I'm from the UK and only watched this because of LA, i know v little about American Football. But I really enjoyed this. Ive followed the cycling from about 1987-2013 and bought into the whole LA story. I was gutted when the truth came out and have watched alot of the material since then like the Armstrong Lie documentary, etc. This was one of the best interviews I've seen with Lance because he has, mainly, stopped trying to defend himself and has become comfortable with past and mistakes. In a way it quite impressive to see how he managed to find a new self. i thought the question about hoe he dealt cancer - like an enemy to take down - that was really insightful and explains alot about his winner mentality and his unbreakable self confidence.
Lance changed my life after I read his book "Its not about the bike". Regardless of the controversy that follows him, he is still a human being that achieved such great things on two wheels and inspired so many people. He grew the Trek brand to where it is today and made a huge contribution to charity. What I'm trying to say is for me his balance sheet still remains positive to this day. Thanks for sharing.
What about the many people's lives he destroyed? He went after people just for telling the truth, with lawsuits, ended clean athletes careers. He is scum.
watched this and found your channel (go birds!) because it was Lance. Yes, Lance doped. But so did everyone in the pro cycling peloton at the time. They all denied it until they couldn't deny it anymore. Love listening to Lance talk about anything.
I was diagnosed with cancer, CLL, when Lance Armstrong was at the top in professional cycling. Loved watching Lance compete and at the same time bring such awareness and support to the cancer community through the Livestrong Foundation. Thank you, Lance Armstrong.
Lance was the greatest cyclist of all time. And the most fun cyclist to watch of all time. Blessed to have watched him win all 7 of his tours. Made me love the sport
Yes, Lance doped like they all did, he trained the hardest, had the best gear, best teammates. He brought cycling to the US like no others did, I still wear his yellow wrist ban anytime I go for a ride. I still don't know how they ride the TDF without doping.
Great crossover pod for me. Big fan of The Move, especially when the tour comes around in the summer. Probably could have listened to another hour and a half of you two. Awesome questions throughout!
@@mitchhorton9178 True...but it's also true that same could be said of whoever might have won in his place. Pretty hard to find any top GC rider who has "not" been caught or strongly implicated in doping at one time or another. Hence the even playing field sentiment.
@@billstevenson8142 I'm not sure that's actually the case. Which is to say, I don't think it demonstrates ignorance to express the understanding that doping at the time (and probably still to this day) was so prevalent that participating was, in a rather odd (and yet still unethical) way, a kind of leveling of the playing field. Even if only in the sense that it provided Lance with all the same artificial advantages as virtually all of his serious rivals (if not the majority of the peloton). It seems a failure to account for that fact demonstrates more ignorance than taking it into account. Or did I misunderstand your post?
Chris and the team have done a great job with this interview. Whether you like Lance Armstrong or not doesn't matter, but to consider doing this interview and then doing it was right on. The approach Chris took was great, he reminded us what Lance was then what he became and didn't glamourise Lance Armstrong. I thought the approach Chris took was honest and upfront. I enjoyed this interview and think Chris Long has a talent in the interview world. I'll continue watching Green Light. One of the best pods out there.
Lance competed in a field where you have to go down to 20th place to find someone that wasn't tested enough to know for sure they doped, and... every generation before him was doped, and he was the best.
Lance if forever the man. I was a fan back then and it did blemish all the hard work but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t a monster of his time all while never backing down from cancer
I don't follow sports. In this age of feigned outrage, I don't care about what he did or didn't do. But at 63, I've worn my Live-Strong bracelet for years. The man raised $250-million for cancer research. That is an accomplishment I'll always honor.
There's a lot you don't know or understand. It isn't just that he doped but that he destroyed people's livelihoods who spoke out against him (Greg Lemond, Betsy and Frankie Andreu, Christophe Bassons, Emma O'Reilly, and others) many of whom were his friends or who he worked with. His foundation raised money for cancer AWARENESS and NOT research. There is a HUGE difference there. He used his foundation and cancer survival as a shield against accusations. And if you come back with "well everyone was doping" it's not true. Christophe Bassons, David Moncoutie, Scott Mercier, Darren Baker, Gilles Delion, Edwig Van Hoydoonck, Andy Hampston, and many others rode clean but were forced out of the sport.
Lance, you broke my heart. And, you need to make amends with Greg, Tyler, and Floyd. Just own it. That said, I've come closer to forgiving you than I ever thought I would.
Glad you had him on. Who cares what the nay sayers say, this is America. Neglecting content based on what other people think is everything wrong with social media. But it’s good to hear his stories he’s a really motivating guy in all aspects.
The only thing I disagree with is the notion that NFL players aren't doping because they get tested. Lance Armstrong never publicly tested positive for anything. There are rumors that he tested positive once and it got swept under the rug.....but the idea that very few players are doping because they don't test positive is kinda ignorant
Lance is more of a hero to me now with overcoming the rise,the fall,and the reinvent than ever. Truly an amazing life and an inspiration. People are not really looking for a super hero but for a super human with the ability to overcome the good the bad and the ugly. Lance is that man.
What amazes me is Chris talks about doping as if it’s uncommon in football. The testing in football doesn’t compare to cycling and they can get around the tests sometimes. For years doping has been prevalent in football. In the 80s there were huge bowls full of these PEDs for everyone to use. I can’t believe it’s gone, and yet Chris talks like it was way worse in cycling. I don’t believe it for a second.
Yes, I also didn't find that believable. If people are willing to cheat to become famous in a little sport like cycling you be guaranteed that there are masses of PED cheating in the most watched US sport. The prize of playing is so big, the temptation to be that little bit better, it must be too much for many guys.
Armstrong still can't not rip on Greg LeMond. I have to admit, when I saw who the guest was, my first reaction was, "F-that guy" but I'm glad I watched it. Chris was really even-handed with Lance - not treating him like public enemy #1 and not kissing ass, either.
I feel like Lance has grown a lot and the humility looks good on him but ripping Lemond shows there's still work to be done there. Just like everyone else.
