"He bribed everyone, he was tyrannical to his teammates and obnoxious to the peloton" - Jerôme Pineau slams Lance Armstrong's recent comments 'the biggest bandit in the history of sport'

Wednesday, 06 December 2023 at 10:21

Lance Armstrong was quoted recently as saying "Jan Ullrich, Marco Pantani and myself were treated differently. This is the price to pay when you are the best in a sport." It's fair to say, these comments haven't gone down well with ex-pro Jerôme Pineau.

Launching into a scathing rant on RMC, Pineau made no attempt to hide disdain for cycling's persona non grata. "It's a show, it's always been that way with Armstrong. He cheated more than anyone else," the Frenchman began. "He bribed everyone, he was tyrannical to his teammates and obnoxious to the peloton."

Read also

"He was above all laws. With his statements he lumps everyone together, Pineau continues. "He was the strongest because he cheated more than the others! He bought the system! He is the biggest bandit in the history of sport."

Although Armstrong keeps himself relevant to cycling fans nowadays via his 'The Move' podcast alongside Johan Bruyneel and George Hincapie, Pineau sees no place for the American in the sport. "Shut up!" Pineau demands. "He corrupted entire generations, including me. He may have been talented, but he tyrannized the entire peloton. He had the entire political and sporting system behind him. Not everyone was like him , it wasn't me and neither were the guys on my team."

"Don't say you paid for the others! We weren't all like you! I can't hear him talking like that, he's been cheating his whole life," concludes the Frenchman's sensational rant.

Read also

claps 129visitors 29

"You can see that with Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel. Without fun you are nowhere" - Enjoyment the most key factor in success believes Greg van Avermaet

"He left with the idea that injustice had been done to him" - Incredible story of Wout van Aert at the U23 Belgian Championship recounted by Jens Adams

13 Comments

ptherond 13 April 2025 at 18:32+ 8

If you knew anything about Armstrong you would know that's the case

awp 12 March 2025 at 08:58+ 1383

I know quite a bit, he's not a nice guy but was not doing anything else the other top guys weren't.

awp 02 May 2025 at 14:22+ 1383

I don't know, if I ever hear that someone was clean I tend not to believe them. I'm not a superhuman like pro cyclists are but I've done enough racing as an ametur and it's very hard for me to believe anyone at a high level could get through a modern GT without some type of blood recovery.

I do love the sport and I try not to be cynical, but the reality of anyone finishing a GT with a hematocrit around a 38 or so is not lost on me, it's simply not possible, I don't think it would be possible even if they took out the mountains.

Just my observation.