Lance Armstrong Doping: USADA Charges Will Further Destroy Cyclist's Image

Lance Armstrong has reached a point where nothing that he does is going to save his image in the eyes of the people. 

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency dropped the hammer on Armstrong Wednesday, by bringing formal doping charges against the seven-time Tour de France champion, according to a report from the Washington Post. 

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In the 15-page charging letter obtained by The Washington Post, USADA outlined new allegations against Armstrong, saying it collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood ma­nipu­la­tion including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.”

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Those are pretty damning allegations against Armstrong, though it is hardly anything new. He has been dealing with talk of doping ever since he came back from cancer to win the Tour de France for the first time in 1999. 

While there was a time when no one in this country wanted to hear about anything negative involving Armstrong, after so many allegations, it is hard to completely overlook the possibility that something happened. 

Not being in the spotlight for two years has been the best possible thing for Armstrong. No one was able to dissect his life on the course because there was nothing worth talking about. 

But then the start of 2011 saw Sports Illustrated print a detailed report about Armstrong. The information in that report was damning on its own. Yet here we are, some 18 months later, and USADA has found enough to bring formal charges against him. 

Armstrong's image is only going to keep spiraling downward in light of these new charges. He was once the poster child for comeback stories in this country. We all drank the Kool-Aid because it was so surreal. 

We won't have any definitive answers with these charges against Armstrong for some time, I would imagine, but that adoration that turned him into a superstar doesn't feel nearly as strong as it did when he won the Tour de France for the final time in 2005. 

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