The fallen figurehead

For him it seems to be a case of “deny till I die”, but where is the proof, where is the evidence that can somehow explain the damning details of the Usada report?

The question I ask, though, is not what now for cycling? Not why it took so long for this evidence to emerge? Not who else knew? Not who is to blame? But rather, how will the fallout affect Livestrong, the charity Armstrong founded after recovering from cancer?

Thankfully, this incredible organisation has been operating under its own power for some time and has seemingly developed its own spirit, but the charity’s reputation will surely be eventually damaged unless there is some form of decisive disassociation with Armstrong. Already there are perfectly understandable assertions that Armstrong has gone from being Livestrong’s biggest asset to its biggest liability, and there have been plenty of calls for him to be essentially removed as the face of the charity.

As it stands, Armstrong can certainly no longer be regarded as an asset; yes he will always be remembered as a cancer survivor, but that will for ever be overshadowed by doubts around his doping deception.

Despite this, though, I don’t think we can completely disregard the good that Armstrong has done for millions of people and the incredible amount of money he has raised for cancer research and to help those affected by the disease.

Unfortunately, Armstrong’s legacy and credibility to continue inspiring many millions in future generations has now been brought into disrepute, and perhaps that is the saddest thing of all. HE DID he, didn’t he doping debate surrounding Lance Armstrong has quickly degenerated into a case of how did he and his team get away with it for so long and who else knew?

But I fear there could be more far-reaching and deadly serious consequences that we have not quite considered. Earlier this year I wrote a column about the greatest sports stars and suggested from an inspirational point of view, one couldn’t look too much further than Armstrong for his seven Tour de France wins after overcoming cancer. What a sham, what a shame! Die-hard Armstrong fans, of which there are many, may still cling to some belief that the American is still innocent and just the victim of a vindictive “witch-hunt” as his high-priced lawyers are trying to suggest – but all the evidence points to the contrary.

And suddenly there is no shortage of evidence, with the US Anti-Doping Agency’s comprehensive investigation yielding more than 1 000 pages of details on his indiscretions, with testimony from former teammates and colleagues.

Armstrong has made a fool out of so many fans, and what a cheek it must have taken for him to write books about his achievements that were particularly so inspirational to people affected by cancer, all the while denying he was ever involved in doping.

Yet while all the details emerge about the most sophisticated doping programme in sports history, where is Armstrong? Hiding behind his lawyers it would seem, while dismissing the claims and simply suggesting via his Twitter account that he remains unaffected by the findings.

T