Voigt, Armstrong & the doping admission. Is it a kid thing?

Lance. Where is Seis?

The only mystery left after the atomic-tsunami-cyclone USADA Report is why Lance Armstrong hasn’t finally admitted to doping.

We’re way beyond shadow of a doubt. Once Hincapie, Hamilton, Landis, Vaughters, Leipheimer and Vande Velde testified against him, there ain’t no high ground to stand on. You’re the only serial perjurer left standing.

Most every critic, cycling journalist, blogger and fan keeps asking that last question. Why won’t he just admit to doping and get it off his chest. He can move on, we can move one, pro cycling can move on. Why continue to live with the corrosive and poisoning effects of the illegal acts.

Some have used the word pathological to describe his unwillingness to confess in the face of all that damning testimony. Others have guessed that perhaps Armstrong opens himself up to additional prosecution and financial liabilities if he comes clean.

Still others have wondered why he wouldn’t confess for the good of his wife and kids. It’s a tremendous burden for them to live with and it’s not their responsibility to explain the fall of the greatest sports legend of our time. That’s Lance’s job.

We believe that the Armstrong kids angle explains why the Boss can’t spill the doped beans. For example, let’s read what Jens Voigt wrote today in his Bicycling magazine blog about why he never doped.

“I have a family and children, and I am sick—read it from my lips—I am sick of my wife getting asked in the school if I do drugs. I’m sick of getting asked myself at the kindergarten if I dope. I’m sick of having to explain my job to strangers and justify my existence. And for me the line is definitely crossed when my family gets involved and gets stressed out because of the ongoing doping stories in our sport.”

Voigt has six kids and he presents his family as the reason he never doped. Armstrong has five kids and obviously went in the opposite direction with the most sophisticated, professional doping program in sports.

Our theory at Twisted Spoke — Armstrong was one kid short.

All of this terrible mess could have been avoided if Cinqo had been followed by Seis. It’s now clear that five kids was not enough to make the Texan admit to past transgressions. However, if there had been just one more cute little Armstrong, then perhaps the need for truth and honesty would have been more powerful.

We’ve always suspected that it must be tough for the Armstrong kids to go to school and hear the ugly stories, the accusations, the taunting. Sins of father visited on kids. It’s not their crime and it shouldn’t be their punishment — yet when dad stands firm in lying, then the kids are forced to do the explaining.

Our feeling is that for Armstrong the loss of seven Tour de France titles isn’t as bad as losing the respect of his kids. It’s a terrible punishment when children discover that their father or mother has done something awful.

However, five kids didn’t quite have the critical mass of six kids. Jens Voigt is happy to say he has nothing to admit, that he can look his kids in the eye. We feel sad for Lance Armstrong and wonder how he manages that trick.