It's an old cycling joke.<p><pre><code> How do you know if someone in Tour De France isn't doping?
They come in last.
</code></pre>
<a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/nondoping-cyclists-finish-tour-de-france,2268/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theonion.com/articles/nondoping-cyclists-finish-t...</a>
Not sure why this is on hacker news, other than the fact that an epic athlete will be stripped of his honor and have an asterisk next to his name. In the footnotes it will say, "See Barry Bonds"<p>But his excellence and story is what we all pay to see. We don't really want to know. And who's to say those that receive Armstrong's awards weren't doping, too? Not trying to dismiss the situation, but PEDs are absolutely saturating ALL of sports today, no exceptions.<p>EDIT: Armstrong's response <a href="http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statement-of-august-23-2012" rel="nofollow">http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statem...</a>
No matter what the truth, I can sure as hell imagine anyone would get sick of literally being bled dry by bureaucrats and the media for well over a decade (not to mention, after losing a ball).<p>At the end of it all, at least we got what was possibly the best sentiment from a sports advert ever:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxnqHvEbGnc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxnqHvEbGnc</a><p>"What am I on? I'm on my bike, busting my ass 6 hours a day. What are <i>you</i> on?"<p>His own thoughts on the matter:<p><a href="http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statement-of-august-23-2012" rel="nofollow">http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statem...</a><p>"Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. [...] We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet."<p>Sounds like a damn better use of time than defending yourself against fiasco to me.