Agreed. Ripping on LeMond isn’t the wisest of ideas & shows some immaturity still. He apologizes to the fans but i’d love for him to apologize to teammates like Tyler Hamilton & speak positively of others
@@victorykj agreed, every time he makes a disparaging remark about LeMond (still the greatest American cyclist ever), reminds me how big of a jerk he is & how little he has grown.
I admired Lance. I then was disappointed in Lance. But ultimately I respect Lance. I just wish he would openly speak out. & apologize to people like Tyler Hamilton instead of just apologize to the fans. You absolutely should do the interview & i’m happy to listen to Lance’s life journey after racing.
I don't think he's a hero but i do think he can be a redemption story. Righting the wrongs and helping others to strive for more. He's done some super cool things the past year or two that has helped others. I think thats really cool.
Lance was the best doped driver in the peloton. He was obsessed with being the best at any cost. Had nothing to do with a fair combat or competition. He still thinks he was the best. The only thing he was the best in using the most blood dope, epo, cortisone and anabole and masking drugs. He was a sport junkie
You can’t be serious ! I loved him for all he did and just because they all used does t take away from his absolute failing Thai country and his followers
I don’t care what anyone says, Lance is NOT an unbelievable athlete and competitor. Contrary to what you think, not everyone doped. And by the time he started winning, it was EPO, not steroids that was the PED of choice in the peloton. Listen to Greg LeMond’s interviews (probably the last clean winner of the tour, with the possible exception of Cadel Evans), Armstrong was nothing special before he doped. He needed the steroids (early on, and probably what caused his testicular cancer) and the EPO to make himself a winner. Plus he’s an incredibly awful person, vindictive and selfish. He is not an admirable person or athlete.
Yeah I agree with Greg Lemond. Lance has treated a lot people like shit. He has always been awful. That doesn't take away the fact he was better than everyone else. To say he's not a great athlete and competitor is ridiculous. I'd love to see you attempt to finish the alp d'Huez, let alone win it against a bunch of others taking EPO.@@tonydejesus2134
@@tonydejesus2134testosterone doesn’t cause cancer. It’s wild how stupid some people are. Also, lemond is an absolute nut job. He has no idea the state of cycling now. It’s funny when the old timers think they could hold a candle to the newer guys. It’s just sour grapes on their part. What lance did lost almost dying, will probably never ever be repeated. Dorks like yourself would shrivel into a ball and die in a corner if that happened to you. The playing field was level back then, so it wasn’t ’cheating’.
I love Lance. Always have and always will. Yes, I was sad that he used PHD (so did his peers)...but he will always be one of the best because he had grit, discipline, determination, and he wouldn't settle. Thank you for having him on. Love the Podcast 😊
As someone who has been involved in a sport for 50 years, I have no problem with Lance. Everyone tries to take an edge. To pretend that doesn't happen is fantasy. Baseball, Football, Basketball, the list goes on forever. Part of it is peer pressure to try to hold on to your job. Baseballs steroid use is the best example. You juiced or you lost your way of making a living. Your 30 years old and it's all gone. I'm sure every other sport is the same. Just my opinion, not saying it's right. It's just the way it is.
I recall seeing a copy of The Tour rules from the 1930's or earlier online somewhere, and the rules at that time specified that The Tour would not be providing riders with performance drugs, they would have to provide their own! Doping has been part of elite professional cycling since before any of us were born.
I agree with this 100%. One of the differences with cycling is that they were willing to ruin the entire Reputation of the sport to tackle the drugs problem - particularly in 1998 - and with Lance in 2012. But with Lance during his tour wins, they turned a blind eye to it because the money benefits of breaking the Us market was too big. Most sports are basically too afraid of the damage that will be done to their sport if the truth about PEDs come out. So they just keep quiet and most of the action is just tokenism.
Look folks not everyone doped not even close, Lance even retaliated against clean riders all the time and would not hire them and would try to destroy them....guy should be in jail and loose all his assets as well as results
I kinda get the feeling that Lance has no boundaries anymore. He's back out in the open , full speed and being the same ole brash Texan that he's always been. I enjoyed his years on the top. And am still convinced he could have won Kona, but thats all gone by the wayside now. I wish him the best but he can't stop being so presumptuous and rash.
I found a copy of the Tour de France rules from the 1930's, and the rules stated that The Tour would not supply riders with drugs, they would have to provide their own 🤣. So I guess I'm saying that doping is part of the DNA of professional cycling.
@@maxtheman10 Look up the wikipedia for "doping in sport" and go to the section on cycling titled "The Convicts of the Road." They were doing cocaine and amphetamines in the 1920's. Doping was a core element of the earliest days of professional cycling.
Lances book was the first book I read and he helped me be a Better athlete. But I wish he would have told me to do testosterone and EPO becuae maybe I would be on your podcast
Even doping what Lance was able to do athletically was beyond impressive! Others were doing it, but he perfected it. That said, Lance is a piece of 💩 human being for the way he treated his teammates, Greg Lemond, and others. He literally threatened, strong armed, flexed his celebrity using connections to not just silence but to DESTROY the lives of really good people. I hope he is truly contrite & humbled in his pursuit of redemption. The cheating portion is easy to forgive, but the other things he did to his fellow human beings are very, very hard to let go. Good interview none the less 👍
Awesome podcast Chris.You asked some great questions.Im a huge cycling fan because of Lance.He has contributed so much to the sport of cycling in general. He is the fucking goat in my book! And im sorry but all the haters out there that got there feelings hurt, and are all butthurt..GTF over yourself!!!
Lance was an amazing athlete with true grit to push through pain, I.e. watch his cycling practice videos where he is in the mountains and keep going. He drugged and beat all the others who were doing it as well. The biggest issue many have is how he apparently treated and bullied those around him. Is this true? Is he sorry? Has he changed? I have no idea. But it does seem like he is a decent person from the public videos but we really do t know because we aren’t close to him. I do think there are a lot of people in glass houses who have thrown stones at him.
