Kimmage P3wned by Armstrong

[Trackhead]

Regardless of what you think of Armstrong, this was a perfectly executed public beatdown.

[gonehuckin]

Any links to that original article? And that was one hell of a good beatdown for sure.

[rideit]

"methinks thou doth protest too much".

[pechelman]

too bad the camera wasnt pointed the other direction

would have loved to see the reactions

[A Random Skier]

Telling it as it is...

(verbal smack-down)

[Dickeymotto]

Noice! I enjoyed that.

[smmokan]

That was awesome. I like how he asked his name beforehand to make sure everyone heard who he was.

[Trackhead]

Kimmage=Rideit.

[gonehuckin]

Transcript of Paul Kimmage's radio interview in Ireland, 9/10/08:

"My reaction to Armstrong coming back? ...the enthusiasm that I had built up about the sport in the last couple of years has been all but completely wiped out in the last couple of hours.

Let's turn the clock back to Armstrong's last apparition in the sport. The Tour de France 2005. He's standing on the podium. And he makes this big impassioned speech. Which is basically saying 'The last thing I'll say to the people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics, the sceptics: I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big. I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles.' That was 2005, his last ride in the the Tour de France. And the people flanking him on that podium were Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich. And a month after that race ended the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that in his first winning Tour de France, in 1999, Armstrong had tested positive for EPO. Six separate samples taken during that race revealed positive tests for EPO.

STORY: Angry Armstrong blasts reporter; 2/12/09

This return, he wants us to believe that it's all about saving the world from cancer. That's complete bullshit. It's about revenge It's about ego. It's about Lance Armstrong. I think he's trying to rewrite his exit from the sport. He's sat back and he's watched the last two years and he cannot stand the idea that there are clean cyclists now that will overtake his legacy and buy the memory of all the crap that he put the sport through.

When I heard it being mooted first that he was coming back, I thought well that's fine, because the first thing ASO are going to say is 'sorry Lance, we've seen your results from the 1999 tests , you're not coming back.' I expected a similar statement from Pat McQuaid. What's happened instead is that Christian Prudhomme has said 'yes, you can come back, no problem.' And Pat McQiad has said 'I really admire this man, he's a tremendous ambassador for cycling.' What we're getting here is the corporate dollars and the money that's going to accompany this guy back into the game. The money that's going to bring for Nike, one of the big sponsors of the Tour. And for the UCI, who have been experiencing some serious problems in the last couple of years.

Much as you want to say the sport has changed, as quickly as they can change their own opinions - McQuaid, who says one thing in private and quite the opposite in public, and Prudhomme - if they can change so quickly then I'm sorry, it's really very, very difficult to have any optimism with regard to Armstrong and the way the sport was moving forward. For me, if he comes back next year, the sport takes two steps back.

I spent the whole Tour this year with Slipstream, the Garmin team. That wasn't by accident. I chose that team deliberately, because of what they were saying about the sport and the message they were putting out. But also the fact that so many of that team had raced with Armstrong during his best years and knew exactly what he got up to. And the stuff that I learnt on that Tour about him and what he was really like was absolutely shocking, really shocking.

What's going to happen now is he comes back and everybody's going to wave their hands in the air and give him a big clap. And all the guys who really know what he's about are going to feel so utterly and totally depressed. And I'm talking about Jonathan Vuaghthers, who raced with Armstrong that first winning Tour and who doped. And if you look at that Tour, Armstrong's first win, there were seven Americans on that team. Frankie Andreu has said he used EPO. Tyler Hamilton has been done for [blood doping]. George Hincapie was exposed as a doper by Emma O'Reilly, the team soigneur. Christian Vand Velde and Jonathan Vaughters . both are members of Slipstream and would promote the notion that this was not a clean team by any means. When you look at that and what Armstrong's done and how he's seemingly got away with it, it just makes his come back very hard to stomach.

Astana's the absolute perfect team for him. He'd be renewing his old acquaintance with Bruyneel, who wanted to hire Basso last year. Will he be renewing his old acquaintance with Ferrari, the famous doctor? Will Bruyneel be taking pictures of the questioning journalists and pinning them on the side of his bus?

When Armstrong talks about transparency, this is the greatest laugh. When he talks about embracing this new transparency . I'm really looking forward to that. I'm really looking forward to my first interview request with him and seeing how that comes back. Because that would really make it interesting.

