One really does wonder what is going on in the world of cycling.
Lance Armstrong, the most successful road racer ever, is to be stripped of all of his titles and medals says the US anti-doping agency. That they do not have the power to strip him of anything except trophies won in US sponsored events seems to have passed them by. They also seem to be unconcerned by the absence of any tangible evidence that Armstrong ever used banned substances and by Armstrong's continued denials of wrong-doing.
It appears that the US agency's decision will be ratified by the World body and that Armstrong will, ultimately, be deprived of his assorted honours, on no real evidence whatsoever. As far as I have heard, the case against him is based on the statements of various of his ex-colleagues who have claimed that they were all on drugs so he must have been too. I haven't heard that any of these self-confessed cheats have been banned from competition and it seems that the whole weight of the US agency's outrage is being thrown at Armstrong alone.
What the man has done to deserve this treatment is a mystery. He has been pursued for more than a decade and yet no concrete evidence has been found. He has, finally, decided that he's had enough of the constant fight and will fight no more, but nonetheless has maintained his innocence. He has been found guilty simply because he no longer wants to continue a fight that has disrupted the lives of his family and friends for years.
If this is American justice, thank the Lord that I'm in England.
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