Life After the Cycling Empire

Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of sccamfluencers ad free right now Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app We'll be back next week with an all new episode of Scamlincers. But with the tour de France kicking off july fourth in Barcelona, we thought it was the perfect time to take another look at Cycling's greatest fraud. Lance Armstrong When he first covered Lance, we told a story of how he was part of what investigators called, quote, the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen and how Lance bullied anyone who tried to expose him. Now Hollywood has come calling Again In February, Apple won a bidding war for a new Lance Armstrong biopic starring Austin Butler and directed by Edward Berger, who recently made conclave Multiple studios were fighting over the package, which shows just how compelling this story still is This movie also marks the first time Lance has authorized anyone telling his story on screen His former team director Johann Verneill said the film will finally give them a chance to quote Our side of the story which is a pretty bold claim from two guys who spent a decade lying to everyone. So with the tour about to start and a major film on the way, we're revisiting the story of Lance Armstrong the champion who doped his way to seven titles and still seems to think that he's the victim. Sarah, as a mid range millennial, I know that you remember those live strong bracelets. I remember so many kids on the school bus having a live strong bracelet and it just being like What is going on here? It really was so everywhere. like if you weren't there, you do not understand. Yeah. It's hard to quantify. But you didn't even have one of like the knockoff ones that said I heart boobs that was supposed to be for breast cancer, but nobody actually knew where that money was going. No, you know what? I've never had any of them. had like really thin wrists that like it would just like emphasize how weak I looked, I guess. I don't know. What a flex. You're so delicate you can't wear this clunky piece of jewelry. They were just too heavy for me. I'm just one of those girls. Okay, sounds tough Well, Sarah, today, I'm going to bring you back to the very reason we had so many of those ugly, cheap landfill destined jelly bracelets. And somehow it has to do with Cheryl Crow It's january twenty thirteen, and Lance Armstrong is in Austin, Texas He's got a short crew cut and a chiseled, classically handsome face. He's sitting in a brown leather chair surrounded by cameras in a nond desescript hotel room The forty one year old is used to being in the spotlight. He's a superstar cyclist with a record breaking seven tour de France wins He's not holding a trophy today or wearing one of the signature yellow jerseys given to the race's winner Instead, Lance is in a blue blazer and slacks, and he's directing an icy stare at the person interviewing him Oprah Winfrey The last time Lan spoke to Oprah was eight years ago He was promoting his cancer charity, Live Strong And he was there with his girlfriend at the time, Cheryl Crowe But Oprah has a different focus this time around She asks him a very direct question Yes or no, did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance? Yes For the next two and a half hours, Lance admits to using a long list of banned substances and doping methods in all seven of his tour de France victories People suspected him of cheating for years, but this is the first time he's publicly admitted to it. Spp's questions aren't just about doping. She also asks about Lance intimidating and bullying people into keeping it a secret She brings up a woman who tried to blow the whistle on Lance about a decade earlier At time, he responded by calling her a whore and then suing her for libel. In this interview, when he tries to apologize, Oprah presses him. You suiter U To be honest, Opra, we sued so many people. I don't even I'm sure we did Honestly, Oprah, like, who haveven' an I dude? you know? That is a crazy thing to say to Oprah of all people on that national platform. Yeah. And he also looks visibly uncomfortable Maybe because even in his confession, he is still lying. He tells Oprah that he stopped juicing after two thousand five The United States Anti doping aggency says that's not true And he claims he never forced his teammates to cheat, despite nearly a dozen of them testifying otherwise. Lance's drive to succeed went far beyond what other cyclists were doing, and his scamming almost put the brakes on an entire sport. I'm Leon Nefox What happens when only fans becomes more than just a side hustle On fantasy is an in depth look at the world's newest professionals how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten on Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes of Only Fantasy, ad free, onlyn online. I'm Raza Jeoffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we go back in time to meet Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution As America fights for freedom from Britain, Arnold emerges as one of the rebel's greatest generals, But when his loyalty is pushed to the limit, he turns spy Hevises a plot to shutatter the rebellion and make George Washington a prisoner Follow the Sy who now, wherever you listen to podcasts You can also listen to the full season of the spy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Aud