The comeback was not a new beginning but the beginning of the end. ibid.
Armstrong’s comeback brought all of his enemies out of the woodwork. ibid.
[They] were willing to be fooled ... [and] loved the beautiful lie more than the ugly truth. ibid.
In 2003 the US Department of Justice joined Floyd Landis in suing Lance Armstrong for defrauding the US Postal Service. Armstrong faces damages of over $100 million. ibid.
One man has achieved more than any other. And he did it his way. Cycling is about more than just speed. It’s about skill and strength. Heart and desire. His hunger brought him eleven Grand Tours, and three World Championships. Sporting Greats – Eddie Merckx
The finest stage racer of all time. ibid.
Merckx was a force of Nature. ibid.
He was disqualified for a positive drugs test. ibid.
Merckx devoured his first Tour de France, taking six stage wins. ibid.
In 1974 he won his fifth Tour de France. ibid.
The greatest career cycling we will ever see. ibid.
‘He was a huge huge talent.’ Sporting Greats: Greg LeMond, Richard Moore, Sky Sports 2017
‘No American had ever done that [Tour de France lead] before.’ ibid. Phil Liggett
G LeMond 87:38:35 v L Fignon 00:08. ibid.
‘A legend in his own right.’ ibid. Phil Liggett
In the cycling world the road remains the pinnacle ... Amongst the sprinters one man dominates the rest – multi Tour de France stage wins and the 2011 world championship is the proof. Mark Cavendish is simply the fastest man on two wheels. Sporting Greats – Mark Cavendish
Cavendish kept on winning including a first national title aged fourteen. ibid.
Aged just nineteen Cavendish was a world champion. ibid.
Cavendish became the first British rider to win four stages in a single Tour. ibid.
Bradley Wiggins has been winning for as long as he’s been on a bike. A decade of endeavour has brought him a string of major honours – world championships, Olympic gold medals, leader’s jerseys and grand tours. Bradley Wiggins: A Very British Champion, ITV 2012
He rode out his first ever world pursuit gold; that year he swept up four national titles as well – his march to the very top of the sport had begun. ibid.
Bradley Wiggins had won it all – team and individual pursuits, Madisons, it mattered little. ibid.
Wiggins started to train harder than he’d ever before. ibid.
When I’m racing it is like time’s slowing down. Mark Cavendish
I’ve been racing since I was twelve. Bradley Wiggins
On Sunday July 26th Chris Froome made history in Paris when he became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France twice. Chris Froome, Back in Yellow, Sky 2015
The spectacle of the female cyclist. Amanda Vickery, Suffragettes: Forever! The Story of Women and Power II, BBC 2015
Well I can’t stand around here chatting all day – I’m on a cycling tour of North Cornwall. Monty Python’s Flying Circus s3e8: The Cycling Tour, BBC 1973
They are among Britain’s greatest sporting heroes whose success was built thanks to a ruthless new vision of how to win. But winning had a dark side. Now the men at the centre of this storm give their side of the story. They built the greatest medal factory in British history. But in their pursuit of glory did they cross a line? Britain’s Cycling Superheroes, BBC 2017
Beijing: 8 gold medals: one on the road, seven on the track. ibid.
‘The Sutton-Brailsford partnership is very important.’ ibid. William Fotheringham, Guardian cycling correspondent
At Team Sky a period of brutal reckoning now began. ibid.
But Bradley Wiggins’ use of a TUE would come back to haunt Brailsford and British cycling. ibid.
An internal investigation found evidence of fear, intimidation and bullying. ibid.
Lanced! Armstrong to be striped of 7 Tour wins. Icarus ***** 2017, The New York Post front page, 2017
Teammates Testify Against Armstrong. ibid. newspaper headline
Unfortunately, the drugs work. ibid. tester
We talk a few times. He’s in Moscow. And that set off this whole chain of events. ibid.
You should be able to see a 15-20% improvement. ibid. supervisor
German TV Alleges 99% of Russian Olympians Doping. ibid. newspaper headlines
It is not too good to show our camera to them. ibid. at the Russian lab
‘Overwhelming portions of the allegations made on the ARD programme have been found by the Independent Commission to be true. It’s worse than we thought.’ ibid. Dick Pound, press conference
‘State-sponsored doping.’ ibid. news
CNN Visits Secretive Russian Lab. ibid. CNN report
‘I need to escape and to walk the walk.’ ibid. Russian dude
‘I was part of a system.’ ibid.
May 7-10 2016: Grigory spends three days with the US Department of Justice providing detailed information about state-sponsored doping in Russia. ibid. caption
‘Our KGB officers brought all the clean urines of our athletes.’ ibid. Russian dude
‘Putin was very much happy.’ ibid.
‘Putin will kill me.’ ibid.
May 17 2016: The US Department of Justice officially launches an investigation into Russian doping allegations based on Grigory’s testimony. ibid. caption
There never was anti-doping in Russia. ibid.
It is a tale of almost mythic proportions: a hero who overcomes unlikely roots and a deadly disease to dominate his sport … The Armstrong story is either one of remarkable success or an astounding fall from grace or … both. The Fifth Estate: Lance Armstrong: Master of Spin, CBC 2012
In his first four attempts [Tour de France] overall his best results was 36th place. ibid.
EPO: to increase the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen throughout the body. ibid.
Even after cancer Armstrong was still working with the man known as Dr Evil – the Italian physician Dr Michele Ferrari. ibid.
A positive test for EPO should have required a two-year suspension, but those test results weren’t revealed and no action against Lance Armstrong was ever taken. ibid.
[David] Walsh [cycling journalist] set out to prove that the world’s top cyclist, a legend and a leader in the fight against cancer, was not what he appeared to be. ibid.
At least the International Cycling Union took action. ibid.
The Tour de France is the toughest endurance race in the world. 3,500 kilometres over 21 stags in 23 days. For years, double Olympian Geraint Thomas rode for one of the great Tour de France riders – Chris Froome won four titles supported by Geraint. Then in 2018 his years of sacrifice paid off. And he won. Geraint Thomas: The Road Will Decide, captions, BBC 2019
In 2019, Geraint Thomas was joint leader with 22 year old Egan Bernal in what would be one of the greatest Tours of all time. ibid.
Race favourite Chris Froome crashed 23 days before the Tour de France. Then, 18 days before the Tour de France, Geraint crashed in Switzerland. ibid.
It’s the hardest sporting event in the world. 180 riders, 20 stages and only 1 gets to wear the yellow jersey. (Cycling & Steroids & Doping/Cheating in Sport) The Program 2015 starring Ben Foster & Chris O’Dowd & Guillaume Canet & Jesse Plemons & Lee Pace & 7Denis Menochet & Dustin Hoffman & Edward Hogg & Elaine Cassidy & Laura Donnelly et al, director Stephen Frears
I have my interview with Armstrong today. Interesting guy. ibid. journalist David Walsh
It’s cancer. Testicular cancer. Stage 3. ibid. doctor
Did you ever use any drugs? Any performance enhancing drugs? ibid. cancer doctor