First of all, I must admit I'm a huge Lance fan - IMO his story is the greatest comeback in the history of sports, and the very idea that a nearly-terminal cancer patient could come back to be the fittest man alive is just amazing.
That said, the debacle at the 1998 TdF made it clear that doping is extremely common (and was at that time perhaps even universal) among pro cyclists.
It seems to me it's fairly likely Lance WAS doping, and these tests certainly look like evidence of that - even Jean Marie LeBlanc, the head of the TdF, says this was a good investigation, and that he's troubled by the results. Lance's work with Dr. Michele Ferrari is also disturbing in this regard (and inspired Greg LeMond to criticize Lance - I think Greg's comments were largely sour grapes, but Dr. Ferrari has long been associated with doping).
Even if Lance WAS doping, though (and we certainly don't know that at this point), I'm quite sure he wasn't doing anything that nearly everyone else wasn't.
The French press' near-obsession with this topic clearly relates to their nation's own lack of success in pro cycling in recent years, and now that Lance is retired, it's hard to see the point in their continuing to hound him. Note the way MLB has, by contrast, left Mark McGwire alone since his retirement, even though it now seems fairly clear he was juicing throughout his career (I was amazed by his appearance when he testified before Congress - he looked like a withered old man, presumably because he's stopped using steroids).
That said, the debacle at the 1998 TdF made it clear that doping is extremely common (and was at that time perhaps even universal) among pro cyclists.
It seems to me it's fairly likely Lance WAS doping, and these tests certainly look like evidence of that - even Jean Marie LeBlanc, the head of the TdF, says this was a good investigation, and that he's troubled by the results. Lance's work with Dr. Michele Ferrari is also disturbing in this regard (and inspired Greg LeMond to criticize Lance - I think Greg's comments were largely sour grapes, but Dr. Ferrari has long been associated with doping).
Even if Lance WAS doping, though (and we certainly don't know that at this point), I'm quite sure he wasn't doing anything that nearly everyone else wasn't.
The French press' near-obsession with this topic clearly relates to their nation's own lack of success in pro cycling in recent years, and now that Lance is retired, it's hard to see the point in their continuing to hound him. Note the way MLB has, by contrast, left Mark McGwire alone since his retirement, even though it now seems fairly clear he was juicing throughout his career (I was amazed by his appearance when he testified before Congress - he looked like a withered old man, presumably because he's stopped using steroids).