Wondry, I'm Sachie Cole, and I'm Sarah Hagy, and this is Scamluencers It not happen must speak us soon Lance Armstrong was one of the biggest sports celebrities of the early two thousands. His massive success helped bring cycling to a wider audience, especially in the US. His total dominance was framed as an inspiring tale of a cancer survivor beating the odds, but the ruthless ambition that made him a cycling superstar also drove him to win at any cost You might think you know the story, but it's so much worse than just a case of doping. And while he says he feels remorse, it's hard not to think he's just trying to backpedal to save his reputation This is Lance Armstrong Ture defraud. you Before Lance Armstrong became the world's most notorious cyclist, he's a kid growing up near Dallas in the mid seventies Lance's mom was just seventeen when she had him, and she and his dad quickly got divorced Things are hard, but Lance's mom loves and supports him unconditionally. When Lance is three, his mom marries a new man Terry Armstrong Terry is a strict drill instructor type and Lance hates him He later says that something as small as leaving a drawer open could be enough for his stepdad to beat him with a fraternity paddle When Lance is still a child, he starts competing in swimming and cycling, and Terry becomes even more intense. Terry later tells the guuardian about a time that nine year old Lance fell off of his bike in the middle of a race Cerry says he told Lance, quote, If you're gonna to come out here and quit and cry, we're done. I'm not going to have a quitter Anger and spite become powerful motivators for Lance When Terry bosses Lance around, Lance tells him, you're not my dad. And later, Lance will say the same thing to his coaches At fifteen, Lance wants to start competing in triathlons, but most races have a minimum age of sixteen for insurance purposes So Lance and his mom forge his birth certificate. And even though he's so much younger than the competition, he smokes everyone. After just a couple of years, Lance catches the attention of USA Cycling, the group that oversees the sport. In nineteen ninety one, he joins a team sponsored by Motorola, and a year later, at twenty, Lance competes at the Barcelona Olympics He's hot stuff in America But his new European rivals are in a whole other league He ends up finishing fourteenth Lance is embarrassed by his Olympics performance and he feels like he has something to prove. So in the summer of nineteen ninety three, he sets out to win the thrift drrug Triple Crown a trio of cycling events held in the U. S Any writer who could win all three races will get a one million dollar grand prize Lance wins the first two races, setting him up for a massive payday if he can win the third and final race He doesn't want to leave it to chance, so he meets up with the captain of the rival team most likely to beat him They sit down in a hotel room and Lance lays out a deal. If the rival team agrees to let him win, Lance will give them fifty thousand dollars of his one million dollars in winnings And since they weren't in the running for the one million in the first place That sounds pretty good to them. This is so far the second bit of fraud I'm hearing about Lance Armstrong from changing his birth certificate to then doing this. I know, it's a lot of lying so early on And on the day of the final race, Lance manages to get a comfortable lead. His biggest competitor, an Italian racer, makes a run for it It's all for show The racer eases up and lands coasts to victory After the race, Lance finds the Italian racer at the hotel. He hands the guy a cake box filled with one hundred thousand dollars in cash, evenven more money than he promised. And he says, Merry Christmas Lance is already willing to do anything to win, but as he starts competing more overseas, he'll be racing against people he can't just buy off. And soon, his commitment to cycling dominance will be put to the test Over the next two years, Lance mostly keeps his winning straight going. He takes first place in a few races around Europe He even wins a stage in the Tour de France, which means that he came in first on one of the days of the weeks long race He's starting to become well known amongst hardcore cycling enthusiasts and already starting to take stuff like cortisone and testosterone Both are illegal in pro cycling, but most athletes take them anyway Actually, people have been taking substances to get ahead as long as the Tour of France has been around When the race started in nineteen oh three, its competitors were mostly blue collar factory workers and amateurs looking for a cash reward To endure the grueling distances and cope with the pain, they'd get drunk, drink dangerous stimulants, and sniff ether soak handkerchiefs You know what? I just kind of assume in the past, before they really knew the long term effects of drugs, that people were just doing this all the time. I would be gacked out of my mind if I was alive during nineteen oh three and people were huffing substances. I would be zoted all day. all day, A you kidding me? Well, now there are more sophisticated substances on hand ones that will actually help you compete Lance moves to Como, Italy, where the team trains in challenging, high altitude conditions. But despite using enhancements, Lance's team keeps losing And he starts taking his frustration out on everyone around him One