'Slimy' French journalism nothing new

[__Kratos__]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Lance Armstrong remained steadfast Thursday that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs, and he called a French newspaper's allegations that he used a banned substance in 1999 -- when he won the first of seven Tour de France titles -- "preposterous."

"This thing stinks," Armstrong told CNN's "Larry King Live" in his first television interview since the allegations were made. "I've said it for longer than seven years: I have never doped. I can say it again. But I've said it for seven years; it doesn't help. But the fact of the matter is I haven't (doped)."

Armstrong, a cancer survivor, added: "If you consider my situation: a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy. I would never do that. No. No way."

Armstrong said he has dealt with "slimy" journalism from the French for the last seven years and "this is perhaps the worst of it."

The allegations emerged Tuesday when a French daily sports newspaper, L'Equipe, reported that a four-month investigation found that six of Armstrong's urine samples given during the 1999 race tested positive for the red-cell booster EPO. The article was headlined: "The Armstrong Lie."

Armstrong noted that earlier this year, when he announced his retirement, that the same paper wrote, "Never has an athlete's retirement been so welcome."

He blasted critics who have said the evidence is clear, insisting it is nothing more than a case of he-said, she-said.

"What else can it be?" Armstrong said. "Do you think I'm going to trust some guy in a French lab to open my samples and say they're positive and announce that to the world and not give me the chance to defend myself? That's ludicrous. There is no way you can do that."

Armstrong -- who survived testicular cancer that spread through his body and into his brain to become the greatest cyclist in the sport's history -- said he did use EPO as part of his chemotherapy treatment in late 1996, but never as part of his cycling training regimen.

EPO is a drug that boosts red blood cell counts, allowing endurance athletes to increase their oxygen-carrying capacity to enable them to go farther and faster. It is often given to patients suffering from blood-related cancers and other forms of the disease.

Armstrong also questioned the science behind years-old samples. He said he had provided a total of 17 "B" samples in 1999.

"So why are six of them positive and the other 11 aren't? I'm saying there were 17 samples. So, if the drug would stay around for two, three, four weeks, we have 17 samples given, and only six of them positive. What happened to the other 11?"

Earlier in the day, organizers of the Tour de France said they remained shocked by the latest allegations.

"The Tour de France believes that the results of the lab are 100 percent reliable. It's the best lab and a lab known for doing such testing," Matthieu Desplates, a press attache for the Tour de France, told CNN in a phone interview.

When organizers learned of the report, Desplates said, "Everyone felt betrayed."

If the allegations do indeed prove to be true, he added, "Armstrong looked into people's eyes and lied."

L'Equipe's investigation was based on the second set of samples, called "B" samples, provided during the drug-testing procedure in 1999. The "A" samples no longer exist and Tour officials have said they cannot enforce any punishment without them.

According to the paper, the allegations took six years to surface because EPO was undetectable in the 1999 tests. Last year, the French laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry -- one of the best in the world -- began conducting experiments to improve its banned-substance detection capabilities, according to L'Equipe.

The lab conducted its tests randomly on anonymous samples, with only six-digit numbers to identify the riders. L'Equipe said it was able to confirm the positive tests were Armstrong's by matching his medical certificates with the numbers on the samples. Another 15 samples from other riders from the 1999 race also have reportedly tested positive.

Armstrong blasted the protocol used in the testing, saying how was he to trust a French person in a laboratory where no one else was present to observe the testing method.

"If you considered the science, if you consider the protocol involved in drug testing, if you consider the standards that have been set over dozens of years, you know that none of that was followed here," he told CNN.

"Since when did newspapers start governing sports?"

Armstrong also had harsh words for Jean-Marie Leblanc, the director of the Tour de France, who told L'Equipe the Tour was "fooled" by Armstrong.

"For Jean-Marie to say that was a shock to me," Armstrong said. "I actually spoke to him that very same day for about 30 minutes on the telephone. I called him at his house in Paris and he didn't say any of those things to me. In fact, he was just sort of hemmed and hawed and said, 'I'm surprised.' I said, 'Yes, I'm surprised, too. I think we're all surprised.'"

In his remarks to L'Equipe, Leblanc said, "The Tour is shocked. ... I am among those who took into account his physical and psychological transformation after his cancer. I thought that the morphology and the character could explain Armstrong's performance. For 1999, we were fooled."

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour champion and an Armstrong rival, responded to the allegations by saying: "For the moment, we don't have all the necessary and exact information, which is why I don't want to rush to any hasty conclusions. But it's clear that I would be very disappointed if the information in the article is confirmed."

Source

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This thing just reaks.

[hex_girl]

Really! Gee whiz! So, maybe I missed something but the man is retired!

I saw him on Oprah he was there with Sheryl and he gave his bike to this woman who has been dealing with cancer, doctor's messed something up anyway it was so sweet. it made me .

I don't see what French labs have to do with it but I would argue never the less, and be p***ed. I'd be shouting all sorts .

