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Lance Armstrong Is Setting New World Records for Gall

One of the many reasons my eyes glaze over when I hear the term “cancel culture” is that it remains so vaguely defined. Not only can we not agree what being canceled actually means — Does it mean the person loses their job? Their income? Some of their income? Just a little prestige? — we can’t agree on what a cancelable offense even is. Do you have to be arrested? Or accused? Or did you just date Taylor Swift at the wrong time? The whole enterprise feels designed solely to make sure we’re constantly screaming at each other.

Theoretically, the world of sports should be able to avoid all of this. A major part of sports’ appeal is that there are universally understood winners and losers and, most important, clear, defined rules. If you lose, you basically understand why. If you break a rule — whether it’s stepping out of bounds or violating a league policy — you are punished in a way that is out in the open and easily understood. Eagles fans can complain that they lost the Super Bowl because of a bad call. But no one debates that they lost .

Which is why it is particularly rich that Lance Armstrong — of all freaking people — now appears to be attempting to claim “canceled” status. Over the weekend, Armstrong, who is promoting a new web series called The Forward , an extension of his podcast of the same name, defended his first episode , in which he talks to Caitlyn Jenner about “trans in sports” issues (a “discussion” I would not watch if you tied me to a chair A Clockwork Orange style) by proclaiming that he was “fearless.” Moreover, he tweeted, in an age “where people’s greatest concern is being fired, shamed or cancelled,” he’s “someone all too familiar with this phenomenon” and thus “uniquely positioned to have these conversations.”

The construction of Armstrong’s tweet is its giveaway. He claims he is particularly “fearless,” because he’s someone who was “canceled” — with the inference, as always with these claims, that it happened to him unfairly. I hate to be all PolitiFact-y about this, but in case you’ve forgotten, it’s almost impossible to find a public figure beyond the 2024 GOP primary leader who has been a more relentless, proven liar on a global stage than Armstrong.

Way back in 2004, two European sportswriters published a book in French about the overwhelming case that Armstrong had been blood doping during all seven of his Tour de France championships. Armstrong responded first by ignoring the accusations, then attacking the men, and finally spending the next half-decade telling some of the most blatant lies of all time in the coldest, most stone-faced manner imaginable. He claimed he was “the most tested athlete in the world.” He once said, in the wake of his cancer diagnosis (which made him, briefly, one of the most famous and beloved athletes on the planet), “I’m a guy who [came] back from a death sentence, so why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That’s crazy. I would never do that. No. No way.” Maybe worst of all, he lied to Oprah. I mean, the guy wrote a book while continuing a blood-doping regimen that he eventually admitted he’d been on for a full decade that includes the phrase, “How many times do I have to say it? Well, it can’t be any clearer than ‘I’ve never taken drugs.’”

Seriously, look at the Nike commercial Armstrong made, which we’d later discover was filmed amid his constant blood doping:

There is gall. And then there is that .

For Armstrong to claim that he was somehow unfairly “canceled” is the very definition of absurd: He knew the rules, broke the rules, and spent decades lying about breaking the rules before finally confessing when he had no choice but to do so. ( To Oprah , naturally.)

And yet, here is Armstrong, somehow playing the cancel-culture victim. But in this, he is not alone. There’s Pete Rose, who not only explicitly broke baseball’s rule about gambling on his own team but, in fact, admitted to it and agreed to a lifetime ban for it, claiming his punishment was “unfair” and complaining about “the way we live today.” There is Trevor Bauer, suspended for two seasons ( ultimately a season-and-a-third ) for multiple violations of the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, writing tweets addressed to “Dear cancel culture.” There is even Brett Favre, claiming he has been “unjustly smeared in the media” for getting caught attempting one of sneakiest, ugliest things I’ve ever seen a public figure try to pull.

All of them broke actual, clearly stated rules — sometimes even laws. And all of them eventually passed the buck. One of the most important lessons that sports can teach us — whether we are professional athletes, Little League coaches, or just lousy Ping-Pong players — is how to lose: how we handle disappointment, how we improve, how we connect with others, how we evolve and grow. But in that, there is a basic understanding: The scoreboard tells the truth. It is perhaps inevitable, in this age of shameless grift and strategic aggrievement, that our most infamous sports liars would try to claim baseless persecution despite the scoreboard staring them, and all of us, dead in the face. It is still pretty remarkable, at the end of the day, to see Lance freaking Armstrong try it.

• lance armstrong
• cancel culture

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Lance Armstrong Joined NBC Sports’ Tour de France Live Coverage

Is it the best move for cycling.