This guy, any other way but his bullying and intimidation wrapped up in this great cloak, the great cancer martyr . this is what he hides behind all the time. The great man who conquered cancer. Well he is the cancer in this sport. And for two years this sport has been in remission. And now the cancer's back."


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[Dangerous E]

Check the smirk on Hincapie's face before Lance starts--it's almost like he knows what's coming.

Good stuff, thanks for posting...

[Daywalker]

Well played Mr. Armstrong, well played.

[Alpine Dreams]

Go get em' Lance! I loved the look on Georgie's face = classic.

[gforce]

Paul Kimmage wrote a doping tell all book after he retired from racing in the early 90's so he has been grinding that axe for awhile.
Sounded like Lance came in with guns loaded.

[t.odd]

I'm not a huge lance fan, but man, he handled that so pro, cool, calm, collected, but never got angry....nice work

[huckbucket]

Fuckin' hell. See, this is the problem with those suckass Velonews douchebags. They cut the video short. Kimmage actually got in the last word and yet Velonews conveniently left it out ... fuckers.

Kimmage's last comment;

"You don't have a patent on cancer. I'm interested in the cancer of doping in cycling. That has been my life's work! I raced as a professional and I exposed it. Then you come along and the problem disappears."

Lance is a first class fucknozzle.

[ski_pdx]

i also thought it telling how he said something like: we all make mistakes and we all should be forgiven.

[Dangerous E]

Originally Posted by huckbucket

Lance is a first class fucknozzle.

What's with the "I hate Lance" bandwagon so many maggots seem to be on? Is it because he didn't get caught doping when all of his competitors did? Is it because he more often than not comes off as a pompous jerk? So what? Did he dope? Probably, but what he's done both on and off the bike transcend cycling--he's inspired millions of people, he's raised a ton of money and even more importantly, he's raising awareness of a horrible disease. If you know anyone who's had cancer or who currently has cancer, I'll bet you wouldn't make the statement you did above. The guy might be a hypocrite but the fact is, he's still never tested positive--he's simply guilty in the court of Maggot-opinion.

I'm glad he's back, ready to race as a "super domestique". I'm glad he's out tring to find a cure for cancer.

Let the flaming begin.

[advres]

Originally Posted by Dangerous E

If you know anyone who's had cancer or who currently has cancer, I'll bet you wouldn't make the statement you did above.

Here here

[XtrPickels]

Originally Posted by huckbucket

Fuckin' hell. See, this is the problem with those suckass Velonews douchebags. They cut the video short. Kimmage actually got in the last word and yet Velonews conveniently left it out ... fuckers.

Kimmage's last comment;

"You don't have a patent on cancer. I'm interested in the cancer of doping in cycling. That has been my life's work! I raced as a professional and I exposed it. Then you come along and the problem disappears."

Lance is a first class fucknozzle.

Thats a pretty ghey last word. He really showed Lance!

OR, actually:

He's butt hurt and wants more doping publicity to sell his book.

[philippeR]

Originally Posted by Dangerous E

What's with the "I hate Lance" bandwagon so many maggots seem to be on? Is it because he didn't get caught doping when all of his competitors did? Is it because he more often than not comes off as a pompous jerk? So what? Did he dope? Probably, but what he's done both on and off the bike transcend cycling--he's inspired millions of people, he's raised a ton of money and even more importantly, he's raising awareness of a horrible disease. If you know anyone who's had cancer or who currently has cancer, I'll bet you wouldn't make the statement you did above. The guy might be a hypocrite but the fact is, he's still never tested positive--he's simply guilty in the court of Maggot-opinion.

I'm glad he's back, ready to race as a "super domestique". I'm glad he's out tring to find a cure for cancer.

Let the flaming begin.

Originally Posted by advres

Here here

What Advres said.

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by philippeR

What Advres said.

Agreed. Love him or hate him, he's done a lot for cancer and cycling awareness.

I think he was an idiot for dumping Cheryl Crow, but that's a topic for the padded room....

PS Did you guys hear that Lance got his TT bike stolen out of the team trailer??? WTF??