For all the Lance apologists: Do your own research on Emma O’Reilly, Stephen Swart, Betsy and Frankie Andrew, Kathy and Greg Lemond, Filipino Simeoni, Christophe Bassons, Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, David Walsh, and Paul Kimmage and how Lance attempted to destroy their lives. Please educate yourselves
Lance is so full of it. No way he wouldn’t trade today for Paris 2005. He is still a total narcissist and bully. His stories told here just reframe from his own lens (I’m such a hero as I bought those guys beers when they yelled at me🙄) and he never had any real remorse for the people he bullied. Doping was never the real issue. He destroyed peoples lives.
I had the lance yellow jersy as a kid...when he admitted it it was disappointing, but his duels with Jan Ulich were some of the most epic moments in sport...that moment when a guy crashed right in front of him and he went off road, down a grassy slope, and into the lead, was dope. I'd be cool if he made things right with Floyd Landis...but that won't happen.
He came to New Zealand for some work, and the news released a dismissive note saying the usual: " The disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong sent a Twitter message inviting anybody that wants ride along at x time, at y place. If anybody is interested, remember to keep two abreast maximum at the roads..." They thought three or four would show up. Well, thousands of cyclists covered the two lanes for kilometres behind Lance; it was bigger than most events over here. He was kind enough to stay at the end of the ride for a long time to allow us to take a picture with him. It felt so refreshing to see these idiots on the media amazed at it the next day, lol.
Tour de France average speed in 2005 when Lance and all of his comrades were juiced to the max was 41.65kph. The average speed in 2023 was 41.48kph........hello....NOTHING has changed. He still can't be honest.
Lance is a hero and an icon of my childhood and I will be damned if a bunch of crybabies are changing my mind about that. Steroids do not make you a more talented athlete/competitor. They allow you to recover faster and do a larger amount of the same workload by doing so. But, they in no way make you a better talent. You can do every single steroid on this planet in spades and it will not allow you to hit a baseball like Barry Bonds. That is talent. He will never not be a hero. Maybe not to a lot of people, but he will always be a hero and an icon to me. Just like Barry Bonds.
You had to have a talent for PED's too. One can take relatively less PED's and having a great performanceboost, where another person can take double the amount and have mostly negative side effects. Lance said openly EPO gave him 10%. Yes him..... But that didnt automatically count for ALL the other users too.
I have no interest in piling on this guy after he spilled the beans....Lance is partly contrite, but he is still trying to remanufacture the narrative on his terms - one tidbit at a time - taking shots at the investigators, taking shots at sponsors, or Lemond ... still saying "I know who won those races". He has convinced many fans. He comes across as someone who is accepting being caught...but with a sprinkling of F-U...and does not truly empathize with his victims. Not my cup of tea.
@@Estartoast Greg Lemond, Franke Andreu, David Walsh, Emma O'Reilly, his ex wife, his kids who live with it everyday, Simeoni, Christoph Bassons, Scott Mercier, and other riders who he forced out of US Postal or the peloton itself for refusing to dope. sponsors, his own Livestrong organization, the trust of cancer survivors ...obviously you know nothing about cycling history.
If you have never doped you know nothing of its direct performance gains. It asks more of you than you can deliver and takes exceptional talent and supreme determination to make it work in favour. Increasing hematocrit isnt what people think. Lance was a true master and everyone was doping and if you had doped you would know that its still the nost determined and talented thay wins.
I never heard of your pod cast before today. Here for lance. Lance was stripped of his wins because the French didn't like that he was winning their race. Lance was always a great cyclist. He is like Jordan, he wanted to win more than anything else and was willing to do what it takes. Everybody knew that all the top riders were doping. You just didn't say the quiet part out loud. It was a witch hunt in order to crucify Lance
There's a lot of stuff in here that is just outside the bounds of the facts and because the interviewer knows so little about cycling and Armstrong (which he admits to) it gets accepted as gospel. Lemond 20 lbs overweight at the end of his career is just a total fabrication and as a reason for why he performed poorly is purely a means of disguising how doping ended the careers of so many who would not dope. Also, wondering whether he was going to put food on the table and roof over the heads of his kids? How about the financial advantages gained by his TdF victories? I'm talking about getting invited to invest in the ground floor of a company like Uber and reaping $100m out of that? Not even getting into the sponsorships, that's just one example.
Here's the thing, he doped, and all the others doped that were the top competitors, yet he won seven tours. So how could he win all those while he was doing what the others were doing ? He must have been an elite athlete to do so.
I hate Lance Armstrong for what he did to Greg LaMond!!!!!!!!! What he did to Greg is unforgivable!!!!!!!!! I hate people that use roids to get ahead. He knew what he did is wrong!!!!!! Just because everyone does that don't means you have to!!!!!!!!!
