On Saturday morning, Armstrong, 47, tweeted his day was “made” after he passed Pence, 60. “I can’t drop many people on a bike these days but I just blew the f**kin’ doors off Mike Pence on a Nantucket bike path,” he wrote. Day. Made."
The jocular comment prompted pearl-clutching conservatives to mock Armstrong’s testicular cancer, his past steroid use and even the 13-year age gap between the two men.
Armstrong, who was stripped of seven Tour de France titles for his role in the largest doping scandal in cycling history, was blasted by a wide range of Pence supporters—including Donald Trump Jr.
“Wow dude you’re a real bad ass,” tweeted the president’s son on Sunday. “Did you need to use steroids this time too or was that just to cheat others out of wins throughout your career? #dope.”
“That is dope,” posted Christian conservative Carmine Sabia, editor of the Federalist Papers website, making light of Armstrong being caught using performance-enhancing drugs in 2012.
“It takes a lot of ball to say something like that,” responded “free-speech extremist” Kat Pixie, mocking the removal of one of Armstrong’s testicles after being diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer in 1996.
Sebastian Gorka, a right-wing radio personality and former deputy assistant to President Trump, tweeted, “[Lance Armstrong], one of the most dishonest men in the World, attacks @VP Mike Pence, one of the most honest and decent men in America.”
Armstrong appeared to take the backlash in stride, responding to his critics late Saturday: “Some people can’t take a joke or even having a little fun on twitter. Lightin’ [sic] the f*ck up people. But seriously, I did blow his doors off!!”
Critics continued laying into Armstrong on Sunday, though, with conservative blog PJ Media gleefully suggesting he was “stripped of [a] participation trophy.”
“Wow, a pro athlete whooped an elderly man in the sport of his choice!! Such a badass you are!! ,” one irate Twitter user replied to Armstrong. “Sooo… the guy who cheated to win all his championships now thinks it’s winning to ride a bike faster than a 60 year old who wasn’t even trying to race him… got it.”
The vice president and his wife, Karen, are visiting Nantucket this weekend for a series of Republican Party fundraisers and a meeting with Republican Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.
Pence has not publicly acknowledged seeing Armstrong in Nantucket this weekend.
