Will Armstrong lose CCC title?

AP

Now that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, will organizers of the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend take away Armstrong's CCC title from 1998?

One can only hope. That's what happens when you dope.

The CCC is the longest, consecutively run stage race in America.

Armstrong won the CCC the year before he went on his unprecedented record run in France.

A former teammate of Armstrong's testified that he and his wife heard Armstrong admit using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) as early as 1996.

As we all know now, Armstrong was not only using PEDs, he was also a ring-leader among his many teammates over the years. By getting them involved, Armstrong bet he could keep them silent.

Well, obviously, that strategy failed as many of his former teammates spoke out against him.

Armstrong is wealthy beyond most measures. His former racing teammates are not.

I always thought that Armstrong used drugs to get a competitive edge, so I wasn't terribly surprised when his sordid past caught up with him. I figured most of the racers were using PEDs.

Unfortunately, getting that "racer's edge" has always been a part of sports and always will be. Sometimes that edge is legitimate, many times it isn't.

Drugs or not, it is still impressive what Armstrong "achieved" especially after surviving testicular cancer.

In 25 years, I won't be surprised at all if performance-enhancing drugs, particularly the ones Armstrong used, are considered legal.

That's how the bicycle rolls.

Until then, yank Armstrong's CCC title.