasbeenendlessspeculationaboutArmstrong,hisremarkablerecoveryandhisrelationshipwithdrugs,notjust thosetakentokill thecancerbutalsothosetakenbycycliststohelpthemcompete.

Dopingisawayoflifeinprofessionalcycling.Itisasoldasthesportitself.Policeraidsonthe1998TourdeFranceandon thisyear'sTourof Italyexposed theenormityof thedeception that iswidespread.Inthisgame,MrCleancompetesagainstthemajorityandagainsttheodds.Canacleanriderbeatthoseondrugs?

ThesearchforananswerbeganinIndianapolissixmonthsago.ItisaSundayafternoonandtheStarbucks cafe is almost empty.GregStrock, fivemonthsbeforegraduating frommedical school,tellsofhisshortcareerasanelitecyclist.Hewas17-going-on-18;thecoachingstaffatUSACyclingtoldhimthatnotsincethegreatGregLeMondhadanybodyperformedbetterinphysiologicaltests.Butitendedbeforeitbegan.Strockclaimshewastoldinjectionswerenecessary.Withinayear,hebecameillandthoughhewouldreturntocompetition,heneverregainedhisformerstrength.

Tenyearshavepassed.Thememoryangershim.Ittakestime,hesays,toappreciatefullywhathas happened. Strock is suingUSACycling and his former coach,ReneWenzel. ErichKaiter, histeammateontheUSjuniorteamin1990,corroboratesStrock'sstoryofsystematicdoping.He,too,issuingUSACycling.Inthenationalprogramme,StrockandKaiterwereoneyearbehindArmstrong.

FromacoffeeshopinIndianapolistoaSanFranciscorestaurantwhereDrPrenticeSteffentellshis story. He had been team doctor with the US Postal team in 1996; the year before Armstrongjoined.Towardstheendofthatseason,USPostalinformedSteffentheywouldnolongerneedhim.Steffenbelievesitwasbecauseherefusedtohelpwithanykindofdrugs.

Fromadoctor inSanFrancisco toa formerprofessionalonanothercontinent.This is amanwhorodewithArmstrongforfouryearsatMotorola.Theteam,Armstrongbelieves,was"whiteassnow".Thatisnotwhathisone-timeteammatesays.ThisridertellsofadecisionbycertainmembersoftheMotorolasquadtousetheblood-boostingdrugerythropoietin(EPO)duringthe1995season:"Thecontractwithourmainsponsorwasupforrenewalandweneededresults.Itwasassimpleasthat."

Nothing is so simple for the carabinieri of the Florence-basedNAS teamwho enforce Italy'sfoodanddruglaws.Hereinthebasementoftheiroldpolicequartersinthecity,thecardboardboxesarestacked10-feethigh,eachpackedwithfilesseizedfromdoctorsallegedtohavebeendopingtheirathlete-patients.The files seized fromMicheleFerrari,oneof thedoctorsbeing investigated, showthatKevinLivingstonwasoneof those treatedbyFerrari.During theTourdeFranceof1999and2000, Livingston was Armstrong's most able equipier, a man he described as his closest friend.FerrarialsokeptanArmstrongfile,onethatindicatedaroleintherider'straining.AskedwhetherhehadevervisitedFerrari,Armstrongreplied:"Perhaps."

FromonedopinginvestigationinItalytoanotherinPariswhereHuguesHuet,ajournalistwiththe state-run television organisation France 3, tells of how, during last year's Tour de France, he

tailedanunmarkedUSPostalcarandeventuallyfilmedthedriverandhiscompaniondisposingoffive plastic bags in a bin many miles from their team hotel. The rubbish contained 160 syringewrappers, bloodied compresses and discarded packaging that indicated use of the blood-boostingproduct,Actovegin.Thatledtoanine-monthFrenchinvestigationintotheUSPostalteam,whichwillconcludelaterthismonth.Somanyquestions.

Then,outofthebluethephonerang.ItwasArmstrong.Hehadheardthings,hewantedtotalk.Anytime,anyplace.Theinterviewwasarrangedfor twodays lateratHotelLaFauvelaie,near thevillageofStSylvaind'AnjouineasternFrance.

EIGHTyearshavepassed sinceour lastmeeting.Back then,Armstrongwasanambitious21-year-oldsettingoutonhisfirstTourdeFrance.Theyearshavechangedhim.Hisbodyishardernow,the eyesmorewary. There is a sense that come-what-may, hewill overcome.He stretches out hishand,matter-of-factly.Heisawareofyoursuspicions;hewantstorestatehiscase.

