Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong (35 page)

“That,” Hincapie says, is “like Osama bin Laden hosting an antiterrorism conference.”

When I ask about Armstrong’s family, he tells me he hasn’t seen his father in nearly forty years. He insists that he never, not even once, asked his mother about his father or that side of the family. Why would he have gone to the funeral?

“Ninety percent of what I know about that family I’ve read from her book,” he says.

I ask the question a dozen different ways. I wonder if his turning his back on his father, and basically saying he had never been a Gunderson, was the denial that began the pattern of lies that would come to symbolize his life.

You never were curious about your dad? You never thought about him or his family? You never wondered about your roots?

He stops me midsentence. “You’re asking me a question,” he says. “ ‘Did it ever cross my mind to look up those people?’ I’m going to answer the question, then I’m going to follow up. The answer is no. You are asking me, so I’m thinking about it now: No. I mean, I go on long bike rides and think and never in my life have I said, I got to go home and find these people. Never. The follow-up is maybe that means I’m just extremely fucked up. I don’t know.”

I ask about his adoptive father, Terry Armstrong, and he stops me again. “Terry Armstrong was batshit crazy, certifiable, eew! So weird, such a weirdo. I’ll never talk to him again.”

Does he remember anything about Terry coaching him or pushing him as an athlete?

No, Armstrong says. He doesn’t remember ever playing youth football or Terry being involved with his sports. “I do remember him showing up here at the ride in Austin and we had to call the police to have him escorted out. Oh, yeah, he was making a lot of people very uncomfortable.”

By the time I arrived in Austin, Armstrong had lost his status as the city’s superstar. The mayor had removed Armstrong’s autographed yellow Tour de France jersey from a trophy case in city hall. There is talk of renaming the city’s main bike route, which is now called the Lance Armstrong Bikeway. Once, people were proud of him. Now, when he tried and failed to enter a U.S. Masters swimming race here in the spring of 2013, the registrar saw his application and said, “This poor guy has the same name as Lance Armstrong, the cyclist. Oh, how unfortunate.”

All that, Armstrong can take. He can rebuild his life. But it’s going to be tough without the blood rush of competition. As it stands, his lifetime ban from Olympic sporting events means he is disqualified from most running events, triathlons and swimming meets.

But Armstrong is convinced that a lifetime ban in cycling doesn’t mean his athletic career is over. The way he and his lawyers see it, it’s only a few years before he’ll be free to compete in another sport, before he’ll return to triathlons and win the Ironman World Championship. “It’s fucking rock and roll, baby,” he says.

The thought stirs in him the old urge to bend the future his way. As he sits on his couch, under those yellow jerseys, reminders of who he had once been and what he had once accomplished, I see Armstrong’s hands curling into fists.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T
his book exists because my former editors at the
New York Times
, Tom Jolly and Kristin Huckshorn, assigned me to write about Tyler Hamilton, who tested positive for blood doping in 2004. That story kicked off years of reporting about cycling, doping and Lance Armstrong. Tom and Kristin, I am grateful for your guidance. Thanks to you and Jill Abramson for bringing me to the paper, an exhilarating place to work. I am also indebted to those editors who approved my leave for this project: Joe Sexton and Phil Corbett for their initial go-ahead, and Jason Stallman and Janet Elder for their blessing. Jason, I appreciate your ongoing support, encouragement and sense of humor. Janet, you are a lifesaver.

I am so lucky to have such exceptional colleagues, including Harvey Araton, Filip Bondy, John Branch, Joe Drape, Sandy Keenan, Jeré Longman, Bill Rhoden and George Vecsey. They told me to write this book because “It’s so easy!” They lied, but I forgive them. Special thanks to Fern Turkowitz and Terri Ann Glynn, who always have my back, and to Patty LaDuca, backfield editor extraordinaire and fellow Jersey girl, who stood by my side throughout the Armstrong coverage. Sandy Padwe, my former professor at Columbia Journalism School, provided invaluable advice. He has guided me through every big career decision, and I’ve relied on him so many times that it’s not even funny. Thank you, Sandy, for always being right.

When assigned to cover the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, I would have been lost if not for the help of generous people. The talented Bonnie Ford has been a wonderful friend. Ian Austin, Rolf Aldag, Connie Carpenter, Davis Phinney, Bob Stapleton, and Matt White were great resources. The wonderful band of brothers and sisters who cover cycling were kind in sharing their knowledge and offering friendship.