So I have never been into biking or Tour de France nor have I even watched a race before I seen the movie the Armstrong Lie. I have watched so many documentaries on everything Lance Armstrong related mostly because I fall asleep to documentaries. What I want to say about this documentary and all of the scrutiny about Lance Armstrong are these things. First and foremost , I saw Betsie Andreu crying about “he owes the truth to the sport.” I think that is absolute bull she knew for a long time he was doping according to her, hearing it from doctors, but she never spoke out about it until her husband was cut from the team. According to her he was cut because he refused to dope. Whining & whining every singe deposition and interview. It’s apparent that he quit doping because he didn’t want his marriage to end , as she threatened. I think number one Frankie Andreu was whipped beyond belief and number two he would still be doping if it wasn’t for his wife , And number three in a documentary George Hincapie said point blank ,he learned doping from Frankie Andreu. So that is just two faced. There a tremendous amount of jealousy in play here. People loved Lance Armstrong because he got cancer and beat it , then opened up a cancer foundation. Then raced and won. Doping along with everyone else. David Walsh got a lot of money writing about Lance Armstrong. As my sister says “no one does nothing for nothing! “ So he is getting rich off his book and this story what about that? Then you have Tyler Hamilton saying he lost faith in the justice system. I seen a documentary when David Walsh said Tyler quit the team and went after a doping doctor , so he could win himself then he admitted that it was hard to set it up and have it be as easy as it was for the US postal team. (So two faced. ) He was just pissed Lance was smarter , because Now you see him giving speeches about his experience. I’m not sure ,but I’ll bet he wrote a book. (Kettle black situation there. ) Probably gets money to speak. When you read the history of this race ,it’s such a hard physical race that people Drank alcohol and took substances just to get through it and everyone knew. They’re all a bunch of hypocrites! Then let’s talk about Floyd Landis he dopes on the postal team and then dopes on his own team wins the race then gets caught for doping and gets mad and basically snitches on everyone. What a baby ! Everyone doped ! Get over it. I think Lance doped of course he did. So what !! everyone else did too ,but he was smarter and better at it ! everyone else got caught Lance was just more clever. It just seems like they all got jealous because he over came cancer and became a hero for that and winning. Everyone else was doing the same damned thing , but they got caught and they didn’t survive cancer. So he got popular and rich and everyone around him got jealous or made money off of his story except George Hincapie he was a teammate and doped too , but didn’t go around acting like he was an angel and crying when he got caught and blaming Lance. I’ll bet money that Frank and Betsie Andreu and Floyd Landis ,Tyler Hamilton got paid for the appearances they gave on shows and documentaries and David Walsh , they all made a fortune off the back of Lance Armstrong and his story. Like I said no one does nothing for nothing ! Hypocrites all of them. The guy almost died and he didn’t ,he beat cancer. They were all doping…. All of them. Then they got him busted and then made a bunch of money they should have given that money to fight cancer at least !!!
I appreciate you taking the time in the intro to explain why you did this interview. The comment about him being like Captain America was spot on. I feel like you stayed out on the edges talking about how it was with your dad in the 80's (esp given your dad's teammate & friend Lyle Alzado died.) That said, LA is and always has been a liar and a disgrace. You did a good interview though, as usual!
Have to say I was one who was NOT going to listen! I was a huge cycling fan and adored everything about lances story ! I wore the yellow bracelet, listened to his tapes , read books c watched the Tour and I feel Chris you did an amazing interview ! However the bar story would be me and him buying me some beer would never allow me to forget the absolute hurt he caused so many !! However Chris long I adore you and your team (however I am a Kelce brothers bigger fan ) 😂😂😂
@@booms02it's not that everyone else did it so why not me. It's more about anybody riding at that time that was clean and producing great numbers but still getting railroaded. You put the pieces together and it's like do I go back home and do something else or do what most are doing to be the best or just stay in the profession. I'd say I wouldn't cheat but I also didn't base my early life completely around one profession that I went all in on. And obviously the high amounts of peer pressure to take it to another level.
Tyler Hamilton did such a good job of describing the heartbreak these guys felt when they were faced with the option to dope or be irrelevant, knowing they were putting their health at risk. I hope the young athletes these days have the option to do what they love without having to hurt their bodies
19:32 is he actually trying to say that steroids is "not prevalent" in the NFL? Really? Does that include his dad and all the other jacked up men....let's be real.
Racing since 1990, Cat 2. No crit pros in Illinois believed Greg was clean. Greg knows there are no urine or blood samples from his career. He can say anything he wants. There was a rumor his wife made him promise not to dope after he got shot.
How many people have you met that have known him? Because several people in pro cycling who actually know have said on the record that he’s cruel and vindictive. A survey of your friends doesn’t mean anything.
I clicked on because I'm a huge fan of Lance Armstrong
I clicked because it said Lance Armstrong. He brought me joy while he was riding in the Tour de France. I'm a cycling fan today, because of Lance.
Interesting 🤔
Chris, I clicked on the show BECAUSE it's Lance Armstrong.
Me too!
@@gainknowledgeandinsight same here!
Ich auch. 😊
Agreed
I'm from the UK and only watched this because of LA, i know v little about American Football. But I really enjoyed this. Ive followed the cycling from about 1987-2013 and bought into the whole LA story. I was gutted when the truth came out and have watched alot of the material since then like the Armstrong Lie documentary, etc. This was one of the best interviews I've seen with Lance because he has, mainly, stopped trying to defend himself and has become comfortable with past and mistakes. In a way it quite impressive to see how he managed to find a new self. i thought the question about hoe he dealt cancer - like an enemy to take down - that was really insightful and explains alot about his winner mentality and his unbreakable self confidence.
Well said! LA story was always interesting to me!
Lance changed my life after I read his book "Its not about the bike". Regardless of the controversy that follows him, he is still a human being that achieved such great things on two wheels and inspired so many people. He grew the Trek brand to where it is today and made a huge contribution to charity. What I'm trying to say is for me his balance sheet still remains positive to this day. Thanks for sharing.
So cheating is okay? It doesn't matter the means but the results-winning? Wrong dude.
What about the many people's lives he destroyed? He went after people just for telling the truth, with lawsuits, ended clean athletes careers. He is scum.
Best days of cycling
watched this and found your channel (go birds!) because it was Lance. Yes, Lance doped. But so did everyone in the pro cycling peloton at the time. They all denied it until they couldn't deny it anymore. Love listening to Lance talk about anything.
It does my heart so good listening to Lance talk about Ulrich!
I was diagnosed with cancer, CLL, when Lance Armstrong was at the top in professional cycling. Loved watching Lance compete and at the same time bring such awareness and support to the cancer community through the Livestrong Foundation. Thank you, Lance Armstrong.
Im here for the Lance material....I have never seen your channel before so there is that.
Lance was the greatest cyclist of all time. And the most fun cyclist to watch of all time. Blessed to have watched him win all 7 of his tours. Made me love the sport
Great interview Chris! Always take the chance, you're great at this.
Yes, Lance doped like they all did, he trained the hardest, had the best gear, best teammates. He brought cycling to the US like no others did, I still wear his yellow wrist ban anytime I go for a ride. I still don't know how they ride the TDF without doping.
A lot of them did dope, not all of them!
