The only person who can prove he cheated, is Lance.
Pigs might fly.
The rest of us are weighing the arguments. However if we only accept testimony from those who have never been themselves shown to be cheats then we are rather cutting down the options!
My personal feeling is that he was doing it, on weight of hearsay and the simple conclusion that I don't think he could have competed at that level without doing so. More than that though I've found his agressive, combative and bullying persona pretty unpleasant, and his withdrawal from the process now just seems more of the same. I don't actually know much about the Livestrong campaign, but it has to be respected, and individuals I have cared for have been inspired by him.
I also think at times what he did on a bike was pretty astonishing, and he moved his sport forward, largely competing against teams and individuals who were systematically cheating.
Bruce
Bruce, in my opinion you have done an excellent job of characterizing the whole scenario. I find all of this very sad, I think a lot about Pantani dying alone in a Rimini hotel room, and all the doping allegations swirling around him. Dr. Ferrari always seemed to have a lot of controversy connected to his name, and I always wondered in the back of my mind, when Armstrong started working with him, what was really going on, and was he cheating? What he did on the bike was 'astonishing', and he did inspire many, of that there is no doubt.