night, he's out with a teamate and the teammate's girlfriend at a small restaurant They're waiting for their wine and pizza, but Lance is burning with impatience. He thinks his order is taking too long So he says, quote, these fucking Italians, canan't they bring the fucking wine? Lance is desperate to get back to winning So when he finds out about EPO through the grapevine, Lance thinks he's hit the jackpot EPO is an anti anemia drug It's meant to increase your body's red blood cell count, which allows you to exert yourself longer than you normally would And unlike the drugs that Lance has been taking, there's no way to test for it at this time And then, in late nineteen ninety five, Lance learns that a teammate of his is working with an Italian doctor named Michale Ferrari No relation to the sports car family. M Kaley is an unassuming man in his early forties with black hair and thick glasses He's a legit doctor and sports medicine expert But he's known in cycling circles for his off book EPO specialty McKaley operates in secret. Instead of a traditional office, he works out of a beat up station wagon Players usually pay him a percentage of their earnings out of pocket in order to avoid scrutiny. Lance is intrigued, and soon after meeting with him, he decides that McKaley is a genius Lance agrees to go on a personalized EPO program and starts paying McKlee tens of thousands of dollars a month At the beginning of nineteen ninety six, Lance is the top ranked cyclist in the world, so he can afford the treatment And maybe that's why even though Lance lived with a teammate when he moved to Como, he's now in a beautiful house on the lake all by himself, while his other teammates crowd into an apartment together. Soon enough, Lance's doping gets results. In nineteen ninety six, he racks up a few big wins in Europe including becoming the first and to this day, the only American to win a prestigious two hundred kilometer race in Belgium He gets sick with bronchitis and has to drop out of the tour de France. He still competes in the Olympics, and he signs an endorsement deal with Nike Lance's EPO habit has given a critical boost to his cycling career. He's confident that McKalee's treatment is exactly what he needed. But soon, Lance will have far greater problems It's late october nineteen ninety six, and Betsy Kramer stands in a conference room at a hospital in Indiana She's here with her fiance, Frankie Andreo to visit Lance Betsy is a feisty brunette from Michigan with a thick midwestern accent. Her fiance, Frankie, is a boyishly handsome brown haired cyclist on Lance's team. The three of them are all friends Frankie and Betsy are two of the only people who can be honest with Lance And while he normally has pretty thin skin, he appreciates that they call him out on his crap. But now, Betsy is too worried about her friend to argue with him Lance is in the hospital recovering from brain surgery After dropping out of the tour de France, he started having pain in one of his testicles. Betsy heard that Lance didn't go to the doctor until one of his balls swelled up to the size of a lemon He was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had already spread to his chest and his brain He started chemotherapy and had surgery to remove his brain tumors I knew he had cancer, I didn't know it was that severe. Yeah. Lance is pale and bald. He doesn't even have eyebrows Two doctors start asking Lan's questions about his medical history Betsy suggests that they should all leave the room to give Lance and his doctors some privacy, But Lance says it's fine. And he goes on to reveal some disturbing information. When the doctors ask if he has ever used performance enhancing drugs, Lance Matter of factactly responds, Yes He lists everything he's been on, including EPO, cortisone, testosterone, human growth hormone, and steroids Betsy is shocked. She makes Frankie leave the room with her. And in the hallway, she tells him, quote, I'm not fucking marrying you if you're doing this shit. That's how he got cancer. Honestly, the first thing that came into my mind hearing about a lot of this. Yeah. I don't know what these drugs necessarily do long term, but they're obviously manipulating his body in a way that is not natural to him. Yeah. And for what it's worth, lots of people suspect that there is a connection between the drugs and Lance's cancer, but there's no conclusive evidence that one caused the other Frankie tells Betsy he isn't doing the same drugs as his teammate. Betsy suspects that he's lying, and she's right Frankie was doping with Lance just a few months ago Betsy knows that this hospital room confession will change her relationship with Lance forever. She might be shocked But for Lance, cheating is just like riding a bike Lance's cancer recovery is brutal But after just a few months, he gets a clean bill of health In january nineteen ninety seven, he's declared cancer free And though he tries to get back to racing, his team is worried about his performance They restructure his contract to give themselves the option to cut Lance loose, which Lance hates. Even though he gets back on the bike, they drop him over the summer Luckily, Lance finds a scrappy team willing to take a chance on him It's sponsored by the U. S. Postal Service. Lance knows he probably won't be competitive for the next year But he calls his old friend McKaley anyway and quickly gets back on EPO