"Who is Lance Armstrong to give moral lessons? He stole cycling, he drove a lot of people away from cycling" - Eurosport commentator slams former Tour de France winner

Lance Armstrong is a figure that has marked the history of pro cycling but not for good reasons. A cancer survivor, his story to then became a Tour de France record winner had been a story many admired - until it came crashing down due to the revelation that it was built on a systematic doping program. Until today he remains a vocal figure in the sport, mostly through 'The Move' podcast, but not everyone is fond of this including Portuguese Eurosport commentator Olivier Bonamici.

The podcast Ontem Já Era Tarde went through plenty topics but one of them was cycling and the Monaco-born journalist talked through some of his opinions: "I don't have a favorite cyclist, I like some, but not all of them... In cycling there are no clubs, there is no 'clubitis'. There are those who are Pro João Almeida, Anti Evenepoel, Pro Pogacar, Vingegaard..."

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The central theme ended up being Lance Armstrong, someone Bonamici wouldn't sit down with:. "Maradona (the football player, ed.) took drugs, but he didn't give moral lessons. He cheated soccer. Who is Lance Armstrong to give moral lessons? He stole cycling, he drove a lot of people away from cycling," he says firmly. Armstrong and the doping structure that was built around US Postal were the central figures in building a negative image of the sport in Portugal. Up until this day, the American continues to be one of the most known and debated figures.

He was an idol, because everyone did what he did and he was still the best, it was argued at the time. "But you have to prove if the others were doing it too. My fellow journalist who uncovered the fraud called Lance Armstrong, took a big risk. It cost him his professional life. It was a terrible fight against a whole class. All for the sake of convenience," and then goes on to say that "when you're a journalist, you'll have a drink with a cyclist from time to time and then it's hard to speak badly of him".

For Bonamici, there is no doubt that "anyone can make mistakes", but Lance "stole cycling" and should pay for it: "I don't understand how this man has the nerve to comment on cycling again".

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