# Levi Leipheimer - Why I doped



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Levi Leipheimer: Why I Doped - WSJ.com

Levi Leipheimer suspended in doping scandal | PressDemocrat.com


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

The "I was running with the wrong crowd" excuse. Meh


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

francois said:


> Levi Leipheimer: Why I Doped - WSJ.com
> 
> Levi Leipheimer suspended in doping scandal | PressDemocrat.com


standard story. bummer really... there will be so many other dopers from that era that never get penalized for what they also did. not fair at all, but it has to start somewhere.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

rydbyk said:


> standard story. bummer really... there will be so many other dopers from that era that never get penalized for what they also did. not fair at all, but it has to start somewhere.


Levi's using PEDs was not fair either.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

David Loving said:


> Levi's using PEDs was not fair either.


What was Levi's hematocrit before EPO again? Fair is subjective. Not worth debating any longer about "fair".

At least Levi did not tattle tale on his own team mate for doping...


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## YamaDan (Aug 28, 2012)

Sad day indeed...


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## wrongway (Aug 1, 2006)

Will there be a Levi's Gran Fondo next year :-(


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

David Loving said:


> The "I was running with the wrong crowd" excuse. Meh


It's as good an excuse as any other.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

David Loving said:


> The "I was running with the wrong crowd" excuse. Meh


They were just following their dream, man. They felt pressured. Blah, blah, blah. Should have put on their big boy pants when they became professional bike racers, not at the end of their careers.


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## FreeRojo (Apr 21, 2008)

Well, this Sunday I will be riding with Levi and Tom Danielson (and Chris Horner) in the Dempsey Challenge here in Maine. I'll pop a vy-ag-gra so were all on a level PED field


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

FreeRojo said:


> Well, this Sunday I will be riding with Levi and Tom Danielson (and Chris Horner) in the Dempsey Challenge here in Maine. I'll pop a vy-ag-gra so were all on a level PED field


Awsome. If you get the chance, please thank him for me for coming clean, even if it's at this late hour.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Has Horner fessed up?


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## YamaDan (Aug 28, 2012)

Barry has..

Barry’s statement:

“Cycling has always been a part of my life. As a boy my dream was to become a professional cyclist who raced at the highest level in Europe. I achieved my goal when I first signed a contract with the United States Postal Service Cycling team in 2002. Soon after I realized reality was not what I had dreamed. Doping had become an epidemic problem in professional cycling.”

“Recently, I was contacted by United States Anti-Doping Agency to testify in their investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs on the United States Postal Service Team. I agreed to participate as it allowed me to explain my experiences, which I believe will help improve the sport for today’s youth who aspire to be tomorrow’s champions.”

“After being encouraged by the team, pressured to perform and pushed to my physical limits I crossed a line I promised myself and others I would not: I doped. It was a decision I deeply regret. It caused me sleepless nights, took the fun out of cycling and racing, and tainted the success I achieved at the time. This was not how I wanted to live or race.”

“In the summer of 2006, I never doped again and became a proponent of clean cycling through my writing and interviews.”

“From 2006 until the end of my career in 2012, I chose to race for teams that took a strong stance against doping. Although I never confessed to my past, I wrote and spoke about the need for change. Cycling is now a cleaner sport, many teams have adopted anti-doping policies and most importantly I know a clean rider can now win at the highest level.”

“I apologize to those I deceived. I will accept my suspension and any other consequences. I will work hard to regain people’s trust.”

“The lessons I learned through my experiences have been valuable. My goal now is to help turn the sport into a place where riders are not tempted to dope, have coaches who they can trust, race on teams that nurture talent and have doctors who are concerned for their health. From direct experience, I know there are already teams doing this but it needs to be universal throughout cycling.”

“Progressive change is occurring. My hope is that this case will further that evolution.”


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## SicBith (Jan 21, 2008)

This is not a sad day for cycling. Today a number of US cycling stars said yes when asked if they doped. They said yes that in order for them to compete at a elite level PED use was just part of the deal. They also said that basically the last 6 years they have competed clean and due to the state of PED use in the peloton today there were able to compete and win some of the smaller tours as well as be in the running for top 10 in the grand tours. 
IMO opinion what went down today basically states if you got a pro contract in the late 90s or early 00s, you doped or you got dropped. You worked your ass off for top 50 finishes and were paid a somewhat minimum wage or you doped, worked your ass off for top 10 finished and were paid a lot of $. The game has changed a little now and it seems possible to have top 10 finishes clean, but I would still suspect the top 3 in GTs are using.
This certainly does not change my opinion of any of these guys. If anything GH actually moved up in my book today.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

wrongway said:


> Will there be a Levi's Gran Fondo next year :-(


It is being rebranded as Levi's Gran EPO. The entry fee will be a little higher to cover the included vitamins, patches, oil, pills, syringes and saline.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

The 6 month ban through the off season is a total farce. All involved should have immediate life-time bans.