During stage 3 and 4 of NBC Sports’ 2019 Tour de France coverage, Lance Armstrong joined Phil Liggett and Bob Roll on screen for a break down of the action. Fielding questions from the studio like “Who will win the stage?”  and “How long will Julian Alaphilippe keep the yellow jersey?” Armstrong looked confident and comfortable on screen.

Armstrong hosts The Move podcast where he breaks down the latest WorldTour races and other endurance sports news, The Texan is currently covering every stage of the tour with daily episodes of his podcast with guests like George Hincapie. So far this week, The Move is ranked first in the Sports and Recreation category on iTunes for listeners.

On May 29th, NBC Sports aired a 30 minute interview called Lance Armstrong: Next Stage . In it Armstrong said “I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t change the way I acted,”  “I mean I would, but this is a longer answer.

“Primarily, I wouldn’t change the lessons that I’ve learned. I don’t learn all the lessons if I don’t act that way. I don’t get investigated and sanctioned if I don’t act the way I acted.

“If I just doped and didn’t say a thing, none of that would have happened. None of it. I was begging for, I was asking for them to come after me. It was an easy target.”

Armstrong has largely been shunned by the international cycling world since being exposed as a doping cheat. He was issued with a lifetime ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in 2012.

Having denied the doping allegations for years, Armstrong eventually made a public confession in a television interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey in 2013.

“We did what we had to do to win. It wasn’t legal, but I wouldn’t change a thing: whether it’s losing a bunch of money, going from hero to zero,” Armstrong said.

LANCE ARMSTRONG: NEXT STAGE 

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Tour de France 2019 Results: Stage 4

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How Long is the Tour de France: Everything to Know about the 2023 Tour

By stephen douglas | jul 4, 2023.

How long is the Tour de France? Well, it's long. Approximately three weeks and 3,500 kilometers long. Featuring 21 stages over 23 days, it is the most prestigious cycling competition in the world and it's probably the only one anyone in America cares about.

The race was first organized in 1903 and is the oldest of the Grand Tours. It was followed by the Giro d'Italia and Veulta a España, but neither of those were even deemed important enough for Lance Armstrong to cheat in enough to make their Wikipedia pages so you tell me how important they are.

The worst way to get a feel for how long the Tour de France is would be to watch the HBO short film Tour de Pharamacy starring Andy Samberg, Orlando Bloom, Daveed Diggs and John Cena. The 41-minute mockumentary is hilarious and breezes by. It's nothing like the 2,200 mile slog through the actual French countryside. Here's the trailer. We really need more Lonely Island sports movies.

The 2023 edition of the Tour de France started in Bilbao, Spain on July 1st. Yeah, the first stage of the Tour de france started in Spain. And so did the second and third stages. Crazy huh? This year's race ends at Champs-Élysées, Paris on July 23rd.

Sorry to go back to this, but Lance Armstrong remains America's strongest tie to the Tour de France. He won seven straight Tours from 1998 to 2005. After his doping scandal , all his wins were revoked. After Armstrong retired, American Floyd Landis won. His win also disappeared. The only American to ever win the Tour de France and not fail a drug test was Greg LeMond who won three times between 1986 and 1990.

Other than that, Americans just like to have sports on television during the day, so if you want to watch the 2023 Tour de France, it's streaming on Peacock, with NBC and USA also airing some of the cycling during the competition. If you're lucky, you'll see something like this live as a fan with a sign caused a huge crash in 2021.

look at this absolute nightmare that resulted pic.twitter.com/3Nf2QFMqHu — Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 26, 2021

Tour de France fans are just built different. Men in women's bathing suits often run alongside the cyclists, like this guy in 2007 who dressed like Borat.

What an incredible sport.

After the gold rush: The rise and fall of the Tour of California

A look back at the Sagan Show, career breaks, and chaos

This year, Cyclingnews celebrates its 25th anniversary, and to mark such an important milestone, the editorial team will be publishing 25 pieces of work that look back at the sport over the last quarter of a century.

The soil seemed fertile and the conditions offered no shortage of enthusiasm, but the roots for professional stage racing in the United States just never seemed to take hold. The past 25 years brought more high expectations for a legacy race and, this time around, the gold rush for sprint crowns and yellow jerseys was at the Amgen Tour of California .

Significant races of one week or longer had raised hopes in other decades, from the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic and Coors Classic of the 70s and 80s to the Tour DuPont in the 90s. There was a resurgence amid the peaches, peanuts and pines in the deep south, with a six-year run at the Tour de Georgia to start the millennium. 

