Lance Armstrong Interview May 2019

g0g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac_x4ucbReo

Just came across this on YouTube, don't think it's been posted in any of the threads. Not sure what to think. Doesn't really seem to regret a whole lot :rolleyes:. Listening to it there's very little about him I find any way likeable.

Cetyl Palmitate

While he is not likeable he is very charasmatic. A little like Nigel Farage or Trump.
Hes totally self centered. Almost satisfied that he has learnt so much about himself etc but only giving passing acknowledgement to the damage he caused to so many other people.
That damage is almost justified in his mind as, without it, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to "become a better person".

As an aside I find his podcast during the grand tours quite interesting.

Doc07

A charismatic sociopath, he’s a grand fella.

Imagine playing sport at any level and it being known he was your da?

The Americans really know how to be in front of a camera. Sounded like he spent
the years since 2012 rehearsing the answers to these questions in his head for the 20th anniversary of his first tour win.

Here is the hypocrite in me coming out, the previous year in 1998 we had the tour here Marco Pantani won. I was 17 or 18 at the time and was aware of the festina stuff but I was amazed by him and despite me knowing what I know I will still say he's a bit of a hero to me and credit him for my love of cycling and inspiring me to ride a bike for the joy of it rather than something to get me from A to B. Unlike Lance he didn't have an Oprah everything will be ok sure in America you can come back from anything moment.

Captain Havoc

God, he's aged.

ridelikeaturtle

Captain Havoc wrote: »

God, he's aged.

I was thinking the same thing, in the last 5 years it looks like he's put on a significant amt of weight. Maybe he stopped training and cycling? Just an observation, not a judgement

Everybody's hard on old Lance. Yeah, he's got sociopathic tendencies. At least he recognizes this, and that he's not fooling anyone. Too bad it took him so long.

It annoys me that he's been erased from the record books. Put an asterisk by his name, but this "Tiananmen Square didn't happen" is ridiculous. It happened.

Hurrache

He looks ok for someone turning 48 this year.

mloc123

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

I was thinking the same thing, in the last 5 years it looks like he's put on a significant amt of weight. Maybe he stopped training and cycling? Just an observation, not a judgement

His face and jawline still looks trim. The bags under his eyes do make him face look puffy and old.

I see he recently ran a 3hr marathon so safe to say he is still tipping away doing some training.

Finnrocco

I hated Armstrong when he was winning the Tours as I didn't believe in the miracle, but I felt sorry for Lance getting erased from the record books, as there are others who have possibly not won races clean. I think one tour the lad who finished 18th or something was the only lad without a question mark before or after.

Mugser

Said he apologized to some of those he wronged along the way.
I wonder if P. Kimmage got a call?

LennoxR

I don't know. In a way there's something admirable about the way he keeps coming back etc. But really, that just proves that the man is an out and out psychopath, who regrets absolutely nothing at all.

I want to make just one point. If all (or most) of the others were also doping, which I accept, and Armstrong himself was also doping before he got cancer, then what really changed is that in the US Postal Years, due to having more money and resources than the opposition, he was doing the doping better than they were. And the one thing he has never come clean about is how exactly this happened.

If I ever got the chance to interview him, I would like to know how (a) he suddenly became a tour contender in 1999 and (b) how in 2003 he was on the ropes, with severe dehydration after a time trial and came back to win the next stage and (c) how in the years after that he was never seriously challenged again.

And then of course, aside from the cycling angle, there's all the many people who he seriously hurt, Greg Lemond, Frankie Adreu, Mike Anderson (his mechanic, his story here). These are people whose lives he actually ruined, and no, no remorse at all.

I also don't find his podcast very interesting, if I may be so bold. He is not really articulate at all, just self confident. He doesn't really make coherent or insightful points about anything. It's all always about him.

Eamonnator

Deleted User wrote: »

Imagine playing sport at any level and it being known he was your da?

The Americans really know how to be in front of a camera. Sounded like he spent
the years since 2012 rehearsing the answers to these questions in his head for the 20th anniversary of his first tour win.

Here is the hypocrite in me coming out, the previous year in 1998 we had the tour here Marco Pantani won. I was 17 or 18 at the time and was aware of the festina stuff but I was amazed by him and despite me knowing what I know I will still say he's a bit of a hero to me and credit him for my love of cycling and inspiring me to ride a bike for the joy of it rather than something to get me from A to B. Unlike Lance he didn't have an Oprah everything will be ok sure in America you can come back from anything moment.

Armstrong didn't win any Tour

ridelikeaturtle

Eamonnator wrote: »

Armstrong didn't win any Tour

Would you say Barry Bonds didn't hit 762 HRs in his career, or 73 in one season?

Just because he cheated to do it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. And let's not split hairs with semantics about the definition of "winning".

Ah nevermind, this is a horrible rabbit hole. Your point is well taken, he isn't a TdF winner.

magicbastarder

Mugser wrote: »

Said he apologized to some of those he wronged along the way.

and then said he'd do it all again.
i don't think he understands 'apology'.

Lance is one thing but you look at some of the people still involved with the sport and it beggars belief. Landis has a team even. Contador too?

mloc123

Eamonnator wrote: »

Armstrong didn't win any Tour

Eamonnator

https://www.topendsports.com/events/tour-de-france/winners-list.htm

I'll just leave this here.
It's a list of the winners of the TdF.
Yer man above doesn't seem to feature on it

Bambaata

If that interviewer licked his hole any more he'd have got lost up there! Terrible 'interview'. It was more like an episode of This Is Your Life!

ridelikeaturtle

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can imagine."

By singling out one particular rider in this way, I think forevermore people will ask, "who was it that had 7 TdF titles stripped away?".

mloc123

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can imagine."

By singling out one particular rider in this way, I think forevermore people will ask, "who was it that had 7 TdF titles stripped away?".

An easy scapegoat that the current generation can point at and say, well... it isn't as bad as when that guy was around.

Eamonnator

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scapegoat#synonyms

Scapegoat is not a word, that springs to my mind, when describing Armstrong.

The Noble Nudge

I had a look at the “interview” and couldn't work out if it was an advert for his new hedge company or a new Lance?
Dont know if I missed something to see the context of the “interview”..confused
I could of stayed out on the bike an extra half hour instead of watching it...

ridelikeaturtle

I recall back in the 80s when a lot of doping issues came out surrounding Ben Johnson (Canadian 100m sprinter) there was an anonymous (yeah, right) poll done asking, "Would you cheat to win a gold medal, knowing you'd die within 5 years?" The results showed a strong majority of athletes asked, would cheat, even knowing the consequences.

Jose Canseco (MLB) is another one. He probably thinks he can still play professional baseball at age 54. While that'd be entertaining to some, ultimately it's just incredibly sad, "car-crash TV" at its worst.

That's why these interviews are interesting, and many people are sincerely looking for something to learn from these athletes' experiences, such as "WTF is going on in this guy's head?" It's not entertainment of the "Jeremy Kyle", "Love Island", or "Geordie Shore" sort.

Michael_Myers

Here’s another recent YouTube video - check out his house-

https://youtu.be/iY1UnR7z7P0

g0g wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac_x4ucbReo

Just came across this on YouTube, don't think it's been posted in any of the threads. Not sure what to think. Doesn't really seem to regret a whole lot :rolleyes:. Listening to it there's very little about him I find any way likeable.