He seems more mellow and less angry. He's even settled down and gotten engaged to a woman he met during his recovery. They get a kitten and they name it chemo In march nineteen ninety eight, two months before the wedding, Lance has one of his first big comeback races. He's pretty confident about this one But even with EPO, he performs terribly And he's told to help another racer on his team win rather than going for it himself. Lance ignores his coaches. He quits the race and he decides to move back to Austin. He lays around, drinks margaritas, and plays a lot of golf And he does some soul searching He doesn't need racing. He could just focus on Lifstrong, his new cancer charity But after a few weeks, he realizes he can't be chill He decides to recommit to racing with a new motivation fight Lance wants to stick it to Terry to the team that dropped him to everyone who thought he was down and out Beating cancer is great in everything, but Lance really wants to get back at anyone who has ever pissed him off. You know, I do think spite is a great motivator, but for someone like Lance who has a dark spirit in my opinion, yes, I really think that is a scary motivator. Yeah. I also recommend spite to most people, but Lance has a dark passenger that is taking over clearly. Yeah. he's a villain in his own life and now he's fueled by spite from people who are like, dude, you aren't doing okay Yeah With McKilly's careful oversight, Lance trains harder than ever He thinks that his cancer treatment has actually made him an even better racer by forcing him to lose unnecessary muscle. And he decides that in order to take advantage, he needs a better team around him, a team that's even more committed to doping Lance takes on a new leadership role with the USPS team pushes them to get a new manager, and he also helps them find a new team doctor. Apparently, the old doctor wasn't aggressive enough about pushing drugs on the cyclists Lance was so frustrated at the doctor's stinginess, he had his wife go around distributing cortisone tablets to his teammates. The new doctor is more than happy to give the racers the drugs Lance thinks that they all need With his new team assembled, Lance keeps his eye on the prize, winning the nineteen ninety nine Tour de France. The tour is a brutal race It lasts for just over three weeks. The course changes every year, but it covers about three thousand six hundred kilometers, spread out over twenty stages They're basically biking from New York to Vegas Racers get rest days and stay at hotels every night, but they're riding between four to seven hours each day for three weeks straight. And that year, Lance shocks the racing world by winning the first stage His new approach to doping works, but it is risky Last year, one of the best teams in the tour had their supply of EPO confiscated It was a huge scandal Between the investigation, the hearings, and the subsequent suspensions, the players were all functionally banned from professional cycling for more than a year The team physiotherapist who tried to transport the drugs even faced criminal charges So now, Lance and his teammates have to cover up their syringe bruises. They have their team Masus secretly transport the drug supply, and they hide the used syringes in soda cans. They also hire a guy to deliver the drugs on a motorcycle. He's a friend's gardener and everyone calls him Motoan The media is already on alert, so they're very suspicious of Lance's unlikely dominant performance. At the first press conference during the tour, a reporter straight up asks him if he's doping and Lance denies it Towards the end of the tour, it seems like his critics' suspicions are confirmed. LANS tests positive for cortisone. So he gets a doctor to secretly backdate a prescription for a cream for saddle sores to explain the test The cycling authorities don't want another scandal, so they decide to believe him. Oh, wow, it's interesting who just gets to be believed like that. They're like, you know what? easier to believe this guy and just pretend this is normal than to question anything Some people are lucky like that, Sarah Well, the Cortisone incident is a near disaster, and the U.S postal team remains super cautious. They manage to keep the other drugs hidden, and Lance wins the tour de France in record time As he approaches the finish line at the Chamel Lise in Paris, fans wave American and Texan flags It's a beautiful moment, a cancer survivor making a historic comeback Lance's win is front page news in the US. It sparks a moment of national pride in what had been an obscure sport and he becomes a full on superstar. Lance makes the cover of People Magazine, goes on Larry King Live, and the Late show with David Letterman, and visits the Clintons at the White House But some in the press are still skeptical. There was a doping scandal just last year, and Lance is literally recovering from cancer. How is this possible The concerns are easily drowned out because Lance Armstrong is becoming a pop culture phenomenon. He's about to sprint to the peak of global fame, and from there, the only place to go is downhill Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Audible has all the stories that'll introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a Sucy romantasy series. Become your friend group's sci fi expert on the latest blockbuster book to screen adaptation Or find unexpected reveals through