"Lance Armstrong didn't invent doping. He just played the game like everyone else did" - Levi Leipheimer insists doping in pro cycling 'is not black and white'

Cycling
Thursday, 30 January 2025 at 09:18
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The topic of doping within professional cycling cannot be brought up without the mention of Lance Armstrong, who has become the sport's persona-non-grata since his admission of doping back in 2013. One of those who saw the scandal up close and personal was the American's former teammate Levi Leipheimer, himself outed as a doper in 2012.

“I fell in love with road cycling when I was 13-years-old. Doping was not even in my mind. But as I dedicated my life, and I worked my way up from team to team, and I got to the highest level, it was obvious what was happening," recalls the now-51-year-old Leipheimer in conversation with Road.cc. “And it was a very slow process and it was a very difficult decision. I feel like myself and many others were just put in a situation where we had to make a really tough choice. Little by little, I accepted it was part of what I had to do. Never proud of it, was super stressful. It was always my worst nightmare that it would become public, and in the end it did.”

And as mentioned, in 2012 Leipheimer's worst nightmare did indeed come true as his involvement in a doping scandal was revealed to the public by himself amidst USADA (The United States Anti-Doping Agency)’s ongoing investigation into Armstrong. “My worst nightmare came true,” he remembers. “It was completely overwhelming. And I felt really small and it took me a long time to process that. I mean, years and years. And I think now that I realise that, from the outside, it’s just so easy to put the whole thing into a black and white category. And I can tell you, it’s not black and white. It’s so grey.”

“I’ve done my best to make amends or make it so that the next generation or future generations, they’re not put in that position. It was between a rock and a hard place. It was a tough decision to make. It was stressful. I don’t wish it upon anyone," Leipheimer continues. “I told the truth when I was asked. I accepted my ban. I even went and spoke in front of a bunch of WADA scientists. That was completely out of the media and it wasn’t part of my punishment or my ban. I did it because I wanted to tell my story and give them insight, so that they could make the best decisions possible to protect future generations."

Leipheimer is also quick to point out though, that whilst Armstrong is the most well-known and has become the most disgraced doper in cycling history, many of the American's rivals were also using performance enhancing drugs at that time.  “I think most of the guys in my generation would have preferred if there was absolute airtight testing and no one could do those things. That would have been ideal, but it wasn’t the case. The reality was that it was very prevalent in the sport and unfortunately it was the choice that we had to make," he assesses. “Lance, for example, he didn’t invent doping. He just, quote unquote, played the game like everybody else did. I think it’s all very grey and everybody has had their own path in life and things have happened to make us who we are. And we all did our best. I really believe no matter what, whether you’re Marco Pantani or Lance or Vino, everybody did the best they could. And some people have tools and abilities that others don’t and they’re better at things than others are.”

Now though, Leipheimer is doing his best to make up for errors and is intent on helping the next generation avoid the pitfalls he fell into. “It’s very complicated. It’s very grey. And we should learn as much as we can from all that happened and do our best to prevent it from happening again,” he concludes. “I absolutely love the sport and I’m just trying to do my best to make it better, and to make it survive. And it’s up to other people to make up their minds up about whether they want to accept that or not.”

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8 Comments
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Barney 30 January 2025 at 14:41+ 23

Every sport runs on gear. Some sports like cycling test for it; others do not; and yet others pretend to. Hopefully the sport you want to watch has a reasonably even playing field. But if you don't like it, don't watch. Making results provisional indefinitely while folks wring their hands over doping didn't make anyone happier, or do anything to make a sport less reliant on dope. A testing program does that.

Pogboom 30 January 2025 at 10:58+ 197

He keeps talking about things being grey but not explaining exactly what that means. To me, it's pretty simple: doping is cheating. If a bunch of them were doping, that bunch were all cheating. Heck, even if the entire peloton were doping so that it was an even playing field, it is still cheating because there were/are rules in place. Is that black and white enough for you?

Mistermaumau 30 January 2025 at 16:07+ 3209

If already he can’t differentiate between Captain dope and other users, why care about his colourblindness. He’s not far from basically equating the local junkie to a drug lord.

mij 30 January 2025 at 15:48+ 740

it isn't that Armstrong invented doping, it is just that he is an insufferable, arrogant a-hole that bludgeoned everyone else in the sport with his pompous attitude. be it "no one else" on the podium or bullying competitors into silence, he is just a first class jerk. and yes, stop posting this crap. he is a bad human being. bad for the sport. I can't respect anyone that listens to his podcast or is a fan. if anyone thinks it is in the nature of competition, look at how he treated his girlfriend in Aspen, Anna Hansen. he made her take the fall for his accident because he was drinking and driving. there is nothing redeemable about this man.

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santiagobenites 30 January 2025 at 15:48+ 1666

Dear cyclinguptodate: Here's an idea. How about you hire a journalist or two, and have them write some real articles about what's going on in the cycling world today. Maybe interview some young, up and coming riders, do some pre and post race analysis, and things like that instead of trying to generate some clicks by regurgitating all of these ridiculous comments from the washed up Lance Armstrong apologists.

mij 30 January 2025 at 10:59+ 740

amen

roadman54121 30 January 2025 at 11:23+ 414

They do that already? There are lots of diverse articles. Don't read the armstrong stuff then and your issue dissappears. Simple answer really isn't it?

1stpastthepost 30 January 2025 at 24:03+ 115

Lol I have to agree. I really don't mind reading that stuff but don't bother a lot of the time. It's not worth getting worked up about in my opinion.

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