yupuerto wrote:
This is why the leaked Hincapie testimony is such a big deal. Prior to his testimony there wasn't even any suspicion of him doping; plus, he rode with Lance in all 7 of his Tour wins, and has been considered part of Lance's inner circle.
Ergo, Hincapie has/had zero crediblity issues and zero reason to lie about Lance (or himself!) doping other than not wanting to perjure himself. It's a HUGE blow to Lance.
I agree. And the thread-starter is a great question. Lance is nothing if not--and literally--a survivor. He's used his life story (survival and comeback, astonishing record of TDF victories) to inspire millions. In a weird way, denial of the "facts" is located at the very heart of his inspirational story. He wasn't supposed to survive cancer. He looked it in the face, engaged in massive denial, and came out on top.
So in his present situation--and let's assume for the sake of argument what most surely now believe: he's a doper--his track record of life-success teaches him that the way you beat something like this is never, never, never give in. Never throw in the towel. Survive. Claw your way back.
His former domestiques and cycling buddies now stand, in symbolic terms, precisely in the relation to him that cancer once did. They and their damning testimony are a virus that is spreading in a way that threatens his very survival.
But he's been here/there before. Never say never. Faith in oneself is all. Even when everybody is saying "There's no chance he can survive this"......well, he survived it last time. Only a fool would pronounce him (socially) dead now. He'll find a way. He's Lance Armstrong. He's not just a man. He's a figure out of myth.
The others are whining losers.
Hincapie isn't, though. And the intriguing thing is to wonder whether Hincapie will eventually come to seem like the hero, the man of integrity, that Lance isn't. Or whether Lance's astonishing powers of denial--powers that are responsible for him surviving cancer and doing what it took to defeat all comers seven times straight--will ultimately trump his misdeeds in the public mind.
Lance has a shadow. It's now threatening to swallow him. If he's smart, he'll figure out a way of absorbing it and profiting from it; integrating it within his (public) personality.
I can see him, ten years from now, holding up a can of some caffeinated drink called Dragon Blood (or whatever): a pitchman for the stuff that gives you an all-day lift.
He'll survive. He always has. He'll find a way. I'm not endorsing him. I'm acknowledging his weird genius.