"Doyoumind,"hesays,"ifBillsitsin?"(BillisBillStapleton,hisagentandlawyer.)"Iwouldpreferittobeone-to-one,butyourchoice.""Yeah,I'dlikeBillpresent.""Ihavecometodiscussonesubject:doping.""Okay,"hesays.The first part of the interview is a gentle journey through his career. In late 1992, he joined

Motorolaandtheprofessionalpeloton.Youmusthavebeenawarebythenthatdopingwaspartoftheculture?"Idon'tknowtheanswertothatbecauseMotorolawaswhiteassnowandIwastherealltheway

throughto1996."What of the Fleche Wallonne classic in 1994 when three members of the same Italian team

Gewiss-Ballon broke away and finished first, second and third? He had been strong that day butcouldn'tlivewiththeItalians.Itwasunusualforthreeridersfromthesameteamtobreakclearinaclassic and suspicionswere arousedwhen, a few days later, theGewiss team doctor, oneMicheleFerrari, claimed EPO "was no more harmful than five litres of orange juice". Was Armstrongsurprised by Ferrari's approval of EPO? He says he doesn't remember his reaction. Surely hewonderedwhatEPOwas?"EPOwasn'tanissueforus.JimOchowitz(Motorolateammanager)ranacleanprogramme."

Armstrong's recovery fromcancer came at a timewhen the sickness in his sportwas, at last,properlydiagnosed.Onhiswaytothe1998TourdeFrance,WillyVoet,asoigneurwiththeFestinateam,wasstoppedbyFrenchcustomsofficials.Hiscarcontained234dosesofEPOandacargoofotherbannedsubstances.Armstrongsayshewasastonished:"Itwasunbelievable,thecontentsofthecar."

When he returned to competition in 1998, it was with US Postal. Armstrong says Postal'sprogrammewasclean.HeinsistshewontheTourdeFrancein1999and2000withoutdoping.Othersmay have doped; he can't speak for them.Other teamsmay have used drugs; the authoritiesmustpolice them.Armstrongspeaksforhimself.Hehaswonwithoutdrugs.Heis,andalwayshasbeen,clean.

WENOWmove on to discuss specific incidents in more detail. Armstrong rode for the USamateurcyclingteaminthelate1980sandearly1990s.ChrisCarmichaelwasthenaUScoachandhesoonbecameArmstrong'scoach.Twelveyearslater,Carmichaelremainstherider'scoach."Heismymainadvisor,Italktohimallthetime."CarmichaelhasbeenimplicatedinthecasetakenbyStrockagainst USA Cycling. In his formal submission, Strock describes being taken by his coach, ReneWenzel, toseeanotherUScoachduringaraceatSpokaneinWashingtonin1990.Strocktellshowthissecondcoachgavehimaninjection,butdoesnotnamehim.InaformalanswertotheStrocksuit,

WenzelrecallsthesameSpokaneencounterandsaystheothercoachwasCarmichael.AskedwhyhedidnotnamethecoachatSpokane,Strocksaysheisnotinapositiontoanswer

thatquestion,andnotinapositiontosaywhyhecan't.ItisbelievedCarmichaelhasagreedanout-of-courtsettlementwithStrock'sattorney.Carmichaelsayshecannotrecollect the incident inSpokaneanddeclinedtocommentwhenaskedifhehadsettledoutofcourt.

Armstrong knows of the case and understands the implications. Has your coach ChrisCarmichaelmadeanysettlementwithGregStrock?

"AskGregorChris,"saysArmstrong.Didn'tChrisexplainwhetherhedidordidn't?"No."Didn'tyouaskhim?"AsfarasIamconcerned,itwasacasebetweenGregandhiscoach,ReneWenzel."WhatifCarmichaelhadmadeasettlement,wouldthatnotbeashock?"WouldIbeshocked?Ihaven'teventhoughtaboutit."Itwouldn'tlookgood,wouldit?"Does it look good that Greg Strock just takes themoney? Let's flip it around. Is this about

moneyor is this about principle?"We talk about theprofessional teams forwhomArmstronghasridden,MotorolaandUSPostal.Heinsistsneitherdoped:"Thereareprogrammesinthissportandthereareathletesthatareclean."

AformerprofessionalriderwhowasacontemporaryofArmstrong'satMotorolafrom1992to1996tellsadifferentstory.Nowretiredfromthesport,thisformerprofessionalagreedtospeakonthebasisthathisnamewouldnotbeused.Shoulditbecomenecessary,though,hewillcomeforwardandstandupforhisaccountoftheMotorolayears.

"Theteamresultsin1994werenotimpressiveand'95startedoffthesame.Wehadaccesstothesame trainingasother teams, thesameequipment;weate thesamefood,slept thesamenumberofhoursbut, in races,wewerenotascompetitive.Thepicturewasbecomingclear for theupcomingTourdeFrance:weweregoingtohavetogiveinandjointheEPOrace.

"LancewasakeyspokespersonwhenEPOwasthetopic.Fromtheriders'pointofview,wefeltthemountingpressurenotonlyfromwithintheteambutalsofromwhatwasbeingsaidandwrittenaboutusasateam.Noonestartsoutwantingtodopebutyoubecomeavictimofthesport."Aswellas believing Motorola was clean, Armstrong says he has proof that US Postal runs a cleanprogramme.Hepointstotheteam'sthreeweeksofdrug-freeurineatlastyear'sTourdeFrance.Tothe suggestion that the Tour's tests find only detectable drugs, he replies that therewill always be"cynicsandscepticsandzealots".

