Lance Armstrong says he's at peace with himself
In his first interview since the US Anti-Doping Agency sanctioned him with a lifetime ban on professional cycling and stripped him of his seven titles in the Tour de France, he said "nobody has to pity me. I will be very good".
Anyway it was an attack on his ego that a boy of 16 years, Keegan Swirbul, beat him on Saturday in the race Power of Four of bicimontaña. Armstrong finished second, almost five minutes behind the teenager.
Shortly after passing the goal, Armstrong spoke for a few minutes until he said: "Okay, I'm going to eat a cheeseburger".
What I was not sure about was running a marathon on Sunday as planned.
His raid on Saturday in the mountains surrounding Aspen, Colorado, came a day after the American Anti-Doping Association banned him for life from professional cycling and stripped him of his seven titles in the Tour de France on the grounds that he used stimulants.
Only a handful of fans witnessed the start of the Power of Four bicycle race, a stretch of 57 kilometers (36 miles) with many climbs.
When asked if he was ready, Armstrong smiled and replied, "I hope so ... This will be difficult for all of us."
His spokesman Mark Higgins said that Armstrong plans to attend the World Cancer Congress in Montreal where he should deliver a keynote address to thousands of people.
"There it will be," Higgins said.
Fans defended Armstrong on Twitter praising the work of his foundation for the fight against cancer. His sporting successes helped sell millions of yellow plastic bracelets with the legend "Livestrong" to promote cancer research. He has raised almost 500 million dollars since he started the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997.
On Friday alone, the foundation said it had received 400 donations for a total of about 75.000 dollars.
The famous cyclist, who retired a year ago and will complete the 41 next month, announced on Thursday that he would not continue opposing USADA and decided not to exercise his last option, which was to accept arbitration. He insisted that he never took banned substances and called the USADA investigation "witch hunts."
USADA Executive Director Travis Tygart called the investigation a battle against "the culture of winning at any price" and added that the UIC is "obliged to recognize our decision and impose it".
"He has no alternative but to remove the titles according to the code," he added.
If the penalty is confirmed, Greg MeMond would be the only American to win the Tour de France, the ultimate competition in cycling, in 1986, 1989 and 1990.
LeMond did not immediately respond to the messages left to him by his attorneys and friends in search of a statement.
On Friday, Armstrong announced on Twitter his plans to run in Aspen, but did not make direct comments on the sanctions.
The UCI and USADA have fought a battle of jurisdictions to determine who should judge the allegations against Armstrong. The UIC even endorsed Armstrong's failed legal objection to USADA's authority.
If the Tour leaders meet the sanction of USADA, Jan Ullrich would be promoted to champion in three of the races won by Armstrong. Ullrich was stripped of his third place in the 2005 Tour and retired from cycling two years later after being implicated in another doping case.
The German cyclist showed no desire to rewrite the history of cycling. "I finished my professional career and I always said I was proud of my second place."
For its part, the International Olympic Committee said Friday that it will await decisions from USADA and UIC before taking any action against Armstrong, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
USADA was established at 2000 as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the United States. As Armstrong ran in competitions sanctioned by the UIC, he was subject to the international rules on drugs whose compliance is implemented by USADA in the United States.
USADA said its evidence came from more than a dozen witnesses "who agreed to testify and provided evidence about their first-hand experience and / or knowledge of the doping activity of those involved in the USPS conspiracy," reference to the former team of Armstrong, US Postal Service.
Source: eluniversal.com.co
