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LANCE ARMSTRONG TESTED POSITIVE!

5K views 170 replies 51 participants last post by  vincayou 
#1 · (Edited)
sorry this is in German, but you get the sense. will try to translate eventually, unless some German native speaker would do it. ;)

Armstrong positiv getestet
1999 gewann Lance Armstrong die Tour de France zum ersten Mal

Paris/München - Die Radsport-Welt unter Schock: Lance Armstrong steht unter Doping-Verdacht!

Der siebenmalige Sieger der Tour de France soll 1999 bei seinem ersten Erfolg in Frankreich mit EPO nachgeholfen haben. Das berichtet die französische Zeitung "L'Equipe".

Sechs Urinproben positiv

Im französischen Labor in Chatenay-Malabry wurde dem Bericht zufolge in sechs Urinproben des Amerikaners EPO festgestellt.

Die A-Proben des 33-Jährigen waren damals noch negativ ausgefallen. Diese Proben wurden vernichtet, die B-Proben jedoch aufbewahrt.

Mit neuesten Test-Methoden machten sich die Wissenschaftler später in den B-Proben auf sie Suche nach unerlaubten Mitteln - und wurden fündig.

Schon beim Prolog positiv?

Die Vorwürfe werfen einen Schatten auf die Karriere des "Tourminators". Immer wieder hatte Armstrong beteuert, nie mit unerlaubten Mitteln nachgeholfen zu haben.

Auch jetzt wehrt er sich vehement gegen die Vorwürfe: "Ich habe niemals leistungssteigernde Mittel genommen. Das ist purer Skandaljournalismus der L'Equipe", erklärte Armstrong auf seiner Internetseite.

Doch in den Proben nach dem Prolog der Tour 1999 am 3. Juli in Puy-du-Fou, nach der ersten Etappe von Montaigu nach Challans, dem neunten Teilstück von Grand-Bornand nach Sestrières, Etappe Nummer zehn Sestrières - L'Alpe d'Huez, zwölf Saint-Galmier - Saint-Flour und 14 Castres - Saint-Gaudens fanden sich erhöhte EPO-Werte.

EPO wird seit 1983 synthetisch hergestellt


Erythropoetin (EPO) ist ein in der Niere produziertes körpereigenes Hormon, das die Bildung roter Blutzellen in den Stammzellen des Knochenmarks anregt.

Diese Erythrozyten binden in der Lunge Sauerstoff und transportieren diesen zur Versorgung der Zellen in die verschiedenen Körperregionen wie die Muskulatur. Seit 1983 ist es möglich, EPO synthetisch herzustellen.

Unter anderem wurde Ex-Tour-Sieger Marco Pantani des EPO-Doping überführt.

Anschuldigungen seit Jahren

Seit mehreren Jahren muss sich Armstrong mit Doping-Anschuldigungen auseinander setzen.

Unmittelbar vor der Tour de France 2004 erschien zu diesem Thema das Buch "L.A. Confidential - die Geheimnisse des Lance Armstrong".

Darin bezichtigen eine ehemalige Masseurin, frühere Teamkameraden und der ehemalige Tour-de-France Sieger Greg LeMond Armstrong des EPO-Dopings.

Armstrong geht gegen den Autoren David Walsh juristisch vor.

Anklage gegen Dr. Ferrari scheitert

2000 musste der Amerikaner eingestehen, dass ihn der italienische Arzt Dr. Michele Ferrari seit 1995 berät. Diesem wurde vor Gericht vorgeworfen, Radsportler mit Dopingmitteln zu versorgen.

Die Anklage scheiterte jedoch aus Mangel an Beweisen.

Positiver Test von 1999 ohne Folgen

Ein dokumentierter positiver Doping-Befund von Armstrong existiert jedoch. Er datiert pikanterweise vom 4. Juli 1999.

Damals wurde schon während der Rundfahrt ein erhöhter Kortikoid-Wert festgestellt, der mit einem Rezept erklärt wurde.

Das Rezept soll vordatiert worden sein. Der positive Test blieb folgenlos.

Michael Schwartz/sport1.de
 
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#28 ·
I'm sure a lot of American athlets use illegal drugs whic hcan not be found today. Who knows what they develope in their factories. Scary to see all those Americans win at Track and Field.