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## edscueth (Jul 12, 2008)

Simply pathetic. Does anybody really believe he has ever raced clean? I'm sure he has been clean the last 5 years, along with Danielson, Hincapie, Zabriske, Vanvelde and so on. Pathetic, pathetic and pathetic. If profesional cycling and or USA cycling wanted to end doping all would get life time bans - thanks (for admitting) and good bye!


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

Local Hero said:


> Has Horner fessed up?


Although nothing really shocks me when it comes to cycling and doping, Horner admitting to it would be disconcerting. He failed twice in Europe before scoring the ride with Astana/RS and making good. I hope that's just a coincidence.


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## moskowe (Mar 14, 2011)

Yes, surely having a surge of power and success at over 40 years old must be a coincidence. It must be all that mcdonalds he's eating...


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

ukbloke said:


> The 6 month ban through the off season is a total farce. All involved should have immediate life-time bans.


Yeah, that's a scam. Should have been twelve months starting October 1 which would force missing an entire season.


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## YamaDan (Aug 28, 2012)

ukbloke said:


> The 6 month ban through the off season is a total farce. All involved should have immediate life-time bans.





moonmoth said:


> Yeah, that's a scam. Should have been twelve months starting October 1 which would force missing an entire season.


If that was the case, they wouldn't have come forward. It's interesting to me that all of them "stopped" around the same time, but their results didn't really change.

I wonder who the next "Elite" rider to fall will be. Team Sky seems to have come out of nowhere this year, they had a controvisal Dr. on their team during the tour that they have now parted ways with. I so want to beleive that these guys are clean, but the way GH, MB and LL talk..can they be?:mad2:


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

They are toward the end of the careers anyway - George has the right idea in retiring just before this hit. 

I guess Chris Horner slips through the net by not being at USPS or Discovery.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

edscueth said:


> Simply pathetic. Does anybody really believe he has ever raced clean? I'm sure he has been clean the last 5 years, along with Danielson, Hincapie, Zabriske, Vanvelde and so on. Pathetic, pathetic and pathetic. If profesional cycling and or USA cycling wanted to end doping all would get life time bans - thanks (for admitting) and good bye!


How many riders would be willing to co-operate in an investigation knowing that they'd be banned for life if they admitted doping?

In the real world, people who co-operate in investigations get breaks from the authorities. It happens every day, involving people who have done things that are 100 times worse than using performance enhancers to win a bicycle race.You don't have to like it, but that's how the real world works. The real world way to end doping is to give dopers an incentive to come clean.


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## Todman007 (Jul 16, 2006)

*Doping?*

Sporting fraud.:mad2:


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

jorgy said:


> They were just following their dream, man. They felt pressured. Blah, blah, blah. Should have put on their big boy pants when they became professional bike racers, not at the end of their careers.


Why would they do that? They wouldn't make any money. Don't think for a second that any of them feel remorseful. These were conditions of the job, which all of them have been in for over 10 years. The guys who didn't want to do it, left.

Calling this cooperation is pretty thin. USADA has been repeatedly saying they "came forward" but they had a thick case file, their choice was chip in, or go stand over there with that guy.


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## moskowe (Mar 14, 2011)

I actually think some of them felt remorseful. The ones who truly cooperated in my opinion are andreu, floyd and tyler. Apart from Andreu, they're also the ones who had it the hardest, since it destroyed both their lives. 
From reading Tyler's book and Floyd's interview, and seeing what Floyd has become and where he's headed, I'm pretty sure they feel remorseful about it. Even then, at least they paid for it a lot more than Hincapie, Zabriskie, TD et al ever will.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Floyd and Tyler were the masters of their own fates, they doped and tried harder at hiding it than anyone else in their era. There's definitely remorse there but I don't believe it is remorse over cheating. Given the conditions inside the peloton, doping at that time can no longer be considered "cheating".