I appreciate the people with ties to Lance Armstrong who let me bombard them with questions. Some didn’t want their names used, but their insights guided me. Some allowed me to quote them at length and spend days following them. They include Jonathan Vaughters, David Zabriskie, Allen Lim, Betsy Andreu, Micki Rawlings and J.T. Neal and his family, Frances, Scott and Caroline. Thank you for trusting me with your stories.

All that reporting would never have become a book if not for my plucky agent, PJ Mark at Janklow & Nesbit, who is an unparalleled advocate. PJ, you were a delight to work with, as were all of Janklow’s phenomenal people, especially Dorothy Vincent, Bennett Ashley, Stefanie Lieberman and Marya Spence.

My eternal gratitude to Jonathan Burnham and David Hirshey at HarperCollins for bringing this book to life. Thank you, David, for putting your confidence in me early on. You and Barry Harbaugh helped distill this book into the best narrative it could be, and I’m grateful to you both. Thanks also to others at HarperCollins: Fabio Bertoni and Elissa Cohen for their valuable counsel; Tom Cherwin for his meticulous copyediting; Tina Andreadis, a Barnard sister; Katie O’Callaghan and Kate Blum for their energetic marketing and publicity efforts; and the incomparable Sydney Pierce for cracking the whip.

How can I ever thank my friends and relatives who for years have heard me drone on about cycling? Wendy Dalchau, Rose Greco, Cynthia Grilli, Catherine Ivey, Sylvia Curiel and Jade-Snow and David Joachim deserve awards. Medals for exemplary moral support should go to Christine Macur; Rich, Debbie, David, Daniel, Meghan and Caleb Macur; Christina and Carmine Fiore; Lili Lewandowski; Fran Angiola; my father-in-law, David Michaels; and Teresa Mendoza. My mom, Leokadia, and my mother-in-law, Angela Michaels, were super nannies while I was out reporting. Big hugs to Wendy and Cynthia for opening their homes to me. Another big hug to Rose, who, as she often reminds me, was responsible for my becoming a writer instead of a lawyer.

I was fortunate enough that two of my best friends, Roxanna and Andy Scott, helped with this project. Andy, you are a phenomenal photographer and the best photo editor anyone could want. Roxanna, you are an amazing person, a better friend than I deserve, and the most exacting fact-checker ever. I love you both.

There’s no way I could ever give enough thanks to Dave Kindred for his help as the first reader on this book, the man who talked me through bouts of writer’s block and an ever-patient friend. It seems like yesterday that he told me, “You won’t have to write about NASCAR forever.” I cried with happiness. More than fifteen years later, Dave is still making me cry, but only with gratitude that he has remained my mentor. I feel that I won the jackpot. Without him as a guide, I never could have finished this book, especially on such a tight schedule. Next up, climbing our second fourteener!

I have been blessed to have truly amazing parents, Poles who survived the Nazi forced labor camps in Germany and came to the United States with nothing but their faith in God, determined to build a new life.

My father, Zbigniew, has told me for years that I should write a book. One about Armstrong, a serial liar with a mouth of a sailor, probably isn’t what he had in mind. Still, I will never feel more accomplished than the moment I hand him and my mother inscribed copies.

Thank you, Tata—the world’s greatest soccer player—for sitting with me all those Saturdays while we watched Olympic sports on television. Thank you more for supporting me as an athlete. Your job as a diesel mechanic was not easy and not what you wanted to do with your life, but it gave you the chance to come to my afternoon games and meets. Having you watch over me made me feel so special.

I’ll always remember our time together playing sports that mattered, and even some that didn’t: All those trips to the track to practice hurdling and long jumping. The laid-back sessions of catch during which you taught me to throw a baseball like a rocket. The countless hours we spent shooting hoops. You are an incredible coach and father because you were always upbeat and treated me the same, whether I won or lost, and whether I performed well or not. I fell in love with sports because you made them fun.

Thank you also to my warmhearted and beautiful mother for being my biggest fan. Even when I’d lose a basketball game or a rowing race, she’d applaud with such vigor, it was as if I’d just won an Olympic gold medal. I couldn’t ask for a better cheerleader. Everyone should have a mother like her, someone who believes that everything you write—even the 100-word briefs—should win a Pulitzer. Mama, I love you and Tata so very much. You are the world’s best role models and will forever be my heroes.

The greatest blessings in this good life that my parents made possible are my husband, Dave Michaels, who I love more each day, and our daughter, Allegra, who makes my heart burst with joy. Our Labrador retriever, Chopper, is the best writing partner and foot warmer I could ask for.

Thank you, Dave, for performing daily superhero miracles while I wrote this book. You worked ten-plus hours a day as a brilliant journalist, then kept our household going. What would Allegra, Chopper and I have done without you? Lesser men would have cracked when I took my thousandth phone call about Armstrong, but you remained understanding. You are our guardian angel, the best husband, the best papa and the ballast of our family.

