Has anyone ever made the downward plunge from GOAT to goat faster than Lance Armstrong.

Possibly the most famous cyclist ever, Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France titles, starting in 1999. What made his story even move compelling was that he was a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996.

The crown disappeared from Armstrong in 2012 when the United State Anti-Doping Agency concluded that not only did he use performance enhancing drugs but he was also the ringleader of a widespread doping program. As a result he was stripped of all his Tour de France titles as well as his Olympic bronze medal and he was banned from the sport of cycling for life.

The consequences came fast and furious. The following appeared on CNBC on Oct. 18, 2012 :

“Lance Armstrong started Wednesday morning with 11 sponsors listed on his website, LanceArmstrong.com. By 6 p.m. Eastern Time, all but three would renounce their relationship with the legendary cyclist. 

“Some sponsors would take immediate action, some would choose to let current deals expire and some would condemn Armstrong’s alleged behavior but regardless of the path chosen the result would be the same: their ties to one of the most famous athletes in the world would be cut.”

Nike was the first to bail. 

Where was Arnstrong while this was happening? Juliet Macur, who has written extensively about Armstrong in the New York Times, filed this report on Nov. 12, 2012:

“Last month, the United States Anti-Doping Agency made public its evidence in its doping case against Armstrong, saying he had doped and encouraged his teammates to dope so they could help him win races. He was subsequently barred from Olympic sports for life and was stripped of all the cycling titles he won from August 1998 on.

“Since then, Armstrong has spent several weeks in Hawaii, out of the public eye. On Saturday, though, he posted a photograph on Twitter showing him at home in Austin, Tex. He is lounging on a couch with his seven yellow Tour jerseys framed on the wall in the background.

“In the post, he said, ‘Back in Austin and just layin’ around.’ The photograph had more than 400,000 page views as of Monday evening, with many people posting negative comments on the page.

“‘Lance, you have no moral conscience and it’s obvious many of your followers don’t either,’ said one person who went by the Twitter handle ‘irobot,’ who also posted that Armstrong needed ‘professional help’.”

At first, Armstrong denied everything. ““I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one,” (People magazine, June 5, 2024)

Then, after initially spending his time attacking his accusers, he confessed in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013. The result? More consequences. AP ran a story on Oct.15, 2016 reporting that “An arbitration panel ordered Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp. (Armstrong’s team management company) to pay $10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company for what it called an ‘unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy’ that covered up his use of performance-enhancing drugs.” The money was a result of bonuses paid by SCA Promotions while Armstrong was winning titles.

He also was sued by a former teammate turned whistleblower Floyd Little. That suit was joined by the United State Postal Services, whose name was on the jersey he wore when  he won his Tour de France titles. The settlement of that suit cost Armstrong $5 million.

In 1997, after his bout with cancer, Armsrong had founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to help other cancer survivors. It later was rebranded the Livestrong Foundation. Following the doping revelations, Macur noted in the Times (Nov. 12, 2012), “In the wake of being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, Lance Armstrong last week cut all official ties with Livestrong, the charity he founded 15 years ago while he was treated for testicular cancer.

“On Nov. 4, he resigned from the organization’s board of directors; he had previously stepped down as the chairman of the board Oct. 17. He has distanced himself from the charity to try to protect it from any damage caused by his doping controversy, the new board chairman, Jeff Garvey, said in a statement.”

Armstrong’s fall from grace nevertheless hurt the charity. An AP report (Jan. 20, 2016) provided some detail. “According to federal financial records, Livestrong’s 2013 donations dipped from nearly $23 million to $15 million after Armstrong’s televised admission of drug use. It also took a 38 percent dive that year in commercial revenue after sponsorships were canceled or not renewed. Livestrong’s 2014 financial report, filed at the end of 2015, showed a further 29 percent drop in revenue and donations down to less than $12 million.”

Despite all this, Armstrong landed on his feet financially. He has said that an early investment in Uber that he made through a company called Lowercase Capital in 2009 “saved his family.’ It has been estimated that investment netted him upwards of $20 million. He also owns a small piece of the bicycle company Trek. 

Armstrong has continued his investment activity. He is a founding partner of Next Ventures, a company that focuses on early investments in companies pursuing “whole person health.”

Earlier this year Pitchbook (March 11, 2024), a news service targeting private equity, included this report:

“Famed cyclist-turned-GP Lance Armstrong is targeting $100 million for Next Ventures’ second fund. 

“The new fund is San Francisco-based Next Ventures’ first raise in nearly five years. Its predecessor, a 2019 vintage fund that had targeted $75 million, closed on $50 million with an additional $10 million in special purpose vehicles.”

Last year (Dec, 17, 2023), a story by Michale Venutolo-Mantovaniin in Women’s Health magazine took stock of the post-cycling Lance Armstrong.