Before that one-week race was halted in 2008, a push was made 3,000 miles away to provide the platform - with glitz, glamour and golden opportunities - to showcase the sport of cycling to the world. The Amgen Tour of California was an instant hit.

"The crowd size and the fanfare, and the professional level of the race - that was above and beyond what anyone expected the race to be," three-time Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer tells Cyclingnews.

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After a Prologue in San Francisco to start the race in 2006, stage 1 went to his hometown of Santa Rosa. “I mean, coming into Santa Rosa that day, to see how big the crowd was, that was more than I had imagined. And it was the talking point - how big the Tour of California was right off the bat. That for sure was a moment.

"People were on rooftops, streets were full, and it was really loud. I would compare it to the bigger Classics, or Grand Tours in Europe. The Giro always has a lot of fans that turn out, and I would say it was as if we were finishing a stage in Milan or Rome. It had that many people at the finish line."

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The first edition went from operations plan to start gun in a little over three months, with organisers hearing "this will never happen" again and again. The first real team effort came to fruition before the riders lined up for the prologue to Coit Tower and became North America’s only UCI WorldTour event, for the women since 2016 and for men in 2017 .

"The race was a moving postcard for California. International television coverage was a priority from day one. Both from the fans’ perspective and the riders’ perspective, the race was world-class with organization, execution, and visibility,“ Leipheimer adds. 

Fast-forward to October 2019. After 14 years, the Amgen Tour of California unexpectedly announced it would go on hiatus , not returning for the 2020 season. 

Anschutz Entertainment Group noted that it “has become more challenging each year to mount the race” and said it would re-evaluate options and its business model. In hindsight, that wasn’t such a bad idea, since the pro pelotons for men and women ceased to race outdoors in the US this past year due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 

But what a ride we had across the past two decades. 

It had big terrain and landmarks - Golden Gate Bridge (the race crossed it twice), Pacific Coast Highway, the Rose Bowl in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills. It had big names from Europe - Peter Sagan (17 stage wins and one overall win), Mark Cavendish (10 stage wins), Bradley Wiggins (seven days in the leader’s jersey). It had big personalities from the US - Floyd Landis (who won the first year), Lance Armstrong (who raced in his comeback years), Peter Sagan (he gets on both lists).

It had a sound title sponsor - Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company based in California that develops and manufactures innovative medicines, including Epogen (EPO). It had solid infrastructure - owned by AEG, making it part of a sports and entertainment empire with the Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy, and Staples Center.

It had epic weather - snow cancelled a stage in 2011 and relocated a stage in 2015. It had controversy - Rock Racing were limited to five riders in 2008, Lance Armstrong returned to racing in 2009, and Armstrong crashed out in 2010 (beginning his downward spiral).

"Honestly, I think with the name ‘California’ that’s what really helped it to begin with. If you are over in Europe and you say California, everyone knows where that is. So you can see why having that name is so big," says American Chris Horner, who won the 2011 edition riding for Team RadioShack. 

"In order to compete with the Grand Tours, you’ve gotta have some epically big stages that blow apart, and then some one-on-one battles. The Tour of California was the Peter Sagan Show. It was get it down to 40 guys and Peter Sagan wins again."

The Sagan Show and the move to May

Winning again and again is what Sagan did. He was good for TV ratings and the fans loved him. He didn’t appear at the race until 2010, when he was an unknown neo-pro riding for Liquigas-Dolmo. He did have stage wins at Paris-Nice, but fans were not yet accustomed to his wheelies and carefree personality. In fact, that first year the Slovakian used an Italian translator for his interviews.

In addition to his 17 stage victories - the most for any one rider - his overall victory in 2015 was Hollywood script worthy. He unexpectedly won the modified individual time trial in Santa Clarita, which had been moved from Big Bear Lake because of snow and shortened to 10.6km at the backup location. 

Then on the final stage and climb up Mt. Baldy, he grabbed the overall win from race leader Julian Alaphilippe, who’s advantage was just two seconds, with the time bonuses.

For four years the Tour of California owned February, as it was the biggest race that month on the UCI calendar. It was a UCI 2.1 stage race for its inaugural year, then moved to 2.HC for the next nine years until it was upgraded to WorldTour status.

In 2010, the Tour of California moved from its traditional February slot to May . While the new calendar spot competed directly with the Giro d’Italia, it proved successful in attracting stronger fields for riders gearing up for the Tour de France, who used the opportunity for wide roads, luxurious hotels and all-things California. The move was also made to take advantage of warmer weather and permit the race to use the Sierras and other high mountains, a bet with Mother Nature that did not work out on two occasions because of snow, but did give climbers like Horner, and later Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogačar, a boost.