WetalkaboutPrenticeSteffen, teamdoctor forUSPostal in1996, theyearbeforeArmstrongjoined the team. Steffen had beenwith the team since 1993,when itwas Subaru-Montgomery, andcontinuedasteamdoctorinthefirstyearofUSPostal'sinvolvement.WithPostal'sbackingcametheambitiontocompeteagainstEurope'sbest.In1996theyenteredtheTourofSwitzerland.

"Wewerewipedout,"saidSteffen."Twoofmyridersapproachedmesayingtheywantedto'talkaboutthemedicalprogramme'.Itwassaidthatasateam,weweren'tabletogettowherewewantedtogowithwhatIwasdoingforthem.Isaid,'Well,rightnowIamdoingeverythingIcan.'Theymighthavecomebackwith 'morecouldbedone'andIsaid, 'Yeah,Iunderstand,butIamnotgoingtobeinvolvedinthat'."

Steffen is sure hewas being asked to help two riders to dope.After that informal discussion,relationscooledbetweenthedoctorandhisriders.Fourmonthslater,amessagewasleftonSteffen'svoicemailsayingtheteamnolongerneededhim.

InNovember1996,SteffenreceivedaletterfromfirmKeesal,YoungandLogan,attorneysfor

theUSPostalteam.Thelettersaidhissuspicionsabouthisdeparturewereincorrectbuthewouldbeheldresponsibleforhiscommentsifhemadethempublic.Untilnow,Steffenhasnotspokenoutinpublic.Armstrongsaysheissurprisedbythedoctor'sstory.Butisitnotaseriousaccusationagainsttheteam?"Ifit'ssoseriousandsosincere,IwouldthinkIwouldhaveheardthat[beforenow]."

OURconversationturnstoKevinLivingston,Armstrong'sfirstlieutenantandclosefriendontheUSPostal teamduring theTourdeFrancevictories.Livingstonhasbeen listedasoneof60riderstreatedbyFerrari,theItaliandoctorawaitingtrialondopingcharges.

Ferrari is accused of treating riders with EPO, the drug that increases the blood's oxygen-carryingredcellsandenhancestherider'sendurance.Formosthumans,redcellsaccountfor43%or44%of the totalbloodvolume,ameasureknownas thehaematocrit level.Tocounter theabuseofEPO, the authorities now ban riderswhose haematocrit exceeds 50%.The SundayTimes has seenpagesfromLivingston'sfileatFerrari'soffice.Thereadingsforhisbloodparametersareunusual.InDecember1997Livingston'shaematocritisrecordedat41.2%.Sevenmonthslater,afewdaysbeforethestartofthe1998TourdeFrance,Livingston'shaematocritis49.9%.Suchavariationinaseven-monthperiodisuncommon.

DidyouknowKevinwaslinkedwiththedopinginvestigation?"Yes."Didyoutalkwithhimaboutit?"No."Never?"No.Youkeepcomingupwithallthesesidestories.IcanonlycommentonLanceArmstrong.I

don'tspeakforothers."Thiswasyourbestfriend?"ButIdon'tmeddleintheirbusiness."SowespeakofLanceArmstrongandMicheleFerrari.DidyouevervisitDrFerrari?"IdidknowMicheleFerrari."Howdidyougettoknowhim?"Whenyougotoraces,youseepeople.Iknoweveryteam'sdoctor.It'sasmallcommunity."DidyouevervisitFerrari?"HaveIbeentestedbyhim,gonethereandconsultedoncertainthings?Perhaps."Sources close to the investigationofFerrari aremoreprecise aboutArmstrong's relationship

withthedoctor.TheytellofaseriesofvisitsbytheridertoFerrari'spracticeatFerrarainnorthernItaly: two days in March 1999, three days in May 2000, two days in August 2000, one day inSeptember 2000 and three days in late April/early May of this year. While he was in Ferrara,Armstrongstayedatthefive-starHotelDuchessaIsabellaandatthefour-starHotelAnnunziata.

IsFerrariagoodtrainer?"Regardlessofwhatgoeson,"hereplies,"theseguysthatareunderalotofpressure,guyslike

Conconi, Cecchini, Ferrari; these Italian guys, they are fantasticminds, great trainers. They knowaboutphysiology."

FrancescoConconiandFerrarihavebeen investigatedondopingchargesand theprosecutingjudgeshaverecommendedthatbothbesentfortrial.ThecaseagainstLuigiCecchiniwasdropped.

WEspeakabouttheFrenchinvestigationintotheUSPostalteam.Onlastyear'sTourdeFrancetwostaffmembersoftheUSPostalteamwerefollowedbyjournalistsfromtheTVstation,France3.Theywere seen to carry rubbish bags from the team hotel and put them in an unmarked car. Thejournalistsfollowed.

