Tour de France

[Chazza]

Really good that documentary.

Saw it on the plane a few months back.

[RichC]

The wife of Frankie Andreu comes across as quite bitter almost to the point it's making me think a lot of her issues was it wasn't her husband in the limelight.

[RichC]

Brilliant documentary

[Chazza]

Good isn't it but what a piece of work Armstrong is.

[dom9]

A completely obnoxious ******. Nasty piece of work.

Will he be jailed?

[Chazza]

20th June

A US federal judge has rejected Lance Armstrong's bid to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit that claims he and his former cycling team – which the US Postal Service had sponsored – defrauded the government in a scheme to use banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong, 42, was in 2012 stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned for life from racing by the US Anti-Doping Agency after it accused him in a report of engineering one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in sports.

Armstrong, who had long denied using performance-enhancing drugs, admitted in January 2013 to doping and faces several civil lawsuits that could drain the fortune he accumulated as one of the world's most popular and successful athletes. His net worth, according to the New York Times, was estimated at $125m in 2012.

Floyd Landis, who lied about his own doping before confessing, originally brought the lawsuit in 2010 under a federal law, the False Claims Act, that lets whistleblowers pursue fraud cases on behalf of the government and obtain rewards if successful. He stands to gain up to 25% of whatever sum the government recovers.

The justice department joined the case in February 2013, hoping to recoup some of the estimated $40.5m that the Postal Service paid from 1998 to 2004 for its logos to be displayed by Armstrong and his teammates from the now-defunct Tailwind Sports Corp during races.

Damages in the case before Judge Robert Wilkins in Washington, DC, could top $100m, court papers show. In dismissing Armstrong's application to throw the lawsuit out, Wilkins said complaints brought by the government and Landis were "rife with allegations that Armstrong had knowledge of the doping, and that he made false statements to conceal the doping and the attendant obligation which would have resulted if the government had known of the doping".

Court papers submitted by Armstrong's lawyers this month show the government has been seeking more than $105m from Armstrong, Tailwind and former team manager Johan Bruyneel.

The sum reflects triple damages under the False Claims Act for claims made after 10 June 2000, which was 10 years before the lawsuit began, the papers show.

In Thursday's decision Wilkins also denied Bruyneel's request to dismiss the lawsuits against him.

Armstrong's lawyers have argued that the Postal Service benefited from the valuable exposure it got from its sponsorship and that the lawsuit has been brought too late.

[Fredo]

A completely obnoxious ******. Nasty piece of work.

Will he be jailed?

Complete ****. I'm hopeful charges against him are still being pushed so as to completely discredit him, and more importantly, make him pay for all the millions he's robbed off American taxpayers.

[RichC]

I think it's bigger than just Armstrong though, he's a complete piece of work but how did he get away with it year after year without some serious help at the top of the sport.

Have to say most in and around the Armstrong doping scandal come across as nasty pieces of work looking out for themselves.

[Liverpool]

See todays stage winner tried to kiss the model and got kb'd

[RichC]

just seen that; brilliant!

[Chazza]

Lance Armstrong documentary on BBC4 at the moment.

Yeah watching it, ****ing hell he was so aggressive with what he was doing.

Almost as if he felt untouchable.

Really good that documentary.

Saw it on the plane a few months back.

Brilliant documentary

Good isn't it but what a piece of work Armstrong is.

Actually I think the one I saw was 'The Armstrong Lie' which is on Channel 4 at 9pm.

[Shaggy]

I watched The Armstrong Lie last night. Nearly three hours long

**** me. That guy. A total narcissist and sociopath.

[dom9]

I'm all Armstronged out. 2 long documentaries in 2 nights. That's plenty.

[Fredo]

**** me. That guy. A total narcissist and sociopath.

Absolutely.

I hope the law breaks him in time.

[RichC]

I think they need to get out of him who else was involved, he was made into a global superstar and others certainly benefited from it happening; I mean look at the huge spike in interest in cycling itself has had from Armstrong being this miracle man coming back from cancer to win 7 tours.

I'd be surprised if there aren't some senior officials out there stuck right in the middle of this entire affair.