"I think some of the biggest problems was they needed more teams, and they needed to run more dramatic stages. They kept running the same stages where it would be the same 40 guys coming to the line. People really want to see Alpe d’Huez," says Horner, who used a mountaintop stage 4 win in 2011 to seal his overall title. 

"They didn’t run a summit finish until the year I won the Sierra climb (2011). I think that was the first summit finish they had in the race. And really I think that is what makes stage racing - you need something epic, something fantastic like a climb."

Checks and balances

Controversy in the early years of the Amgen Tour of California were put down as growing pains, and some of those were epic as well. 

None were more glaring and uncomfortable than several instances related to doping controls for performance-enhancing substances. It was reported by  The New York Times  in early 2007 that in the inaugural race, riders were not tested for EPO , the performance-enhancing blood boosting drug that had plagued cycling for years and which was made by sponsor Amgen for the treatment of anaemia in cancer and dialysis patients.

According to the newspaper, company executives were angry and surprised when they heard that EPO testing was not actually carried out as part of ‘standard test’ procedures. The testing was then confirmed to be carried out at the 2007 race.

Then in 2011, a plan for comprehensive blood and urine testing for a variety of substances including growth hormone and EPO was not carried out. Race organisers and USADA together funded the pre-competition testing. 

The in-competition testing and controls were supposed to have been managed by the UCI, but only standard urine tests were executed and no blood tests were carried out during the eight-day race, Cyclingnews reported.

The squeeze on domestic teams

Modern American cycling was redefined at the Amgen Tour of California. And it wasn’t all about the men either, as the race became one of the best for the women in the later years.

"The Amgen Tour of California was an important event for the development of racing and teams in the US. On the men’s side, the race was the ‘must do’ event for US teams and incentivized many to upgrade to Pro Continental status when the race went WouldTour, while the development of the women’s race allowed US women and teams to compete and win against the best in the world," says Chuck Hodge, chief of racing and events for USA Cycling.

On the men’s side, there were plenty of gains and losses to recall, like the rolling surf lapping the cliffs along the Pacific. Top riders like Leipheimer and Horner gained acclaim on home turf. Rising stars like Tejay van Garderen, Taylor Phinney, Chad Haga, Joe Dombrowski, and a host of Continental riders took the spotlight. Many American riders were tasked with rebuilding the reputation of the sport following confessions to doping. 

It put US cycling on the world map, but not all the US riders had access to the map itself. The event was proud of its robust international flair, which meant that not all the US teams received invitations to compete and share the spotlight.

"The ATOC gave America a premier international event that was consistently attended by some of the best teams and riders in the world. I feel like it was a big challenge for the ATOC to grow into a huge international event, meet the UCI guidelines, and also try to include the domestic programs. The ATOC needed the domestic teams and vice versa, but it wasn’t that simple," says Jonas Carney, who has been a race director at Rally Cycling since the team’s start in 2007. Under the name Kelly Benefit Strategies, the team first competed in California in 2008 as a Pro Continental team.

"California provided us with an opportunity to compete on home soil with the biggest teams and riders in the world. For a non-WorldTour team, the biggest challenge is to gain access to those big races."

By the time the Tour of California reached the pinnacle of its UCI life, as a WorldTour event in 2017, only two Continental teams received invitations.

"For the domestic teams, it was big and a good reason for their sponsors to keep a following here. It made it really easy for a team like Jelly Belly, Rally and others, to go ahead and renew their contracts for the following year. I think it (ATOC) kept US-sponsored teams interested to stay in the sport," says Horner.

He notes a rider like JJ Haedo of Toyota-United, who won two stages at the 2007 Tour and them signed with Team CSC. There is also Toms Skujins, who won his first Tour of California stage with the Continental squad Hincapie Racing in 2015 after a solo effort into San Jose and then returned as member of Cannondale-Drapac, then Trek-Segafredo. Or in 2017 when youngster Sepp Kuss, now with Jumbo-Visma, soloed across the break to help Rally Cycling’s Evan Huffman win a stage.

Leipheimer concurred that race played a big part in domestic cycling for career development, not just team publicity.

"I always thought for the domestic riders, it was a huge opportunity. Even if they could just get in a breakaway, it meant a lot to them. It could potentially extend their contracts with their team. It was by far the biggest race they could do all season," he says.

