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Lanced: the shaming of Lance Armstrong
David Walsh was one of the few journalists who dared to doubt the miracle of the cancer survivor who came back to win the toughest race in sport. As the years went by, the other reporters largely melted away, feeling that if they could not tell the truth about the race and its winner, they didn’t want to write anything about it at all.
In this book The Sunday Times presents David Walsh’s articles, and a number written by other colleagues on The Sunday Times. They show the tenacity with which the newspaper pursued Armstrong and the drug cheats. Of course, they are of their time, and should be taken as historical documents, recording the best of our knowledge on any particular date.
As a whole, they represent some of the finest investigative reporting in British journalism in recent times.
In this book The Sunday Times presents David Walsh’s articles, and a number written by other colleagues on The Sunday Times. They show the tenacity with which the newspaper pursued Armstrong and the drug cheats. Of course, they are of their time, and should be taken as historical documents, recording the best of our knowledge on any particular date.
As a whole, they represent some of the finest investigative reporting in British journalism in recent times.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 6, 2012
Reading this book which consists out of a lot of articles that were posted during the Armstrong years, made me mad once again.
I was one of those so called by Armstrong, skeptics, zealots and cynics. All those people wanted to believe in the Armstrong fairy tale (which to me felt more like a nightmare)
I can't stand this guy and that is since 2000. At first I was happy for him, but once I realized what a horrible character he had, and how before his cancer, he had rode 4 tours and could not climb, I could not stand him.
Worse was that he was faster on the climbs than the dopers of 1998!!! But when I said anything about him, people said I hated Americans or other stupid bullshit.
In this book David Walsh tells about some of the journalists who so wanted to be liked by Armstrong, they did not allow him in the car any more because he was on LA's black list.
This book was very repetitious but I still thought it was interesting.
To me the hero's are Betsy Andrieu, David Walsh, Paul Kimmage, and Emma Riley for trying to fight him and not licking his ball. He tried to ruin them and did manage to ruin their reputation. Not anymore! The witch is dead!
I was one of those so called by Armstrong, skeptics, zealots and cynics. All those people wanted to believe in the Armstrong fairy tale (which to me felt more like a nightmare)
I can't stand this guy and that is since 2000. At first I was happy for him, but once I realized what a horrible character he had, and how before his cancer, he had rode 4 tours and could not climb, I could not stand him.
Worse was that he was faster on the climbs than the dopers of 1998!!! But when I said anything about him, people said I hated Americans or other stupid bullshit.
In this book David Walsh tells about some of the journalists who so wanted to be liked by Armstrong, they did not allow him in the car any more because he was on LA's black list.
This book was very repetitious but I still thought it was interesting.
To me the hero's are Betsy Andrieu, David Walsh, Paul Kimmage, and Emma Riley for trying to fight him and not licking his ball. He tried to ruin them and did manage to ruin their reputation. Not anymore! The witch is dead!
March 8, 2013
Last fall I read The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and it was one of the best nonfiction books I read that year. As this story has evolved over the past few months, with Armstrong admitting to Oprah that he doped through each of his Tour de France wins, there’s been a lot of hindsight 20/20-type statements from cyclings fans and sports writers.
On the other hand, Walsh suspected Armstrong of doping from his very first Tour win in 1999 and was vocal about it then and throughout the next decade. This book is a collection of Walsh’s articles for The Sunday Times—from the first, disbelieving reaction to Armstrong’s 1999 win to the growing mountain of evidence against Armstrong that accumulated through each consecutive win. One of the few writers willing to question Armstrong’s wins, Walsh found himself not only a cycling press pariah, but he also wrote the articles that led Armstrong to sue The Sunday Times for libel. (Armstrong won. The newspaper is now seeking the return of the original settlement.)
This book provides fantastic background on Armstrong’s wins and walks through the Armstrong doping legacy in great detail. The quality of Walsh’s research is especially interesting, considering that Walsh was writing outlier observations at the time. Indeed, much of what Walsh mentions as possible evidence of doping has now been confirmed by Armstrong himself.
