(photo courtesy of NBC website) |
...he then discovered Lance was in town as it was his arm blocking him. Hamilton told Outside Magazine that Lance "wanted to get into it" and then Lance began to berate Tyler.
Of course, we have two sides to this story. The article says that Lance is claiming the following:
Armstrong’s version of the encounter is a bit more tame: “I said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’” he says. “It was certainly awkward for both of us. It was truly uneventful.”However, it sounds like the restaurant owners didn't think it was so uneventful. Again, here is the story from Abe Streep of Outside Magazine, who was eating at a restaurant next door when the confrontation occurred:
Hamilton went back to his table and the restaurant’s owner, Jodi Larner, a good friend of Armstrong’s, told Hamilton that he could finish his meal but wasn’t welcome back at the restaurant. I was eating dinner at a restaurant next door...(and) as we walked out we passed Hamilton, who was shaken. And...that’s pretty much where the story ends: two guys who don’t feel very kindly toward one another ran into each other at a bar. “I was rattled,” Hamilton told me. “I still am.”Here is what I would ask Lance about the two accounts of this story:
If the encounter was, as you say, "truly uneventful" and all you said was "Hey, what's up?" then why did the owner of restaurant decide to take such a drastic measure as to tell Tyler he was no longer welcome at the restaurant?The one thing I find uneventful these days is when an athlete who has been cheating the system for years doesn't tell the truth!
According to positngs on CyclingNews.com, Armstrong was apparently in Tennessee that morning for a ride. He then flew to Aspen. The Outside event and Hamilton's involvement were know to the public and, one must assume, Armstrong. That Armstrong showed up and confronted Hamilton appears to be a possible instance of premeditated intimidation of a potential Federal trial witness. Mr. Armstrong is walking very close to a line he will not wish to cross. Such hubris can be very costly--20years in a Federal slammer.
ReplyDeleteTarik Fabiani has a major PR problem on his hands. I'll bet the FBI is already on their way to CC to collect any security tapes and interview witnesses. I'll also bet that someone in the bar area caught it all on a smart phone. Ms. CC owner better hope her version stands up. Aiding in the cover up of witness intimidation is a felony, as far as I recall.
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