"It’s obvious that domestic Conti or Pro Conti teams do not have many opportunities to compete in a big race, especially a big race at home. It would mean a lot to their sponsors. But I would say even more importantly it’s not here (ATOC) to inspire the next generation of cyclists. There could be the next great American cyclist coming to watch the stage finish in Sacramento, just a nine-year-old kid, for instance. 

"When I was growing up, the Coors Classic was happening. Of course it wasn’t on television, but I certainly read the cycling magazines that covered the race. It was part of what inspired me."

In 2007, Leipheimer took the lead after the prologue win in San Francisco, and the course suited him to be dressed in yellow for a homecoming in his hometown the next day. But a massive crash on the finishing circuits of stage 1 in Santa Rosa put him and many of the heavy favourites in chasing mode with 10km to go. They would finish more than a minute behind sprint winner Graeme Brown of Rabobank, and a new race leader, the little-known Ben Jacques-Maynes of Priority Health, who had been third in the prologue.

But 15 minutes later, the race jury took an unusual decision to neutralise the gap to the front group at the 10-kilometre mark, not the standard 3km to go mark under UCI rules, noting the size of the crash which was caused by raised lane markers on the road.

As reported by Cyclingnews in 2007, the Continental rider Jacques-Maynes was gracious with the loss of what could have been a defining moment in his career: "I'm not in a position to question the commissaires and I just have to live with it and keep racing my bike. I'm paid to pedal, and they are paid to make those decisions. It is hard to swallow that, but that is what we have to do.”

Women are equal

The race was especially a bright spot for the women’s professional peloton. The women’s race started as a one-day criterium before adding a separate individual time trial , and then becoming a true stage race in 2015, with a three-day stage race ahed of the men's event, and the event took on the official name of Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM.

"It was a very well organized, well-promoted race where we got high quality TV coverage. ToC really brought cycling, and especially women's cycling, into mainstream media in California and that was really important for teams and especially American sponsors of cycling teams," says Katie Hall, a four-time stage winner across five years, as well as overall title in 2018 riding for UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.

"I love California. It was where I lived for 10 years and getting to share those roads with the pro peloton was really special to me. In ToC 2016, we raced up Coleman Valley and past the place I got married. I loved racing on home roads and that was extra motivating for me."

Hall was ecstatic when the organisers of the Tour of California included a summit finish to Mt. Baldy for the 2019 women’s edition. She was even happier at the summit when she crossed the line for the win, alongside her Boels-Dolmans teammate Anna van der Breggen. Hall would finish second overall in the race and Van der Breggen took the title for a second time in three years.

Organisers were also applauded for offering equal prize money for the three days of racing and doing away with the dated 'podium kiss' tradition during award ceremonies. Hall noted that it was a challenge to get the European teams to California for just three or four days, of racing, especially with the logistics of hauling the bikes to and from.

It is probably the Women’s event that will be missed the most with the demise of the Tour of California. There are only three UCI road events on the 2021 US calendar, with the Joe Martin Stage Race and Tour of the Gila providing multi-day races. The earning opportunities are shrinking stateside, but not gone.

Changing tide

The Tour of California was billed by race organisers as "the largest annual spectator sporting event in California and largest cycling event in North America, drawing over 2 million spectators annually". It had a legacy as a sporting event, a promotional tool for California and a launching pad for pro careers.

"California didn’t define my career in many ways, but it did financially set me up for the future, more so than I thought," says Horner.

"I won the Tour of the Basque Country, the best quality stage racing field in the world. I got back to the States, I could walk around the mall and nobody would recognize me. When I won Tour of California, I got back to my house in San Diego, and I got recognized by staff and people in the Apple store. And I go to Fashion Valley Mall, I’m getting recognized at the mall. On a professional level, Tour of California was so much more important.

"And that’s why NBC hired me, it was during Tour of California when they were interviewing me, and all they have to do is put a microphone in front of my face and all of a sudden I’ve got something to say."

The US cycling scene for pro riders and teams has not washed away because the Amgen Tour of California went away. Over the decades there have been waves of races, some bigger swells than others. The talent is there, the fans are there, and now they need a place to compete.

"Much like the Tour DuPont, Tour de Georgia and Tour of Missouri, the Amgen Tour of California was an incredible event that will be missed - but one that future races will be able to build upon,” adds Hodge. 

It sounds like the 'hiatus' is pretty permanent.  Cyclingnews  reached out to representatives from AEG, and were told there has been no statements made about the race since 2019.

But there’s nothing wrong with a little hope in a new year, especially after the tidal wave of chaos from a pandemic, and a little California dreaming to anxiously await the next race in the US.

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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).

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Most Popular

Is Lance Armstrong Trying To Make Us Forget?

