An open letter to Lance Armstrong

Mr. Armstrong,

As seven time Tour De France winner, former World Professional Cycling Champion, Cancer Survivor, and Hero To Many, you alone have the power to change the culture of doping in the world of professional cycling.

You have stated repeatedly that you have never tested positive for banned substances. That is true, as it is true for many professional cyclists. This is not due to their clean behavior, you know as well as I that the culture of the sport is so dirty that bribery, extortion, dishonesty and graft overcome sportsmanship at all levels, from the juniors to the pro ranks.

I know how it is to live with an overwhelming desire to win. To suffer through spring races over the cobbles to come into your moment in the summer. What if you don't peak at the right time? What if you catch a bug? Your soigneur chastises you for wearing a low collar and exposing your neck to the nasty European air, then chides you because your power is off, manneke. Your hematocrit has dropped to 42, which means that you won't be able to climb with Ulrich, who you know for sure is on the juice.

You don't trust your soigneur with preperation tips, as the last guy who followed his advice wound up in the ditch clutching his chest while turning blue about the lips. It's better to go to a sports Doctor. You know that the Doctor is right, you could take Iron and hope for your hematocrit to rise, but that is not a sure thing. You could sleep in an altitude chamber, but that takes time. Aranesp, the Doctor suggests, does exactly the same thing as the altitude chamber but is much quicker and certainly less of a hassle. What do you do? Everyone else in the peleton has done it, it's the only way to level the playing field. At least half of the amateurs are on the juice, next thing you know they will be pros and you will be washed up. You've got house payments, car payments and your cellphone bill was $2200 last month. Your contract for next year depends on your hematocrit getting above 49, which is where it was naturally before your last bout with the stomach bug. Medical preparations, tough decisions, what do you do?

So flash forward a few years. Floyd has won the tour and done something silly. Did he forget to pay off the "neutral observer"? Was the "neutral observer" paid more by someone else who is tired of Americans winning the Tour De France, or are they truly neutral now? Floyd has compounded silliness upon silliness and treated a lot of people very badly, dragged cycling in the mud for almost a year. It's only going to get worse, but there is an out. Here is what I suggest:

Come clean. Admit everything. Out the entire sport, so to speak. Name names, products, preparation schedules the whole ball of wax. Use your gigantic clout to turn the sport around. Start an organization of pro riders against preparation, working with the UCI and global anti-doping agencies. Change the rules in order to punish those guilty of using banned substances, so that it becomes an untenable risk.

It would be the toughest race of your life, with the biggest stakes. Who cares about the house payment? The future of cycling hangs on your words. In moments of turmoil and confusion, a single man with honor and integrity can change the world. Acts of selflessness are never punished in the long term, but I guarantee that the short term will be excruciating. What is there to loose? At worst you could loose all of your wealth. Is it worth trading your fancy trappings for the chance for the world to know the truth and to have a shot at cleaning up cycling?

Which is better:

Be remembered as the guy who won the Tour De France seven times and then disappeared.

Be remembered as the guy who won the Tour De France seven times and then went on and changed cycling (and perhaps all sports) forever.

Without a change in cycling would you want your children to race professionally, with all of the things that are entailed?

Flash forward 10 years and picture a young amateur with his stagair contract and nervous excitement at the start of his first pro race. Will he have to pay for preparation, with all of the accompanying worry, doubt and self hatred just to stay with the pros, or will he be able to ride and compete with his God given talent?

It's up to you Mr. Armstrong.