![NIH-lancearm2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/NIH-lancearm2.jpg)
For much of the second phase of his career,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
faced constant allegations of
doping, including
doping at the Tour de France
There have been allegations of doping in the Tour de France since the race began in 1903. Early Tour riders consumed alcohol and used ether, among other substances, as a means of dulling the pain of competing in endurance cycling. Riders began ...
and in the
Lance Armstrong doping case
The Lance Armstrong doping case was a major doping investigation that led to retired American road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong being stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles, along with one Olympic medal, and his eventual admis ...
. Armstrong vehemently denied allegations of using
performance enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where ban ...
for 13 years, until a confession during a broadcast interview with
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
in January 2013, when he finally admitted to all his
cheating in sports Cheating in sports may refer to:
* Cheating
* Cheating in baseball
* Cheating in bridge
* Cheating in chess
* Cheating in esports
* 1994 Formula One cheating controversy
* Cheating at the Paralympic Games
* Doping at the Olympic Games
* Doping at t ...
, stating, “I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times”.
Background
Lance Armstrong had been criticized for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of
doping, such as sports journalist
Paul Kimmage
Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for ''The ...
and cyclist
Christophe Bassons
Christophe Bassons (born 10 June 1974) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. His career ended when he spoke out about doping in the Tour de France.
Origins
Christophe Bassons was born in Mazamet, France, in the Tarn department. ...
.
Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the
1999 Tour de France
The 1999 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 86th edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti-D ...
which made references to doping in the
peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
. Subsequently, Armstrong started a confrontation during that Tour where he rode up alongside Bassons on the
Alpe d'Huez
L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
It is part of th ...
stage to, according to Bassons, tell him "it was a mistake to speak out the way I do and
rmstrongasked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation of riders. Then he said, 'Why don't you leave, then?'" Armstrong later confirmed Bassons' story in an interview with the French television station
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is par ...
, saying, "His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home."
Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s, referred to Armstrong as a "
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in cycling".
He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his "admiration for dopers" at a press conference at the
Tour of California
The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the ...
in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong.
This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in the British newspaper ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
''.
David Walsh, a ''Sunday Times'' reporter referred to by Armstrong as a "little troll", revealed in a 2001 story that Armstrong had ties to controversial Italian doctor
Michele Ferrari
Michele Ferrari (born 26 March 1953) is an Italian physician, cycle sport, cycling coach and author, who is mostly known for his role in supplying bicycle racers with Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drugs, notably Erythropo ...
. Two years later, Walsh's book ''
L.A. Confidentiel
''L.A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong'' (''L.A. Confidential: Lance Armstrong's Secrets'') is a book by sports journalist Pierre Ballester and ''The Sunday Times'' sports correspondent David Walsh. The book contains circumstantial ...
'' alleged, based on testimony by Armstrong's former
masseuse
Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...
Emma O'Reilly, that clandestine trips were made to pick up and deliver doping products to Armstrong's team.
Until his 2013 admission, Armstrong continually denied using illegal
performance-enhancing drug
Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...
s and described himself as the most tested athlete in the world. However, a 1999 urine sample showed traces of
corticosteroid
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involv ...
; a medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for
saddle sores
A saddle sore in humans is a skin ailment on the buttocks due to, or exacerbated by, horse riding or cycling on a bicycle saddle. It often develops in three stages: skin abrasion, folliculitis (which looks like a small, reddish acne), and finally ...
which contained the substance.
O'Reilly claimed that team officials conspired with a compliant doctor to falsify Armstrong's prescription, and that Armstrong never had the condition. She also claimed that, on other occasions, she was asked to dispose of used syringes for Armstrong and pick up strange parcels for the team.
From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong claims that he submitted to twenty-four unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities. All of the tests were negative for performance-enhancing drugs.
U.S. federal prosecutors pursued allegations of doping by Armstrong from 2010–2012. The effort convened a grand jury to investigate doping charges, including: taking statements under oath from Armstrong's former team members and other associates; met with officials from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
; and requested samples from the
French Anti-Doping Agency
The French Anti-Doping Agency (, AFLD) is an independent public authority formed in 2006 and charged with ensuring that participants in sports in France do not violate rules regarding doping.
As a national anti-doping organization ( NADO), the A ...
(AFLD). The investigation was led by
Jeff Novitzky
Jeff Novitzky (born December 15, 1967) is the current Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, the world's largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. He previously served as a special agent for the Food and Drug Admin ...
, an investigator from the
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA), who also investigated suspicions of steroid use by
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
players
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
and
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
. The probe was terminated on February 3, 2012 with no charges filed.
Specific allegations
1995–2005
According to former cyclist
Stephen Swart
Stephen Swart (born Auckland, 5 January 1965) is a former New Zealand cyclist. He began his professional career with British team, ANC-Halfords and rode the 1987 Tour de France with them. After the ANC team folded later that year, he rode for A ...
