Lance Armstrong is back in the saddle at the Tour de France, trolling one of the world’s most prestigious athletic events and spitting in the face of his lifetime ban. Unable to actually compete, he’s instead riding several stages of the race the day before the actual race does in a thinly veiled f-you to honest athletes, cycling’s governing body, and the legion of heart broken fans he betrayed, all in his all-too-familiar role as the good guy trying to raise money for cancer.
There was a time I would have thought this was really cool. I was a huge Lance fan: followed the Tours, read his books, got wildly excited when he tried a second comeback after his first retirement. I defended him to the bitter end because I thought there was no way he would put his message, his story, and the good work of his organization in jeopardy by not only being a cheat, but also by denying it so vehemently. Now he looks like a stooge, perpetuating more fraud in the name of making everyone think he really is a good guy.
He's turning into Pete Rose
Warren,
I don't recall that Pete Rose did any cheating. He bet on his own team to win a few games and also bet on other teams that he had no control over. How does that compare to Lance Armstrong's cheating?