Fresh on the heels of a scandal, Hollywood movie studios are in a bidding war to win the rights to make a film based on Lance Armstrong’s downfall. Though in the early stages, Matt Damon is said to be the favorite to play the disgraced 7-time Tour de France winner.
The upcoming movie will be based on Armstrong’s former teammate Tyler Hamilton’s book “The Secret Race,” in which Hamilton details of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program” in all of sports.
An insider told The Sun, ”Most sports films end in an inspirational victory. It’s hard to work out what the ending would be.”
This would be the second Armstrong project Damon has been linked to. Damon was in line to play Armstrong in the now-dropped Sony adaptation of Armstrong’s memoir, It’s “Not About the Bike,” which was to be produced by Bourne franchise’s Frank Marshall.
Damon’s representatives denied the actor will narrate the upcoming Alex Gibney directed Armstrong documentary.
Last week, Lance Armstrong announced he would not contest performance enhancing charges against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. New reports revealed federal agents interview Armstrong’s former fiancé Sheryl Crow, which is leading many to suspect could have been the smoking gun.
The seven-time Tour de France winner was stripped of his titles and received a lifetime ban from the sport. While Armstrong maintains his innocence, many questioned why the most dominant athlete in sports would not attempt to clear his name. According to the New York Daily News, Crow was subpoenaed in late 2011 in the agency’s two-year investigation.
After battling steroid allegations for the majority of his career, Armstrong said, “There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough’. For me, that time is now.” This week, Armstrong’s former teammate Tyler Hamilton is releasing a memoir,“The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs.”
In it, Hamilton alleges Crow stayed in an apartment in Girona, Spain that Armstrong used to store performance-enhancing drugs to teammates before major races. Crow’s attorney, Jay Cooper told the Daily Mail, “I’m not going to comment one way or the other.”
Crow and Armstrong began dating in 2003 before announcing their engagement in September 2005. The couple broke up in February 2006, just after Armstrong won his 7th Tour de France title and subsequently retiring from the sport.
News has surfaced that this year’s Tour de France winner Alberto Contador failed a drug test. Small traces of a banned substance were found in the three-time Tour de France winner’s urine. Since Floyd Landis already tried the whiskey excuse back in 2006, Contador explains food contamination is to blame for failing. Contador tested positive on July 21, during the final stages of the tour and says he ate a bad steak.
Clenbuterol is sometimes given to cows, pigs and other animals to increase their growth rate but has never shown up positive in a drug test.
Contador beat second place rider Andy Schleck (Luxembourg) by 39 seconds. Next to Schleck, the next happiest guy is Lance Armstrong, who has stolen the cycling headlines (the few headlines that they have) for steroid allegations.
Cyclists may not have a conscious when it comes to steroids, but that’s a whole other story when it comes to rider adequate.
The cycling world is in the midst of a controversy over the yellow jersey winner. During yesterday’s Stage 15, Andy Schleck started the race with an 38-second lead over second place Alberto Contador. As Schleck attacked during the final climb of Stage 15 his bike chain derailed cuasing him to stop and fix his bike. Contador capitalized on Schelck’s misfortuentes, passing the rider and taking the lead by eight seconds.
Many are claiming Contador’s move was in violation of cycling’s unwritten rule not to pass a rival during their misfortene i.e mecanical or crash. Earlier in the Tour, Contador waited for Schleck when he crashed, but Schleck felt betrayed by Contador after he attacked while he fixed his bike chain. “I’m really disappointed. My stomach is full of anger, and I want to take my revenge. I will take my revenge in the coming days” Schelck said.
The Tour enters what many to believe is the most difficult stage today.