, Armstrong first began using performance-enhancing drugs during his time with the
Motorola cycling team
The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U.S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years, under the sponsorship of 7-Eleven through 1990 and th ...
in the mid-1990s, and actively encouraged his teammates to do the same. "He was the instigator," Swart told ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''. "It was his words that pushed us toward doing it." Swart also admitted to doping.
Public accusations of doping against Armstrong were made as early as the 1999 Tour de France. Specifically, many European papers contended his victory in Stage 9, where he seemingly ascended
the Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
with almost no difficulty, could not have been possible through natural means. Armstrong adamantly denied this, and the American press generally supported him. Armstrong contended, among other things, that it would have made no sense for him to dope since he lived in France, which has long had some of the strictest anti-doping laws in the world,
for most of the year.
Armstrong was criticized for working with Ferrari, who later claimed that the two were introduced by Belgian cyclist
Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...
in 1995. American cyclist
Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
described himself as "devastated" on hearing of them working together, while Tour organizer
Jean-Marie Leblanc
Jean-Marie Leblanc (born 27 July 1944, in Nueil-sur-Argent, now Nueil-les-Aubiers, Deux-Sèvres) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director of the Tour de France from 1989 to 2007, when he reached pensionable ...
said, "I am not happy the two names are mixed." Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for "sporting fraud" and "abuse of the medical profession", Armstrong suspended his professional relationship with him, saying that he had "zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs" and denying that Ferrari had ever "suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs."
Ferrari was later absolved of all sporting fraud charges by an Italian
appeals court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
, as well as charges of abusing his medical license to write prescriptions. The court stated that it overturned his conviction "because the facts do not exist" to support the charges. Ferrari, however, is still banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the
Italian Cycling Federation
The Italian Cycling Federation or FCI (in Italian: ''Federazione Ciclistica Italiana'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in Italy.
The FCI is a member of the UCI and the UEC.
Purpose
See also
*Italy national cycling team
Exter ...
. According to Italian authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as recently as 2010 in a country outside of Italy.
In 2004, Walsh and fellow reporter
Pierre Ballester
Pierre Ballester (1959) is a French sports journalist. He has written extensively about doping in cycling.
Career
He was a correspondent in London for Agence France-Presse, ''Sport'', and '' L'Equipe''.
Ballester co-wrote '' L.A. Confidentiel' ...
published a French-language book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs, entitled ''L. A. Confidentiel – Les secrets de Lance Armstrong''. On top of O'Reilly's aforementioned allegations, the book also contained Stephen Swart's allegation of doping by Armstrong and others on the Motorola team; this claim was denied by other team members.
Allegations in the book were reprinted in ''The Sunday Times'' in a story by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
, and the paper
settled out of court
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
after a
High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article "meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect." The newspaper's lawyers stated, "''The Sunday Times'' has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression." Ballester and Walsh subsequently published ''L.A. Official'' and ''Le Sale Tour'' (''The Dirty Trick''), further pressing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.
On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson, Armstrong's personal assistant of two years, filed a brief in
Travis County District Court in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of
androstenone
Androstenone (5α-androst-16-en-3-one) is a 16-androstene class steroidal pheromone. It is found in boar's saliva, celery cytoplasm, and truffle fungus. Androstenone was the first mammalian pheromone to be identified. It is found in high concent ...
while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in
Girona, Spain
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...
. Androstenone is not a banned substance, and Anderson stated in a subsequent
deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using such substances. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
2006–2008
In June 2006, the French newspaper ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' reported claims by
Frankie and Betsy Andreu during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
-based insurer who balked at paying a
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
5 million bonus for Armstrong's sixth Tour victory due to the claims raised in ''L.A. Confidentiel''. The suit was settled out of court, with SCA paying Armstrong and Tailwind Sports US$7.5 million, to cover the bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. Betsy Andreu's testimony stated, "And so the doctor asked him a few questions, not many, and then one of the questions he asked was, 'Have you ever used any performance-enhancing drugs?' And Lance said yes. And the doctor asked, 'What were they?' And Lance said, '
Growth hormone
Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in h ...
,
cortisone
Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzy ...
,
EPO,
steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...
s and
testosterone
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...
.'"
Armstrong suggested Betsy may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment, which included steroids and EPO that are taken to counteract the side effects of intensive
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
. The Andreus' allegation was not supported by the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols, or his medical history. According to LeMond, he had recorded a conversation, transcribed for review by
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, in which Armstrong's contact at Oakley, Inc., Stephanie McIlvain, corroborated Betsy's account. However, McIlvain contradicted LeMond's allegations and denied
under oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
that the incident ever occurred.
In July 2006, the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case.