Thechaselastedforfivedays.ThirtymilesfromMorzine,theUSPostalemployeesdumpedthebags in a bin by the side of the road. Tipped off about the discovery of the blood-boosting drug

Actovegininthemedicalwaste,Frenchpoliceopenedaninvestigation.Sevenmonthslater,theinquiryhasnotbeencompleted.Armstrongsaysthatanalysesofblood

andurinesamplesprovidedbytheteamtotheinvestigationareclean.Thejudgeleadingtheinquiry,Sophie-HeleneChateau,sayssuchaconclusionispremature.

Whoweretheteammemberswhodumpedthatrubbish?"Onewasateamdoctor,theotherwasourchiropractor."Names?"That'snotimportant."USPostal said it carriedActovegin to treat riders' abrasions and to treat a staffmemberwho

suffersfromdiabetes.Whowasthestaffmember?"Thatismedicalprivacy,"saysArmstrong.Formorethananhourandahalf,wetradedpunches.Attimeshewasgenerousandcharming;at

othersconfrontational.Weariedbymyscepticism,hereachedfortheput-down:"Therewillalwaysbesceptics,cynicsandzealots."Butheknowsitisnotthatsimple.Heknows,too,thatforthenextthreeweeksontheTourdeFrance,thequestionswillfollowhim.

Nothavingtheanswerswon'tbotherhim.Whatmattersisthathisurineandhisbloodareclear.Thosewhoexpecthimtofalter,eitheronthemurderousroadtoAlped'Huezorundertheweight

ofpublicscepticism,maybeinforalong,longwait.

ParadiselostonTour

DavidWalsh

July29,2001

"IfLanceisclean,itisthegreatestcomebackinthehistoryofsport.Ifheisn't,itwouldbethegreatest

fraud

"

It ismidday onWednesday in a cyber bar not far from the PlaceRoyale in the centre of thePyreneancityofPau.NicolasFouilloutwashesandcleansglassesandwaitsforhisyoungclienteletocometohaveabeer,surftheinternetandplaycomputergames.

Two hours earlier, the Tour de France had left town. Down the Boulevard des Pyrenees, thedeparting ribbon of noise and colour had passed. A man in a white chef's jacket raced from arestaurant and made music with a saucepan and wooden spoon. Riders saluted his enthusiasm; ayoungwomanheldherbabyandthenwavedtheinfant'slefthand.Aurevoir.

Towards the backof the peloton,LanceArmstrong chattedwith theGerman rider JensVoigt.Themountainpasseshavebeencrossed,thechallengersseenoff,andfromheretoParisitwouldbeacruisetoArmstrong'sthirdconsecutiveTourdeFrance.Foramanwhoknowswhatitisliketowakeup after brain surgery to remove cancerous lesions, this should have been a different kind ofparadise.Butforthepastthreeweeks,andformanyyearsbefore, theTourhasbeenParadiseLost.Whatweseetodayisastrangertotheraceofouryouth.Theyridethemountainsastheyoncerodetheflat;thespeedandthestaminaareavisionofthefuturewedarenotimagine.Theepichasbecometheenigma.

Armstrong's difficult moments have been explaining his six-year working relationship withMicheleFerrari,adoctorwhohaslongbeensuspectedofdoping.OnMondaylastweekArmstrongdefended his right to work with Ferrari, said he found him "an honest man", "a clean man", andinsistedhehad"neverseenanythingthatwouldleadmetothinkotherwise".Twodayslater,FilippoSimeoni'sstorywaspublishedbytheItalianeditionofGQmagazine.

Simeoni, a middle-of-the-road Italian rider, worked with Ferrari from October 1996 to July1997andkeptdiaries thatwere seizedby thecarabinieri investigatingFerrari.Unable to refute theevidenceofhisdiaries,Simeonicollaboratedwiththepolice.HeclaimedthatFerrariencouragedhimtousethepowerfulblood-boostingdrugerythropoietin(EPO)andtestosteroneandhelpedhimtogetarounddrugcontrolsbyadvisinghimonmaskingdrugs.AccordingtoSimeoni,Ferrarineverspokeaboutthepotentialside-effectsofperformance-enhancingdrugs.

AskedaboutSimeoni'stestimony,Armstrongsaiditwasanoldstory.Thestatementtothepolicehadbeenmadetwoyearsbefore,butuntilGQ'sstoryfewexcepttheriderhimselfandthecarabinieriknew it existed. The fact that it was evidence against Ferrari changed nothing for Armstrong: hewouldnotbereconsideringhisrelationshipwiththedoctor.

Sowhilehedominatesinthemountainsanddestroyshisrivals,Armstrongcannotobliteratethedoubts.Evenwithintherace,wheresolidarityisnormallysacred,therehavebeenmurmurings.RudyPevenage,teamdirectoroftherivalTelekomsquad,says:"IamsomewhatsurprisedbyArmstrong.Whenothersgaspforairwithopenmouths,herideswithaclosedmouth,asifthereisnothingtoit."