As to Armstrong. They used a new method which was not able in 1999, just 5 years later to prove he was druged.
 
#29 ·
I'm just trying to imagine how bad 6-year-old piss must smell. :eek:

Nice to see Lance getting some support from Miguel.

France out to get Armstrong for years, says Indurain
Aug 23 12:46 PM US/Eastern

MADRID (Reuters) - Five-times Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain says the accusations of doping made by sports newspaper L'Equipe against Lance Armstrong are part of a campaign designed to discredit the American rider.

"They have been out to get him in France for a number of years," Indurain was quoted as saying on the website todociciclismo.com on Tuesday.

"He's the one who knows about it, but it seems wrong that they are starting to dig over tests from years ago.

"It's all very strange and I don't know to what extent it is legal to keep specimens like this."

L'Equipe, saying it had access to laboratory documents, reported on Tuesday that six of Armstrong's urine samples collected on the 1999 Tour de France showed "indisputable" traces of EPO (erythropoietin).

There were no tests to detect EPO, a drug that increases the level of red blood cells and endurance, in 1999.

However, samples from the 1999 Tour were kept and have been recently retested by the specialist anti-doping laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry outside Paris.

SEVENTH TIME

Armstrong, who won the Tour for the seventh time in succession this year, has denied ever taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Indurain, who won the Tour five times in succession between 1991 and 1995, raised doubts about the testing procedure.

"Anything about Armstrong is news these days, but the question is whether all this is true or not. There are question marks over the reliability of the test (for EPO) and there are a lot of doubts about the whole thing."

Germany's Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner, told German television: "I heard about it, but these are speculations so you can't really say anything about it. It's been six years, and, if it's true, I would of course be disappointed.

"But I can't say anything on it right now. Lance is the greatest of our time and maybe somebody's trying to put him down. I don't know what it's about, so all of this is very speculative."

Swiss Alex Zuelle, who finished second behind Armstrong in the 1999 Tour, told Reuters: "I won't say anything about it because my career as a professional is over.

"I'm not Armstrong. All of this is speculation. Sometimes they have proof, then they haven't ... I'm not interested in it anymore.

"For me, the Tour is over and done with; it's just too many years back."
 
#30 ·
Choupi said:
Do you know that famous saying? The best way to defend yourself is to attack first! ;)
and he's pretty good at that... I wonder if he will try to sue l'équipe as well :scratch::lol:
 
#32 · (Edited)
You tell 'em Tangy! :yeah: This is a somewhat misleading thread because once I read the thread title I thought Lance Armstrong had recently tested positive. But thankfully that's not the case. And the last time I looked 1999 was in the last century. Also, doesn't the French newspaper L'Equipe have anything better to do than try to discredit Lance Armstrong? :rolleyes: I have feared for years that certain European forces would try to plant drugs on Armstrong or in his hotel or luggage because they were possibly desperate enough to try to keep Armstrong from winning the Tour de France year after year. :eek: :mad: But that thankfully never happened.

Well said Miguel Indurain. :) :worship:
 
#33 ·
All the top athletes are on juice,why is it so hard to understand?
 
#35 ·
the cat said:
Also, doesn't the French newspaper L'Equipe have anything better to do than try to discredit Lance Armstrong? :rolleyes:
Since they can't write about a French cyclist winning the Tour de France for 20 years, they at least have to stay occupied ;) :p... and what could be better than reporting about this American jerk Armstrong who doped and bring this 6 year old sample to light now after he retired?

There is no 2nd sample from 1999 available, so neither can Armstrong prove his innocence, nor can they prove his guilt.
 
#36 ·
Good point Neely. I think discrediting Lance Armstrong would have been so much easier in recent years if he had failed a drug test while dominating the Tour de France. But that didn't happen and now his incredible cycling career is over and Armstrong is regarded as an American hero like it or not. And by the way all Armstrong's great cycling success pales in his remarkable comeback from near death with Testicular cancer! :)
 
#37 ·
the cat said:
That's just not true tennisman. I suppose the top tennis players are all on "juice" too. :rolleyes:

I cant say it as a fact but i have a strong feeling that they are
 
#38 · (Edited)
L'Equipe is not just an ordinary tabloid but a serious sports newspaper with a good reputation.

