In a stunning fall from grace, seven time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his titles due to doping charges.
At one point the biker was considered one of world’s leading sportsmen and athletes. His heroic feats in the Alps during many Tour De France races were stunning and awe inspiring to many, which makes it all the more disappointing to learn they were fueled by blood doping.
Cycling has had well know and documented stuggle with blood doping, which is the proccess of boosting the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream in order to enhance athletic performance. Along with Armstrong, former winners Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador have both had Tour De France titles stripped due to the usage of blood doping. While some may argue that doping is becoming less popular, the conviction of the sport’s most recognizable star ever, certainly won’t help global image of cycling.
The issue isn’t completley one-sided either. A slippery slope of morality emerges when Armstrong’s (who is a well known cancer survivor) Livestrong Foundations contributions to cancer research are brought into the discussion. These contributions, which have made major impacts on cancer research and treatment, would never have been possible without the success of Armstrong, which was achieved through blood doping.
Livestrong’s financial contributions to defeating cancer outweigh any potential negative consequences from Armstrong’s blood doping. Many people often forget that without Armstrong’s blood doping fueled success, there would be no Livestrong, and that finding the cure for cancer will always be more important than cycling.