@@capoislamort100yeah. The grupetto
Lance is an ultimate athlete
Great crossover pod for me. Big fan of The Move, especially when the tour comes around in the summer. Probably could have listened to another hour and a half of you two. Awesome questions throughout!
The only reason I clicked was because of Lance. The greatest of all time: even playing field.
Not everyone doped. He wouldn’t have won without doping. Check his measurables. Look at his VO2 max. He was a middle of road rider at start.
Even playing field? That statement alone demonstrates your absolute ignorance of the subject.
@@mitchhorton9178 True...but it's also true that same could be said of whoever might have won in his place. Pretty hard to find any top GC rider who has "not" been caught or strongly implicated in doping at one time or another. Hence the even playing field sentiment.
@@billstevenson8142 I'm not sure that's actually the case. Which is to say, I don't think it demonstrates ignorance to express the understanding that doping at the time (and probably still to this day) was so prevalent that participating was, in a rather odd (and yet still unethical) way, a kind of leveling of the playing field. Even if only in the sense that it provided Lance with all the same artificial advantages as virtually all of his serious rivals (if not the majority of the peloton). It seems a failure to account for that fact demonstrates more ignorance than taking it into account. Or did I misunderstand your post?
@@mitchhorton9178not everyone doped? Maybe the driver of the motorcycle
Chris and the team have done a great job with this interview. Whether you like Lance Armstrong or not doesn't matter, but to consider doing this interview and then doing it was right on. The approach Chris took was great, he reminded us what Lance was then what he became and didn't glamourise Lance Armstrong. I thought the approach Chris took was honest and upfront. I enjoyed this interview and think Chris Long has a talent in the interview world.
I'll continue watching Green Light. One of the best pods out there.
With or without doping Lance is the greatest cycling rider ever
Lance competed in a field where you have to go down to 20th place to find someone that wasn't tested enough to know for sure they doped, and... every generation before him was doped, and he was the best.
Lance if forever the man. I was a fan back then and it did blemish all the hard work but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t a monster of his time all while never backing down from cancer
its such bs hating on lance, everybody in cycling was on something, he helped with cancer, thats what counts imo
This got better the longer I watched.
I don't follow sports.
In this age of feigned outrage, I don't care about what he did or didn't do.
But at 63, I've worn my Live-Strong bracelet for years.
The man raised $250-million for cancer research.
That is an accomplishment I'll always honor.
There's a lot you don't know or understand. It isn't just that he doped but that he destroyed people's livelihoods who spoke out against him (Greg Lemond, Betsy and Frankie Andreu, Christophe Bassons, Emma O'Reilly, and others) many of whom were his friends or who he worked with.
His foundation raised money for cancer AWARENESS and NOT research. There is a HUGE difference there. He used his foundation and cancer survival as a shield against accusations.
And if you come back with "well everyone was doping" it's not true. Christophe Bassons, David Moncoutie, Scott Mercier, Darren Baker, Gilles Delion, Edwig Van Hoydoonck, Andy Hampston, and many others rode clean but were forced out of the sport.
Great decision and great pod Chris!
I clicked on the video precisely BECAUSE Lance Armstrong!
Love or hate him, he still raised millions of dollars for charities that helped alot people who needed it!
Lance, you broke my heart.
And, you need to make amends with Greg, Tyler, and Floyd. Just own it.
That said, I've come closer to forgiving you than I ever thought I would.
I've always supported Lance, many of us knew exactly what was going on.
The Green Light Intro, Take, Explanation is nearly as good as the sit-down..
Glad you had him on. Who cares what the nay sayers say, this is America. Neglecting content based on what other people think is everything wrong with social media. But it’s good to hear his stories he’s a really motivating guy in all aspects.
Still one of the greatest cyclist of all time. If you remove his Tour wins remove all the others…!!!
No he’s not. It’s not even close.
By all accounts, he was nothing special before the dope. So, no.
I honestly think Chris is a better journalist than the old man. Im not kidding.
The only thing I disagree with is the notion that NFL players aren't doping because they get tested. Lance Armstrong never publicly tested positive for anything. There are rumors that he tested positive once and it got swept under the rug.....but the idea that very few players are doping because they don't test positive is kinda ignorant
Balco, most of those guys never tested positive
Lance is more of a hero to me now with overcoming the rise,the fall,and the reinvent than ever. Truly an amazing life and an inspiration. People are not really looking for a super hero but for a super human with the ability to overcome the good the bad and the ugly. Lance is that man.
Good description of LA
What amazes me is Chris talks about doping as if it’s uncommon in football. The testing in football doesn’t compare to cycling and they can get around the tests sometimes. For years doping has been prevalent in football. In the 80s there were huge bowls full of these PEDs for everyone to use. I can’t believe it’s gone, and yet Chris talks like it was way worse in cycling. I don’t believe it for a second.
You’d know
Yes, I also didn't find that believable. If people are willing to cheat to become famous in a little sport like cycling you be guaranteed that there are masses of PED cheating in the most watched US sport. The prize of playing is so big, the temptation to be that little bit better, it must be too much for many guys.
Crazy how successful Lance has been in convincing people he would've only done what everyone else did
Armstrong still can't not rip on Greg LeMond. I have to admit, when I saw who the guest was, my first reaction was, "F-that guy" but I'm glad I watched it. Chris was really even-handed with Lance - not treating him like public enemy #1 and not kissing ass, either.
I feel like Lance has grown a lot and the humility looks good on him but ripping Lemond shows there's still work to be done there. Just like everyone else.
@ansonbrooks101show me some evidence. There is none, you’re just trying to bring him down to Lance’s level.
Agreed. Ripping on LeMond isn’t the wisest of ideas & shows some immaturity still. He apologizes to the fans but i’d love for him to apologize to teammates like Tyler Hamilton & speak positively of others
@ansonbrooks101love this! So true!
@@victorykj agreed, every time he makes a disparaging remark about LeMond (still the greatest American cyclist ever), reminds me how big of a jerk he is & how little he has grown.
