FanShot

ARMSTRONG CHEATED IN '93 CORESTATES

6

"Pfft, so what." You say? "Who cares? What's the big deal?" You say? Just when youI think, your my memories can't be changed anymore, this shows up. You see, the '93 USPro Champs in Philly (then referred to as Corestates, by me anyway), was the very first pro bike race I ever saw. After a perfectly awful 1992 for me personally, I was flying high back in '93. Got advanced at work. Had a steady girlfriend (who lived in Philly). Had a rock-solid friendship with some buddies. Things were going good. Went to Philly to catch the race and MAN! What a show! The crowds. The teams. The course. The Motorcycle cop escort in perfect formation. The stage was set perfectly for this cocky new pro, "the next Greg Lemond" to be the first to win the Million Dollar Triple Crown. My girlfriend's BFF’s, who 1) lived on Pechin St (top of the Manayunk Wall) and 2) was dating (and eventually married) my best friend, parents threw a big 2 kegger party, we spent most of the day hanging out around Manayunk (Roxborough section of Philly). I was standing right there on that last trip up the Wall when Armstrong attacked! It was furious! There was no way anyone could follow that wheel! Roy Knickman of the Coors Light team in an interview later, said when Armstrong attacked, he saw the future of cycling...and he wasn't a part of it. AND NOW, you're telling me that's not how I saw it? My memory is supposed to change? After that breakaway we high-tailed it down to the S/F line (my girlfriend lived a few blocks away) and the crowd was insane. I was on the curb and people were stacked up at least 3-4 deep behind me. Lance came flying solo down for the Ben Franklin Pkwy loops and he was playing the crowd, buddy, lemme tell ya! And now? Now I guess I gotta rearrange my internal hard-drive. Oh well, there were the 2 kegs up in Manayunk. I know this sounds personal, but MAN! Just when you think we've exhausted this LA thing, we find more stories below the barrel bottom.