Pevenage's star rider, Jan Ullrich, will finish second to Armstrong when the Tour ends thisafternoon.TheGermanhasbeengraciousindefeatandgeneroustohisconqueror.Butthenneitherhenorhisteammatescandaretoaccuseanyrival.Duringlastmonth'spoliceraidontheGirod'Italia,manyproductswerefoundintheroomsoftheTelekomriders.Variousdrugs,medicalequipmentandsyringesfullofawhitesubstanceweretakenforanalysis.

SevenTelekomriders,includingUllrich,wereplacedunderinvestigation.AmongtheproductsseizedfromUllrich'sroomweretheophylline,otobacid,sultanol,ephynalandbonalin.Heinsistedonhisinnocence.Thesubstanceswere,hesaid,approvedasthmatreatments.

THEUSE of therapeutic corticoids, performance-enhancing but permitted in the treatment ofcertainconditions,hasreachedepidemicproportions.AfteronePyreneanstagelastweekend,sevenof the eight obligatory urine tests sent to the French anti-doping laboratory contained bannedproducts.Notonecouldbedeclaredpositivebecauseineachcasetheriderhadpermissiontousethedrug.

MichelBoyon,presidentofFrance'santi-dopingcouncil (CPLD),believes there iswidespreadabuse. "I am worried by it," he says. "We have a high percentage of riders using corticoids.Salbutamolandtheanti-asthmaticsubstancesarethemostcommon.AttheCPLD,webelievethatin95%ofthecaseswherecorticoidsarepermitted,thereisanalternativetreatment."

Since the scandal ofWilly Voet's arrest, the expulsion of the Festina team and the sustainedscandalofthe1998Tour,somethingshavechanged.Thesport isnowmorescrutinised,ridersaretestedmoreregularly,butitwouldbewrongtobelievethatthecultureofdopinghasdisappeared.

IntheirraidontheTourofItaly,thecarabinieriseizedawiderangeofdopingproducts.Largequantities of insulin were discovered, many riders had testosterone patches and many teams stillcarriedmobilelaboratoriesthatcouldbeusedtoensureridersdonotfailtheobligatorydrugtests.

In the cyber bar, stillNicolas Fouilloutwaits.We talk about theTour.A fewpeople from thesocial servicesofficeacross the roadcome towatch the race inhisbar,but ithasnever interestedhim.HehasheardofLanceArmstrong?"He'stheguythatwasverysick,cancer,"hesays."Yeah,Ilikehim.Maybesomeracersstilldope,Idon'tcareaboutthat.He'satoughguy."

The Hotel Roncevaux is on Rue Louis Barthou, and in the early afternoon, checking to seewhethertelevisioncoverageoftheday'sstagehasbegun,youhituponare-runofthe1989stagetoAlped'Huez.There is no suspensebecause this is a storywell remembered, but still you sit there,unabletomove.

The Dutch rider Theunisse has broken away. Behind him the Colombian Rondon and theSpaniardDelgado chase furiously, in their slipstreams the yellow jersey ofGregLeMond and hisprincipalrival,LaurentFignon.Theyracewiththeirmouthsopen,suckingwhateveroxygenthereisontheupperslopesoftheAlpe.

Aboutthreemilesfromthetop,Fignonattacks.LeMondtriesbutcannotfollow.SoonDelgadocounter-attacks and the exhaustedLeMond is left behind. It isn't the ebb and flowof the chase thatkeepsyousittingonahotelbed12yearson,buttheinhumanityofthesuffering.Delgado'sheadbobswearily,Fignon'sshoulderslurchfromrighttoleft,LeMond'slegscanbarelyturnthepedals.

Itwouldbewrong toportray theToursofyesterdayasparagonsof fairplay.Theunisse,whowonthatstagetoAlped'Huez,wouldtestpositivefortestosteroneonthreeseparateoccasions.Ayearbefore,DelgadohadusedthemaskingdrugprobenicidintheTourdeFrance.Still,the1989climbofAlped'HuezappeareddifferentfromArmstrong'stourdeforceonthesamemountaininthisyear'srace.

Even12yearsago,theraceseemedmorehuman,moreengaging.AntoineVayer,onceanethicalbut unappreciated trainerwith the disgracedFestina team, believes the great change camewith theintroductionofEPOintheearly1990s.

"IdidlotsoftestingwiththeFestinariders,"hesays."BeforeEPO,weusedtosayaVO2max(themeasureof an athlete's ability toprocessoxygen)of85wasdamngood,but all that changed.WhenItestedtheridersinDecember1997,theaverageVO2maxmighthavebeen72or73.ButwhenItestedthemlater,atatimewhenriderswereusingEPO,theguyswhoweredopingrecordedaVO2maxthatwas25-30%greater.That'stotallyunnatural.ChristopheMoreau,whowontheprologuetothisyear'srace,hadaVO2maxof70,andthreemonthslateritwasmorethan92.Crazy.