the exclusive episodes of a viral true crime podcast. However you choose to listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. All in one easy app, with plans now starting at eight doll ninety nine cents, you'll get access to over one million audioobooks and podcasts, including trending bestsellers Hotest new releases and exclusive podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Sign up now to become a member and get any audio book every month plus exclusive podcasts. Plans now start at eightll ninety nine cents. Be fascinated, be fascinating Jo there 'is I, Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm, AKA Kate McKinnon. And her raven minion Jojo, AA Emily Lynn. If you do not download and binge my show, heads will roll air apparent on audible, I will cut off your head. Oh no. Maybe just tell them about the guest stars like Richard Kyind, Kare Koon, Jimmy Fallon at all. They were in it. And if you don't listen to them, then I will cut off your tongue, then cut off your head, and then put the tongue in the head hole. A, you tried. Listen now exclusively onaudible and Dun the Audible after today are off with your headad. I'm kidding feel like I first tour to France win, Lance goes on to win the next five tours in a row. By two thousand four, he's thirty two years old and he's on top of the world. He signed massive endorsement deals worth almost ten million dollars. His memoir, It's not A about the Bike, My Journey Back to Life, has spent more than a year on the New York Times Bestseller list. Multiple U. S. presidents have appeared with plans for cancer initiatives And those bright yellow liifstrong bracelets are everywhere Robin Williams, Ben Affleck and Bono, all friends of Lance, are wearing them Lance isn't just a star in cycling He's a full on celebrity. and he's soaking it all up He made a cameo in the Ben Stiller comedy doodgeball. He left his wife and he's now dating Cheryl Crow If it makes you happy, you know But even with all the fame and all the money, or maybe because of it, Lance is still doping After nineteen ninety nine, cycling authorities developed a test to check for EPO, so Lance's team had to step up their cheating They start injecting EPO at night so that it barely shows up on their daytime tests And on top of that, they've started doing blood transfusions, which just like EPO, increase blood oxygen capacity Before the tour, team doctors draw two cups of blood from each rider. Then they reinject them with their own blood during the race If you accidentally get another person's blood, you could die So it's a big risk But at this point, Lance's team is a doping machine And he pressures them to do it. They even do transfusions in front of Cheryl He tells her that all the other cyclists are doing it too And the reality is, fame, wealth, and consistent success have turned Lands from a brazen asshole into a total control freak monster His behavior is plenty bad off of his bike, but he might be even worse when he's riding one. Towards the end of the two thousand four tour to France, Lance gets passed by an Italian writer Lance has a four minute lead overall. so he isn't worried But he does have a petty score to settle with this dude The writer got busted for doping a couple of years back, and he recently testified against McKelly Lance took this as a betrayal. He called the guy a liar in the press, but hes still pissed Lance tells his teammates not to follow him, and he pedals hard to catch up to the Italian rider He starts ruthlessly mocking him. He puts his hand on the Italian's back and shit talks him in Italian. Sarah, can you read this translation? He says, You made a big mistake. You shouldn't have testified against McKaley and especially not sued me for defamation I have no problems. I have time, I have money, and I can destroy you whenever I want Holy crap, that is so scary. This isn't life or death. This is a sport. It's, yes, very impressive. He's so talented. But if your talent hinges so hard on all of these things, what is the point? Like why do you want to live such a stressful and evil life Well, the other writers are shocked too, as Lance grins ear to ear while bullying this guy The Italian retreats and moves to the back of the pack This mid race dust up is even picked up by TV cameras. Lance, directly in front of a camera, moves his hands to his lips, makes a zipped lips motion, and pretends to throw away the key His behavior raises some questions with the cycling press, but ultimately nothing comes of it Lance wins his sixth consecutive tour to France and becomes the favorite to win a record breaking seventh time the following year No other racers can touch him Lance has ridden decades of grievances and beefs to total domination and steamrolled tons of friends and teammates. Now he has just one task making sure they all keep their mouths shut In july two thousand five, Lance wins his seventh tour to France He's handed a mic after his win It's the first time any tour winner has had the opportunity to give a speech like this So of course, Lance decides to address His haters. And finally the last thing I'll say for the people that don't believe in cycling The Senics of the skeptics I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big and I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. This is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it This is his seventh tour de France. Who's