Nearly a decade into the Lance Armstrong image rehabilitation project, a new reality show Stars On Mars is the latest chapter. It begs the question: is it working?

Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace was spectacular.

His seven Tour de France titles were stripped, almost all of his endorsements gone. A lifetime ban from UCI events was handed down. An Olympic medal remitted . An entire cycling world seethed with anger, pointing their fingers, and screaming that they told us so.

But now, a few weeks away from his appearance on a major network reality show, Lance Armstrong is back near the center of the public consciousness. Of course, not in a way that he was in the midst of his run of Tour victories.

But when Fox’s Stars on Mars premieres on June 5, Lance Armstrong will be as accessible to the average living room as he was nearly two decades ago.

And that is thanks in large part to a slow-burning image rehabilitation that is either incidental or one long marketing play. Either way, when it comes to the general consensus, it seems to be working.

Image rehabilitation is nothing new. At least in the modern era, stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Vick have bounced back (albeit to varying degrees) from what could (and in Vick’s case should) have very easily been career-destroying events.

With his turn as reality television star, Lance Armstrong may soon be no different.

A few years after that famous Oprah interview, Lance Armstrong slowly started creeping back into the public consciousness.

In 2015, he rolled out his endurance-sports brand, WEDU. The brand’s most popular element is The Move, a podcast Armstrong hosts alongside his longtime teammate George Hincapie, their former manager Johan Bruyneel, and Austin bike-scene staple JB Hager. Opinions on Armstrong and his cohort aside, it is one of the most insightful podcasts on bike racing you’ll find, which no doubt has something to do with its popularity.

Then he very publicly dipped his toe into venture capitalism via a high-profile interview to CNBC.

After that came a major, two-part ESPN documentary. Critical of the one-time hero as it was, it also put him in front of the camera, allowing him to tell his version of the story. One of the film’s biggest critiques was of its star: after all of this, did he still not regret his choices?

Then, likely due to the fact that no major bike brand would risk the association with him, the new direct-to-consumer bike brand Ventum unveiled Armstrong as one of their marquee endorsees. Suddenly, Lance Armstong’s name was attached to an actual bike again. Trek it wasn’t. But a bike nonetheless.

Just as he did with his Livestrong foundation, Lance Armstrong did some truly real, quantifiable good when he raised money to help get the kids of Uvalde, Texas bikes after the horrific school shooting there.

And in just a few weeks, Lance Armstrong will appear as one of the contestants on Stars on Mars , which, for some reason, endeavors to figure out which star would survive longest on Mars. Or something?

As we’re nearly a decade into the Lance Armstrong image rehabilitation project (whether it’s all by chance or one long marketing plan), it begs the question: is it working?

The answer to that depends on who you’re asking. Because if you bring up the name Lance Armstrong on any group ride or in any shop, you’re more than likely to be met with eyerolls, groans, or outright anger. Of course, he has plenty of defenders, while others remain indifferent. But the man’s name is still, in large part, verboten in the wider cycling culture.

However, bike riders are a relatively small sliver of American society. And while almost everyone knows Lance Armstrong as the guy who cheated in order to win seven Tours de France, they’re more likely to forgive and forget, especially in the very unlikely event that Stars on Mars is any good.

Soon, if this rehabilitation effort works, much of America might not even think of bike racing when it comes to Lance Armstrong. And maybe that was always the plan.

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike. 

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Lance Armstrong in disbelief after Jonas Vingegaard's time-trial heroics: "I'm kind of speechless"

Jonas Vingegaard was simply on another level to everyone else at the Tour de France , on the stage 16 individual time-trial, as the Dane blew the field away in taking a dominant victory. One man who was certainly impressed was Lance Armstrong .

"I'm kind of speechless," the disgraced American said with a shake of the head on his podcast The Move after the conclusion to the time-trial. “What Jonas has done is so exceptional. And nobody really saw it coming: I myself have been bullish about Tadej Pogacar 's chances in recent days. This time-trial should suit him completely. But I'm only too happy to be wrong about this sort of thing."

PREVIEW | Tour de France 2023 stage 17 - 5400 meters of climbing and 20% climb up Col de la Loze the queen stage for Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar

"Vingegaard took more than a minute and a half. That means he drove 2.5 kilometres per hour faster, which is more than five percent faster," continues Armstrong in growing awe. "And then we are talking about the toughest race in the world, with all super-trained athletes. From a technical perspective, it was perfect."