"Itwas scary, too.As you turn up the power, theVO2 test gets harder and the production oflactateshouldactasabrake.Itshouldhavemadethemslowdown.ButwithEPO,thisdidn'thappen;theyfeltnopainintheirlegsandthelactateactedasafuelthatmadethemgofaster.Ilookedatwhattheyweredoingandthought,'We'renotdealingwithhumanbeingsanymore'."

Thetestsdesignedtocatchthosewhocheathaveneverbeengoodenough.Voet'sadmissionthathehelpedmorethan500riderstodopebutdidnothaveonepositivetesttellsallthatweneedtoknowabout theefficacyof thecontrols.And thosewhobelievecycling is lifting itselfoutof thehellof

blood-boostingdrugswillfindithardtoreconcilethatbeliefwiththefactthatthisyear'sTourwillbethe third-fastest in history. The four fastest have been won by Armstrong (1999), Pantani (1998),Armstrong(2001)andArmstrong(2000).

Theironyfortheracersisthattheever-risingspeedsdonotexcitethefans.Rather,theydistancethem. In the French newspaper Liberation on Thursday, the philosopher and cycling fan RobertRedeker wrote of the gulf that now exists between the race and the racers: "The athletic typerepresentedbyLanceArmstrong,unlikeFaustoCoppiorJeanRobic,iscomingclosertoLaraCroft,thevirtuallyfabricatedcyberheroine.Cyclingisbecomingavideogame,theone-time'prisonersofthe road' have become virtual human beings, an expression that could be applied to Indurain,Virenque,UllrichandArmstrong.GinoBartali,Robic,Coppi,LouisBobethavebeensubstitutedbyRobocoponwheels,someonewithwhomnofancanrelateoridentify."

LeMond,thethree-timewinneroftheTour,nowwatchesfromafarandadmitstonotknowinghowtoreact:"WhenLancewontheprologuetothe1999Tour,Iwasclosetotears.Hehadcomebackfromcancer,inthemiddleofmycareerIhadtocomebackfrombeingaccidentallyshot(whileonahuntingtripin1987)-itfeltlikewehadalotincommon.

"But when I heard he was working with Michele Ferrari, I was devastated. One AmericanjournalistwrotethattheonlyreasonyouvisitFerrariistotellhimtogetthehelloutofyoursport.Iagreewiththat.InthelightofLance'srelationshipwithFerrari,Ijustdon'twanttocommentonthisyear'sTour.

"Inageneralsense,ifLanceisclean,itisthegreatestcomebackinthehistoryofsport.Ifheisn't,itwouldbethegreatestfraud."

Intheperformance-enhancinggamethereisnoshortageoffraud.LastTuesdaymorningTorbenRaskLaursenandOleSteenlefttheTourforadayandtravelledanhoursouthtotheSpanishcityofGirona. Rask Laursen is a journalist with Ekstra Bladet in Denmark, Steen a photographer. Theyrandomly selected four pharmacies and asked if they could buy four prescription drugs, allperformance-enhancingandincludingEPO.Ineachtheyweretolditwouldbepossible.Atthefourth,inthewesternsuburbofSangregori,theypurchasedsixampoulesof0.5millilitresofEprex,abrandof EPO, for 60 euros. Theywere not asked for a prescription andwere not quizzed onwhy theywantedtobuythem.

SergeLansamanisthenightmanagerattheHotelRoncevaux.Ithasbeenalongnight,buthehasslept a little andasa three-times-a-week swimmer, the longhoursdon'thurthim.Hewas18whenLeMondwonhisfirstTour,beatingBernardHinault,andhethoughtitwasthebestperformancehehadeverseen.

LansamanwatchestheTournow,butdoesn'tbelievewhatheisseeing."Theimprovementoverthe past 10 years has been too much," he says. "Doping is a big problem, as it is in my sport,swimming.Itisnotnormaltogoasfastastheynowgo.Istillwatch,butit'snotthesame.Armstrongisachampionbecauseofhowherecoveredfromcancer,butLeMondismyfavouritecyclist."

IaskLansamanhowbesttodescribehim."TypicalFrenchguy,"hesays.

StopwatchbringsuncertaintimeforTour

DavidWalsh

August5,2001

"Fifteenyearsago,GregLeMondandBernardHinaultmemorablyclimbedAlped'Huezside-by-side,

wellclearoftheirrivals.TheyclimbedAlped'Huez10minutesslowerthanArmstrong

"

TheTourdeFrancehasbeenandgone, leavinguswithabetterunderstandingofwhere ithascomefrom,butwithnosenseofwhereitisgoing.Accordingtotheorganiser,JeanMarieLeblanc,the signs are good. "This year the Tour rediscovered its smile," he said. The organiser wasencouraged,too,abouttherace'sbattlewithdoping:"Thingsaregettingbetter."

