[Steve_Seattle]

"While the yearlong probe turned up no major revelations, and found no proof that a payment Armstrong made to the UCI was to cover up a positive test, it suggested doping is still rife in top-level road cycling."

This seems to contradict the headline. The headline suggests that the officials knowingly allowed Armstrong's doping to continue so that - as a superstar - he would help publicize and expand the sport. This would indeed be a major revelation, but the article doesn't support that claim. Maybe the full report does, but the article doesn't.

In fact, there are reasons not to believe it. Armstrong cleverly fooled all the mandatory drug tests; it's not as if the test results were ignored. Moreover, Armstrong was not well-liked, was considered by many in Europe as an outsider, and even many Americans found him a bit prickly. I do not see a huge motive to make him - rather than some European - as the face of the sport.

[Boogieman]

“I do not see a huge motive to make him - rather than some European - as the face of the sport.”

Well, that’s easy. Armstrong had star potential and they didn’t.

[discostu]

There’s 2 really good reasons for Armstrong to be the face of the sport vs a European:
American dollars because for the first time ever Americans gave a crap about the sport en mas
European dollars because getting to root against an American increased interest over there too

There’s a lot of money to be made engaging both American and anti-American fans.