33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong

People I (Mostly) Admire

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture

4.6 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2021

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

He’s the C.E.O. of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which, under his charge, exposed the most celebrated American cyclist as a cheater. And Steve’s been studying cheaters for the last 25 years, so he’s also excited to talk to Travis about the incentives to cheat and the advances in testing technology — and offers his services as an anti-doping data detective for the sport of horse racing.

Transcript

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0:00.0	My guest today, Travis Tigard, is the CEO of Ushada, the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
0:10.0	And if it weren't for Travis, this infamous exchange...
0:12.5	So here we go.
0:13.8	Never would have happened.
0:14.8	Yes or no.
0:15.8	Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?
0:19.6	Yes.
0:20.6	Yes or no?
0:23.2	Was one of those banned substances, APO?
0:26.2	Yes.
0:27.5	That, of course, is Lance Armstrong's infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey from 2013.
0:33.0	The one where he called his cycling career one big lie,
0:36.1	publicly acknowledging that he adoped to when his seven tour de France titles.
0:40.3	Lance didn't come forth voluntarily.
0:42.8	For over a decade, he had vehemently denied that he'd used the drug Arithra Poitin,
0:47.3	better known as APO, aggressively suing those who suggested he adoped.
0:51.5	It looked like Lance had finally put the rumors to rest once and for all,
0:54.9	when in 2012, Ushada, Travis's organization, published a 1,000-plus page report,
1:01.7	what they called their reason decision that detailed evidence of the quote,
1:05.8	most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program
1:09.7	that sport has ever seen, unquote.
1:12.1	It included testimony from 11 of Lance's teammates.
	...

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