The Reputation of Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong is not well liked in his native USA. This is understandable, as he has a bad reputation. He is a very popular sports star in Europe. So what are the reasons for his bad reputation?
Lance Armstrong is seen as a cheating cyclist and he is constantly called a liar by Lance's critics. He keeps putting all his problems on others. He has been caught up in one scandal after another since he made his debut in professional cycling. How can he win so many Grand Tours with all these scandals going on around him? It's quite obvious that he is a winner, he wins for being the best.
I don't know if it's fair or not, but if Lance Armstrong was white, or a black American, there would be no such bad reputation. His opponents find it easy to call him a liar because they are white and they are able to hide behind their skin color. If Armstrong was really a racist and he used black riders as a lure to lose the Tour de France, then he is a racist and he should be treated as such. Even though he is good at winning and all that, he would still be a person to be avoided.
The most famous of Armstrong's critics is none other than his teammate Floyd Landis. He is an American who has won the Tour de France three times. Landis even went on to join the US Postal Service team and has won two more Tours. He feels that his white skin cannot save him from being called a liar.
Landis also believes that in his opinion, Lance Armstrong has cheated during the time that he has been racing. He feels that his performances were always higher than the average American male. Lance has been tested several times but he claims that he has been all clean. This is quite ridiculous andI believe Landis should just have the right to race and take the drug that is appropriate for his race.
It is said that there are certain races where only white people are allowed to race. But when the winners of the races are also white, why does this matter? You may have different views on this subject, but it just doesn't make sense to me. It's almost as if they are trying to do anything they can to get the best riders out of their teams and not just give them the chance to prove that they are the best.
Lance Armstrong also has a few fans in Europe. One of them is the German rider Heinrich Haussler, who is known for having asthma. He was the last rider who had to take a drug to help him overcome his asthma, but he did it anyway.
Heinrich came to the conclusion that he could not be an athlete if he was using EPO in his race and he decided to have the horse euthanized. People can say whatever they want but Lance Armstrong is a winner. If he is called a liar by his own race and people he admires, why does it matter? He still wins