Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Lance Armstrong ruled the roads of France every July, seemingly dropping his biggest cycling rivals with ease. The Texan polarized the pro peloton and European race fans with his sometimes brash, cocky attitude that later gave way to a more relaxed, embracing Armstrong.

As his career winded down, Armstrong began to open up to the media on a more frequent basis; unless they asked about doping allegations, which would often earn nothing more than a glaring look of disgust.

The cancer survivor has heard it all before, but former teammate Tyler Hamilton’s interview with 60 Minutes. The timing of the interview comes as the federal government continues to investigate Armstrong to determine if he committed doping violations.

More after the jump.

Zealots such as Jeff Novitzky, FDA agent specializing in chasing down pro athlete dopers, appear to be fighting the good fight — but I think he’s going about it all wrong. Novitzky is tirelessly trying to connect the dots between a possible systematic doping ring inside USPS, with punishment ranging from conspiracy and wire fraud to racketeering and drug trafficking.

What’s the purpose of this investigation? All of this time, money and effort put into a program aimed at exposing retired athletes, while there are pro athletes cheating today. Shouldn’t the focus be more on preventing the current — and future sports generations — from cheating, rather than go on a witch hunt for a rider that has left the pro peloton?

I’ve read Armstrong’s book about his fight against cancer — and just like virtually all cancer stories — it’s difficult to read through the entire story without feeling tears begin to build up.

Regardless of his possible past doping practices, Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation could be the ultimate loser in this situation. Livestrong could miss out on up to $10M (in early estimates) from donations due to doping allegations. The non-profit has collected more than $400 million since it was founded in 1997, with $40 million collected in 2010.

Here is additional reading material:

LINK ONE – A great story about how “it’s not about the bike” for Lance Armstrong @ The Independent

LINK TWO – Bike maker Trek will not surprisingly continue supporting Lance. @ VeloNation

LINK THREE – Armstrong openly criticizes 60 Minutes and CBS for the Hamilton interview and published report. @ CBS News

LINK FOUR – Livestrong will suffer because of Lance’s doping accusations @ The Nonprofit Quarterly/Bloomberg

LINK FIVE – Universal Sports recently published a Lance career timetine, from 1991 – current events. @ Universal Sports