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1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday 24 August 2012

Lance Armstrong stops fight against USADA doping charges

Lance Armstrong has ceased to fight the doping charges brought by the USADA but maintains his innocence.

Story here plus statement by Armstrong here. Comment here.

3 comments:

Harold said...

I started covering Lance Armstrong in 2004 as he tackled the Vuelta de Murcia road race in preparation for the following Tour de France.

I was astonished to find that stick-thin sportsmen, for they really are, could ride uphill for five hours at motorbike speeds and then tell you it was all down to pasta carbohydrate.

Testicular cancer had robbed Armstrong's body of normal testosterone levels, so he was able to regulate this for medical purposes.

One can easily see how doping could have got out of hand without tripping tests, considering his medical condition.

When people finishing 10th were being busted for doping, you had to ask yourself how those in the lead could possibly be on simple durum wheat products.

The truth is they weren't, all of Armstrong's main rivals were busted at some time or other. Even teammates have acknowledged witnessing the man himself at it.

The most common form of doping used to be what's known as blood packing, using your own red blood cells which have been passed through a centrifuge to eliminate plasma and leave just red blood cells for maximum metabolic oxygen availability. Alberto Contador was busted for this because they could detect traces of the plastic bag his blood cells had been stored in.

As sports go, cycling is one of the most difficult to clean up, I reckon.

Jim's Loire said...

Harold. I think cycling is much cleaner now than it has been for many years.

Hervé Lalau said...

Just my thoughts on the day the only Armstrong I want to know has died

http://hlalau.skynetblogs.be/archive/2012/08/26/un-armstrong-peut-en-cacher-un-autre.html