There are a few offhand articles included in the book that are mostly recaps or compilations of facts written in Walsh’s earlier work, so it can feel repetitive at times. Even still, the book moves quickly and doesn’t feel tedious. The best moments are the beginning of the book (the first few articles Walsh wrote on the subject) and Walsh’s vindication at the end of the book.
If you haven’t tired yet of reading about Lance Armstrong, this book is an interesting, provocative look back through the years. Best of all, it’s only $4.50 on Kindle. I may follow this up with Walsh’s personal book about his investigation, Seven Deadly Sins. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
On the other hand, Walsh suspected Armstrong of doping from his very first Tour win in 1999 and was vocal about it then and throughout the next decade. This book is a collection of Walsh’s articles for The Sunday Times—from the first, disbelieving reaction to Armstrong’s 1999 win to the growing mountain of evidence against Armstrong that accumulated through each consecutive win. One of the few writers willing to question Armstrong’s wins, Walsh found himself not only a cycling press pariah, but he also wrote the articles that led Armstrong to sue The Sunday Times for libel. (Armstrong won. The newspaper is now seeking the return of the original settlement.)
This book provides fantastic background on Armstrong’s wins and walks through the Armstrong doping legacy in great detail. The quality of Walsh’s research is especially interesting, considering that Walsh was writing outlier observations at the time. Indeed, much of what Walsh mentions as possible evidence of doping has now been confirmed by Armstrong himself.
There are a few offhand articles included in the book that are mostly recaps or compilations of facts written in Walsh’s earlier work, so it can feel repetitive at times. Even still, the book moves quickly and doesn’t feel tedious. The best moments are the beginning of the book (the first few articles Walsh wrote on the subject) and Walsh’s vindication at the end of the book.
If you haven’t tired yet of reading about Lance Armstrong, this book is an interesting, provocative look back through the years. Best of all, it’s only $4.50 on Kindle. I may follow this up with Walsh’s personal book about his investigation, Seven Deadly Sins. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
December 3, 2024
A great insight into prfessional cycling and the cheat mentality.
December 24, 2014
So, I've read "Lanced: The shaming of Lance Armstrong" - by David Walsh and team...
I remember that when the "Armstrong Affair"* happened I was so involved with other things that I couldn't pay attention properly.
You see, my Godfather was fighting against an agressive pancreatic cancer when Mr. Armstrong was "discovered".
Back in 2011 when we discovered my Godfather's cancer, I used to tell him about this man who had fought against this horrible monster and won. And that this man could, after the cancer, win 7 times the hardest bike race in the world. And, although, I knew that my Godfather didn't have much time left, I still believed in miracles, because Lance Armstrong was a miracle!
So, when the Armstrong's Hell broke loose I was not paying attention to the media. I was living the life of the people who is helping a terminaly ill relative.
I don't think that all the athletes in the world are "clean". Knowing the money involved in some sports, it's almost impossible to think that they don't dope.
But, knowing that after suffering chemoterapy, this man, this ATHLETE, could use drugs that could make his cancer return with a vengeance, it was too much for me, someone who watched, day-after-day, a beloved one being pumped with chemicals that were killing the cancer, but also, killing the person.
I read the book with this sentiment of great disappointment and anger. Furious, to say the the truth, with Armstrong, because he had a healthy body, and was wasting it, because of money and a piece of iron to put on his bookcase!
I'm not worried here, about writing spoilers. It's impossible! It was all recorded, published, discussed, analysed to exhaustation.
The book is a compilation of articles wrote, the majority, by David Walsh, a journalist who never "swallowed" the miracle story of Lance Armstrong and his triumphant return to the Tour de France!
When you start reading the book, you think that these journalists are hunting Armstrong for no apparent reason, although, when you start putting together the little pieces of this puzzle, you realise that Mr. Lance Armstrong is a jealous, arrogant, prejudiced, selfish, and above all, lying man.