the villain? L I just don't understand who he's addressing. Like you're winning, you did it, you got away with it. L why are you still the underdog in this story? Well, Lance actually retires from cycling after this record smashing achievement So his biggest priority becomes protecting his legacy. In two thousand four, a cycling journalist published a book in France that accused Lance of doping credible sources, including Lance's friend Betsy and his former Masuse. the one who snuck in drugs during the tour In october, two thousand five, Lance faces off with Betsy in a conference room near Detroit, Michigan. They're not fighting about the book, though The insurance company that covered Lance's cycling bonuses for his tour wins thinks that Lance cheated, and they don't want to pay up They've asked Betssy to give a deposition confirming Lance's doping, and Lance is here to intimidate her As she tells the story of Lance's hospital room confession He stares, daggers at her. Right after the deposition, Lance leaves for New York He appears in an episode of Saturday Night Live with Cheryl, and he makes a joke about testing his urine for drugs Oh, shut up Well, Sarah, you're about to hate him more. Because a few days later, when Lance is deposed, he goes on the offensive and he paints Betsy as unstable This is also when he calls his former Masuse a whore. The following year, Lance's attacks and denials pay off. The insurance company is forced to settle and pay him seven point five million dollars. At this point, Lance must be feeling absolutely untouchable. He goes on jogs to soak up the sun with Matthew McConaughe, films cameos in the cinematic classic You M and Duprex, and he breaks up with Cheryl Crow He starts going out with celebrities like Tori Birch, Ashley Olsen, and Kate Hudson But Lance doesn't know that there is another threat to his dominance. And this isn't just one of his old friends It's his own teammate A year after Lance's retirement, Floyd Landis wins the tour de France. Theoid looks like a Monite turned cycling pro He's pale, red headed and has a thin goatee. Floyd was on a team with lands from two thousand two to two thousand four and often played second fiddle. So this win feels like a dream But immediately after he's crowned champion, Floyd tests positive for artificially high levels of testosterone He quickly holds a press conference to deny cheating, but it's a disaster H's a clip I declare convincingly and categorically that my winning the tour of D France has been exclusively due to many years of training in my conf. Cplete devotion cycl Okay, listen If you're gonna go and deny something, do it with your whole chest. Don't be stumbling around, mumbling your words Lise Landance is an effective communicator of his quote unquote innocence, you know what I mean? Correct. Floyd is just a bad liar. His delivery is stilted and fumbling, but fifteen minutes after the press conference, he gets some helpful advice from a pro his former teammate Lance. Floyd and Lance hadn't kept in touch, but Lance calls him and says, Look, when people ask if you've ever used performance enhancing drugs, you need to say, absolutely not Floyd must feel conflicted about getting this advice from Lance. He used to bully Floyd all the time when they were teammates And Floyd suspects that Lance is only calling him now to try and protect himself If the authorities start digging into Floyd's cheating, they might uncover the entire years long scheme that made Lance famous. Floyd is forced into arbitration to fight the doping allegations, which lasts for several months. He spends two million dollars on his own defense It doesn't work In september two thousand seven, he's barred from pro cycling for two years. He's the first tour de France winner to be stripped of his title in over a century Floyd sinks into a deep depression and develops a nasty binge drrinking habit At one point, he falls off a ladder and breaks several bones He gets him hooked on painkillers, and he spirals even deeper At his lowest point, he starts downing up to a fifth of Jack Daniels and fifteen pills a day And then to add insult to injury, Lance announces he's coming out of retirement When Floyd's ban is up in two thousand nine, he tries to join Lance's team for the tour, but the team's manager says that Floyd is too toxic do feel for him. I know he cheated, but he fell so quickly and now he has to watch the real villain of his sport try and make a comeback Yeah, Floyd is angry I mean, Lan stopped as well. Why is he the one who has to take the fall So in april twenty ten, he writes an email to the head of US Cycling, providing a step by step overview of the team's doping program And he names names, including Lance then, in an interview with ESPN, Floyd finally admits to doping publicly He says, quote, I want to clear my conscience. I don't want to be a part of the problem anymore But it'll take more than a whistleblower to take Lance down Lots of people in pro cycling are shocked by Floyd's confession but not Travis Tiger. Travis is thirty nine with a stern but friendly face and short hair with a pronounced widow's peeak He's been the head of the U. S. Anti doping Agency or USADA for a few years now He pleaded with Floyd to come clean back in two thousand eight And Floyd actually reached out to Travis before sending his whistle blowing email. So Travis has been excited about the chance to finally