“After a few years spent under the radar, Armstrong has been slowly making his way back into the public conversation. He hosts a popular cycling podcast called The Move alongside former teammate George Hincapie, their former manager Johan Bruyneel, and Austinite JB Hager. Armstrong has also appeared on a reality television show that sent several celebrities to a simulated version of Mars. He even got back into the bike scene, when direct-to-consumer brand Ventum announced Armstrong as one of their endorsees.”

The reality television gig apparently came to an abrupt end, per Entertainment Weekly (Aug.  7, 2023):

“On Monday’s episode of Fox reality show Stars on Mars, disgraced former pro cyclist Lance Armstrong made good on his previous threat to quit the competition.

“The decision came after the group successfully completed their mission to track down and expel an invader in their home. Armstrong was paired with Modern Family actress Ariel Winter, whom he’s clashed with all season long. The feuding pair put their differences aside to crawl through an air vent together without issue, but both landed in the week’s bottom three alongside NBA legend Paul Pierce. When it came time for each of them to plead the case for why they should stay in the competition, Armstrong bowed out instead.”

As you read about Lance Armstrong, what stands out is the character of the man. And not in a good way. Here’s a few examples:

Mike Anderson, Outside — The Tour de France newsletter, Aug. 31, 2012

“I joined Armstrong’s staff in late 2002 as a mechanic, trail builder, and all-around handyman and assistant. At that time, we were friends who had often been on mountain-bike rides together, and he had made a written and verbal commitment to finance my dream of opening an Austin bike shop once my work with him was done. Armstrong soured on me for reasons that had nothing to do with my performance as an employee, and when I was abruptly fired in late 2004, no clear reason was given for my termination. He reneged on the promise about the bike shop and started attacking me, personally and professionally, in a way that ruined my job prospects in Austin. I ended up moving my family to New Zealand to start a new life.”

Emily Bazelon, slate.com, Jan. 18, 2013:

“Lance Armstrong called himself a bunch of things last night—’jerk,’ ‘humanitarian,’ and ‘not the most believable guy in the world.’ But the word that stuck was bully. Is it the right one for a guy who, as my colleague William Saletan details, allegedly railroaded teammates who refused to dope, ruined people who told the truth about Armstrong’s doping, and sued so many people that by his own admission he can’t remember their names? Yes, bully is fitting enough. But it’s also nowhere near a complete description. When you match it up against Armstrong’s sorry record, it looks more like one more dodge than a confession. After all, admitting you’re a bully doesn’t expose you to legal liability. It’s a lot safer than defrauder and perjurer. For a kid, there’s plenty of exposure in being labeled a bully. For a man with Armstrong who abused his power in ways that did or could ruin other people’s lives, it’s a cop out.”

Nancy Armour, USA Today, Dec. 6, 2018:

“Lance Armstrong went on the Today show Thursday to lament how hard life has been since he admitted to being one of the biggest frauds in sports history, whining how unfair it is that other cheats aren’t the pariah he is.

“‘I do think there’s a double standard,’ Armstrong said. ‘But I’m OK with it.’

“Sure he is.

“The blind ego and arrogance that seeped through his interview Thursday is exactly why Armstrong remains so reviled.

“That he doped his way to seven Tour de France titles was bad, of course

“Had Armstrong only been a cheater, though, he’d have been forgiven long ago. But the cheating was never the worst of his sins.

“Armstrong was ruthless in his charade, ruining the lives of others to protect his. Former teammates, support staff, competitors, reporters — anyone who threatened to expose the Myth of Lance was bullied, discredited and defamed.”

Christina Macfarlane, CNN, June 4, 2020:

“For those who’ve followed the disgraced cyclist’s story of deceit, coverup and betrayal, it is never clear whether the Armstrong of 2020 is really any different to the one who masterminded the biggest doping conspiracy in cycling history. Especially when his bitterness towards former teammates who helped topple his empire pierces through.

“Speaking of his rise and fall, Armstrong says: ‘It could be worse. I could be Floyd Landis … waking up a piece of s**t every day.’”

And yet, we may not have seen the last of Armstrong competing. Here’s something I found in Canadian Cycling Magazine (April 1, 2024)

“The first major name for the 2024 Enhanced Games has been announced, and it’s none other than former professional cyclist, Lance Armstrong.

“The controversial event is the brainchild of an Australian entrepreneur who is creating an alternative to the Olympic Games. At these Games. athletes are free to participate without drug testing and are encouraged to embrace performance-enhancing drugs.

“There is no cycling, but instead the competition will include five sports disciplines: track and field, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports. The Games are planned to be held on an annual basis.”

Sounds a little like the novel Brave New World. But, alas, I could find no evidence that the Enhanced Games have either taken place, or even been scheduled.

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