He was racing the top Americans at that point. Cycling was a pretty small sport back then. I had some buddies that rode on the Violet Crown team with him and he definitely was the best we had at that point. So even without doping he would have been a champ. Just not if everyone was doping except the Americans. Cheating these tests was the name of the game I guess.
Too bad because it ruined what could have been an iconic career.