Steering clear is typical for Lance

So two of Lance Armstrong’s ex-teammates have come out of cycling’s closet to say they used EPO as part of their preparation going into the Tour de France in 1999.

Armstrong, predictably enough, denies there is a connection to him.

Not that the two ex-teammates said there was.

They said the opposite, in fact.

Yet Armstrong felt compelled to term the revelation a “hatchet job.”

That is the old fighting spirit, tedious though it has become.

Armstrong has come to have a lot in common with Marion Jones, the erstwhile track and field darling.

Like the sprinter, Armstrong is at least guilty of not picking his associates wisely.

His guilt beyond that depends on who is interpreting the considerable body of circumstantial evidence in his midst.

Armstrong might have come across better if he had not been so contemptuous of the latest bombshell.

By now, though, he is conditioned to respond like an attack dog.

His best defense is a great offense, whether in court or through the media, as he endeavors to defend his empire and legacy after winning the Tour de France an unprecedented seven consecutive years.

He inevitably points to a clean test record and tries to pick apart all the elements that collectively undermine his reputation.

It is just his bad luck to have worked with a doctor who was indicted on doping charges.

It is just his bad luck that his ex-physiotherapist wrote a book that detailed his doping.

Story Continues →