Dan H
Jake, I didn't read all that but I think you are confusing my comment as
defense for LeMond. It's not.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jake Bigham
To: br-@politesociety.com
Cc: sal-@bicyclinghub.com ; ob-@topica.com
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 1:16 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] WARNING-this is a long one- Mr. leMond
Dan- I think the point here is not so much Mr. LeMond's relative weight but
the plausible and probable motivation for a former top athlete to virulently
make discrediting statements about the character and performance of a
currant athlete.
Being overweight or out of shape does not by itself affect anyones
credibility; drawing parallels between your own struggle to perform at peak
levels and another's ability to do the same would affect your credibility if
you failed to recognize that a contributing factor was your own failure
maintain your fitness with the same dedication as the other guy.
The bottom line here is that making public statements denigrating the
achievements of someone who is overshadowing your legacy is a strong
indication of poor sportsmanship. Let us not forget that Mr. LeMond is not
offering proof and does not substantiate his remarks; he just makes
allegations from second, third, or more distant sources. His certainty that
Mr. Armstrong is a cheater comes not from knowledge about what Mr. Armstrong
is actually doing but from his belief that no other American cyclist could
better his record without resort to cheating.
Notice how none of the other luminaries of Tour history have decided to go
on news shows to make similar accusations; I think it is safe to assume that
this is not simply because no one asked them to. Notice also how Mr.
Lemond's has not made allegations regarding Thomas Voeckler's ability to
wear yellow or Richard Virenque's ability to climb (or drug history). Mr.
LeMond doesn't make nasty allegations about Jan Ullrich's night life
penchant for X. No, Mr. Lemond's comments are limited to a single target who
happens to be the man who is overshadowing his mantle as America's greatest
cyclist.
It may turn out that Mr. Armstrong has taken performance enhancing drugs. It
could be he is Eli Lilly's best customer. It may turn out that there are
virtually no professional cyclists in the past 40 years (including Mr.
LeMond) that have not attempted to find an advantage in the medicine chest.
On the other hand it could be that Mr. Armstrong is clean and the whole
thing is a witch hunt. Mr. Armstrong is among the few who would know the
final answer to that question first hand. Mr. LeMond is among the few who
don't care about knowing the facts. Mr. LeMond is among the few who don't
need proof to engage in character assassination.
The question of drugging or not is unknown at this time. The question poor
sportsmanship and jealousy has, sadly, been resolved. I would be ashamed to
ride a bicycle with the name LeMond on it, but I guess a paint job or a few
stickers could fix that!
On Monday, July 19, 2004, at 12:08 PM, Dan H wrote:
"To accuse everyone else of doping while you would come into to the season
20 pounds overweight is just plain silly."
???!
I come into the season 20 pounds overweight [and often maintain it] but if I
thought someone was doping and I said something about it I don't think being
fat would affect my credibility.
----- Original Message -----
From: sal-@bicyclinghub.com
To: ob-@topica.com
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Mr. lemond
Greg LeMond loved eating at Taco Bell too many times during the off season
and his weight always reflected that in January. To accuse everyone else of
doping while you would come into to the season 20 pounds overweight is just
plain silly.
Although Lance is probably isn't the saint we believe him to be, Greg has a
serious case of sour grapes because he's no longer the best American cyclist
ever. To this day, he remains bitter that he didn't win the 1985 Tour De
France when his coach told him to stop while he was attacking his team
leader in the Yellow jersey.
DD
Jake Bigham <ja-@chesshirarchitecture.com> wrote:
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Jake Bigham
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