You may feel that it's just the French being pissed off that an American has won the TdF so many times and that they have no real French rival but you are speculating just as much by doing so.

L'Equipe talks about a number of anonymous urine samples, with each a specific number on it with which you can identify the cyclist, dating back to the 1999 tour (and if I'm not mistaken, it was a sample taken after a tough etape - an ride through the Alps or something...I still have to read the article in French). According to the news here, l'Equipe managed to track down documents with those ID numbers and names so they know that this particular sample with EPO has been identified as coming from Lance Armstrong. The trouble is that this can't be used as evidence just because those samples are supposed to remain anonymous.

Now, the proof is not crystal clear. I agree.
However, it's far too easy to just dismiss this as French jealousy or a 'witch hunt by some tabloid because that's using a double standard IMO.
Some of you claim that the French are just throwing mud against the wall and see what sticks just because they resent the fact that an American won it? Fine, but aren't you doing the same thing by calling it a tabloid, by refusing to believe whatever they may claim just because you ASSUME that it's done out of jealousy?

Why are you so sure that L'Equipe is wrong and they have no proof at all?
Isn't it biased and a bit too easy to assume that they are wrong and those evil French just can't handle an American victory?

This case is interesting. A urine sample, traced to Lance Armstrong that tested positive on EPO? Hell, I'm interested.
The articles talks about other urine samples with positive doping test results and I would be interested in finding out these names (or rather, I would love to see this investigated properly).

On the other hand, I sure hope that L'Equipe knows what they're talking about because it's very low to just drag the good reputation of Lance through the mud based on very little evidence.
You only do that if you're absolutely sure of yourself IMO so I hope that they know what they are talking about.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Castafiore, I'm not speculating at all. I was a bit sarcastic with this "American jerk Armstrong comment" talking with a loose tongue and I don't live in the Middle Age to think that the French couldn't handle an American victory and I agree that it's wrong to call a paper like l'Équipe a tabloid, but as long as they don't have a 2nd sample or something better than Armstrong's name coming from probes that normally should remain anonymous and God knows what methods were used to track Armstrong's name back, everything else is speculation for me until somebody brings a REAL prove of Armstrong's guilt like it's normally done.
 
#41 ·
Of course l'Equipe did not name any French athletes and the only one they named was Armstrong. Probably he did take EPO but he certainly was not the only one and why didn't the drug committee say anything about this?
 
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#44 ·
Here's the AP version. They say the French mag is suspect, not Lance.

Lance Armstrong Denies Doping Allegations By ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago



PARIS - Faced with yet another report that he cheated his way to a Tour de France victory, Lance Armstrong responded Tuesday the same way he has since the doping whispers began during the first of his seven straight wins: "I never took performance enhancing drugs."

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In a four-page article headlined "The Armstrong Lie," the French sports daily L'Equipe printed copies of documents suggesting six urine samples he provided during his first championship in 1999 tested positive for the red blood cell-booster erythropoietin, or EPO.

The drug was on the list of banned substances at the time but there was no effective test to detect it.

Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc said the report published Tuesday appeared "credible" and meticulously researched, adding that Armstrong must have a chance to rebut the claims.

"We are very shocked, very troubled by the revelations we read this morning," Leblanc told RTL radio.

Armstrong, a frequent target of L'Equipe, vehemently denied the allegations.

"Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism," Armstrong wrote on his Web site. "I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs."

The allegations surfaced seven years later because EPO tests on the 1999 samples were carried out only last year — when scientists at a lab outside Paris used them for research to perfect EPO testing. The national anti-doping laboratory in Chatenay-Malabry said it promised to hand its finding to the World Anti-Doping Agency, provided they were never used to penalize riders.

L'Equipe's investigation was based on urine B samples — the second of two samples used in doping tests. The A batch was used in 1999 for analysis at the time. Without those samples, any disciplinary action against Armstrong would be impossible, French Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour said.

The governing body of world cycling did not begin using a urine test for EPO until 2001, though it was banned in 1990. For years, it had been impossible to detect the drug, which builds endurance by boosting the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells.