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

davidka said:


> Floyd and Tyler were the masters of their own fates, they doped and tried harder at hiding it than anyone else in their era. There's definitely remorse there but I don't believe it is remorse over cheating. Given the conditions inside the peloton, doping at that time can no longer be considered "cheating".



Ask Bassons and the others like him if they consider it cheating. I do, they cheated and they profited from it.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

The only remorse Floyd and Tyler had was that they were too stupid to avoid getting caught in an era when the doping tests were basically an IQ exam. Their PR flunky induced crocodile tears are not fooling anyone. As mentioned elsewhere, they are Mob informants- not good people. Other than Armstrong they are the two worst people in the peloton from that era.


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## davelikestoplay (May 27, 2010)

Not a big follower of Cycling until recently, but at least the truth is coming out right?


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## Handbrake (May 29, 2012)

Not even close. 

captain extracted the 3 most suspicious profiles ... – more glorious than hookers and blow


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## moskowe (Mar 14, 2011)

From what I understand Coolhand, you weren't always a big anti-doping advocate either . 
It's impressive how little people are willing to forgive, especially to those without which there wouldn't be a case in the first place. Let me remind you that without Landis informing USADA and coming out with his information, and tyler doing the same later on the court of public opinion would have probably never reacted the same way. 
These guys lost everything to their doping conviction. They're both broke, Landis doesn't even want to do anything with biking anymore, that's how disgusted he is. You can pretty much see in his behavior that he'll never be the same. Hamilton had it a little easier, but he's still broke. 

There is another thread about lying, and how it's always "black and white." So who's the worse person here, the guy who lies but then cannot live with himself and goes to the cops, or the guy who keeps lying until he is forced to admit the truth ? But no, the ones who have the courage to admit they were wrong (ask Lemond what he thinks of Landis now) are called "rats" and traitors. Funny world we live in.


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## Handbrake (May 29, 2012)

Who cares who is a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'? None of these guys are coming over to my house for dinner. I care only about their impact on cycling and whether or not what happens to them, once caught, dissuades other from doing the same things.

I don't believe the current practices do that to any significant extent.


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## YamaDan (Aug 28, 2012)

moskowe said:


> From what I understand Coolhand, you weren't always a big anti-doping advocate either .
> It's impressive how little people are willing to forgive, especially to those without which there wouldn't be a case in the first place. Let me remind you that without Landis informing USADA and coming out with his information, and tyler doing the same later on the court of public opinion would have probably never reacted the same way.
> These guys lost everything to their doping conviction. They're both broke, Landis doesn't even want to do anything with biking anymore, that's how disgusted he is. You can pretty much see in his behavior that he'll never be the same. Hamilton had it a little easier, but he's still broke.
> 
> There is another thread about lying, and how it's always "black and white." So who's the worse person here, the guy who lies but then cannot live with himself and goes to the cops, or the guy who keeps lying until he is forced to admit the truth ? But no, the ones who have the courage to admit they were wrong (ask Lemond what he thinks of Landis now) are called "rats" and traitors. Funny world we live in.


As I see and understand it. Neither Floyd or Tyler woke up one morning and decided they needed to bring out the truth. They were being investigated, Floyd for high Testerone after winning a stage in the tour after completely imploading the day before, and he cut a deal as he was going down. I was crushed by this because I knew Floyd from MTB days.. It's still hard for me to accept 

Tyler had a similar situation of being caught and then "making a deal" ...I don't know the deatails of that one either, but, neither is a hero for "coming forward." Both did so under duress.


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## moskowe (Mar 14, 2011)

That's not true, you're confusing when they got caught and when they came out with the truth. Landis was busted in 2006 for the tour stage, and served his 2 year sentence after trying to fight the UCI. He only went to USADA with the information in 2010, well after his doping conviction and after he officially retired from the sport.
Landis was busted in 2004 and again in 2008 (this time for a medication he had prescribed by a doctor outside of cycling, which as an idiot he hadn't realized was prohibited). He stopped his career in 2008. He only came out with the information in 2011. 

I wouldn't mind inviting these guys to my house for dinner. Would invite them 1000 times over Vaughters or Hincapie.


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## Handbrake (May 29, 2012)

And how many years did it take Floyd give back the money he collected to prove his innocence? Did he do that voluntarily, or did a court have to order him to?

Did he go to the USADA before or after it became obvious his career on the bike was over? Because he rode for OUCH and Biosport in 2009. Though he confessed in mid 2010 and didn't retire until the end of the year, it isn't like he had roster spot offers pouring in at the time.


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