I raced through the doping era... albeit not at that level! Fortunately the whole ethos in cycling is very different now. Dopers are a rarity... even compared to other sports. Cycling is in the vanguard of anti-doping sport. You can see it in the racing. No one is head & shoulders above anyone in all events.
What frustrated me about this is the attitude of WADA. The statement of Fahey was simply outrageous - WADA's Fahey! "Armstrong's refusal to fight on means the allegations have 'substance'. WADA have had a tunnel vision battle against cycling which has at certain times been malicious, while at times ignoring other sports which have hidden 'issues'.
The operation puerto scandal is symptomatic -there were many sportspeople implicated in this. Cycist, footballers, tennis pros, athletes. Yet it was only the cyclist that got banned some with essentially heresay evedence.
I - and many others - don't belive USADA have the juristiction to remove titles. They can ban within the US and WADA associated events but only the UCI (&ASO) have the right to strip titles. Period.
I'm not an Armstrong fanboy in any way. The whole 1995-2005ish era is a total write off. Grand tours & classics races especially.
The whole thing is a mess - and it's far from over - the USADA now has to give Armstrong & the UCI all of the evidence. I don't believe for one moment much of it will be admissible in a european court and I'd be surprised if CAS don't nullify some or all of it.
The way the USADA and WADA have gone about this is pretty reprehensible. Bought witness statements in return for protection from prosecution is against every sporting ethics I know of.
It's a chapter that is closed. reopening it is doing no-one any good at all.