expose plants Travis is serious and humble, and he believes in playing by the rules. He's a devout Christian, and he used to be an athlete and a coach. And he wants the sport he loves to thrive Travis especially hates that Lances cheated while on a team funded by the US Postal Service, which got tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers Oh wow, that is just another layer I did not even realize. Yeah Travis contacts a no nonsense investigator with the FDA who has brought doping cases against famous athletes like baseball icon Barry Bonds and Olympic sprinter Marion Jones This guy kick startarts an investigation with the FBI and the Department of Justice The prosecutor interviews Lance's former teammates and offers them immunity if they'll testify against Lance, and they take the deal Meanwhile, Floyd files a lawsuit alleging that Lance defrauded the government since his team was funded by the postal service. The government has the option to join this lawsuit, but thus far, they haven't taken it Travis is looking forward to seeing the prosecutor bring Lance down But in february twenty twelve, about two years after Floyd's confession, the Justice Department makes a shocking announcement. They're dropping the investigation against Lance They don't explain why, but Travis thinks that the Obama administration might be afraid to pursue such a controversial case during an election year It doesn't matter because Travis is there to pick up the pieces His agency can't pursue criminal charges like the DOJ can, but they are able to ban lands from the sport for doping And if they can reveal the truth, other people might start holding Lance accountable Travis contacts the cyclists who cooperated with the Justice Department's investigation, and they all agree to talk to him He also interviews Betsy and the Masuse The stories he hears are horrifying. Some described the US team atmosphere like being part of the mob They had a code of silence, and Lance acted like an enforcer to maintain order. Travis tells the guardian that one case in particular stood out to him a young cyclist who grew up in an abusive home where his dad sold drugs Sarah, can you read this quote? Yeah, it says, He ran to cycling to escape, only to find out a few years later he'd been pulled back into the very thing he was trying to get away from. I knew and our board knew, we couldn't let that sit idle Oh my gosh, that is so sad. It's hard to be at the top of any sport and to be on like an official team. And I can't imagine how hard it is for someone who grew up that way. Well, the witness testimony paints a damning portrait of Lance as a bully and a cheat. Travis's agency tells Lance about their investigation, and Lance responds by immediately leaking the letter to the media He refuses to meet with them and sues them, claiming their arbitration process infringes on his due process rights He tries to get a judge to stop the investigation, but the suit is dismissed The USADA investigation continues through the summer of twenty twelve, and the evidence they compile is overwhelming They find that Lance used a whole host of banned substances, including EPO, blood transfusions, and testosterone along with masking agents. Most damningly, they find that Landance participated in a quote, sophisticated scheme and conspiracy to dope, encourage and assist others to dope, and cover up rule violations In august twenty twelve, they put out one thousand page dossier detailing their investigation They announced that Lance is stripped of all seven of his cycling titles and is banned from cycling for life. Lance was given the chance to testify or formally challenge their findings at several points during their investigation He refused So now he can't do much beyond grandstanding He maintains his innocence but decides not to challenge USADA's decision He says this isn't an admission of guilt, but rather a protest of an unfair process Travis is relieved that some justice has been served, and that Lance's ride might finally be over There are people you're told to trust Lawyers, teachers. Especially doctor. But what happens when you put your life in someone's hands and they betray you? The hit podcast Doror Death is back And this season is unlike any other. doctor Death, the cowboy, is the story of a charming neurosurgeon who rode into western towns selling a persona of confidence and care He wore cowboy boots in the operating room and became sought after by patients He promised to heal them Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies This season is about a doctor who was never truly held accountable for the patients whose lives he ruined A story of greed, betrayal, and a fight for justice that will leave you questioning who to trust Listen to Dr. Death, the cowboy, wherever you get your podcast or binge the entire series right now, only with Audible I'm Raza Jeffrey, and in the new season of The Sy Wh, We open the file on Benedict Arnold The spy who betrayed the American Revolution America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire And one of its foremost generals was Benedict Ar He's a smuggler turned battlefield hero and admired for his aggressive tactics But when a war wound The new wife, debts and politics test his loyalty to the Max. Turn spy. and devises a plot to shatterter the revolution. and help Britain capture rebel commander in chief, General George Washington And that