Allegra, someday you’ll read this, and I hope you understand that the most valuable hours of this project were the hours I spent with you. In those happy times, you inspired Mama. I love you more than words can say.

NOTES

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.

T
his book was compiled from information gathered over nearly ten years, from 2004 through the end of 2013, with the bulk of it reported from January to October 2013. The interviews of Armstrong and more than 130 people connected to him took place at cycling races, at people’s homes, in hotel lobbies and in restaurants—and once atop a frozen lake, ice-fishing in Colorado. Some sessions were done on the phone, but most were conducted in person, and many occurred over many hours, over multiple days. Some of the people I interviewed did not want to have their names used for fear of retribution from Armstrong, who they believe continues to wield power in the sport of cycling, and/or in the community because of the work he has done for cancer awareness. Where there are attributed quotes in the text that are not cited in these notes, they derive from personal interviews.

PROLOGUE

A majority of the information used in this section was derived from my one-on-one interview with Lance Armstrong on June 6, 2013, and from subsequent interviews in 2013 with his friends and former colleagues in Austin, Texas.

1 The $10 million estate: Suzanne Halliburton and Shonda Novak, “Austin Home Sold to Oil Businessman,”
Austin American-Statesman
, April 11, 2003.

3 His sponsors have abandoned him: Juliet Macur and Ian Austen, “After the Tears, Some Questions Remain,”
New York Times
, January 19, 2013; Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey, January 17 and 18, 2013.

3 He would owe more than $135 million: Armstrong is facing a $120 million payout if he loses a federal whistle-blower lawsuit. He faces at least two other possible major payouts—$12.5 million or more in a case against SCA Promotions, a company that paid him bonuses for several of his Tour wins, and $3 million in a case against Acceptance Insurance, another insurance company that paid him a bonus.

4 Trek’s revenue: Two people at the company said the revenue was about $300 million in the 1990s and was close to $950 million in 2012.

4 On an income of $12,000: John Thomas “J.T.” Neal, audiotapes recorded April 2000 to fall of 2002; photos of Lance Armstrong’s first apartment in Austin.

5 “
negative-edge
pool:” Interview with Adam Wilk, one of Armstrong’s oldest friends, who said Armstrong scolded him for calling the pool an “infinity pool,” April 2013.

5 “nobody’s going to mess with me”: Nancy Collins, “Lance Armstrong’s Home in Austin,”
Architectural Digest
, July 2008.

5 Armstrong had sold the plane: Paul Tharp, “Third World Moguls Driving Jet Demand,”
New York Post
, February 7, 2013.

6 In 2009, when he decorated: Mark Prigg, “In a Flap: Animal Rights Groups Erupt Over Bike Built for Armstrong,”
Evening Standard
(London), July 24, 2009.

8 they would graduate: Nancy Collins, “Lance Armstrong’s Home in Austin,”
Architectural Digest
, July 2008.

9 At 4:15 a.m.: Interview with Dave Bolch, Lance Armstrong’s personal assistant, 2013.

10 carries a price tag of $70,000: Ibid.

CHAPTER 1

13 As she tells it, the two of them: Linda Armstrong Kelly, promotional videos for her motivational speaking. http://apbspeakers.com/speaker/linda-armstrong-kelly.

13 The boy never met his father: Kevin Sherrington, “Mom’s Support, Cancer Fight Energized Armstrong,”
Dallas Morning News
, July 26, 1999.

13 She said she taught him: Linda Armstrong Kelly with Joni Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me
(New York: Broadway Books, 2005).

13 “How did a single teenage mom”: Ibid., 7.

13 “totally biased, subjective”: Ibid., Acknowledgments.

13 “Someone else might have”: Ibid.

14 Both of Armstrong’s grandfathers: Ibid., 72; interviews with Willine Gunderson Harroff, Lance Armstrong’s paternal grandmother, and Micki Rawlings, Lance Armstrong’s paternal aunt, April 2013.

14 His paternal grandfather was so mean: Betty Ann Gunderson Vowell Freeman Trednick, Gunderson Family Genealogy, January 1, 2006.

14 Armstrong’s father was an alcoholic: Interviews with Willine Gunderson, Micki Rawlings and friends and other family members of Eddie Gunderson who did not want to be identified, April 2013.

14 By the age of twenty, Armstrong had had three different fathers: Dallas County (Texas) court records; Collin County (Texas) court records.

