Lance Armstrong was a winner of seven Tour de France titles before the conclusion of a doping scandal investigation, which found him guilty of doping and stripped him of all his titles. As well as his “achievements” in cycling, Armstrong also set up a successful cancer charity, the Livestrong Foundation which helped cancer survivors and their families. I asked students and teachers at my school how they felt about the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Firstly I asked whether they felt if Lance Armstrong should have any lasting legacy, sporting or charitable. Year 11 student Hasnain Iqbal said “Yes, I believe he should .Although he took drugs he helped many suffering with cancer through his charity. He should just be remembered for the charity work he did.” Arjan Sembhi also in Year 11 said, “No, he should not have any legacy, sporting or charitable. The man’s a fraud and doesn’t deserve any honour. His conviction was inevitable, like a house built on sand.” Mrs Markoulides, science teacher said, “His charity work is amazing and his work in the Livestrong Foundation has helped thousands. But his sporting achievements should count for nothing.”

Next, I asked if they agreed with the USADA’s decision to strip Armstrong of his Seven Tour de France titles. Arjan answered, “Definitely, he’s cheated so his wins don’t count. However as he is not the only doper in cycling as others have won with drugs, if they are not also banned surely it is double standards.” Hasnain agreed with Arjan saying, “Yes, the evidence shows he has been shown to have taken drugs, meaning it wasn’t a level playing field .The titles he won aren’t his.” Mrs Markoulides was optimistic with the view, “The general consensus is that he has doped but there is bit of me hoping he hasn’t cheated. He should be punished but there is still a chance he is innocent, until he is proven 100% guilty.”

Finally I asked if the scandal has affected their opinion on the reputation of cycling in general. Mrs Markolides wasn’t pleased, “The scandal has highlighted the scale of doping in cycling and how prominent an issue it is. Hopefully they can refresh the rules and regulations and clean the whole sport up. ”Hasnain felt differently, “I still trust cycling as many of the top cyclists don’t dope including Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish. If Wiggins can win the Tour de France and Gold medals without drugs, surely it can only stop others feeling the need to use drugs.” Arjan had a light hearted opinion with, “I didn’t like cycling before but now its reputation is the worst of all the sports. I’d even watch curling or golf before cycling now!”