Exclusive: Lance Armstrong's rider for that Oprah interview
We don't know precisely what he's going to say, but it's not hard to guess. He'll admit to having used one or more performance-enhancing substances (probably EPO), but might stop short of disclosing the full collection of skeletons in his pharmacy-sized medicine cabinet. He'll say that he started doping because that was the only way he could possibly compete at the top level of international cycling, as most other big names were doping too. He might say that he felt he had to continue doping because his charity Livestrong proved so successful in raising funds for cancer research and support, and the only way to maintain its public profile was to keep winning at all costs. He might say that he couldn't admit his actions sooner because that would have destroyed Livestrong's work. Finally, he might even say that the UCI (cycling's governing body) was complicit in the ubiquity of doping in professional cycling because it knew what was happening and actively took steps to conceal his involvement to take advantage of the sport's increased popularity.
There are certainly a few carefully concealed kernels of truth lurking in those points. Most of Armstrong's main rivals - Jan Ullrich, Joseba Beloki, Alex Zülle, Marco Pantani, Alexandre Vinokourov, Ivan Basso and others - have since tested positive or admitted doping. And some of the witnesses who testified in the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA)'s inquiry provided evidence which implicates the UCI in helping Armstrong to cover his tracks.
Assuming that Armstrong takes this approach, then, should we forgive his actions and move on without any further recriminations? No. Here's why.
1. He probably still won't admit the full extent of his cheating. Even if he admits taking EPO, that still leaves cortisone, human growth hormone and testosterone. According to testimony provided to USADA by former teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife Betsy, they both heard Armstrong tell doctors treating him for cancer in Indianapolis in 1996 that he'd already taken all those substances. There's also credible evidence from several sources that he engaged in systematic blood doping. Armstrong's lawyers have repeatedly claimed that he underwent 500-600 tests during his career without returning a positive test, but this is nonsense. First, UCI and USADA figures show that he was only subjected to 275 tests. Second, evidence presented to USADA appears to show that he tested positive several times - for corticosteroids at the 1999 Tour, for EPO at the Tour of Switzerland in 2001 (according to former teammates Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton), for EPO when six urine tests provided in 1999 were reexamined using new tests in 2005, and for blood doping when 38 samples provided between 2009 and 2011 were reexamined by USADA.
2. He probably still won't name names - or, at least, not all the names. Armstrong's friend Dr Michele Ferrari has still not admitted any involvement, despite strong evidence presented to USADA that he ran the doping program at Armstrong's team (US Postal). According to USADA, examples of his methods include administering saline injections to fool blood tests for EPO and blood doping, and using hypoxic chambers and other measures to boost natural production of EPO and thereby throw off the ratios by which synthetic injections of EPO can be identified through testing. USADA charged him in July 2012 with administration and trafficking of prohibited substances and issued a lifetime ban from professional sport, though the effectiveness of this ban outside their jurisdiction remains to be seen. If Armstrong claims to be trying to clean up the sport, he needs to start being less selective in identifying the culprits - regardless of their staunch support for his lies.
3. Not being the only cheat doesn't excuse cheating. There were some clean riders on the professional circuit while Armstrong was winning the Tour. Perhaps they would have achieved better results had Armstrong (and others) not chosen to cheat. Perhaps riders arriving later on the circuit would have been better placed to resist peer pressure and ride clean had Armstrong not dominated the sport with tainted performances - it's been reported by at least one rider that this pressure came from Armstrong himself. The fact that his rivals were also cheating does not mean Armstrong beat them on a level playing field - it just means he was able to deploy greater financial resources to gain an additional advantage from "better" doping.
4. He's accrued substantial personal gains from cheating. Armstrong built a false reputation as the greatest road cyclist of all time, and milked it for every cent he could get. He's estimated to have a personal fortune in excess of $100m. This was partly gained and ruthlessly protected by Armstrong's army of lawyers and commercial backers. He'd previously declared an intention to leverage his do-gooding and seek election to public office. He wasn't cheating to help fellow cancer patients - he was cheating to help Lance Armstrong. Hiding behind Livestrong just won't cut it.
5. He tried to destroy three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. In 2001, LeMond was quoted in a Sunday Times article as saying he was "disappointed" by Armstrong's association with Dr Ferrari. Frankie Andreu testified to having heard Armstrong threaten to ruin LeMond once he became aware of the article. LeMond says Armstrong called him and threatened to find ten of LeMond's former teammates who'd testify that LeMond used EPO. LeMond's wife Kathy has said that one teammate was offered $300,000 to do this, but refused the offer. A month after that article, a retraction from LeMond was published - Kathy has said this was issued by bike manufacturer Trek, who at that time produced a range of bikes branded with LeMond's name as well as supplying Armstrong's team. Armstrong owes LeMond an apology, which he probably won't give.
"Let me do drugs or you will get cancer!"
6. He tried to destroy US Postal team masseuse Emma O'Reilly. O'Reilly came forward in 2004 as part of a book about Armstrong and US Postal called LA Confidential, and has since told her full story in an affidavit submitted to USADA. At the 1999 Tour de France (Armstrong's first victory), it's now accepted that Armstrong tested positive for corticosteroids and was excused by the UCI and the organisers on the basis of prescription use for treating saddle sores. O'Reilly's evidence states that she was present in the room with US Postal's team doctors and Armstrong when they decided to concoct this flimsy defence by fabricating a backdated prescription. She has also said that she was routinely asked to collect and deliver performance-enhancing drugs as part of her job. Armstrong's response was to publicly refer to O'Reilly as "a prostitute with a drinking problem". He sued O'Reilly, the authors of LA Confidential, its publishers and the Sunday Times (who'd printed extracts from the book). The Sunday Times paid $1.5m in damages to Armstrong, which they are now considering trying to recover. It's been reported that the other claims were mostly withdrawn or settled by Armstrong's lawyers at the last possible moment, with the presumed intent of causing the maximum possible damage to the reputations of his accusers without having to prove anything and serving as a deterrent for other witnesses. Armstrong owes O'Reilly an apology and compensation, which he probably won't give.
