Will the cycling sport ever recover after Armstrong confession or is it too litt

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   Louise Latelyposted 11 years ago

   Will the cycling sport ever recover after Armstrong confession or is it too little too late?
   
   After Armstrong confessing to Oprah recently that he was on doping for all of his Tour de France titles - do you think the sport will ever recover? There were even rumours that cycling would be dropped as an Olympic sport if  Armstrong confessed. What do you the repercussions will/should be after such a scandal?
   
   

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   CyclingFitnessposted 11 years ago

   I think maybe a lot of people from outside the sport of cycling have seen Armstrong as actually being bigger than the sport.
   
   I also fear that people stereotype Armstrong as Cycling and Cycling as Armstrong. Certainly the US media and vast numbers of people would know little about the sport without his presence
   
   Cycling as a sport has always had issues with doping and they come from it's extreme endurance nature in the past. If you consider the original Tour De France had stages over 500km in length then you start to realise the grueling nature of the early days of the sport. Riders looked for help just to complete a stage.
   
   Armstrong won his 7 Tour's between 1999 and 2005. A whole 8 years ago and cycling has changed dramatically since. Teams have implemented specific anti-doping programmes and attitudes within the sport have changed dramatically.
   
   I've seen a lot of people talk about the people who were runners up to Armstrong having lost out yet in the most cases they were on drugs too and have been caught for also cheating. That era was rife with drugs in the sport and times have changed and huge numbers of athletes from that era have admitted to offences.
   
   As a sport cycling is actually in an upwards curve yet those who see Armstrong in the media probably fail to see other aspects of the sport. It's just a shame that so many people can't see past the Armstrong= Cycling= cheats stereotype.
   
   If David Beckham or Christiano Ronaldo were caught cheating would that be Socer/ Football tainted forever? Or if Peyton Manning did the same would the NFL's reputation being sullied beyond repair? I think not.

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      Louise Latelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your comment CyclingFitness -I agree that I think the sport will overcome this scandal. I do see Armstrong's Oprah interview as a bit of a publicity stunt but it's what the audience wants 2 see - & a step for him to repair his ex-ca

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   Powerful Pierreposted 11 years ago

   IT would be utterly stupid to punish the sport for one individual who admits his guilt to a degree. There is all kinds of doping in most other sports, football, baseball, soccer and even the odd case in hockey and golf. But as is evident to the naked eye, NO misdemeanor of any kind is enough to make a real sportsfan that loves that sport ever quit supporting it. IF anything it will only enhance cycling over all with maybe stricter rider protocol. Remember I said maybe!! I for one love the bike races thru the mounts. and do not believe for a second any of it will be dropped or eliminated. Lance himself is thru professional riding of course, but his experience makes him  someone's valuable coach or mentor, providing he/she would trust him enough to support him. Very good question btw. Thanks P.P

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      Louise Latelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      very true, and I believe doping is not just Armstrong's problem (even though it is to a massive extent), it's a problem within the sport as a whole so tougher controls are needed and hopefully it will reinforce trust in the sport - thx for ur reply!

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   caponposted 11 years ago

   Armstrong has brought scandal to the sport of Cycling, but with the success of Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour De France France and the Olympic time trial and the other Gold medals won at the Olympics, Cycling in the UK is gaining ground on other sports and has been/is a source of national pride. So my answer is "Yes!" Tony

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      Louise Latelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I believe that you"re right about that there are enough strong Cycling stars/role models to bring the sport forward, many thanks for your comment

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   Louise Latelyposted 11 years ago

   An Australian library created a spoof sign saying that all Lance's books would be moved from the non-fiction section to the fiction section!  Hehe.
   
   Here's a link: http://gawker.com/5977456/australian-li … on-section

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