Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Lance Armstrong and Big Bucks

This article on the Bicycle.net website goes into some of the details of the potential financial repercussions of the lifetime cycling ban given Lance Armstrong by the USADA.  All of his endorsement contracts with the likes of Trek, Nike and Oakley have gone up in smoke, court decisions made in his favor may be contested again and the organizers of the Tour de France might seek the return of prize money awarded to Armstrong, although it's been reported in the past that he shared the winnings with members of his team.  Perhaps, since it's a team sport, they, too, will have to return these winnings.


Lance Armstrong wearing the leader's yellow jersey in the Tour de France, followed by 1997 Tour winner and banned doper Jan Ullrich.

The most curious statement in the article is this:  Armstrong, who reportedly has an estimated net worth of $125 million....  It doesn't say who, exactly, reports this figure, but even if it's remotely close to the truth it's an astonishing sum.  The fact that an individual can amass such an amount of wealth by riding a bicycle about  Europe in July, even with sponsorships and endorsements, is mind-boggling.

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