hamilton's performance is phenomenal.

he has more tells than a poker game in a hall of mirrors. the lip suck, the eye wander, the pause....i was waiting for him to start playing with his pinkie ring.

i'm not saying he *is* lying (or that armstrong isn't a doper), but it sure *looks* like he is lying.

I would go with the crying. How comfortable would you feel effectively dobbing in the entire pro tour peloton of the 0's on prime time?

I think Tyler was scared. And for two reasons. He knows Lance and he's seen what Lance and his people have done to those who have spoken out on this issue. The second is he made so much of his own credibility in the past, that he's destroying the person he said he was and the one others went so far to believe in.

Equally interesting is Lance's defense. Check out the site Lance's pr team put up. http://www.facts4lance.com/

JP,

I think the site is http://facts(paid)4(by)lance.com

Mark Fabiani (Counsel to Lance) said : "The time has long passed for this nonsensical investigation to stop, and for the enormous wasted resources to be re-directed to investigations that might actually protect Americans from wrongdoing." His lawyers have already insisted a lot on the fact this investigation is a waste of taxpayers' dollars. They seem to think it's their only hope.

I don't think it matters what Hamilton says. Like Landis and many other poor souls, he's got the psychosis that comes with having mantled some serious ProTour success at an early age and missing out on getting some maturity. If these guys are turning to the truth after many years of galaxy-class dishonesty --that's excellent and I'm happy for them! But we don't know. We cannot know based on their reports. Nor do we know that Lance (obviously quite a strangeling in his own path to success) isn't just the more cool dishonest player on this stage that is just another stage.

Hopefully there will be some credible evidence soon.

Meanwhile, I relax and don't sweat it --according to the Feynman school of knowledge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkhBcLk_8f0

And now apparently George Hincapie as well:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CYC_ARMSTRONG_DOPING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-20-18-44-02

Nearly everyone Lance has ever shared a podium or a team with has been implicated in doping. I'm tired of thinking about it.

@normanzo Hamilton's cutting a deal with the feds. That's different than Landis's flip which was easy to discredit. Even so, I'll admit Tyler has s credibility problem. But what about the riders people do respect? It's not just Landis and Hamilton or Greg Lemond acting like a pissed off high school chick. It's Frankie Andreu and even, it seems, George Hincapie now. Will Lance attack their credibility too?

@dstearns @jp I can see why people think he looks like he's lying, but I'm closer to JP's assessment. I think he was scared. And seeing the whole thing tonight I thought he looked ashamed. He looks like he kind of hates himself.

I also thought it was interesting how careful Tyler was to say over and over "but it wasn't just Lance...we all did it." He doesn't have the kind of resentment for Lance that Landis does.

It was sad though. I always liked Hamilton. I remember when he rode the whole Tour and even won a stage with a broken collarbone. It was when I first started riding, it inspired me more than anything I ever saw of Armstrong.

Also ironic that this breaks the same week that Radio Shack's two aging stars absolutely shred the peloton in California.

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Dan Reiners</cite>JP,

I think the site is<a href="http://facts(paid)4(by)lance.com" rel="nofollow" class="auto-embedded">http://facts(paid)4(by)lance.com</a></blockquote>

Ha, who ever pays for it, they ought to hire a proofreader. As of 8:48pm there was a big old typo in the headline of their "Respons [sic] to 60 Minutes"

thanks Ryan --I agree Hamilton was a very inspiring rider and whatever he doped with, he was full of gusto and a great rider. I was just pointing out that I'm not going to make a conclusion about it on someone's report alone (or a group of reports). Of course, it seems so very likely that the accusers are coming around to tell the truth. But, I will wait for the facts in evidence. And even after they come out, I'm more interested in riding me and me Kissena mates are riding and racing than the Pros. And a big shake-up in Pro cycling would be great. Obviously the UCI is a massive committee of dorks (or maybe it's not... just seems that way).

Also, I think Hincapie's tweet asking why people want to look at the past instead of the future. Wow, that says a ton! As likable as Big George is, that was an ignorant question he posed. Why? Because HE knows what the past was, WE don't... and since history repeats itself, we have no confidence. What does he expect, that everyone sweep the past under the team car floor mats? Then again, maybe Hincapie's question wasn't ignorant at all --perhaps he intended it as an elegant nod that all that's being levied against Lance, the UCI and so many riders, directors, doctors, et al --is true.

Nevertheless, no reason to rush to judgment. The facts will be reported soon enough.

Meanwhile, I really enjoyed riding my bike today!

Hamilton was telling the truth...I believe so anyway. Don't mess with the Feds when it comes to testimony. Hamilton has immunity from prosecution ONLY if he tells the truth. If he lies, he gets prosecuted for the crimes and the lies. There is no real incentive for Tyler to lie at this point. A book? come now...his confession is not going to sell anymore print. He seems to be living a quiet life, coaching in Colorado. This investigation is not good for his business but I believe it is good for his well being. There appears to be real contrition. The fact that he sent his Olympic Gold medal back is going to increase his credibility at the trial someday. The prior team mate testimony is only going corroberate what the Feds are going to propse at trial....which is going to revolve more around fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking than cheating in sport. Lance's real problem is not going to be eyewitness accounts or the ammount of drug tests he has passsed, it is going to be the ammount of $$$ he sent across borders. You see when you secure the exclusive services of one Dr. Michele Ferrari, you pay through the nose. But it is a wise investment as you deprive your competitors access to him. When the forensic accounting is presented at trial, Lance and Co. will be left to explain exactly what Ferrari was doing that cost millions of Euros. The devil is always in the details. It won't be a used syringe that harpoons Lance, it's going to be an accountant with a sharp pencil.
Yacks

this was posted by the tour of the battenkill organizers on facebook tonight: "Due to the current investigations into professional cycling at the highest levels, the Tour of the Battenkill will not host a pro race affiliated with the UCI in 2012."