Armstrong's podcast partner, Johan Bruyneel was also similarly impressed. "Vingegaard was on a different level. He himself said that he was so surprised and that it was the best time trial of his life. You saw that Vingegaard was ready for the war, in everything. I didn't have that feeling with Pogacar: he didn't radiate much aggression."

Tadej Pogacar reacts to stage 16 time-trial: "I couldn't do anything more, I was flat out"

"We saw Pogacar jumping into the pool on the rest day and laughing with everyone, but at the same time we saw little or nothing of Vingegaard," Bruyneel concludes. "Something tells me that Pogacar was not doing his best the day after the rest day, but nevertheless he had not reached Vingegaard's level."

Jonas Vingegaard admits "I really surprised myself" after stunning time-trial victory at the Tour de France

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UNDER_ARTICLE

Mon 22 Apr 2024

Tue 23 Apr 2024

100 episodes

Lance Armstrong presents a singular perspective on the world’s most iconic cycling races, including the Tour de France and the Classics, as well as the broader endurance sports scene. Not your typical cycling or sports podcast, THEMOVE brings listeners deep inside the racing action, imparting insights from someone who knows the suffering and splendor like no one else. In addition to  course previews and timely race analysis from Armstrong’s distinct point of view, the audience also gets to hear from featured guests, who regularly swing by the THEMOVE studio to join the always-lively conversation. Guests have included former teammates like George Hincapie during the Tour de France, and Mark Allen and Dave Scott in advance of the IRONMAN World Championship. THEMOVE is an audio-video experience that transforms every listener from fan and spectator into the ultimate insider.

THEMOVE Lance Armstrong

• 4.6 • 3.1K Ratings
• APR 21, 2024

Ardennes Classics Recap | THEMOVE Femmes

Lance, Ali, and Mari cover all the Ardennes Femmes drama and dynamic racing including Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. From the hills of Holland to the punchy climbs of Belgium, the women showcased aggressive and unpredictable racing that only the Ardennes can offer. From a thrilling bike throw finish of the Boss Marianne Vos when Lorena Weibes celebrated too soon, to Kasia Niewiadoma winning her first World Tour race after 1,770 days and 30 podium finishes, to a surprise sprint from a hectic finale by time-trialist extraordinaire, Grace Brown. Women's cycling is more exciting than ever and we are here for it! #watchthefemmes   OneSkin : OneSkin is the world’s first skin longevity company. By focusing on the cellular aspects of aging, OneSkin keeps your skin looking and acting younger for longer. Get started today with 15% off using code FEMMES at oneskin.co. That’s 15% off oneskin.co with code FEMMES. After you purchase, they’ll ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support this show and tell them we sent you.

2024 Liege-Bastogne-Liege - Should Pogačar skip the Giro and focus on the Tour de France?

With the landscape of top Tour Competitors being riddled with injury, does this make a clear path for Pogačar to win the Tour? Should this become his focus? Manscaped: In addition to providing the right tools and solutions for comfortable & easy grooming, MANSCAPEDⓇ  is committed to raising awareness and giving support for fighters, survivors, and families impacted by testicular cancer. That is why they will be donating $50,000 to the Testicular Cancer Society! Help save lives (and balls!) by going over to Manscaped.com/TCS and sharing their funny, educational “Check Yo’ Self” video. And while you’re at it, grab 20% OFF + Free Shipping with code WEDU LMNT: Listeners can get a free LMNT Sample Pack with any order when you order at drinklmnt.com/themove AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase using code THEMOVE exclusively at drinkAG1.com/themove Caldera Lab: Get 20% OFF with our code WEDU at calderalab.com and make unforgettable first impressions that lead to the charming words, “you look younger!” Ketone-IQ: Save 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ at hvmn.com/THEMOVE   Ventum: Enter to win a Ventum NS1 road bike at ventumracing.com/the-move This campaign will run until 5/26, the end of the Giro next month.

• APR 17, 2024

2024 La Flèche Wallonne

The 2024 La Flèche Wallonne was characterized by its challenging weather conditions, with THEMOVE team elaborating on the complexities of racing in temperatures below 40 degrees and adverse weather. significantly altered the race dynamics, adding additional layers of strategy and physical endurance. Stephen Williams celebrated a monumental victory, marking his second significant win this season. This triumph was also a crucial victory for Israel Premier Tech. Manscaped: In addition to providing the right tools and solutions for comfortable & easy grooming, MANSCAPEDⓇ  is committed to raising awareness and giving support for fighters, survivors, and families impacted by testicular cancer. That is why they will be donating $50,000 to the Testicular Cancer Society! Help save lives (and balls!) by going over to Manscaped.com/TCS and sharing their funny, educational “Check Yo’ Self” video. And while you’re at it, grab 20% OFF + Free Shipping with code WEDU Cuts: Refine your style with @CutsClothing and get 20% off with code WEDU at cutsclothing.com/WEDU! #cutspartner buycycle: Encourage riders to sell bikes on buycycle. Enter the code WEDU24 to remove the seller fee when selling your bike! Visit buycycle.com MANDO: New customers get $5 off a Starter Pack with our exclusive code and link. Use code WEDU at ShopMando.com. Ventum: Enter to win a Ventum NS1 road bike at ventumracing.com/the-move This campaign will run until 5/26, the end of the Giro next month.  

