Dutch paper De Telegraaf polled 23 former Tour de France winners about whether or not Lance Armstrong should have his 7 Tour wins reinstated.
One of those to respond was Ireland's Stephen Roche, who won the Tour in 1987. Roche believes that the Texan should have his victories returned as "you can't not have a winner for seven years."
Armstrong should stay on that list. In the 100 year history of the race you can't not have a winner for seven years. Doping has been part of sport, not only for cycling, for decades. Who tells me Jacques Anquetil won clean. Should we take his victories away? Or why does Richard Virenque gets to keep his polka dot jerseys?
Paul Kimmage tweeted out an article regarding the quotes on cyclingnews.com, saying:
Promised my kids I would never swear again on Twitter. Stephen Roche is pushing me to the edge...
Paraphrasing his question to Lance Armstrong at a 2009 press conference for the Tour of California, Kimmage tweeted:
Hey Stephen, what is it about these dopers you appreciate so much?
— Paul Kimmage (@PaulKimmage) July 16, 2014
His blood pressure is certainly on the rise today.
In 1990, a week after Rouch Ride was published, Roche wrote a column in the Irish Times. He had never heard of doping. — Paul Kimmage (@PaulKimmage) July 16, 2014
And former President of the UCI Pat McQuaid is not helping.
Pat McQuaid now describing Armstrong as a 'victim.' I'm going insane!
— Paul Kimmage (@PaulKimmage) July 16, 2014
Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