I realize they were having other organizational issues with UCI, but looks like ToB is right there with @normanzo: more interested in focusing on non-doping (we hope) amateurs of the world.

(Or, since Landis raced it 2 years ago, maybe they'll just inaugurate a reformed dopers category with Hincapie, Hamilton, Landis, etc. etc...)

It's hard to decipher Hamilton's appearance, b/c while it certainly looked like he was lying (and unbelievably slow/vague to respond when asked questions that he knew were coming...especially considering his supposedly thought-out dark night of the soul period to get to this point) some people are just really awkward and bad on television. Like Admiral Stockdale! Plus, with his mental health issues, I'm willing to give him some slack in the presentation department.

I dunno, Lance cheating has never really bothered me. I guess I started watching cycling in the late 80's, and always enjoyed just riding. I sort of assumed a large portion of the pros doped (Coppi, the Original Gangsta Doper), but that didn't have anything to do with why I rode or watched the pros. It's a spectacle like anything else. Just a distraction. I find it uncomfortable when people get wrapped up in those they don't know, and in events that have no real bearing on their life. Idolizing media figures just seems so bizarre. I ride for other reasons (like going slow). And that word people forget about: FUN!

Also, Scott Pelley is laaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

I agree with the notion about idolizing celebrities, but it's kind of scary to think that kids getting into the sport won't be able to race clean. But on second thought, even if Lance is convicted it seems like a Pyrrhic victory -- science and those with capital will always be ahead of the testing. So I'm not even sure it's worth it. Enthusiasm over the downfall of a great figure isn't an uncommon human vice.

Prior to EPO/transfusions I don't think doping was as great a divider. Amphetamines alone don't make someone into a Coppi, Anquetil or Merckx.

I find this whole get in front of the camera and confess thing to be rather lame. One thing does pique my interest though, it is the accusation that the UCI covered up a positive test. I know Landis brought this up before as well. If that was proven true, that would be really interesting and I'd love to see the political fallout.

fixing a positive control? To quote Cyndi Lauper, "Money changes everything."

Here are some videos:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/22/lance-armstrong-doping-60-minutes_n_865331.html

The 60 minutes webpage actually has some kinda interesting extra interviews with Andreau, Hamilton, etc.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7366934n

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7366936n

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20064874-10391709.html



Also, Tondo killed in a freak domestic accident? WTF? I liked that guy.

I thought Hamilton gave a pretty strong performance overall. If you read a transcript, I bet it would seem even stronger. He took responsiblity for his own actions, admitted his own weaknesses, put the doping in context of a system that encouraged it, and even expressed fondness for Armstrong.

Having lived through his first positive, I was disappointed that he claimed he kept his mouth shut. He professed his innocence loudly and repeatedly and even appealed the decision and dragged out the process for a better part of a year. I think he would have been an even more believable eyewitness had he discussed how he did everything to claim his innocence even when he knew he was guilty.

I also still have trouble believing that his second doping positive was merely due to depression. I can believe it was both, he was depressed and he knew it would help his performance and I can believe that his long-term use of steriods might have contributed to his depression. It's not like Rock Racing made any claims on clean racing, and he wasn't the only Rock rider to get busted for doping during their tenure on the team. That he couldn't be honest about these things was a bit of a step back.

I think most people are missing what was for me, the most important things revealed. One was that the US Postal Team in 1997 had a team-administered doping program. It's not that these didn't exist, as we have proof Festina did the same, but that an American team did it. Considering Marty Jemison (US Postal 1996-2000) decked former team doctor Prentice Steffen for claiming that Marty and Tyler and a few others came to him for doping products, I think Marty owes everyone a big apology. Another big deal is the explanation that US Postal Team doctors were monitoring hematocrit to tell riders when to increase it and that they told tyler to increase his is huge.

So this adds to the intrigue. I guess EVERYBODY else is lying, including the lab people and ONLY Lance is telling the truth.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/swiss-lab-director-says-2001-results-merely-suspicious-and-havent-been-linked-to-armstrong_176011

The Onion on Lance

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/lance-armstrong-wants-to-tell-nation-something-but,17973/

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/lance-armstrong-i-never-failed-one-of-those-shitty,20612/

I always thought this one was more to the point:

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/lance-armstrong-just-glad-international-cycling-un,5316/

New Floyd interview here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/25954415#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/25954415

So, back when I was relatively good on the track, there were a few guys that my friends' and I just couldn't beat.
One wonders why... One of them is missing from this article:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/haedo-brothers-renew-with-saxo-bank-sungard

what about this guy?

There is no way masters dope. They're older and have a better, more egalitarian perspective.

lluuulllzzzz

http://espn.go.com/olympics/cycling/story/_/id/7538482/federal-prosecutors-close-lance-armstrong-doping-case-press-charges

mixed feelings but mostly bummed