Lance Armstrong says he's the Voldemort of cycling

Lance Armstrong compares himself to Voldemort

It’s been a while since we heard from, or about, Lance Armstrong. Once upon a time, he was America’s greatest sports hero, a man who recovered from cancer to win a staggering seven Tour de France titles.

But he’s now a pariah and a liar (a pariar? a liariah?), after being proven to have used steroids to win those titles (to which Armstrong famously confessed to Oprah).

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In an interview with the Telegraph, in which Armstrong opened up about his reputation, he made quite the comparison:

"“I’m that guy everybody wants to pretend never lived,” he says. “But it happened, everything happened. We know what happened. Now it’s swung so far the other way… who’s that character in Harry Potter they can’t talk about? Voldemort? It’s like that on every level. If you watch the Tour on American TV, if you read about it, it’s as if you can’t mention him.”"

Voldemort, for those unaware, is the villain of the Harry Potter series: a deadly, nose-less wizard who perpetuated mass genocide in JK Rowling’s fictional version of England.

So, basically Lance Armstrong. After all, steroid use makes you a supervillain in the eyes of some overzealous sports fans.

Voldemort murdered countless people, and Lance Armstrong took steroids to try to get better at cycling. Same thing, right?

(And yes, I do understand what he was trying to say, and he said it well. It’s just more fun to make these kinds of comparisons).

Actually, Armstrong pretty much made a perfect analogy there. He has gone from the sport’s golden boy to someone everyone seems afraid to mention, and cycling has suffered for it. In the Telegraph interview, Armstrong says he has been punished enough, and that he wants his lifetime ban rescinded, or at least reduced. It may be a pipe dream, but like much like Pete Rose, if he keeps trying, something good may happen.

Until then, he remains He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Wizards shudder when his name is uttered, in fear that he may one day return from the dead, with the help of Peter Pettigrew and Harry Potter’s blood, as part of an elaborate plan that makes no sense no matter how many times you read it. Sorry, what were we talking about?

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Lance Armstrong says he’s the Voldemort of cycling

By Stanford Crissey | Jun 12, 2015

Lance Armstrong compares himself to Voldemort

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