14 “stupid, self-undermining”: Armstrong Kelly, with Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough
, 223.

14 “from poverty with no money”: Linda Armstrong Kelly, Web site for Harry Walker Agency promoting her public speaking engagements. http://www.harrywalker.com/speaker-bureau/video/Linda-Armstrong-Kelly/Armstrong-Linda.cfm.

14 The first step in that process: Armstrong Kelly, with Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough
, 85; interviews with Willine Gunderson Harroff and Micki Rawlings, April 2013.

15 Linda Armstrong has said she was alone: Brad Townsend, “Finishing a Hard Ride, Armstrong Reflects on Road from Cancer to Near-Certain Race Win,”
Dallas Morning
News
, July 25, 1999; Sherrington, “Mom’s Support, Cancer Fight Energized Armstrong.”

15 only without a husband for a year: Dallas County (Texas) court records; Collin County (Texas) court records.

15 her first husband’s family said they helped: Interviews with Willine Gunderson Harroff and Micki Rawlings, 2013.

15 The Gundersons had their own version: The story was compiled through interviews with Willine Gunderson Harroff, Micki Rawlings and several family and friends of Eddie Gunderson and the former Linda Mooneyham, 2013.

15 willingness to help friends steal tape decks: Interview with Micki Rawlings, April 2013; Dallas County court records.

15 nothing like: Documents from the city of Dallas show that the apartment complex that was home to the Gundersons and Mooneyhams was never government-owned housing.

16 “Make love, not war”: Armstrong Kelly, with Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough
, 51.

16 He was named after Lance Rentzel: Ibid., 72; J. R. Eggert, “Lance Rentzel: The Laughter Hasn’t Died,” review of
When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow
, by Lance Rentzel,
Harvard
Crimson
, February 8, 1973.

16 9 pounds, 12 ounces: Lance Armstrong, with Sally Jenkins,
It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
(New York: Berkley Books, 2003).

16 “What’s wrong with his head?”: Interview with Micki Rawlings, 2013.

17 As a minor, he had made frequent appearances: Ibid.

17 his first night in jail: Dallas County court records.

17 Years later, the ex-husband: Article in
Algemeen Dagblad
, the Netherlands, 2005, quoted in Françoise Inizan, “Lance’s Two Fathers,”
L’Equipe
, 2005.

18 “I’m the one that”: Interview with Willine Gunderson Harroff, 2013.

CHAPTER 2

21 as much as $20,000 a pop: Web site for Keynote resource, http://www.keynoteresources.com/LindaArmstrong-Kelly.html.

21 Some newspapers have quoted her: David Tarrant, “Rookie Cyclist on the Fast Track to Becoming a Sports Icon,”
Dallas Morning News
, July 4, 1993.

21 “Sales coached Lance’s”: Armstrong Kelly, with Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough
, 108.

23 He drove himself: Interview with Adam Wilk, 2013.

23 He armed himself with: Interview with Terry Armstrong, 2013.

24 Classmates from middle school: Interviews with several people who went to school with Armstrong. They did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.

25 Although Lance did poorly: Interview with Lance Armstrong, 2013; interview with Terry Armstrong, 2013.

25 Lance Armstrong was fourteen when he learned: Armstrong, with Jenkins,
It’s Not About the Bike
, 23; interview with Terry Armstrong, 2013.

27 “Screw off”: Interview with Rick Crawford, 2013.

28 Crawford later was fired: Interviews with officials at Colorado Mesa University and Scott Mercier, a consultant to the cycling team there, 2013.

28 “No,” he said: Interview with Rick Crawford, 2013.

28 “Can you watch over”: Interview with Scott Eder, Armstong’s manager, 2013.

28 “a coach meets agent”: Interview with Lance Armstrong, 2013.

28 He was only thirteen: Armstrong, with Jenkins,
It’s Not About the Bike
, 22.

29 with Terry Armstrong changing: Interview with Jim Woodman, former triathlon race director, 2013.

29 “Are you Mark Allen?”: Interview with Scott Eder, 2013.

29 Armstrong finished sixth: Robert Vernon, “Triple Threat,”
Dallas Morning News
, July 29, 1989.

29 The next year, Armstrong: Robert Vernon, “Triathlon Winners Keep on the Run,”
Dallas Morning News
, June 13, 1988.

29
Triathlete
magazine claimed: David Tarrant, “Rookie Cyclist on the Fast Track to Becoming a Sports Icon,”
Dallas Morning News
, July 4, 1993.

29 making $20,000 a year: Ibid., 29.