I admired Lance. I then was disappointed in Lance. But ultimately I respect Lance. I just wish he would openly speak out. & apologize to people like Tyler Hamilton instead of just apologize to the fans. You absolutely should do the interview & i’m happy to listen to Lance’s life journey after racing.
Respect - that is laughable. Horrible person who was solely out for himself.
Right for having him on.
I don't think he's a hero but i do think he can be a redemption story. Righting the wrongs and helping others to strive for more. He's done some super cool things the past year or two that has helped others. I think thats really cool.
Lance was the best doped driver in the peloton. He was obsessed with being the best at any cost. Had nothing to do with a fair combat or competition. He still thinks he was the best. The only thing he was the best in using the most blood dope, epo, cortisone and anabole and masking drugs. He was a sport junkie
I don’t care what anyone says. Lance is an unbelievable athlete and competitor. “Our roided up guy beat your roided up guy.”
You can’t be serious ! I loved him for all he did and just because they all used does t take away from his absolute failing Thai country and his followers
I don’t care what anyone says, Lance is NOT an unbelievable athlete and competitor. Contrary to what you think, not everyone doped. And by the time he started winning, it was EPO, not steroids that was the PED of choice in the peloton. Listen to Greg LeMond’s interviews (probably the last clean winner of the tour, with the possible exception of Cadel Evans), Armstrong was nothing special before he doped. He needed the steroids (early on, and probably what caused his testicular cancer) and the EPO to make himself a winner. Plus he’s an incredibly awful person, vindictive and selfish. He is not an admirable person or athlete.
Yeah I agree with Greg Lemond. Lance has treated a lot people like shit. He has always been awful. That doesn't take away the fact he was better than everyone else. To say he's not a great athlete and competitor is ridiculous. I'd love to see you attempt to finish the alp d'Huez, let alone win it against a bunch of others taking EPO.@@tonydejesus2134
@@tonydejesus2134 Thanks Tony, I agree 100%!!
@@tonydejesus2134testosterone doesn’t cause cancer. It’s wild how stupid some people are. Also, lemond is an absolute nut job. He has no idea the state of cycling now. It’s funny when the old timers think they could hold a candle to the newer guys. It’s just sour grapes on their part. What lance did lost almost dying, will probably never ever be repeated. Dorks like yourself would shrivel into a ball and die in a corner if that happened to you. The playing field was level back then, so it wasn’t ’cheating’.
Great introduction and summary before the actual interview. 👍
I love Lance. Always have and always will. Yes, I was sad that he used PHD (so did his peers)...but he will always be one of the best because he had grit, discipline, determination, and he wouldn't settle. Thank you for having him on. Love the Podcast 😊
Really enjoyed this!❤
love lance best of all time!
As someone who has been involved in a sport for 50 years, I have no problem with Lance. Everyone tries to take an edge. To pretend that doesn't happen is fantasy. Baseball, Football, Basketball, the list goes on forever. Part of it is peer pressure to try to hold on to your job. Baseballs steroid use is the best example. You juiced or you lost your way of making a living. Your 30 years old and it's all gone. I'm sure every other sport is the same. Just my opinion, not saying it's right. It's just the way it is.
I recall seeing a copy of The Tour rules from the 1930's or earlier online somewhere, and the rules at that time specified that The Tour would not be providing riders with performance drugs, they would have to provide their own! Doping has been part of elite professional cycling since before any of us were born.
I agree with this 100%. One of the differences with cycling is that they were willing to ruin the entire Reputation of the sport to tackle the drugs problem - particularly in 1998 - and with Lance in 2012. But with Lance during his tour wins, they turned a blind eye to it because the money benefits of breaking the Us market was too big. Most sports are basically too afraid of the damage that will be done to their sport if the truth about PEDs come out. So they just keep quiet and most of the action is just tokenism.
The balls on this Lance Armstrong fella. Something we can all aspite to.
*The ball* 😂
Juan Pelota
@@erikaswinburne1233 🤣
They scapegoated the shit out of lance legend. Great interview. Top 5 podcast channel ya got going on here!
Look folks not everyone doped not even close, Lance even retaliated against clean riders all the time and would not hire them and would try to destroy them....guy should be in jail and loose all his assets as well as results
How does Chris say he’s gonna hit all the hard hitting questions and not ask lance why he wears socks with sandals???
Lance does not have sock on with his sandals. It's his white a$$ feet with a tan line from his cycling socks.
Going outside of football to interview a flawed icon was a really good idea. Would love to see more, great job.
Secondly … the people that are doing the hate … I would LOVEEE to see what you are doing behind closed doors. I guarantee you are not perfect either
I kinda get the feeling that Lance has no boundaries anymore. He's back out in the open , full speed and being the same ole brash Texan that he's always been. I enjoyed his years on the top. And am still convinced he could have won Kona, but thats all gone by the wayside now. I wish him the best but he can't stop being so presumptuous and rash.
Great job!
I found a copy of the Tour de France rules from the 1930's, and the rules stated that The Tour would not supply riders with drugs, they would have to provide their own 🤣.
So I guess I'm saying that doping is part of the DNA of professional cycling.
Seriously? Interesting AF that even back in the 30's they knew whats up
@@maxtheman10 Look up the wikipedia for "doping in sport" and go to the section on cycling titled "The Convicts of the Road." They were doing cocaine and amphetamines in the 1920's. Doping was a core element of the earliest days of professional cycling.
This is supurb. Well done Chris lots of athletic IQ in this.
Lances book was the first book I read and he helped me be a Better athlete. But I wish he would have told me to do testosterone and EPO becuae maybe I would be on your podcast
Lance the Goat
Even doping what Lance was able to do athletically was beyond impressive! Others were doing it, but he perfected it. That said, Lance is a piece of 💩 human being for the way he treated his teammates, Greg Lemond, and others. He literally threatened, strong armed, flexed his celebrity using connections to not just silence but to DESTROY the lives of really good people. I hope he is truly contrite & humbled in his pursuit of redemption. The cheating portion is easy to forgive, but the other things he did to his fellow human beings are very, very hard to let go. Good interview none the less 👍
jump cut nightmare. who can watch this?
