Philadelphia Bicycle Racers Think Lance Armstrong Did The Right Thing, At Last
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Now that Lance Armstrong has admitted using banned substances while winning international bicycle racing titles (see related story), what's the reaction in the Philadelphia area cycling community?
At Bicycle Therapy, near 22nd and South Streets in center city Philadelphia, owner Lee Rogers has followed the ups and downs of Lance Armstrong's career.
For most of it, he was in Armstrong's corner.
"I was pretty upset with the whistleblowers, I've got to admit," says Rogers (far left in photo), who has owned the bike shop for 22 years.
But the evidence has been overwhelming, and the admission was a major reversal for the famed cyclist.
"The man doesn't sleep at night. Maybe he just found that in order to live a healthier life he's got to let it go," Rogers said today.
Bicycle Therapy service manager Andrew Satinsky recalls how dominant Armstrong was between the late '90s and 2005, during which he won a record seven consecutive Tours de France.
"I think he was the best athlete in cycling," says Satinsky (at right in photo). "He was also the best at cheating. If he was only one of those things, he wouldn't have accomplished what he did."
Despite the accusations that Armstrong cheated his way to the top, both men at Bicycle Therapy agree he revolutionized cycling's training techniques.