30 Kestrel dropped its sponsorship: Interview with Scott Eder, 2013.

31 Linda Armstrong had tracked: Interview with Terry Armstrong, 2013.

32 His senior year, he: Interview with Adam Wilk, 2013; interviews with Lance Armstrong’s classmates at Plano East High School, 2013. They didn’t want their names used because they didn’t want to be seen as kicking him when he is down.

32 he amazed everyone: Interviews with Connie Carpenter-Phinney, Olympic gold medalist and coach at those junior worlds, and Davis Phinney, Tour de France stage winner, 2013; John Wilcockson,
Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion
(New York: Da Capo Press, 2009), 68–70.

32 He and his mother didn’t: Interviews with school officials at Plano East High School, 2013. Those officials didn’t want their names used because they weren’t authorized to speak about the subject.

32 His mother argued: Ibid.

33 including CNN: Paula Zahn, Kyra Phillips, Sharon Collins, “Profiles of Lance Armstrong, Will Smith,” July 19, 2003.

34 Linda said, well, you: Interview with Tami Armstrong, 2013.

34 “Really?” Interview with Terry Armstrong, 2013; interview with Tami Armstrong, 2013.

CHAPTER 3

35 Part of the information used in this chapter was gleaned from audiotapes made by J.T. Neal from 2000 to 2002 about his life with Lance Armstrong. Much of that information was confirmed by more than twenty interviews of Neal family friends, people in the sport of cycling and Armstrong’s former friends, teammates and workers on his cycling teams. Other details in the chapter were compiled through news reports, or documents, photos and memorabilia in the possession of J.T. Neal’s family.

35 he married into money: His wife, Frances, came from a family that earned its wealth in the east Texas timber industry. Her grandmother, Frankie Carter Randolph, was the first publisher of the
Texas Observer
, a left-leaning newspaper established in 1954.

37 “killer . . . s-o-o-o nice”: David Tarrant, “Rookie Cyclist on the Fast Track to Becoming a Sports Icon,”
Dallas Morning News
, July 4, 1993.

37 Linda Armstrong was pleased: Armstrong Kelly, with Rodgers,
No Mountain High Enough
, 171–72.

39 Pulled over: Arrest report, San Marcos, Texas, August 1991.

40 In Hincapie’s case: J.T. Neal audiotapes. In his 2012 affidavit in the United States Anti-Doping Agency case against Armstrong, George Hincapie recounts being stopped at customs while returning to the United States from Europe in 1996.

40 A coed named Nancy Geisler: Interview with Nancy Geisler, June 2013.

41 “Had I been part of something illegal?”: Ibid.

41 fellow Olympian Timm Peddie: Interview with Timm Peddie, 2013, and another member of the national team who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution from Armstrong.

41 He insisted that Steve Penny: Interview with Steve Penny, 2013.

42 Rule #4: As it turned out, the four cyclists in the poster did use a back door. All four eventually admitted doping, or were suspended for doping or, in Evanshine’s case, for missing a mandatory doping test. Evanshine missed the Olympics because of it. Elliott Teaford, “He Refuses to Be Left Spinning His Wheels,”
Los Angeles
Times
, July 15, 1992.

43 several riders on the Motorola team: Interview with two Motorola riders who didn’t want to be identified because they didn’t want to “rat” on Ochowicz, who is still involved in pro cycling and wields power in the sport.

43 Motorola rider Frankie Andreu: Interview with Stephen Swart, former Motorola rider and Armstrong teammate, 2006 and 2013.
Stephen Swart affidavit, Lance Armstrong v. SCA Promotions, Inc.
, January 11, 2006.

43 Later that night: Ibid.

43 Armstrong would receive the prize money: J.T. Neal audiotapes, 2000–2002.

43 $3,000 to $5,000: Interviews with Stephen Swart, former Motorola rider and Armstrong teammate, 2006 and 2013.
Stephen Swart affidavit, Lance Armstrong v. SCA Promotions, Inc.
, January 11, 2006.

44 selling victories was a common: Joe Parkin,
A Dog in a Hat
, VeloPress, 2008.

44 Armstrong had told Neal: J.T. Neal audiotapes, 2000–2002.

44 Gaggioli took him up on the offer: Marco Bonarrigo, “Armstrong, prima combine a 22 anni,”
Corriere della Sera
, December 13, 2013.

45 “For God’s sake”: J.T. Neal audiotapes, 2000–2002.

45 Armstrong, according to a person: Interview with a person with direct knowledge of the situation who didn’t want his or her name used, 2013.

46 “boy wonder” and playing up: Armen Keteyian, ABC News, interview with Lance Armstrong and Linda Armstrong, June 13, 1993.