Lance is a legend no matter what. He being able to rise up and move on it’s a great example of resilience. Great interview, Chris.
Was a solid, easy flowing interview. Good work, Chris.
Awesome podcast Chris.You asked some great questions.Im a huge cycling fan because of Lance.He has contributed so much to the sport of cycling in general. He is the fucking goat in my book! And im sorry but all the haters out there that got there feelings hurt, and are all butthurt..GTF over yourself!!!
Lance was an amazing athlete with true grit to push through pain, I.e. watch his cycling practice videos where he is in the mountains and keep going. He drugged and beat all the others who were doing it as well. The biggest issue many have is how he apparently treated and bullied those around him. Is this true? Is he sorry? Has he changed? I have no idea. But it does seem like he is a decent person from the public videos but we really do t know because we aren’t close to him. I do think there are a lot of people in glass houses who have thrown stones at him.
For all the Lance apologists: Do your own research on Emma O’Reilly, Stephen Swart, Betsy and Frankie Andrew, Kathy and Greg Lemond, Filipino Simeoni, Christophe Bassons, Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, David Walsh, and Paul Kimmage and how Lance attempted to destroy their lives. Please educate yourselves
One of the best ,,,
Lance is so full of it. No way he wouldn’t trade today for Paris 2005. He is still a total narcissist and bully. His stories told here just reframe from his own lens (I’m such a hero as I bought those guys beers when they yelled at me🙄) and he never had any real remorse for the people he bullied. Doping was never the real issue. He destroyed peoples lives.
I had the lance yellow jersy as a kid...when he admitted it it was disappointing, but his duels with Jan Ulich were some of the most epic moments in sport...that moment when a guy crashed right in front of him and he went off road, down a grassy slope, and into the lead, was dope. I'd be cool if he made things right with Floyd Landis...but that won't happen.
Good discussion, really enjoyed it.
He came to New Zealand for some work, and the news released a dismissive note saying the usual: " The disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong sent a Twitter message inviting anybody that wants ride along at x time, at y place. If anybody is interested, remember to keep two abreast maximum at the roads..." They thought three or four would show up. Well, thousands of cyclists covered the two lanes for kilometres behind Lance; it was bigger than most events over here. He was kind enough to stay at the end of the ride for a long time to allow us to take a picture with him. It felt so refreshing to see these idiots on the media amazed at it the next day, lol.
Get to the interview....good god.
Tour de France average speed in 2005 when Lance and all of his comrades were juiced to the max was 41.65kph. The average speed in 2023 was 41.48kph........hello....NOTHING has changed. He still can't be honest.
I only watched this becuase its Lance
I was a young kid who was awestruck by Lance. His dominance was GOAT status. Watching highlights of his still inspires me in sports to this day.
Lance is a hero and an icon of my childhood and I will be damned if a bunch of crybabies are changing my mind about that. Steroids do not make you a more talented athlete/competitor. They allow you to recover faster and do a larger amount of the same workload by doing so. But, they in no way make you a better talent. You can do every single steroid on this planet in spades and it will not allow you to hit a baseball like Barry Bonds. That is talent. He will never not be a hero. Maybe not to a lot of people, but he will always be a hero and an icon to me. Just like Barry Bonds.
Clearly, you have no idea what kind of PED’s he did.
Your answer reveals a complete lack of knowledge on the subject.
You had to have a talent for PED's too. One can take relatively less PED's and having a great performanceboost, where another person can take double the amount and have mostly negative side effects. Lance said openly EPO gave him 10%. Yes him..... But that didnt automatically count for ALL the other users too.
I have no interest in piling on this guy after he spilled the beans....Lance is partly contrite, but he is still trying to remanufacture the narrative on his terms - one tidbit at a time - taking shots at the investigators, taking shots at sponsors, or Lemond ... still saying "I know who won those races". He has convinced many fans. He comes across as someone who is accepting being caught...but with a sprinkling of F-U...and does not truly empathize with his victims. Not my cup of tea.
Perfectly said!
“Victims” *sighs* funny context for the word. There aren’t any victims in any of this lol turn on the news.
@@Estartoast Greg Lemond, Franke Andreu, David Walsh, Emma O'Reilly, his ex wife, his kids who live with it everyday, Simeoni, Christoph Bassons, Scott Mercier, and other riders who he forced out of US Postal or the peloton itself for refusing to dope. sponsors, his own Livestrong organization, the trust of cancer survivors ...obviously you know nothing about cycling history.
This is gunna be good
If you have never doped you know nothing of its direct performance gains. It asks more of you than you can deliver and takes exceptional talent and supreme determination to make it work in favour. Increasing hematocrit isnt what people think. Lance was a true master and everyone was doping and if you had doped you would know that its still the nost determined and talented thay wins.
I never heard of your pod cast before today. Here for lance. Lance was stripped of his wins because the French didn't like that he was winning their race. Lance was always a great cyclist. He is like Jordan, he wanted to win more than anything else and was willing to do what it takes. Everybody knew that all the top riders were doping. You just didn't say the quiet part out loud. It was a witch hunt in order to crucify Lance
Livestrong’s mission statement was care and resources for cancer sufferers, not necessarily cancer research.
He’s just a great competitor and pain manipulator. But not a great athlete. He used EPO , it’s the Superman of PED’s …it’s underrated
Lance each day he wakes up: should have let Landis on the team in 2009
There's a lot of stuff in here that is just outside the bounds of the facts and because the interviewer knows so little about cycling and Armstrong (which he admits to) it gets accepted as gospel. Lemond 20 lbs overweight at the end of his career is just a total fabrication and as a reason for why he performed poorly is purely a means of disguising how doping ended the careers of so many who would not dope. Also, wondering whether he was going to put food on the table and roof over the heads of his kids? How about the financial advantages gained by his TdF victories? I'm talking about getting invited to invest in the ground floor of a company like Uber and reaping $100m out of that? Not even getting into the sponsorships, that's just one example.
