Lance Armstrong...Is He all Bad?

After appearing on US television with Oprah Winfrey, we are now supposed to be vilifying Lance Armstrong. He doped his way to glory, infusing his body with EPO, blood transfusions and doses of testosterone, but...!? And that's the problem, that but. At the time, most of the top cyclists were allegedly doping, all trying to achieve that fine edge with which to beat the rest of the field and win at all costs. Therefore, the playing field was level, with most of the top cyclists carrying more than their natural quota of erythrocytes in their bloodstream making the transport of a greater volume of oxygen around their bodies easier and, conversely, clearing their systems of carbon dioxide more quickly.

The comparison could be made with Formula 1, where the constructors all add modifications to their cars in order to make them go that little bit faster, hold the road that little bit better, cleave through the air that little more aerodynamically and all for getting to the finish line that fraction of a second before the rest of the competitors. And, if the modifications escape the notice of the stewards charged with checking that all is fair in the world of the millionaires' motor racing scene, then more fool them - or so it seems. Indeed, the fans of the various Formula 1 teams extol the virtues of each motorised chariot, comparing designs and lauding the cutting edge technological modifications that may enable their team to achieve success that season, even though the other teams' cars may be at a disadvantage due to inferior engineering.

So, despite the doping which allowed Lance Armstrong to have the edge on his peers when toiling along the roads of Europe or triumphing at Olympic Games, he won 7 Tour De France races in an era when the cycling culture was one of dope or be left behind. We shall probably never know the exact number nor identities of the top cyclists who were taking illegal substances during the '90s or early 21st century, but if they were all at it, then Lance Armstrong was the best amongst them. And, doped up or not, when you see the way these athletes seem to skip up a French Alp or two when your car would be coughing and wheezing for breath driving up the same incline, there should be an admiration of their strength and stamina...shouldn't there?

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