Nothing, absolutely, nothing was prohibited in his journey to the top! And that made me think about the sports and athletes in general; "Is it true that nothing matters, only the victory?"
My answer; I do not think so! But, who am I? A psychologist that doesn't have a singular athletic bone in her body!
It is a good book. And you can notice, as you read, that it was made in a hurry when the scandal happened. The newspaper "The Sunday Times" was trying to get back some of the money they had to pay Armstrong along the years because of their articles, the same articles you have here in this book.
I read the book in English in digital format. The book was not published here in Brazil.
If you know just the basic about the "Armstrong Affair"*, like me when I started reading it, the book is a good choice. If you know a little more than I did, perhaps you can try other books of Mr. Walsh, he, being (almost) the only journalist who had the courage to publish his opinions about Armstrong, has wrote, at least, 2 more books about the "Armstrong Affair".
* I don't know if anyone used this, but here I christened the wholly messy scandal!
I remember that when the "Armstrong Affair"* happened I was so involved with other things that I couldn't pay attention properly.
You see, my Godfather was fighting against an agressive pancreatic cancer when Mr. Armstrong was "discovered".
Back in 2011 when we discovered my Godfather's cancer, I used to tell him about this man who had fought against this horrible monster and won. And that this man could, after the cancer, win 7 times the hardest bike race in the world. And, although, I knew that my Godfather didn't have much time left, I still believed in miracles, because Lance Armstrong was a miracle!
So, when the Armstrong's Hell broke loose I was not paying attention to the media. I was living the life of the people who is helping a terminaly ill relative.
I don't think that all the athletes in the world are "clean". Knowing the money involved in some sports, it's almost impossible to think that they don't dope.
But, knowing that after suffering chemoterapy, this man, this ATHLETE, could use drugs that could make his cancer return with a vengeance, it was too much for me, someone who watched, day-after-day, a beloved one being pumped with chemicals that were killing the cancer, but also, killing the person.
I read the book with this sentiment of great disappointment and anger. Furious, to say the the truth, with Armstrong, because he had a healthy body, and was wasting it, because of money and a piece of iron to put on his bookcase!
I'm not worried here, about writing spoilers. It's impossible! It was all recorded, published, discussed, analysed to exhaustation.
The book is a compilation of articles wrote, the majority, by David Walsh, a journalist who never "swallowed" the miracle story of Lance Armstrong and his triumphant return to the Tour de France!
When you start reading the book, you think that these journalists are hunting Armstrong for no apparent reason, although, when you start putting together the little pieces of this puzzle, you realise that Mr. Lance Armstrong is a jealous, arrogant, prejudiced, selfish, and above all, lying man.
Nothing, absolutely, nothing was prohibited in his journey to the top! And that made me think about the sports and athletes in general; "Is it true that nothing matters, only the victory?"
My answer; I do not think so! But, who am I? A psychologist that doesn't have a singular athletic bone in her body!
It is a good book. And you can notice, as you read, that it was made in a hurry when the scandal happened. The newspaper "The Sunday Times" was trying to get back some of the money they had to pay Armstrong along the years because of their articles, the same articles you have here in this book.
I read the book in English in digital format. The book was not published here in Brazil.
If you know just the basic about the "Armstrong Affair"*, like me when I started reading it, the book is a good choice. If you know a little more than I did, perhaps you can try other books of Mr. Walsh, he, being (almost) the only journalist who had the courage to publish his opinions about Armstrong, has wrote, at least, 2 more books about the "Armstrong Affair".
* I don't know if anyone used this, but here I christened the wholly messy scandal!
November 30, 2013
Although some points are repeated it shows just how many cyclists do not want to face the consquences of the truth but hide behind lies.
Although it is more a series of articles rather than a book which makes them a seem a bit disjointed in places it makes one consider what do I believe. Personally I would liked to have seen the info backed up with stats from a secondary source such as the UCI.
