Case may need more work

20 May 2011 | 0:00 - By The Broom Wagon

With the news breaking of yet another Lance Armstrong teammate alleging doping by the seven-time Tour de France champion the Broom Wagon suggests a better defence may be needed.

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Lance Armstrong has spent a lot of time in doping control (Image: AAP)

The Broom Wagon is a legal expert in the same way Wayne Rooney is a qualified advisor on anger management. But it nevertheless furrowed its brow in the style of Perry Mason on hearing the Lance Armstrong camp's reaction to the latest round of doping allegations, this time from former teammate Tyler Hamilton.

Hamilton, himself a disgraced drug cheat, told CBS's 60 Minutes that he witnessed Armstrong blood doping ahead of his Tour de France wins in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

CBS is disabling YouTube embeds, but you can watch an extract of the interview with Hamilton here.

In response, Armstrong tweeted: "20 + year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case."

Now there are other possible responses here, including questioning Hamilton's credibility and motivation, helpfully summarised on Facts4Lance.com, which Armstrong also tweeted a link to.

But the flaw in basing your main line of defence on having never failed a test is, in this context, so large and flawy that even this TV lawyer might have been able to spot it.

Hamilton claims he saw the seven-time Tour champ injecting EPO, the widely-known blood booster for which cycling did not introduce a urine test until 2001.

Five whole years after the test was introduced, a Cyclingnews report felt confident stating that "methods for avoiding positive (EPO) tests have always stayed ahead of the anti-doping laboratories." In the same year, two former Armstrong teammates revealed to the New York Times that they had doped using EPO, and neither had tested positive.

Not having tested positive while riding in this period is, therefore, not quite the knockdown argument Armstrong's tweet would suggest.

Should charges be laid following the current US investigation into whether Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to defraud sponsors, a slightly more nuanced case for the defence is something you may want to work on, big guy.

Product placement of the week

In related news, Kingston University's Department of the Bleeding Obvious has finished its study into the psychology of cheating athletes. And as it turns out, athletes who have taken banned substances – you're never going to believe this – do generally try to cover their tracks.

To be fair, there's some interesting stuff in there about the patterns we leave when we pretend we aren't cheating. But of greater interest for the Broom Wagon's childish purposes is the Google ad served next to Science Daily's article: "EPO-Boost Supplement – Increase EPO Levels Over 90% Improve Your Endurance Now".

Things you hear in cycling that you rarely hear in other sports

"I've always wanted to win on a volcano and this was my opportunity," Contador said.

Dispatches from the Twitterverse

A big sarcastic "thanks" to the leopard rider who was going backwards and crashed me as he hand-slung someone w 5 km to go. Hands on bars! - @brentbookwalter

So I suffer for 4 hours on a bike & my wife has been practicing her golf swing. should be a law against that! - @RobbieHunter

You guys rock! That is, those of you who cheered their heads off. Don't be deceived by our blank expressions/focus. We hear you! - @BenKing89

Turn up the stereo and listening to kings of Leon sex on fire. Wouter we miss you - @schleckfrank

Saw a bear on top of climb today. Was very kind, and spoke perfect English. Remarkable. - @wegelius

Classic GiroTube

At the 1974 Giro, Eddy Merckx was king and unsuspecting cafe owners had their soft drinks looted by dozens of cyclists. As a rider, if you didn't have the foresight to bring along your own bottle opener, your options were trying to prise open your glass lemonade bottle on your stem (2.01) or with your teeth (2.23).





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Comments (8)

23 May 2011 20:46 AEST

Dan

From: Darwin

--

Here we go, here we go, bloody hell the crap has hit the fan again, and the Giro has another week to go and the TDF is only what, 6 weeks away. Maybe what Floydie boy has been sayin all along does ring true. The tall poppy syndrome people, we aussies are the world champs of it, we launch before we look and those scissors are sharp. Didn't your mum's ever say don't run with them. BUT, Lance my boy your done like a dog's dinner. The boys are fessin up and you not gonna get outta this one I reckon. The UCI and WADA should take a good long hard look at themselves, take the broom out of the dusty closet and clean sweep the old buggers out. Put some fresh young minds and people who respect the sport with one rule for all, you dope, your banned for life. No ifs no buts, your out sunshine and I don't care who you are or how much money you've got, there's the door. Feed the man meat and he gets caught and may still get off. How the hell did that happen, what about the other riders in his team, does he have his own personal chef, well I would have sacked him for buying enhanced beef product. Connie if you get off then look out there will be a big target on your back this year at the TdF and everyone is going to question your prowess going up those mountains (with Cadel and co chasing you boyo). Ride clean boys, ride clean. My respect to Thomas Frei because he is the only rider I've heard off in the past twelve or so months who put his hand up straight off and said yep I did. Respect boys it goes along way with each other and especially your fans.

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23 May 2011 18:05 AEST

mary

From: rosanna

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let me get this right. the current leader of the giro has tested positive to a performance enhancing drug and lance has yet to do so, by the way and why shouldnt he use this as a defence? this journalist/blogster is so certain of guilt that he can address armstrong as 'big guy'. big guy?? after reading this article i need to take some anger management courses.

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23 May 2011 14:39 AEST

Raul

From: Valencia

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The more I look at old pictures of Eddie, the more I see Johan Bruyneel.

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23 May 2011 13:58 AEST

Devils Advocate

From: Sydney

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68yrs old, been around sport a long time. When you have mere humans competing who will come & watch? Where will the sponsors come from? If we had chemicaly aided sport & clean sport, seperately we all know where the sponsors & the sports associations money would land,dont we?

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23 May 2011 9:46 AEST

rubber duckie

From: melb

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if it rides like an armstrong, it must be an armstrong ... all u other drakes have been too long at the fair ... giving an orangatang epo does not make it a person , more testees/ less tests and who saw who shaving whose chest, little boo squelers have lost their sheep,SEVEN TIMES, couldnt u have stopped and told one of those bold germdames ... whose fingerprints are on those viles.

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22 May 2011 18:30 AEST

michael

From: tweed heads

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Cadel would have won a TDF had Johan bryneel not been besides AC. I am very dubious of AC being clean. The world is coming down on Lance and why can't they test half a dozen B samples , this is just as good proof . Its rubbish you need an A sample as well. No GC riders in the late nineties where clean , they all played on the same field.

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22 May 2011 9:59 AEST

Robert P

From: Melbourne

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I wonder what the Facts 4 Lance website will have to say about the news that Hincapie has also testified to the feds. It's not as easy to discredit big George as Floyd and Hamilton, that's for sure. David Harmon on Eurosport said this is the end of the end for Lance and I am inclined to agree.

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20 May 2011 16:58 AEST

Bickus

From: Seattle

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Hear hear! 'I have never been caught by a test that is 10 years out of date and which every man and his dog knows how to get around'. Also; when is this plasticiser test going to be validated? Also also; Lionel Hutz FTW!

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