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Sports of The Times: Cycling May Turn Armstrong Into a Sympathetic Figure Yet

In Lance Armstrong’s profile photo on Twitter, he is standing, arms crossed, in front of a sign that says “PAIN” in big red letters.

Never mind that the sign is most likely sitting just outside a French bakery. Armstrong could be referring to the pain riders are going through as they ride the 2,088 miles of this year’s Tour de France, or he could be pointing out the pain he is feeling after nearly three years of banishment from all Olympic sports — the consequence of his many years of doping and lying about it.