Hardly hadLanceArmstrong crossed the line on theChampsElysees than hewas off on thecelebrity circuit. He bantered with David Letterman, met mayor Rudolph Guiliani at US Postal'sofficesinNewYorkandcalledroundtoseePresidentBushattheWhiteHouse.Theparadewillbethisweek.

Soall'swell then?LetmetellyouaboutafinepieceofjournalisminParisMatch.TheauthorwasAntoineVayer, a sports scientist and former trainerwith the discredited Festina cycling team.Vayerhaslongbeenanopponentofperformance-enhancingdrugsandwhenmostoftheridersandmanagementatFestinawereinvolvedinasystematicdopingprogramme,heworkedonlywiththosewhorefusedtodope.

FundamentaltoVayer'sargumentinParisMatchwasthattheintroductionoftheblood-boostinghormoneerythropoietin(EPO)intheearly1990schangedthenatureofperformanceandcompetitioninprofessionalcycling.Therehadalwaysbeendopingincycling,butnodrughadasmuchimpactasEPO.Scientificresearchandanecdotalevidencesuggestsitimprovesperformancebyupto20%.

InexplainingtheincreasedspeedintheTouroverthepastdecade,Vayerpointedtotwofactors:theshorteningoftherouteanddopingproducts.Thirteenofthe15fastestTourshavebeenachievedin thepast14years.Over thepast threeyears, ithasbeenharder for the riders touseEPO.BloodcontrolsaimedatcurbingtheabuseofthehormonewereintroducedandthereisnowaurinetestthatdetectsEPOtakenwithinthreedaysofthetest.

Butistheracecleaner?TheTourorganisersinsistitis.Beforethisyear'srace,theysuggesteditwouldbeaslowerTour

andthatthefatigueoftheriderswouldbeobviousinthethirdweek.Itdidn'thappen.Armstrongwontheraceridingatanaveragespeedofmorethan40kph,thesecondfastestinhistory.Morestartlingwasthespeedwithwhichheandtheotherleadingriderscrossedthemountainpasses.

ArmstrongracedupAlped'Huezin38min1sec.OnlyMarcoPantanieverrodetheAlpefasterandon thedayof the Italian's spectacularperformance in1998, the routewasnotnearly so tough.Sincehisperformancein1998,Pantanihasbeenconvictedofsportingfraud(doping)byanItaliancourtandgivenathree-monthsuspendedjailsentence.

Fifteenyearsago,GregLeMondandBernardHinaultmemorablyclimbedAlped'Huezside-by-side,wellclearof their rivals.Between them,LeMondandHinaultwoneightTours.TheyclimbedAlped'Huez10minutesslowerthanArmstrong.

MostridersarediminishedbycomparisonwithArmstrong.His2001ridewas4min15secfasterthan Laurent Fignon in 1989, 1min 45sec faster than Miguel Indurain in 1991. There are othercomparisons: on last year's Tour, Armstrong climbed Courcevel 4min 20sec faster than RichardVirenque when he won the stage in 1997. At that time, Virenque was part of Festina's dopingprogramme.

Equallyinterestingistheimprovementintime-trialperformances.Inthe1998Girod'Italia,AlexZullerodethefastestevertimetrialwhenachievinganaveragespeedof53.771kph.Zullewasthenco-leaderofFestinaandawillingparticipantintheteam'sdopingprogramme.Onlastyear'sTourdeFrance, on a course slightlymore difficult thanZulle's,Armstrongwent even faster, recording anaverage speed of 53.986kph. In explaining how he is able to beat the times of talented and dopedrivals,muchismadeofhisnaturaltalent.DuringhisfirstfourTours,hewasamoderateperformeragainsttheclockandtherewaslittleindicationhewouldcompeteinthefuture.

Much,too,ismadeofimprovementsinthedesignandmakeofthebike.Vayerclaimsthisisa

myth.Because theyallowedamoreaerodynamicpositionon thebike, triathlonhandlebarsmadeasignificantdifference,but in1998theywerebanned.Sincetheirdisappearance, time-trialshavegotfaster.

Neitheris theremuchtobegainedfromreducingtheweightof thebike.Abikeweighingonekilolessgains21metresduringanhour-longrideat50kph.Atthesamespeedforthesameduration,aridercangain864metresthroughoneampouleofstill-undetectablegrowthhormone.

Itwasn't justArmstrongwhoproduced theextraordinaryon thisyear'sTour.RobertoLaisekafromSpainwon thestage toLuzArdidenandmadeamurderouslysteepclimb in record time,his37min20secbeatingLucLeblanc's37min40sec.Leblancsethismarkin1994,theearlyyearsoftheEPOeraandhe,too,waspartoftheFestinaprogramme.

