No, people are speculating because of the culture of doping that existed in cycling almost since the inception of the tour. Anybody with a knowlege of the history of the grand tours will know of widespread use of stimulants to advance endurance and performance. Doping programs existed long before US Postal/Armstrong.
The missing link, of course, was the man himself, gifted with more charisma than you could shake a stick at. Never a fan, I joined the cycle round the Phoenix park with him a few years ago. It was simply an extraordinary thing to do-can you imagine Ronaldo or Messi organising a 5 a side on your local pitch? Armstrong is a public manipulator(imho)unlike anything seen before or since. His intimidation of the peleton was legendary, both physical and psychological. If you want to call this a witch hunt, then it was inevitable that the hunters would show more zeal than in other cases simply because Armstrong pissed so many people off, so mightily.
Id rather see it as chickens coming home to roost.
As far as SKY is concerned, the team isnt showing more than BMC, or LIQUIGAS, or to an extent LOTTO. Also, SKY have an amazing set up, with fantastic riders, better looked after than probably any other team in the pro peleton.
Cycling in Ireland shouldve been someway towards this standard by now, given the strength of the sport here in the eighties, and the potential. Instead of a couple of velodromes being built for starters, which is what got British cycling where it is today, we got ghost estates and empty holiday homes funded by tax concessions for developers. It always pisses me off to visit small communities in Europe where sports facilities, roofed and outdoor, beggar what we have in large towns.
End of rant.

I like him.

Well said John. Rant it was but enjoyable all the same.

Legend! Love it when athletes speak their minds! I feel refreshed

Too right !

No bluster there. No evasive answers there. Hope that shuts ‘em up.

Excellent rant John.

He should of focused his anger at the US team who brought the sport into question. It is actually their fault people are speculating.

I find it incredible that so many people hold this opinion of Lance Armstrong. The man is the most tested athlete of all time, has always openly engaged with the media and his fans and for the record, has never returned a test positive for doping.
In his lifetime he has accomplished an incredible amount both on and off the bike and
in my opinion, the world is a better place because of him. His Livestrong foundation does an amazing amount of work! I have in recent days been quite vocal about this topic and without repeating myself, I have posted the doping percentages within cycling V other endurance sports. What I find most disappointing is that Lance Armstrong’s name is brought up every time this topic is discussed. Hardly seems fair when he has proven more then anyone that his success on the bike was due to hard work and a determination that I only wish I had a percentage of.