Congratulations to David Walsh for his ongoing determination against so much public opinion.
Although it is more a series of articles rather than a book which makes them a seem a bit disjointed in places it makes one consider what do I believe. Personally I would liked to have seen the info backed up with stats from a secondary source such as the UCI.
Congratulations to David Walsh for his ongoing determination against so much public opinion.
March 16, 2020
Walsh and Co. are Incredible Writers
Reading this collection highlights what a fantastic job The Sunday Times did covering the Armstrong scandal as it unfolded. I especially enjoyed Paul Kimmage's story on Floyd Landis. He's a player that's often overlooked in documentaries, and I found myself really identifying with him as a country kid in the big city. The coverage also shows just how professional the Times stayed during the scandal. I went into this book thinking it'd be inflammatory, but there's nothing in any Times story that isn't true or is unfair. It brought home to me what a bully Armstrong was.
Reading this collection highlights what a fantastic job The Sunday Times did covering the Armstrong scandal as it unfolded. I especially enjoyed Paul Kimmage's story on Floyd Landis. He's a player that's often overlooked in documentaries, and I found myself really identifying with him as a country kid in the big city. The coverage also shows just how professional the Times stayed during the scandal. I went into this book thinking it'd be inflammatory, but there's nothing in any Times story that isn't true or is unfair. It brought home to me what a bully Armstrong was.
January 3, 2019
una vez que lo leí pe cautivo como, apasionado por el deporte de los pedales, después de todo lo ocurrido tras su mentira, ya no me parece tan real, pero queda la parte valiente en que un hombre se enfrenta a una enfermedad y la vence esa parte sigue siendo de admiración
October 29, 2021
A load of articles all put together in a book. Anything about the downfall of Armstrong is a 5 star read for me.
September 22, 2022
Well written, yet incredibly repetitive articles.
April 25, 2013
Not really a book, as such, in the usual sense of the word: it's reprints of sports journalist David Walsh's Sunday Times articles on the subject of his suspicion of Lance Armstrong. As everybody now knows, Armstrong won every Tour de France from 1999 to 2005, and pulled off this remarkable feat in the middle of one of the most pervasive drug cultures known in sport.
As a cycling fan, I think I only became aware of questions over Armstrong's integrity in the 2002 race - maybe it was the lack of widespread internet chatterati and the Twittersphere that kept me in the dark. Walsh was onto Armstrong from the 1999 race, and never gave up his dogged, sometimes rather obsessive pursuit of the truth about Armstrong.
Walsh is an excellent writer. He has several books out on this subject alone, so I wondered what the point of this one was, at times. It seems to be a text of revenge, one of I-told-you-so. And yet it was refreshing to read the articles he wrote at the time of each tour, and see the lengths he went to in order to pursue his truth. If what I have written above makes Walsh sound unpleasant and pushy, I've not put it properly: his task was carried out patiently and with dignity, in the face of libel laws - which didn't stop Armstrong, in a fit of hubris, sueing the Sunday Times - and constant snipes from Armstrong's camp, from the attention of lawyers to the pettiness of trying to get Walsh barred from following the Tour de France. Armstrong was a thoroughly nasty piece of work, if that's not clear now from the coverage of this story elsewhere - to be honest, he wasn't very nice even when people liked him - but the other barrier Walsh had to get over was the force of the believers in Armstrong: his was a fairy tale of all-American boy cancer survival and sporting triumph - and a chauvinistic attitude of 'sticking it to the French' and that presented a wall of opinion that Walsh had to surmount. Walsh's integrity kept him at it.
The chief characters in the story are revisited, the witnesses nobody would listen to, like (Armstrong's Motorola team-mate Frankie Andreu's wife) Betsy Andreu, one-time team physiotherapist Emma O'Reilly - both attacked on a personal level by the odious Armstrong - the hapless Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, who fell from cycling grace very early on in the story, perhaps, Hamilton suspects, with Armstrong's help. There are also a shadowy range of dodgy doctors, sports body representatives and managers to contend with. A gruesome cast indeed, but the story always comes back to Armstrong.
