The French Are Shockingly Persistent With This

The French media's treatment of Lance Armstrong is starting to make the American media's treatment of Barry Bonds look downright Jason McElwain-ish. They're still hung up on the idea that they can somehow prove that Lance Armstrong used steroids, EPO, or some other sort of performance enhancer.

The latest report, this one from French newspaper Le Monde, consists of sworn statements by an ex-teammate's wife, who says she heard Armstrong tell a doctor that he had used EPO, growth hormones, cortisone, steroids, and testosterone. Le Monde also reports that her husband, Frankie Andreu, an Armstrong teammate in 1999 and 2000, gave the same testimony.

Armstrong, of course, vehemently denies it. It's just my own personal opinion, but I don't care if they someday find that Lance Armstrong actually had a diesel engine installed into his ass-crack. The man beat cancer and then won the Tour de France six consecutive times, and if he did engage in a little bit of doping, then he likely beat a lot of other cyclists who were doing the exact same thing. Sure, I'd rather he did it clean, but if he didn't, I'm not going to see him as any less of a bad-ass.

Armstrong Denies Latest Doping Allegations [Forbes.com] Armstrong issues statement [VeloNews]