[nick > jesus]

Well, i don't hate lance, but it seems a lot people who know little about competitive cycling love him and get super pissed if you even imply he might have doped. I am pretty sure Lance doped at some point, everyone did it. For a while that was the reality of cycling. I do give him huge credit for raising awareness about cancer, and getting a huge number of new people interested in the sport. I was happy in way when lance retired because it made the tour more interesting to watch, the last few years he won the race it was over before it started.

Also, I feel like the anti-doping efforts are better in cycling than they are in almost any other sport. When no one is ever caught for doping it probably means that the tests are so ineffective everyone can get away with it. While in cycling the fact that every year a hand full of people are getting caught goes to show that the tests are working and the majority of the field is clean.

[brown9]

But seriously, why do it if you're going to get caught and then be suspended for a pretty long time and not have any reputation left (ARod). Is the risk worth it? Maybe cycling is full of guys like Lance and Arod that are pretty full of themselves and won't settle for second place.

[powking12]

p3wned my ass. All he did was build up a stickman argument and then tear it down. Are people so blind as to not understand metaphor?!?

Kimmage did not say cancer was good or easy or anything like that.

HE SAID THAT ARMSTRONG WAS THE "CANCER" OF CYCLING!!!

He isn't mocking anyone with cancer or talking trash about them, for crying out loud. And all Prance did is make it sound like he was challenging cancer victims.

I like that LA did all this nice stuff and is trying to find a cure for cancer but let's look at the big picture. He made ALOT of money as well, and it's not like he's giving it back. And I'm a little unclear how his riding again is bettering cancer research. Is he towing a research team behind him? Ask his ex-wife how she feels about him (minus the alimony).

"...forgive them and let them get back to work." Forgive, yes. Forget, no. Seems to be that all the CEO's at Enron, et al weren't just let off the hook with a, "don't let it happen again."

Lance does things for Lance is the bottom line.

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by nick > jesus

Also, I feel like the anti-doping efforts are better in cycling than they are in almost any other sport. When no one is ever caught for doping it probably means that the tests are so ineffective everyone can get away with it. While in cycling the fact that every year a hand full of people are getting caught goes to show that the tests are working and the majority of the field is clean.

The following comments are predicated that I really enjoy competitive bike racing, and think that it is one of the most physically taxing sports out there...

1). I will agree that the anti-doping efforts in cycling are among the best out there.
2). I will also agree that the testing efforts could be better. Testing 6-10 riders out of 180 on a stage in the TDF = not enough.
3). I will disagree that the the handful of positives means that most of the field is clean. Why? See #2.

Domestically, I think a majority of the peloton is fairly straightforward. Why? Simple, $$$$. The money simply isn't there to drive serious doping efforts. Yes, a full blown doping regime is expensive. The top domestic racers don't really make that much money. Hell, I make more money that most of them an I'm a government stiff.

In Europe, it's a different ball game. The stakes are way higher, the paychecks are much bigger and the prestige of winning for your sponsor is huge. So yeah, temptation, risk vs reward, causes folks to do things that are less than honest.

So, do I think Lance rode clean? No. Do I have proof? No. Do I crucify him for it? No. Do I respect him? Yes. Why you might ask? Cause I've ridden a damn bike enough to know how fucking hard it is to do what they do. Doped or not, to ride 2200 miles in 22 days at an average speed of 25+ miles per hour, that's amazing. To dominate that event for 7 years, superhuman. Maybe that the problem some of you have. Or maybe it's just cool to hate on success.

The bottom line with lance is that just like OJ, he was never found guilty. He never tested positive. I can't ignore that, and I can't hate on the man.

That being said,
I believe Floyd. He has served his time, and it's good to see him racing again. I won't go as far as to say witch hunt, but there was some sketchy shit with his positive and conviction. Let's leave it at that.
I don't believe Tyler. I had his pic up in my cube winning the gold medal in Athens, but took it down when I found out about his positive. I still like they guy. He served his time, and should be forgiven. I told him it was good to see him back racing on the climb up LCC in last years TOU. I offered him a bottle of ice cold water on a hot day and he declined.

Cycling is far from clean. But at least they are trying. Fuck the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, etc. At least cycling tests it's athletes and has real consequences to a positive test. Too many cyclists have died "for the sport" and that sucks. If they go just a little slower and are "safe", I don't give a fuck. It will still be exciting to watch. I think teams like garmin/slipstream are the wave of the future and hope their ethics catch on.....

Yes, I know. Nice Blog......