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26 • Touchline • Issue 14
“The Lance Armstrong affair has damaged world cycling to the
point where its reputation is possibly irreparable,” said SKINS
chairman Jamie Fuller in a statement.
But while part of Armstrong’s legacy is undoubtedly a massive
black eye for cycling, some see this as an opportunity to clean
up the sport. Now that the truth is out there, hopes for a cleaner
sport have risen. Indeed, some claim that
the sport has been cleaner recently than
in years past, and this scandal is an
indictment of the culture that preceded
this current crop of riders.
“That’s what is pissing me off no end,”
said rider David Millar in an interview
with the Scottish Herald. “The fact we are
having to regurgitate all this stuff when
the sport is actually clean now. When I
say clean, it’s not 100% clean, but you can
win the biggest races clean now, which
wasn’t possible a few years ago. That’s a
massive leap forward.”
Lance Armstrong’s legacy in this sport was always going to be
colossal. Now, it seems that it will be colossal for the wrong
reasons.
His Finances
Though he will never have to collect food stamps, Armstrong
is facing financial meltdown. Armstrong’s ten biggest sponsors
have all dumped him.
Nike, a sponsor whose market position in cycling is almost
solely down to Armstrong’s influence in the sport, issued
HIS FINANCES
“That’s what is
pissing me off... the
fact we are having
to regurgitate all this
stuff .”
a strongly worded justification
when dumping him, saying that
he had “misled” the company for
years. It is estimated that he
earned over 15 million dollars in
2011 alone just through major
sponsors.
While his sponsors desert him
in droves, his accountant will be
losing sleep over the lost earning
in the future. Even after his
retirement, the Lance Armstrong
brand is a money-printing
juggernaut. Such was his standing
that he could have joined the
motivational speaker circuit and
written countless books. It is estimated that these revelations
have cost him 200 million dollars in potential earnings.
So while his revenue stream shrinks, he has other money
problems. The Tour de France organizers ASO are seriously
looking to have him pay back his prize money for the seven Tours
he won between 1999 and 2005. While five million dollars is a
drop in his ocean, you can expect him to
fight to keep these winnings.
In a similar vein, a Texan insurance
company, SCA Promotions, is suing him for
7.5 million. In a case that seems to sum
up Armstrong’s thick hide, these moneys
were actually paid by the company after
they were taken to court by Armstrong
back in 2004. They had baulked at paying
him 5 million for his win, believing that
he was not a clean rider. He won the court
case, which cost the company an extra 2.5
million in fees. Now they are insisting that
he return the full amount.
The End?
Lance Armstrong’s career, glittering and inspirational at its
apex, but so tawdry now, casts a long shadow over cycling. The
federations which turned a blind eye are suffering badly, as are
countless riders whose reputations are perhaps unfairly tainted
by this case. His place in the cheater’s hall of fame is assured.
Hereafter, his name will be synonymous with arrogance and
delusion. When the drama and shock fade, you have to wonder
what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
THE END?
© Paul Coster