A Tactical Surrender
A Fight He Couldn't Win?
Bicycle racing, much like auto racing, is a highly tactical sport. Teams block and assist their riders, and riders themselves need to decide when to attack.
But one also needs to know when to lay back, or perhaps even to abandon the race entirely. Lance Armstong's refusal to fight accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career, despite what some may say, may be such a case.
Armstrong may have realized that he couldn't get a fair trial. That despite having tested clean every time he was tested, that he would be found guilty.
Now it is possible that he was using PEDs, and a complex conspiracy was going on. That he or his doctors were tipped off to what was being tested for, that samples were swapped, or results never revealed. But even then, there should have been a "false positive" or two.
What I think is that Armstrong has decided to be tried in the court of public opinion, and figures he will be acquitted there. That he'll be seen as a victim of a witch hunt.
So far, it may be working.