[Closed] PSA - Armstrong documentary on BBC4 tonight

I presume this is new?...Has anyone seen the C4 one on tomorrow night?

While I am curious, I do hate the vile thug, I'd rather get some insights rather than see a hate-fest or gloss over.

also film 4 showing the armstong film this week

Interesting timing.

Also after after Armstrong is Velorama

While I am curious, I do hate the vile thug, I'd rather get some insights rather than see a hate-fest or gloss over.

Also after after Armstrong is Velorama

Bump, as Velorama at 10:40 looks to be worth watching

Calling hora to the forum!

🙂
Good programme I thought.

nothing surprising in that. But a good watch anyway. He really is a psychopathic c##t isn't he.

Loved Paul Kimmage's line of questioning!

Such a megalomaniac, was never a believer and got a bit of stick for doubting his achievements but what Betsy, Frank and Emma (plus Kimmage and Walsh) went through was nuts. There's plenty of people who still think he's a great person though 😯

This Velorama thing is bloody brilliant! Quite enjoyed the Lance thing too despite never having been interested before.

I couldn't put down David Walsh's book, really was excellent.

what a liar

What a thoroughly disgusting excuse for a human being LA is. Just as shameful are the liars who covered up for him, obviously some in very high places. Good on the those who stood up to him, especially Betsy Andreu.

I found the LA thing interesting. I'd never read/looked into the story beyond him being guilty.
Velorama is downloaded to iPad for later

story well told and shocking in all aspects of LA, the deceit manipulation and intimidation. Great characters in Le Mond and Betsy Andreu, the element for me that shocked was the corporate mentality and alpha males in the background, managers and backers/sponsors of US Postal that was quite shocking, in places a great study of the world around the bank collapse. Questions now over Oakley and Nike for me on how much they knew or otherwise.
Human frailty abounded and how LA ands team treated those around them I even felt sympathy for Floyd landis. None for LA will comments on former masseur Emma O'Rielly,

Engrossing.

He wasn`t really good for the sport was he..Good to watch and showed him to be the grade A* asshole he really is

Good watch, always got grief for being a doubter working in a bikeshop, apparently I was a miserable **** for not believing the hype and wearing a livestrong band, I did have a laugh the last ime I was in the shop when they had a few very dusty pairs of yellow oakleys!

Accepting that he was a nasty, evil man, and not intending to justify or condone his behaviour, but would we be having this cycling boom and the TdF in Yorkshire if there hadn't been an apparently plucky cancer surviving English speaking TdF winner in the early noughties? Would our Olympic track cycling success have been enough?

I thought he came across as a truly vile excuse for a human being. A complete sociopath.

The most despicable footage (out of a fair selection) was his attitude to the Times journalist, basically saying that to criticise him in any way meant that you'd rather kids died of cancer!

What a weapons grade ****!!!!

Even away from the context of cycling he really is a horrible, vindictive and power tripping thug.

Always had a strange dislike for the bloke, something about his weasel eyes that never sat right with me.

Thanks for the PSA- I forgot it was on tonight.

Drop the "v",and it reads "LIESTRONG".........

all comments agreed about LA however in Shakespearen character manner who were the people behind this that shaped and developed or allowed these traits to grow and blossom? LA did not do this on his own, there was a seemingly massive machine that surrounded him, supported him, feed and encouraged his response, those who stood up were frightened see the Oakley employee, LA seemingly was the figurehead for this.
No excuse or apology for his actions just a musing LA was a sociopath in the truest form and surrounded by them as well

[quote=MoreCashThanDash ]Accepting that he was a nasty, evil man, and not intending to justify or condone his behaviour, but would we be having this cycling boom and the TdF in Yorkshire if there hadn't been an apparently plucky cancer surviving English speaking TdF winner in the early noughties? Would our Olympic track cycling success have been enough?

I'd like to think so, yes.

I would bet that cycling would be popular without TdF winners - the Boardman bikes did well at a time that Olympic cycling was popular but we didn't have the road riders. Pendleton and Hoy bikes are doing well and would have even without association marketing

Up until watching the documentary last night all I knew about Lance was that he was a big fibber, like lots of other pros racing the TDF at the time I'm sure. I didn't realise he was a threatening, nasty dirtbag though! I've unfollowed him on Twitter as my own tiny protest 😀

As one of the interviewees said, he made out he was superman and everyone lapped it up. Plus he used the fantastic "I do a lot of great work for charity" defense. Now where have we seen that one before?....

What was most sickening were things like "cmon, nobody could cheat and keep it a secret for 15-16 years..." (yes, I'm amazing at cheating AND getting away with it) and "you know if I was caught cheating, the worse thing wouldn't be losing the contracts, it would be letting down all those people with hope that follow me...."