He now seems like 'the man with one story to tell', but that shouldn't take away the telling of it. I'll go for a cycling chant and say "Chapeau!" Mister Walsh.
As a cycling fan, I think I only became aware of questions over Armstrong's integrity in the 2002 race - maybe it was the lack of widespread internet chatterati and the Twittersphere that kept me in the dark. Walsh was onto Armstrong from the 1999 race, and never gave up his dogged, sometimes rather obsessive pursuit of the truth about Armstrong.
Walsh is an excellent writer. He has several books out on this subject alone, so I wondered what the point of this one was, at times. It seems to be a text of revenge, one of I-told-you-so. And yet it was refreshing to read the articles he wrote at the time of each tour, and see the lengths he went to in order to pursue his truth. If what I have written above makes Walsh sound unpleasant and pushy, I've not put it properly: his task was carried out patiently and with dignity, in the face of libel laws - which didn't stop Armstrong, in a fit of hubris, sueing the Sunday Times - and constant snipes from Armstrong's camp, from the attention of lawyers to the pettiness of trying to get Walsh barred from following the Tour de France. Armstrong was a thoroughly nasty piece of work, if that's not clear now from the coverage of this story elsewhere - to be honest, he wasn't very nice even when people liked him - but the other barrier Walsh had to get over was the force of the believers in Armstrong: his was a fairy tale of all-American boy cancer survival and sporting triumph - and a chauvinistic attitude of 'sticking it to the French' and that presented a wall of opinion that Walsh had to surmount. Walsh's integrity kept him at it.
The chief characters in the story are revisited, the witnesses nobody would listen to, like (Armstrong's Motorola team-mate Frankie Andreu's wife) Betsy Andreu, one-time team physiotherapist Emma O'Reilly - both attacked on a personal level by the odious Armstrong - the hapless Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, who fell from cycling grace very early on in the story, perhaps, Hamilton suspects, with Armstrong's help. There are also a shadowy range of dodgy doctors, sports body representatives and managers to contend with. A gruesome cast indeed, but the story always comes back to Armstrong.
He now seems like 'the man with one story to tell', but that shouldn't take away the telling of it. I'll go for a cycling chant and say "Chapeau!" Mister Walsh.
January 3, 2018
Kudos to David Walsh for his passion and determination over the years. This collection of news articles, all published in The Sunday Times, shows that Walsh could smell this fishy mess long before it could be proven. His newspaper should be commended for printing Walsh's articles and supporting his cause despite the legal defamation suits that resulted.
David Walsh is a true investigative reporter, the likes of which barely exists anymore. For more than 17 years, he pursued evidence of doping in professional cycling and he seemed to have his sights set firmly on finding fault with Lance Armstrong. All other publications and reporters gave up that angle and chose to write about Armstrong's domination of the Tour de France in a glorified manner, treating the 1998 Festina Affair as simply a bad year in an otherwise clean sport. Walsh never wavered from his view that cycling was corrupt and, as all other top riders of the Tour were proven dopers and hence fell from grace, Walsh maintained his belief that Lance was actively doping and was using his wealth and influence to control and cover up the trail of evidence.
More interesting than the doping allegations is the character study of Armstrong. Truly a sociopath, Lance discarded all of his so-called friends, confidants, team members and lovers when they were no longer useful in his climb to the top, and their silence was bought through countless legal settlements that forced secrecy.
