"Fellow dopers were treated more leniently" - Lance Armstrong's doping past defended by writer

Sunday Times’ David Walsh wrote a column on Lance Armstrong’s 10th anniversary of his lifetime ban from cycling. The Irish writer described everything from his first meeting in 1993 to his suspension in 2012.

A lifetime suspension was imposed on Armstrong after he refused to cooperate with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) investigation. “Two months after the report, Armstrong had another opportunity to cut some kind of deal with USADA,” Walsh wrote.

USADA gave him a last chance to admit his wrongdoing but Armstrong never cooperated. “Looking back, it is remarkable how ruthlessly USADA exposed and then punished Armstrong, while fellow dopers were treated more leniently,” he writes.

Walsh also gave an update of Armstrong’s current life. “Armstrong has rebuilt his life and is now a successful podcaster. The show he hosts during the Tour de France is hugely popular,” he wrote. But he does not receive the same respect other rider gets. Within the official world of the Tour, he remains persona non-grata, which is laughable given how many former dopers have been welcomed back. Compared to all of the others, his punishment was draconian and probably excessive. But that was on him.”

“The bloody-mindedness that underpinned his seven Tour victories was the same bloody-mindedness that led to the loss of all those Tours and the lifetime ban. What worked in victory was disastrous in defeat," Walsh concluded.