7. He tried to destroy Frankie and Betsy Andreu. We've already mentioned the Andreus' evidence regarding Armstrong's hospital confession. This was only made public in 2006, when they were called upon to give evidence in a contract dispute between Armstrong and a sponsor who'd withheld a bonus payment. Armstrong's response was to throw the Andreus under the US Postal team bus. A recent Telegraph article quoted an email dated 15 December 2003 and submitted to USADA in which Armstrong had told Frankie that "By helping to bring me down is not going to help y’alls situation at all. There is a direct link to all of our success here. I suggest you remind her of that [sic]". Armstrong's evidence in the 2006 dispute stated (as the New York Times noted in 2006) that Betsy had given this evidence because "she hates me", and Frankie had confirmed her account "to back up his old lady". He's reported to have publicly denounced Betsy as "fat and ugly". He told Sports Illustrated in 2007 that Betsy's evidence was "motivated by bitterness, jealousy and hatred". In a Guardian interview in 2007, he said: "Betsy blogs 24 hours a day about me. If that ain't sick, what is?" According to the New York Daily News, Armstrong's key contact at Oakley left 27 threatening voicemails for the Andreus in a single evening, featuring tactfully-crafted gems such as “I hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head”, and “I also hope that one day you have adversity in your life and you have some type of tragedy that will definitely make an impact on you". Armstrong's line has always been that the Andreus' evidence was motivated by US Postal not renewing his contract in 2000 - but (a) Andreu's departure was triggered by his refusal to keep using EPO, (b) an email submitted to USADA shows Armstrong asking Andreu to consider coming back to the team in 2001, and (c) the Andreus and Armstrongs continued to travel around Europe together in 2002. It's nigh-on impossible to disagree with USADA's verdict that "[t]his evidence provides a strong indication that Armstrong intentionally vilified a longtime friend and his friend’s wife merely to protect himself". Armstrong owes the Andreus an apology and compensation, which he probably won't give.
8. He tried to destroy other former teammates. After agreeing to testify and admitting his own drug use, Tyler Hamilton published a book about doping in cycling in 2011 - according to Hamilton, Armstrong responded by accosting him at a restaurant and saying "When you’re on the witness stand, we are going to fucking tear you apart. You are going to look like a fucking idiot. I’m going to make your life a living fucking hell". Floyd Landis has confessed to using EPO, assisted the authorities and initiated a civil claim against Armstrong for defrauding the US Postal Service - Armstrong is fighting the claim and has referred to Landis as "desperate for attention and money". When Levi Leipheimer confessed to using EPO and agreed to testify, Armstrong texted his wife Odessa for the first time in several years with the three words "run don't walk", which the Leipheimers understandably interpreted as a veiled threat designed to procure their silence. Other former teammates such as George Hincapie, Jonathan Vaughters and Filippo Simeoni received similar treatment according to USADA. Several riders have speculated that they were turned down for better jobs due to Armstrong's pervasive influence. Armstrong owes apologies to all these riders and several more besides, but he probably won't give any.
9. He tried to make six-figure payments to the governing bodies which were responsible for drug testing. In 2002, Armstrong is reported to have made a payment of at least $100,000 to the UCI - purportedly to pay for their purchase of a piece of anti-doping equipment called a Sysmex machine, though the UCI has not been able to clarify where all the money went. It's worth noting - also in 2002 - that the UCI arranged for Armstrong and US Postal team boss Johan Bruyneel to meet Martial Saugy, the director of laboratory in Lausanne which carried out the UCI's doping tests. USADA head honcho Travis Tygart says Saugy told him that he gave Bruyneel and Armstrong a thorough explanation of the testing methods for tracing synthetic EPO at that meeting, having been instructed to do so by the UCI - though Saugy now disputes this. According to the evidence presented to USADA by Landis and Hamilton, the meeting happened shortly after Armstrong told them he had returned a positive test for EPO at the Tour of Switzerland and reassured them that this wouldn't matter because the UCI would take care of it - the implication of the evidence reported by USADA being that the UCI not only covered up the positive test result, but tried to make sure that US Postal would be better placed to avoid positive tests in future. In 2004, Tygart says USADA quickly refused to accept a similar offer of $250,000 from Armstrong on the basis that they recognised a clear conflict of interest. It's rumoured that Armstrong is considering agreeing to testify against the UCI - if Armstrong decides to take the UCI down with him (which would create a serious threat to cycling's inclusion in the Olympics), he at least needs to admit that he offered these payments and explain his reasons for doing so.
10. He's chosen to be interviewed by Oprah rather than finally giving honest evidence under oath. If Armstrong has suddenly experienced an epiphany and is now desperately seeking to clean up his act and the sport he claims to love, why did he choose Oprah to conduct the first "honest" interview of his career? It's the equivalent of Tony Blair appearing on Richard & Judy. When you've got plenty more to hide, choose a mainstream interviewer with no specialist knowledge and admit just enough to fool them into sympathising - it's probably worth a whole chapter in Crisis Management For Dummies (which really should exist).