• APR 14, 2024

Amstel Gold Race 2024 | THEMOVE

Johan, Lance, George, and J.B. breakdown this year‘s Amstel Gold Race. The burning question, Was this really the first win of this race for Tom Pitcock or his second? Also, was Mathieu van der Poel feeling the effects of Paris-Roubaix? All these and more on this episode of THEMOVE. Manscaped: In addition to providing the right tools and solutions for comfortable & easy grooming, MANSCAPEDⓇ  is committed to raising awareness and giving support for fighters, survivors, and families impacted by testicular cancer. That is why they will be donating $50,000 to the Testicular Cancer Society! Help save lives (and balls!) by going over to Manscaped.com/TCS and sharing their funny, educational “Check Yo’ Self” video. And while you’re at it, grab 20% OFF + Free Shipping with code WEDU   Tushy: Over 3 million butts love TUSHY. Get 10% off Tushy with the code WEDU at hellotushy.com/WEDU ! #tushypod   AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase using code THEMOVE exclusively at drinkAG1.com/themove Helix Sleep: Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Visit helixsleep.com/themove    MANDO: New customers get $5 off a Starter Pack with our exclusive code and link. Use code WEDU at ShopMando.com.   Ventum:  Enter to win a Ventum NS1 road bike at ventumracing.com/the-move This campaign will run until 5/26, the end of the Giro next month.          

• APR 7, 2024

Paris-Roubaix 2024 Breakdown | THEMOVE

Lance, JB, and Spencer Martin discuss Mathieu van der Poel’s dominant performance to enter the extremely rarified air of history’s best Cobbled riders by winning his second-consecutive Paris-Roubaix title and completing the coveted Flanders-Roubaix double with a seemingly unstoppable ride. They break down the peerless tactics of his Alpecin-Deceuninck team, how they have emerged as the sport’s premier one-day squad, and if there is anything their rivals like Mads Pedersen could have done to stop them. Before they go, they attempt to put Van der Poel’s performance into historical context and raise the question of whether he has more Monument wins to come later this spring. LMNT: Listeners can get a free LMNT Sample Pack with any order when you order at drinklmnt.com/themove   Tushy: Over 3 million butts love TUSHY. Get 10% off Tushy with the code WEDU at hellotushy.com/WEDU ! #tushypod AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3+K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase using code THEMOVE exclusively at drinkAG1.com/themove Ketone-IQ: Save 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ at hvmn.com/THEMOVE   Caldera Lab: Get 20% OFF with our code WEDU at calderalab.com and make unforgettable first impressions that lead to the charming words, “you look younger!”

• APR 6, 2024

Why Were There So Many Crashes at Itzulia Basque Country? | THEMOVE

JB Hager, Johan Bruyneel, and Spencer Martin from the Beyond the Peloton Newsletter break down the six-day Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country), starting with the reasons, and implications of the high-speed crash on Stage 4 that injured three of the four top contenders for the much-anticipated Tour de France, before getting into how Juan Ayuso and his UAE went to win the overall by leveraging their incredible team-wide strength on today’s final Stage 6. Before they go, Johan discusses who he thinks will win tomorrow’s Paris-Roubaix and gives a first-hand account of the current condition of the infamous cobblestones.    

Customer Reviews

3.1K Ratings

Entertaining

Good podcast to keep up with the cycling races. The ads are entertaining segments if you take it with a grain of salt

Get the rambling advertisements under control

It’s great when the crew is actually talking cycling. But you guys have to get the advertisements under control. Way too many and WAY too long for that short of a podcast. It is honestly like 25% of the pod sometimes. Take a page out of the top pods out there. Just load up the ads at the beginning so people can zip through them. Don’t ramble through them. Just give the ad and move on.

Sometimes over does it on ads

During the Tour de France it has far too many ads. Outside of that month, when Lance isn’t on it, the amount of ads is reasonable and there is a lot of good discussion.

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