So, this was the 1st title he won? That was how long ago? Don't they test people prior to tours? Give it a rest! Why after so many years do they say oh you used performance enhancing drugs and try to ruin peoples reputations. I mean the man survived cancer fo rcrying out loud. I for one like Lance and wouldn't care at this point if he did

[Celumnaz]

because he's American

[twpdyp]

Celumnaz Posted Yesterday, 08:09 AM

  because he's American

Add to that he is arguably the best athlete to ever participate in any sport. So add it up he isn't French and he is a great athlete. Sounds like the French are trying to save face by slamming Lance. This man has been tested for drugs maybe more times than any other athlete ever and never tested positive. Now they take old urine samples, use questionable testing procedures and go public with allegations of blood doping. This reeks of politics, anti-Americanism, and just plain old sour grapes. Chin up Lance I for 1 believe in you.

[Blackleaf]

The French also accused the British of cheating when London beat Paris to host the 2012 Olympics.

It was the French mayor who accused the London bid of cheating - even though it was HIM who cheated to try and get the Olympics for Paris.

[__Kratos__]

Armstrong gets strong backing from USA Cycling

This is complete bullcrap. I hope he does sue their pants off.

[Olivier]

[

Sounds like the French are trying to save face by slamming Lance. Now they take old urine samples, use questionable testing procedures and go public with allegations of blood doping. This reeks of politics, anti-Americanism, and just plain old sour grapes. Chin up Lance I for 1 believe in you.

812488[/snapback]

You speak about French anti-Americanism...?

While reading your message, I especially see an anti-French behaviour.

Doping tests are as serious as they can be. Some French (and various european) cyclists have also been accused of doping. It is, of course, not a question of nationality.

The only people who mention "anti-Americanism" are American (I mean from the U.S. only) and they systematically apply this adjective to the French.

So please, stop with your paranoïa...

[AztecInca]

^The man has beaten cancer and won the Tour 7 times, theer is no conclusive proof he took drugs. Its time this story was put to bad and the French just accept that he is one of the greatest athletes of all time.

[nick_fury]

I agree with Olivier.

Even the way Aztec says

Its time this story was put to bad and the French just accept that he is one of the greatest athletes of all time.

'The French' never disputed it. 'The french media' did.

Do you agree with everything your nation's media says? Is it representative of everyone in your country 100% of the time?

NO

So why do you all assume this is the case with the french

[Olivier]

We - French - of course recognise the quality of that great athlete.

He has numerous fans in France - and a lot of fans within the French sportsmen attending the Tour de France. They consider him as a example.

And I guess - even if I am not a reader of sport magazines - that the press consisders L Armstrong as a great athlete.

As far as I know, the only reproach which was done to him was that he dedicated himself completely for the Tour de France.

Previous winners of the Tour de France (Eddy Merckz, Bernard Hinault...) merely considered the Tour de France as a race among others (though an important one) and not THE goal of their career.

Olivier

[Blackleaf]

I wonder if the French would have accused Lance of cheating if he was French.

[Olivier]

I wonder if the French would have accused Lance of cheating if he was French.

838631[/snapback]

You are famous, here, for your "anti-Frenchism", so I am not expecting something else from you.

Bye the way, you seem to ignore the fact that many French sportsmen have been accused of taking drugs. Especially the most appreciated cyclist here (the best climber of the T de F) : Richard Virenque.

Do not consider that the whole French system, including politicians and citizens, dislike Americans.

We just tend to disagree with George W. Bush's politics. By now, for instance, French media show images of Louisiana and allocutions from American artists about the flood, that have been censored in the US.

We have seen all those corpses floating in New Orleans and are shocked by the fact that American channels are not allowed to show that.

We do not put in the same bag Bush and Amercan citizens (of course).

We are just unable to understand and accept Bush's politics.

THAT IS ALL!!!

[__Kratos__]

We just tend to disagree with George W. Bush's politics. By now, for instance, French media show images of Louisiana and allocutions from American artists about the flood, that have been censored in the US.

We have seen all those corpses floating in New Orleans and are shocked by the fact that American channels are not allowed to show that.

We do not put in the same bag Bush and Amercan citizens (of course).

We are just unable to understand and accept Bush's politics.

THAT IS ALL!!!

Umm... this is completely off-topic. I saw all those pictures and the video of FEMA doing house to house searches finding whole familys in the living room after days of sitting in a boarded up house with the heat. I've also seen the footage of the bodies floating around in the water. So Americans saw them.

So in the end of this completely off-topic post... you seem pretty sure of yourself even when you are wrong. Kind of like a blind man walking into a wall, he didn't see it coming but it sure hurt like hell.

[Olivier]

Rather off-topic, it is true.

Just to enlarge your vision of things (for a blind man it is rather extreme), and to explain where your paranoïa of a supposed anti-americanism could lead you : it even spoils a important sport event.

And you can be sure that in Europe - at least in France - censored images were displayed. American channels could only sell them to foreign media, they could not use them for themselves.

So, end of the off-topic discussion, as you said.

[Celumnaz]

We have seen all those corpses floating in New Orleans and are shocked by the fact that American channels are not allowed to show that.

We know what the media does. all those bodies, 25,000 body bags...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050912/D8CIM1K80.html

197 death count.

They still reporting that Bush didn't go near Louisiana despite the pleas from the Governor and Mayor?