Thequestionsposedbythefiguresarestraightforward:couldcleanriders,asArmstrongclaims,produceperformancessuperiortothebestoftheEPOgeneration?Orhastheblood-boostinggamemovedontoahigherlevel?YoucaninterpretthetimesquotedbyVayeranywayyouchose.Butifyou'reinterestedintruth,whatyoucannotdoisignorethem.

Chorusofboossoundslikelostinnocence

DavidWalsh

July28,2002

"Howthechampionofthisgenerationconductshimselfonthedopingquestionisamatterofenormous

significance.Armstronghasbeenadisappointingambassador

"

AttheworldathleticschampionshipsinEdmontonlastyear,RussianathleteOlgaYegorovaranamagnificentracetobeattheOlympicchampion,GabrieleSzabo,inthe5,000mfinal.ItwasthepeakofYegorova'scareer,butasshetookcontroloftheraceroundingthefinalbend,therewasthefaintsoundofbooingfromthepackedarena.

Intothestraight,Yegorovaacceleratedimpressively.Butthebooinggotlouder.Bythetimeshereachedthefinishline,shewasfullyawareofherunpopularitywiththeCanadiancrowd.

Yegorovawasbooedbecausethefansbelievedshehaddoped.AfterapositivedrugtestforEPOat ameeting in Paris shortly before the world championships, Yegorova was cleared because theFrench authorities had not complied with the testing procedures of the IAAF, athletics worldgoverningbody.

PaulaRadcliffemadeknownheroppositiontoYegorova'spresenceattheworldchampionships,and given Radcliffe's integrity, the public was always going to listen. It was nevertheless thechampionship's saddest moment, because Yegorova's win meant nothing. What is victory withoutglory,whatisagoldmedalwithoutvalue?

Aweekago,anotherchampiononhiswaytovictorywasbooed.BecauseLanceArmstrongwasclimbingthelunar-likelandscapeofMontVentouxandfindingapassagethroughacrowdestimatedat300,000,notmanyknewoftheextentofthederision.ItwasArmstrongwhoexplainedafterwardswhathehadheard.

"IfIgotadollarforeverytimesomeoneshouteddope,Iwouldbearichman.Thetroubleis,if10peoplecheerandoneboos,itistheboothatyouhear."

Armstrongwas shaken by the reaction of thosewhobooed.He reckonedmanyof themweredrunk andmost had no class.But hewas stunned and hurt. Thiswas not some zealot in the pressroom;thesewereordinarypeopleunsureofwhattheywerewatching,anddamningintheirjudgment.

Itwaseasy toseewhyArmstrongfelt itunfair.Hehasneverfailedadrug test.AnditseemedabsurdthatRichardVirenque,onhiswaytowinningthatracetothesummitoftheVentouxlastweek,shouldhavebeencheeredalltheway.

InhisbookBreakingTheChain,Virenque'sformersoigneur,WilliVoet,detailedtheextentofVirenque's doping.Even then, the rider lied for twoyearswhen itwasknownhehadbeenpart ofFestina'sdopingprogramme.LastweekhewasheraldedontheVentoux,Armstronghassled.

Part of the explanation is that Virenque is French, and in the battle between partisanship andmorality,thesilvermedalwillinvariablybeclaimedbymorality.Butthereismoretoitthanthat.

SomebelieveArmstrongrepresentsabrighterandcleanerfuture;othersarenotsosureandfearnothinghaschanged.Howthechampionofthisgenerationconductshimselfonthedopingquestionisamatterofenormoussignificance.Armstronghasbeenadisappointingambassador.HisdecisiontocontinuetoworkwithMicheleFerrariwhilethedoctorwasbeinginvestigated,arrested,chargedandnowtriedonchargesthathedopedcyclistsisincomprehensible.

"TheonlyreasonyouvisitMicheleFerrari,"saidoneUSsportswriter,"shouldbetotellhimtogetthehelloutofyoursport."

IwouldhavebeenslowtobooArmstrongontheVentouxandYegorovaatEdmonton.Whateverthereservationsabouttheirconduct,whateverthesuspicionsabouthowtheyprepare,theywerenotfoundguiltybytheirsports'authorities,andshouldbeentitledtothesametreatmentasotherathletes.Thebooingcouldbejustifiablydirectedatthosewhogovernsport.

At those, for example,who run professional baseball and ice hockey in theUS but refuse tocarryoutdrug-testing.Weshouldbeequallyscathingofthosewhorunthewomen'stennistourandsaytheyhaven'tenoughmoneytoconductunannouncedrandomtesting.AndJenniferCapriatisaysshedoesn'tseewhysheshouldopenherdoortoadrug-tester.Yetwhensheplays,peoplecheer.

Armstrong and Yegorova can see themselves as victims and decide that when the rabble are

roused,fairnessisnotalwayspartoftheresponse.ItwastherabblethatclamouredforPilatetofreeBarabbasandnotJesus.

Armstrong said the episodewould not bother him for long: "When I amon a beachwithmyfamilyinthreeorfouryear