****

I thought Betsy was hot 😈

Was it on last night? something was on tv- I was pissed so can't remember the channel etc.

I thought Betsy was hot 😈

Hora, t'was on BBC4, so you should be able to iPlayer it. Worth keeping an eye on the listings this week, BBC4 have got something cycling most nights this week (A Sunday In Hell is on Thursday 🙂 ).

Hora it was on BBC 4 last night, it is on Channel 4 tonight at 9

From the hazy redwine- Armstrong didn't look good at all. I also thought the programme was longer than it needed to be and I struggled to stay interested.

Betsy was suspicious and knew her husband couldn't be clean. What did she say 'he was doing stuff that he normally wasn't a natural at'.

If she was suspicious why wasn't the authorities?!

Channel 4 9pm tonight - The Armstrong Lie.

[quote=hora ]If she was suspicious why wasn't the authorities?!

Lots of people were suspicious. Some of them didn't admit to being suspicious.

Ya, he has been found guilty stoopidly 🙄

I bet he'd vote UKIP

Brilliant doc. What i didn't understand was how it went from the federal case being dropped against him to somehow the anti-doping agency coming out with a 1000 page dossier against him. How did that come about?

Part of me feels sorry for LA*

There must have been times when the pressure of all of the lie must have been unbearable. I think he has some issues, but I don't subscribe to the psychopath story. There's an element to this that is Greek tragedy, and in lots of ways the story probably took on a life of its own, that he clearly could not stop by himself without doubt he cheated exceptionally in an era of exceptional cheating, but even as he is the architect of his own demise, it must take a toll.

* a very small part for sure.

[i]when the pressure of all of the lie must have been unbearable[/i]

I guess that his personal wealth @ ~ $150m helped ease that burden considerably.

Great documentary, I thought, though I've read enough of this story to know most of the background so none of it was a real surprise to me. However, I have to say the director missed an opportunity to allow the UCI to explain how they, somehow, managed not to obtain a positive drug test result, given he supposedly was tested ~500 times during his career...

Oh absolutely, don't get me wrong I'm no LA apologist.

But he was at the very pointy end of a long line of folk who's vested interest was to make sure he kept winning. At some points it must have been incredibly stressful and no wonder he's a bit ****ed up. I watched his whole life's worth being untied on telly by Oprah, and all the folk who once loved you now hate you. Hard bed to lie on even if you did make it yourself

What i didn't understand was how it went from the federal case being dropped against him to somehow the anti-doping agency coming out with a 1000 page dossier against him. How did that come about?

Made no sense to me, either - according to [url= http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/01/27/why-did-federal-prosecutors-drop-their-lance-armstrong-case ] this link[/url] it was kind of just dropped - wiki'ing it, Andre Birotte Jr just says 'we dropped the case and his admission that he took drugs hasn't changed that decision' - no idea why it was dropped. That stinks, man, absolutely stinks.

However, I have to say the director missed an opportunity to allow the UCI to explain how they, somehow, managed not to obtain a positive drug test result, given he supposedly was tested ~500 times during his career...

The most despicable footage (out of a fair selection) was his attitude to the Times journalist, basically saying that to criticise him in any way meant that you'd rather kids died of cancer!

That bit was great TV wasn't it....... Also where Lance claimed that another journalist would need "extraordinary evidence" to back up claims of doping, just ordinary evidence wouldn't be enough for LA, the normal rules, he thought, just didn't apply him. nasty piece of work.

The backstory is that, at the time, the UCI drug testing process had so many holes in it that it was easy for the riders to circumvent. I guess that could be an entire documentary in itself, though not as compelling to the general public is the LA story...

Pondo - that WSJ link isn't opening for me. Do you have to subscribe?

That bit was great TV wasn't it....

Pondo - that WSJ link isn't opening for me. Do you have to subscribe?

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2013/01/27/why-did-federal-prosecutors-drop-their-lance-armstrong-case

But I found it just googling -

why was the federal case against lance armstrong dropped

Effectively, it's just a blog post saying "no-one's got a ****ing clue why they dropped it".

Is the film on C4 tonight worth a watch?

Brilliant doc. What i didn't understand was how it went from the federal case being dropped against him to somehow the anti-doping agency coming out with a 1000 page dossier against him. How did that come about?

As above, nobody seems to know why the federal case was dropped although clearly some have their suspicions. As was briefly mentioned, and David Walsh's book deals with in a little more detail, Travis Tygart at USADA decided that he would continue investigating and re interview as necessary the people that had been interviewed for the federal case. Tygart was the gent interviewed near the end who admitted receiving anonymous threats including a death threat.

I have read Walsh's book but not seen the video of LA's testimony to the SCA case before. The sociopathic nature of his character came across much more from the video.