It is sad that iconic figure Lance Armstrong is getting dragged into the drug sewer. He was a hero to a lot of people and raised large sums for good causes. However, it is almost impossible to believe that anyone could possibly have performed at the near super human level that Lance did without performance enhancing drugs.
My own experience riding a Century two days after oral surgery while still taking pain killers and steroids has convinced me that the benefits of the drugs upon my performance was so great, that if most of the peleton was using drugs, it would have been nearly impossible to compete without using them. I got off my bike pain free after a long, hard ride. I guess its a good thing I did not ask my oral surgeon if I should ride in the Century so soon after the procedure, because I found out afterwards that he would have vehemently discouraged it. However, prior to my next Century, I wished I had saved some of the painkillers so I could have used them for another pain free ride.
So here is an instance where I had zero financial reward for enhancing my performance by taking drugs, but I would have done so if they had been readily available. No one can possibly convince me that if my livelihood was dependent upon performing well, and my competitors were doing so that I would have been drug free. Sorry, Lance but your claims of being drug free just are not credible.
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