As referenced in the 2012 V-Moment of the year article and ensuing discussion, it was a most Vawesome year for cycling. It’s been hypothesized here and on cycling sites with more integrity that the fantastic racing of 2012 may be, at least in part, attributed to a cleaner peloton. Unless you watched the Tour de France you’d think the days of foregone conclusions and three week coronations are quickly becoming a thing of the past. It is in this vein we bring to you the Anti-V Moment of 2012: Lance Armstrong’s ceasing to fight the charges against him.
Now usually, we try our best not to delve into the seedy side of cycling. There is just way too much cool about our sport to focus our collective energy and attention on asshats. Besides, we’ve got bikes to ride. But the COTHO’s public announcement that he would no longer fight, er, defend himself against allegations of systematic doping, money laundering, blackmail, intimidation, and international douchebaggery has to be the biggest Anti-V moment of the year, if not in the history of pro cycling.
The COTHO could have feasibly taken one of three tacks as the winds of pressure, evidence, and public opinion continued to blow against his house of cards. Tack one would have been to continue lying, bribing, and digging an ever deepening hole as he steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. This obviously hadn’t been working for the past 10-odd years but at least it allowed him to maintain his base of supporters. Even as it became more difficult for him to maintain the façade he still had a sizable group of survivors, apologists, journalists, and mis-guided cycling fans who believed.
Tack two would have been to come clean (pardon the pun) and admit to the whole sordid mess he created but he didn’t have the ball to do this either. Who knows what his reasons are for not being honest? Best guesses are he’s rationalizing a set of excuses ranging from mitigating his financial liability, evading criminal implications, and blaming the corruptness of the sport. Maybe he’s trying to save face in some twisted way. But for as cliché as Tyler Hamilton even admitted in his tell-all; the truth will set you free. The COTHO could have stood in front of those microphones and cameras and said “Hey, you know what, I doped. I made some poor choices and lied to everybody and for that I’m deeply sorry.” Had he done so his detractors would probably still be his detractors and he would have given his supporters a legitimate reason to continue supporting him but at least everybody could say he fessed up and there is some integrity in doing that.
Alas, he took the Anti-V tack. He stopped defending himself, er, lying without admitting to anything and seems to be hoping to just fade into the background. In essence, he’s taking his toys and going home. What’s striking about this is that it is contrary to what we’ve come to understand about the guy. If anything, we’ve come to know him as a fighter, both in life and on the road. But this latest, and hopefully last maneuver was just plain weak. (Notice I’ve added the categories of “Evanescent Riders” and “In Memoriam” to this article in addition to “Awards”. The first two are much more fitting.)
Perhaps it belies the true nature of the man. A nature that involves intimidation, serial emotional and physical aggression and even violence. A nature that includes socially isolating his victims, arguing them into submission, and propagating rumors, gossip, and lies about them to sway public opinion in his favor. A nature that involves amplifying the mistakes of others in order to strengthen his own self-image. A nature whereby there are many innocent bystanders who are too fearful of repercussions to come forward themselves. The nature of a man who may be trying to compensate for his own insecurities and feed his own narcissism and megalomania. The nature of a simple bully who ultimately shows himself to be a big pussy.
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@HeinrichHauslersHairstyle
You are lucky....just at the point when all this shit blows up again on COTHO the Southern UK turns from perfectly respectable Rule #9 weather to out and out blizzard. Unlike places with more consistent weather we don't have the infrastructure to deal with even a smattering of snow, so the roads remain uncleared and cycling is out of the question on a road bike until the temperature tips up and it melts!
He's such a sick fuckin' bastard. Not only was he playing the cancer card left and right (people were having a drinking game linked to him mentioning his cancer) but then he played the "My life is so awful and sad that I had to break my kids heart". What a fuckin piece of toilet fungus. Maybe if you had not been a fuckin piece of shit from day one then you would not have to break it to your kid that you are a douchebag. Prostituting your kids for sympathy is about as low as you can go.
As CannuckChuck so elegantly put it, fuckityfuck him, his fucking posse and the fuckin horses they rode in on.
@Sauterelle
Yeah, I had to back off. We were heading all karylinka or however the hell she spelled her name. Scary stuff.
Next up: Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky. What's the over/under on how long it takes to nab them?
So none can see the future and certainly LA has been a megalomaniac of the highest order ( and that is being kind). All of which makes it hard to separate the man from the monster. The Japanese have the tradition of the nobility of failure - when you fall so low and fail so miserably you then gain cred from the trying, this is only in relation to good deeds. What I am wondering is in this culture will LA falling on his sword and getting punished (the shit storm he is going to face, court, fines, etc.) mean that some day he will be redeemed?
Stranger things have happened and it would mean him becoming a saint from now on... his ex wife and children may help to keep him on track but certainly he carries much baggage pre doping and now has the weight of a Bernie Madoff scam on his shoulders.
For bike racing this is either going to clean the stables or make the whole thing sink from being so full of shit.
@Calmante
I don't think I can take any more Anti-V at the moment.
@Sauterelle
+1
@Buck Rogers
+2!...someone put a VSP up or something to distract us....
@Rob
It seems to me that what is starting to emerge is complete and utter agreement. For 14 years now there's been disagreement about LA. He doped, he didn't dope, it didn't matter everyone did it anyway, Liestrong makes it okay, Liestrong is a scam, people are out to get him, he's an asshole. Pick your camp and pitch your tent has been the paradigm.
Now though, what seems to be happening is consensus. From the cycling community to the mainstream, cycling wonks to cancer fighters, Drunkcyclist to ESPN, even reading into what #Doprah has said, the consensus seems to be the LA is and always has been a COTHO. There's no better way to put it. He's a COTHO. The sham of the last couple nights has proven that to the entire world once and for all it seems.
I've never been into hero worship, thinking that any athelete personafied my own beliefs and morals. I watched the races to be entertained and to be awed by the spectacle. Now that LA is finished racing, he is irrelevant to me. He should just go away. George Carlin had it right. http://youtu.be/tlTr2GSVUGg