David Walsh is a true investigative reporter, the likes of which barely exists anymore. For more than 17 years, he pursued evidence of doping in professional cycling and he seemed to have his sights set firmly on finding fault with Lance Armstrong. All other publications and reporters gave up that angle and chose to write about Armstrong's domination of the Tour de France in a glorified manner, treating the 1998 Festina Affair as simply a bad year in an otherwise clean sport. Walsh never wavered from his view that cycling was corrupt and, as all other top riders of the Tour were proven dopers and hence fell from grace, Walsh maintained his belief that Lance was actively doping and was using his wealth and influence to control and cover up the trail of evidence.
More interesting than the doping allegations is the character study of Armstrong. Truly a sociopath, Lance discarded all of his so-called friends, confidants, team members and lovers when they were no longer useful in his climb to the top, and their silence was bought through countless legal settlements that forced secrecy.
January 15, 2017
Simply a compilation of a series of articles mainly by Walsh on Lance. Striking issues are: the reminder that Walsh first raised his concerns in 1999 around how Armstrong could dominate in a tour where doping and dopers were still rife, his (at the time indirect) association with Ferrari and his vilification of Bassons; the relatively limited number of sources (Betty Andreu, O'Reilly, Swart) until Landis then Hamilton and then the full USDA investigation came out; the personal nature of the attacks by Armstrong on Walsh and his victims.
July 29, 2014
I was aware of the Sunday Times/Lance Armstrong history but I had never had the opportunity to read any of the articles.
This brings some (?) of the articles together in one place. There is a lot of repetition but the progression of the story is there. The lie is known but those willing to pursue it are ostracised. The knowledge of the lie grows but so does the victimisation of those who want to stand up.
Easy to read and worth a look.
This brings some (?) of the articles together in one place. There is a lot of repetition but the progression of the story is there. The lie is known but those willing to pursue it are ostracised. The knowledge of the lie grows but so does the victimisation of those who want to stand up.
Easy to read and worth a look.
April 12, 2015
Interesting enough, but it's just a collection of newspaper articles. Which leads to the problem of a *lot* of repetition. If one is interested in the sordid details, spending your reading time on Wheelmen or The Secret Race or other more recent books might be a better choice. This is for completists only.
September 26, 2013
not a 5 star just because some chapters repeat each other and some references to past moments in time lack, in my opinion, the date in full text to make reading easier.
Other than that, very nice! These last 10 - 15 years have been amazing for the pro cycling world!
Other than that, very nice! These last 10 - 15 years have been amazing for the pro cycling world!
November 26, 2012
A nice compilation of pieces from The Sunday Times by Walsh BEFORE USADA busted Lance Armstrong. A bit redundant in toto however.
January 16, 2013
Excellent account of the award winning journalist' pursuit of the greatest ever sporting Fraud..
Brilliant read..
Brilliant read..
January 10, 2013
Do you think that Lance Armstrong was clean? Read this book. Incredibly clarifying.
February 19, 2013
Terrifically powerful journalism - David Walsh should be applauded for his commitment to truth and to spending more than a decade uncovering it while others took the easy path.
September 27, 2013
Now I realise how gullible I was. LA was my hero and that has been destroyed. If David Walsh had not been so determined I wonder how long LA would have bullied his way through life.
January 24, 2013
Fascinating and moving to read in retrospect.
February 7, 2013
A fascinating look back at Walsh and the Sunday Times writers' worries over Armstrong's ability. The news was already there - it just took the authorities to take note of them.
February 12, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, Walsh writes with no personal vendetta against LA, just a complete disbelief in the transformation on show and a clear love of cycling.
July 16, 2013
Makes you wonder if any of them are clean. Good recap of the entire travesty. :(
Want to read
November 26, 2013Slow and not as fast paced as I thought it would be. Can't get into it at all.. Put aside for now.
June 24, 2014
A light read and some of it a bit repetitive but interesting all the same.
July 24, 2014
An eye opening book about cycling legend, altough, author repeat itself for several times which is annoying...
July 18, 2016
This is a really good account of the Armstrong fairytale.... But I found it quite repetitive in places. Overall worth reading though
February 15, 2013
Some good background info in a ongoing saga
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews