Maroon87
06-02-2006, 08:55 AM
Armstrong says he won't ride competitively again
ESPN.com news services
Lance Armstrong says he is "not a fan" of Bode Miller and that he expects more doping investigations from the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to a wide-ranging interview to be released next week.
Armstrong, speaking to Tom Brokaw for an article in Men's Journal magazine's July issue (on sale Tuesday, June 6), said Miller's accusations last winter that the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs stung him particularly hard.
"Listen, I'm not a fan," Armstrong said. "He attacked me, and it's hard to be a fan when you get attacked personally."
Prior to the Olympics, Miller told Rolling Stone magazine: "Right now, if you want to cheat, you can. Barry Bonds and those guys are just knowingly cheating, but there's all sorts of loopholes. If you say it has to be 'knowingly,' you do what Lance and all those guys do, where every morning their doctor gives them a box of pills and they don't ask anything, they just take the pills."
"I wanted to be a fan, but then you quickly become not a fan," Armstrong said. "He's such a rebel; I thought he'd raise his level and win big. I really think he's a gamer ..."
He added: " ... Ultimately, I don't think what he did was fair. I mean, look, doping isn't fair. But getting people to invest in your story, in your career ... that's not fair if all we came away with in the end is somebody saying, 'Yeah, but I partied at the Olympic level.'
Armstrong also told Brokaw he expects the World Anti-Doping Agency to continue to scrutinize him despite the fact he has retired from competitive cycling. The Men's Journal interview was conducted before a report, commissioned late last year by the International Cycling Union, cleared Armstrong of allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his first Tour de France win in 1999.
Brokaw: "Do you think you're out of the doping business, in terms of people coming back and asking about it?"
Armstrong: "No, no, I'm not out of that. There are too many people. It's really become a story. Not so much for me. I mean, if it's Barry Bonds, if it's track and field ..."
Brokaw: "It's now systemic to investigate world-class athletes."
Armstrong: "Yeah, but you have a guy like [World Anti-Doping Agency chairman] Dick Pound -- he absolutely hates me with a passion. He'll never let it die. He'll find a reason to investigate at some point."
Armstrong also told Brokaw and Men's Journal that he doesn't have the urge to return to competitive cycling and the Tour de France.
"You know, I don't miss it at all," he said. "I miss the training. I miss the team atmosphere. I miss my guys. But the last couple of years, I would even say I hated racing. The only peaceful times were when I was at training camps, alone or with a few teammates, or at the races, in the hotel room, at the dinner table with my guys. That's the stuff I really love. I won't miss the Tour."
ESPN.com news services
Lance Armstrong says he is "not a fan" of Bode Miller and that he expects more doping investigations from the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to a wide-ranging interview to be released next week.
Armstrong, speaking to Tom Brokaw for an article in Men's Journal magazine's July issue (on sale Tuesday, June 6), said Miller's accusations last winter that the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs stung him particularly hard.
"Listen, I'm not a fan," Armstrong said. "He attacked me, and it's hard to be a fan when you get attacked personally."
Prior to the Olympics, Miller told Rolling Stone magazine: "Right now, if you want to cheat, you can. Barry Bonds and those guys are just knowingly cheating, but there's all sorts of loopholes. If you say it has to be 'knowingly,' you do what Lance and all those guys do, where every morning their doctor gives them a box of pills and they don't ask anything, they just take the pills."
"I wanted to be a fan, but then you quickly become not a fan," Armstrong said. "He's such a rebel; I thought he'd raise his level and win big. I really think he's a gamer ..."
He added: " ... Ultimately, I don't think what he did was fair. I mean, look, doping isn't fair. But getting people to invest in your story, in your career ... that's not fair if all we came away with in the end is somebody saying, 'Yeah, but I partied at the Olympic level.'
Armstrong also told Brokaw he expects the World Anti-Doping Agency to continue to scrutinize him despite the fact he has retired from competitive cycling. The Men's Journal interview was conducted before a report, commissioned late last year by the International Cycling Union, cleared Armstrong of allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his first Tour de France win in 1999.
Brokaw: "Do you think you're out of the doping business, in terms of people coming back and asking about it?"
Armstrong: "No, no, I'm not out of that. There are too many people. It's really become a story. Not so much for me. I mean, if it's Barry Bonds, if it's track and field ..."
Brokaw: "It's now systemic to investigate world-class athletes."
Armstrong: "Yeah, but you have a guy like [World Anti-Doping Agency chairman] Dick Pound -- he absolutely hates me with a passion. He'll never let it die. He'll find a reason to investigate at some point."
Armstrong also told Brokaw and Men's Journal that he doesn't have the urge to return to competitive cycling and the Tour de France.
"You know, I don't miss it at all," he said. "I miss the training. I miss the team atmosphere. I miss my guys. But the last couple of years, I would even say I hated racing. The only peaceful times were when I was at training camps, alone or with a few teammates, or at the races, in the hotel room, at the dinner table with my guys. That's the stuff I really love. I won't miss the Tour."