Armstrong ready to ride into history books
Lance Armstrong expects to be the target for doping allegations on the eve of the Tour de France but the biggest name in cycling has pointed to his longevity as proof that he does not use performance-enhancing drugs.
With the Texan aiming to become the first man to win six Tours when this year’s race starts with Saturday’s prologue in Liege, Armstrong – who confirmed he will race next year whatever the result this year – has spoken out against the rumours that dog him and his sport.
In an interview with Alastair Campbell, to be broadcast tomorrow night, Armstrong said: “Our sport can’t escape it.
“Some sports are still immune but cycling’s certainly not one of them, cycling’s in the crosshairs.
“And I’m the guy that’s won the biggest race in the world five years in a row and is knocking on history’s door so, of course, I’m going to be front and centre.”
Cycling has endured another tough year fighting on a drugs front which stretches across Europe.
In Italy, there were raids on the Giro d’Italia and the premature death of the crack-addicted Marco Pantani; in Spain, Kelme rider Jesus Manzano made detailed claims of systematic doping; in France, Cofidis are being investigated by police in the wake of more drugs allegations.
Armstrong himself is the subject of a book, LA Confidential, which claims to expose links between the 32-year-old and doping practices.
The allegations are strongly denied by Armstrong, who has begun legal action against the authors and the book’s French publishers.
But Armstrong is confident he could not have sustained his place at the top of what is an enormously demanding sport if he had given in to the temptation to use drugs because of the long-term damage they do to a user’s health.
“I’ve been around a long time,” he said.
“I’m now 32, going on 33 years old. I won the World Championships when I was 21, younger than anybody’s ever been when they won the Worlds.
“You don’t stay in the sport for 12 or 13 years if you’re doped to the gills. You don’t. It’s hard on the body, it’s hard on the mind, the body doesn’t recover from that stuff, there’s no longevity in dope.”
As an American, Armstrong is naturally an outsider in a sport whose traditions are very much "Old European" and it might be easier for him to distance himself from cycling’s problems.
But he is a determined champion of cycling’s reputation. He took on World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound in a bitter public spat earlier this year, accusing the Canadian of “slinging dirt”.
And he told Campbell: “I’d still die for my sport. I’ll defend this sport for as long as I live and the people that I care about – my friends and my family and team-mates, sponsors. They absolutely believe in me and that’s all that matters.”
Cycling legends Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil all faltered after their fifth Tour victory so winning a sixth has become something like a glass ceiling similar to the four-minute mile before Roger Bannister.
Circumstances conspired against his predecessors and, although Armstrong remains favourite to be wearing yellow when the peloton enters Paris on July 25, he admits he was concerned by his performance in the Dauphine Libere, a seven-stage race earlier this month, when he finished fourth.
With Jan Ullrich tipped as the man most likely to beat him, Armstrong concedes he could be facing his toughest defence yet.
But he dismissed suggestions he would retire at the end of the season.
He said: “I think there’s some people that want this to be the last tour but I hate to break it to them, I don’t think so.”
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