plot would make him the most infamous traitor in US history Follow the Sy whoo now, wherever you listen to podcasts You can also listen to the full season of the spy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Audible I feel like I Through october twenty twelve, Betsy witnesses the fall of an empire Llance gets dropped by eight sponsors in a single day, losing deals with companies like Nike, Aniser Bush, Trek bicycles, and Jerro helmets Forbes estimates that Lance loses over one hundred fifty million dollars in future earnings He also has to step down from Liv Strong Betsy must feel vindicated, but how could she forget his asshole behavior at his depositions and his refusal to admit the truth for so long? A month later, she sees Lance post a defiant photo of him lounging at home with his seven yellow tour championship jerseys framed on the wall The caption reads, B in Austin just laying around Okay, Lance, it's so divorced guy energy. It is also like earlier on when he was being really arrogant and annoying in this way, he was considered like a winner and a legend and one of the best cyclists in the world. But now he's not and he just looks like a full on loser to everyone. Yeah, he does seem like a loser Around Christmas time, Betsy gets a surprising phone call from Lance, and this time, all the bluster and ego are seemingly gone He says he wants to talk to her and Frankie He apologizes, and over the next forty minutes, he actually sounds heartfelt and remorseful. Here's Betsy talking about the call in the documentary, The Armstrong Le I still getting emotional. it was it took a lot of courage for him to say he was sorry. and for him to tell me he's done a lot of bad things to good people Eetsy is probably hoping that her horrible saga with Lance is coming to an end. But weeks later, she sees Lands on Oprah And he does finally publicly confess to using drugs Something is off He doesn't seem as apologetic as he did on the phone Lance says he was clean for his two thousand nine comeback, which Betsy knows is a lie And when asked about the fateful day in the hospital, almost fifteen years ago, when Betsy witnessed him confess to using drugs and she freezes. Because here's what he says Was Betsy telling the truth about the Indiana Hospital? I'm not going to take that on I'm laying down on that. Whatas Betsy lying Um I'm just not Yeah. I mean, I really do think This is very typical of him like, I don't know if I would have expected better if I was Betsy, but I can understand having hope for someone you once loved, you know? Yes, exactly. Lance tells Oprah that he called Betsy to apologize and she didn't want him to talk about the hospital room confession. That's another lie And it gets weirder. When Oprah challenges him on his past statements calling Betsy crazy, Lance tries humor. I think she'd be okay with me saying this, but I'm going take the liberty to say it. And I said, Listen, I called you crazy I called you a bitch. call you all these things I never called you fat This is really just such a crazy response to think one, this is a joke worth making But also, there is no world where Lance Armstrong answers a question the way he's supposed to and like is suddenly humbled and it's like, okay, you know what? All that terrible stuff is behind me. This is who I am now. It's like it's not even that, you know, he's just so arrogant through and through Yeah, he's a jerk. And Betsy is stunned and furious So to correct the record, she appears on CNN later that night, talking to Anderson Cooper. She's on the verge of tears and she says, You owe it to me, Lance, and you dropped the ball After what you've done to me what you've done to my family. and you're quitting up to it And now we're supposed to believe you Even at the very end, Lance refuses to lose. More than a decade after his Oprah confession, Lance is about to face another moment of truth 's twenty twenty three, and he's dressed in a space suit and seated next to modern family actress Ariel Winter and former Boston Celtic star Paul Pierce. They're all contestants on the Fox reality show, Stars on Mars, where celebrities compete with each other on a set designed to simulate life on Mars Weirdly, this is kind of a nice change of pace for Lance. He spent a lot of the past ten years settling lawsuits, including paying the US government five million dollars The government had eventually joined Floyd's lawsuit, and because he blew the whistle on the whole scheme, just over one million of the settlement goes to Floyd I mean, at least Floyd gets something. He still is a cheater, but he did the right thing here. Yes. Other than that, Lance has appeared in a few documentaries about his life and his cheating He comes across as an asshole in all of them. So you won't be shocked to find out that he doesn't look great on stars on Mars either So far on the show, he's butted heads with everyone from veritable nasty girl Tanashi, to former NFL star slash my second husband Marshawn Lynch, to former wrestler and MMA fighter Rhonda Rousey. Lance had the audacity to make critical statements about trans athletes when he's the one who spent years abusing hormones. He alienates most of the other contestants and he ends up quitting the show Even on fake Mars, Lance can't get along with other people These days, Lance hosts a popular cycling podcast, and he lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and his kids