Howie Long the GOAT.
Here's the thing, he doped, and all the others doped that were the top competitors, yet he won seven tours. So how could he win all those while he was doing what the others were doing ? He must have been an elite athlete to do so.
I hate Lance Armstrong for what he did to Greg LaMond!!!!!!!!! What he did to Greg is unforgivable!!!!!!!!! I hate people that use roids to get ahead. He knew what he did is wrong!!!!!! Just because everyone does that don't means you have to!!!!!!!!!
So I have never been into biking or Tour de France nor have I even watched a race before I seen the movie the Armstrong Lie. I have watched so many documentaries on everything Lance Armstrong related mostly because I fall asleep to documentaries. What I want to say about this documentary and all of the scrutiny about Lance Armstrong are these things.
First and foremost , I saw Betsie Andreu crying about “he owes the truth to the sport.” I think that is absolute bull she knew for a long time he was doping according to her, hearing it from doctors, but she never spoke out about it until her husband was cut from the team. According to her he was cut because he refused to dope. Whining & whining every singe deposition and interview. It’s apparent that he quit doping because he didn’t want his marriage to end , as she threatened. I think number one Frankie Andreu was whipped beyond belief and number two he would still be doping if it wasn’t for his wife , And number three in a documentary George Hincapie said point blank ,he learned doping from Frankie Andreu. So that is just two faced. There a tremendous amount of jealousy in play here. People loved Lance Armstrong because he got cancer and beat it , then opened up a cancer foundation. Then raced and won. Doping along with everyone else.
David Walsh got a lot of money writing about Lance Armstrong. As my sister says “no one does nothing for nothing! “ So he is getting rich off his book and this story what about that? Then you have Tyler Hamilton saying he lost faith in the justice system. I seen a documentary when David Walsh said Tyler quit the team and went after a doping doctor , so he could win himself then he admitted that it was hard to set it up and have it be as easy as it was for the US postal team. (So two faced. ) He was just pissed Lance was smarter , because
Now you see him giving speeches about his experience. I’m not sure ,but I’ll bet he wrote a book. (Kettle black situation there. ) Probably gets money to speak.
When you read the history of this race ,it’s such a hard physical race that people Drank alcohol and took substances just to get through it and everyone knew. They’re all a bunch of hypocrites!
Then let’s talk about Floyd Landis he dopes on the postal team and then dopes on his own team wins the race then gets caught for doping and gets mad and basically snitches on everyone. What a baby !
Everyone doped ! Get over it.
I think Lance doped of course he did. So what !! everyone else did too ,but he was smarter and better at it ! everyone else got caught Lance was just more clever.
It just seems like they all got jealous because he over came cancer and became a hero for that and winning. Everyone else was doing the same damned thing , but they got caught and they didn’t survive cancer. So he got popular and rich and everyone around him got jealous or made money off of his story except George Hincapie he was a teammate and doped too , but didn’t go around acting like he was an angel and crying when he got caught and blaming Lance.
I’ll bet money that Frank and Betsie Andreu and Floyd Landis ,Tyler Hamilton got paid for the appearances they gave on shows and documentaries and David Walsh , they all made a fortune off the back of Lance Armstrong and his story.
Like I said no one does nothing for nothing ! Hypocrites all of them.
The guy almost died and he didn’t ,he beat cancer. They were all doping…. All of them.
Then they got him busted and then made a bunch of money they should have given that money to fight cancer at least !!!
I appreciate you taking the time in the intro to explain why you did this interview. The comment about him being like Captain America was spot on. I feel like you stayed out on the edges talking about how it was with your dad in the 80's (esp given your dad's teammate & friend Lyle Alzado died.) That said, LA is and always has been a liar and a disgrace. You did a good interview though, as usual!
Have to say I was one who was NOT going to listen! I was a huge cycling fan and adored everything about lances story ! I wore the yellow bracelet, listened to his tapes , read books c watched the Tour and I feel Chris you did an amazing interview ! However the bar story would be me and him buying me some beer would never allow me to forget the absolute hurt he caused so many !! However Chris long I adore you and your team (however I am a Kelce brothers bigger fan ) 😂😂😂
Oh and for all those supporting doping and steroids cause everyone does it that has to be the most ridiculous answer! And yep I am a female 😮
@@booms02it's not that everyone else did it so why not me. It's more about anybody riding at that time that was clean and producing great numbers but still getting railroaded. You put the pieces together and it's like do I go back home and do something else or do what most are doing to be the best or just stay in the profession.
I'd say I wouldn't cheat but I also didn't base my early life completely around one profession that I went all in on. And obviously the high amounts of peer pressure to take it to another level.
Tyler Hamilton did such a good job of describing the heartbreak these guys felt when they were faced with the option to dope or be irrelevant, knowing they were putting their health at risk. I hope the young athletes these days have the option to do what they love without having to hurt their bodies
LA is the man
19:32 is he actually trying to say that steroids is "not prevalent" in the NFL? Really? Does that include his dad and all the other jacked up men....let's be real.
EVERY word that comes out his mouth is self serving, Narcissistic dribble.... and much of it is a lie
Please have Greg Lemond on your Podcast. Greg is a true American Champion!
Lemond was the first big epo user, he's a bitter liar.
Racing since 1990, Cat 2. No crit pros in Illinois believed Greg was clean. Greg knows there are no urine or blood samples from his career. He can say anything he wants. There was a rumor his wife made him promise not to dope after he got shot.
Unfortunately terrible audio with the handheld mics
I don’t understand the bar story. He called the bar and asked them what?
.... Lance paid for the drinks...
Intro’s too long and repetitive in places. Get over yourself and start or “take the interview” (BS)😂 already.
There still talking about this drug thing.
No one I've ever met has said a damn thing bad about Lance.
How many people have you met that have known him? Because several people in pro cycling who actually know have said on the record that he’s cruel and vindictive. A survey of your friends doesn’t mean anything.
Chris wasn’t because he doped and so did all of the NFL