Jacques de Ceaurriz, the head of France's anti-doping laboratory, which developed the EPO urine test, told Europe-1 radio that at least 15 urine samples from the 1999 Tour had tested positive for EPO.

Separately, the lab said it could not confirm that the positive results were Armstrong's. It noted that the samples were anonymous, bearing only a six-digit number to identify the rider, and could not be matched with the name of any one cyclist.

However, L'Equipe said it was able to make the match.

On one side of the page, it showed what it claimed were the results of EPO tests from anonymous riders used for lab research. On the other, it showed Armstrong's medical certificates, signed by doctors and riders after doping tests — and bearing the same identifying number printed on the results.

"It will be very interesting to see what UCI does and what the U.S. Cycling Federation does and what Lance Armstrong has to say," WADA chairman Dick Pound said. "If the evidence is seen as credible then, yes, he has an obligation to come forward and specifically give his comments, especially after his previous comments that he has never used drugs.

"If anything were found, we couldn't do anything because we didn't even exist in 1999. But it's important that the truth must always be made clear," Pound added.

Representatives for Armstrong said he was in Austin, Texas, where he lives and did not wish to comment beyond the statement on his Web site.

A year before Armstrong won his first Tour title, the race faced its worst doping scandal after police caught a Festina team employee with a stash of drugs. Riders were ejected and others quit, almost forcing the Tour to collapse.

Armstrong has been dogged by questions in the French media about how someone whose testicular cancer had spread to his lungs and brain could rise to the top of one of the most grueling sporting events in the world.

Armstrong angrily appeared at a news conference that year to explain that trace amounts of cortisone found in his system were from a prescription skin cream to treat saddle sores.

The following year, Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service team became the subject of a French investigation into whether they used banned substances during the 2000 race. The probe was closed in 2002 for lack of evidence.

L'Equipe, whose parent company is closely linked to the Tour, often questioned Armstrong's clean record and frequently took jabs at him — portraying him as too arrogant, too corporate and too good to be for real.

"Never to such an extent, probably, has the departure of a champion been welcomed with such widespread relief," the paper griped the day after Armstrong's record seventh straight win.

A former L'Equipe journalist, Pierre Ballester, was co-author of a book published last year that contained doping allegations against Armstrong. He wrote "L.A. Confidential, the Secrets of Lance Armstrong" with The Sunday Times sportswriter David Walsh.

In the book, one of Armstrong's former assistants claimed that the American once asked her to dispose of used syringes and give him makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms.

Armstrong has taken libel action against The Sunday Times after the British newspaper reprinted allegations in a review of the book in June 2004. The case is to go to trial in London's High Court in November.

Victor Hugo Pena, Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service teammate, said the French were bad losers who could never accept his supremacy on the Tour.

"What Lance achieved nobody can take away," Pena, who helped Armstrong to three of his seven Tour victories, told Colombia's Caracol radio Tuesday. Pena said Armstrong was so closely watched during the Tour that it would have been impossible for him to use performance-enhancing drugs.

"Not only did the sports laboratories constantly test him, but video cameras were set up in his room and police agents constantly monitored Lance's movements and who was visiting him and even his phone conversations," Pena said.

Armstrong retired from cycling after his record seventh Tour victory last month. In his parting speech, he addressed the people who believe he was doping.

"I'm sorry for you," Armstrong said. "I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles."
 
#49 ·
They didn't even test for EPO six years ago, so this is all irrelevant anyway. You can't use 6-year old samples to accuse someone of something, especially when they can't even prove that those samples really did come from Armstrong.

This thread title needs to be changed, because it's complete bullshit.
 
#50 ·
Tennis Fool said:
Following up, the only thing that annoys me is how Lance has been crowned the God of All Sports, and nobody here will recognize Federer for his achievements last year :(
A very significant part of Lance's appeal is that he is a cancer survivor, which really sets his athletic achievements apart from everyone else.
 
#51 ·
Socket said:
A very significant part of Lance's appeal is that he is a cancer survivor, which really sets his athletic achievements apart from everyone else.
Yeah, I think the will to beat cancer was what gave him the edge over the other cyclists. However, I doubt the American media would have given a crap if he weren't one of ours. Of course if Fed were American...
 
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