The report cited evidence at the trial, including the results of an AFLD test and an analysis of these results by an
expert witness
An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
. According to the ''Times'',
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n researcher Michael Ashenden testified that Armstrong's levels rose and fell, consistent with a series of injections during the 1999 Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told
arbitrators
An arbitral tribunal or arbitration tribunal, also arbitration commission, arbitration committee or arbitration council is a panel of unbiased adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of arbitration. The tribunal may con ...
the results painted a "compelling picture" that the world's most famous cyclist "used EPO in the '99 Tour."
SCA president Bob Hamman knew his chances of winning the suit were slim, since the language in SCA's contract with Armstrong stipulated that the money had to be paid. However, he believed that the testimony and evidence would prove that Armstrong had doped, and would be enough to trigger an investigation by sporting authorities. Hamman's hunch proved right; before the ''Times'' ran its story on the case, USADA general counsel
Travis Tygart
Travis Thompson Tygart (born 1971) is an American lawyer and CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He is best known for his role in exposing Lance Armstrong's massive doping operation.
Life and career
A native of Jacksonville, ...
contacted Hamman and asked to see the evidence he'd gleaned.
2009–2011
Ashenden's findings were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the AFLD test results. The ''Times'' article also provided information on testimony given by Swart, the Andreus, and an
instant messaging
Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...
conversation between Frankie and
Jonathan Vaughters
Jonathan James Vaughters (born June 10, 1973) is an American former professional racing cyclist and current manager of UCI WorldTeam .
Racing career
Vaughters started competitive cycling in the 1980s, racing in the Red Zinger Mini Classics you ...
regarding blood-doping in the
peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
. Vaughters signed a statement disavowing the comments and stating he had "no personal knowledge that any team in the Tour de France, including Armstrong's Discovery team in 2005, engaged in any prohibited conduct whatsoever." Frankie signed a statement affirming the conversation took place as indicated on the instant messaging logs submitted to the court.
The SCA trial was settled out of court, and while no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong regarded the outcome as proof that the doping allegations were baseless.
On May 20, 2010, former U.S. Postal teammate
Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
– who had previously been stripped of the 2006 Tour title after a positive drug test – accused Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003. Landis also claimed that Postal team director Johan Bruyneel had
bribe
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...
d
Hein Verbruggen
Hein Verbruggen (21 June 1941 – 14 June 2017) was a Dutch sports administrator who was president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) from 1991 till 2005 and president of SportAccord from 2004 to 2013. He was an honorary member of the Inte ...
, former president of the
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues racing ...
(UCI), to keep quiet about a positive Armstrong test in 2002.
Landis admitted there was no documentation supporting his claims. However, in July 2010 the president of the UCI,
Pat McQuaid
Patrick "Pat" McQuaid (born 5 September 1949 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish road racing cyclist.
He had a strong amateur career and a brief professional period, before moving into race promotion and administration in Ireland and globally, s ...
, confirmed that Armstrong made two donations to cycling's governing body: $25,000 in 2002, used by the juniors anti-doping program, and $100,000 in 2005, to buy a blood testing machine.
Landis also maintained that he witnessed Armstrong receiving multiple blood transfusions, and dispensing testosterone patches to his teammates. On May 25, 2010, the UCI disputed Landis's claims, insisting that "none of the tests revealed the presence of EPO in the samples taken from riders at the
2001 Tour of Switzerland." According to
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, "Landis claimed that Armstrong tested positive while winning in 2002, a timeline Armstrong himself said left him 'confused,' because he did not compete in the event in 2002."
In May 2011, former Armstrong teammate
Tyler Hamilton
Tyler Hamilton (born March 1, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racer. He is the only American rider to win one of the five Monuments of cycling, taking Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2003. Hamilton became a professional cycli ...
told
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
that he and Armstrong had together taken EPO before and during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours de France. Armstrong's attorney, Mark Fabiani, responded that Hamilton was lying.
The accompanying ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' investigation alleged that two other former Armstrong teammates, Frankie Andreu and
George Hincapie
George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contador in 2007 an ...
, had told federal investigators that they witnessed Armstrong taking banned substances, including EPO, or supplied Armstrong with such substances.
Fabiani stated in response that, "We have no way of knowing what happened in the grand jury and so can't comment on these anonymously sourced reports." Hamilton further claimed that Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour de Suisse; ''60 Minutes'' reported that the UCI intervened to conceal those test results, and that donations from Armstrong totaling US$125,000 may have played into said actions.
Martial Saugy, chief of the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
anti-doping agency, later confirmed that they found four urine samples suspicious of EPO use at the 2001 race, but said there was no "positive test" and claimed not to know whether the suspicious results belonged to Armstrong. As a result, Armstrong's lawyers demanded an apology from ''60 Minutes''. Instead of apologizing, CBS News chairman
Jeff Fager
Jeffrey B. Fager (born December 10, 1954) is an American television producer who is the former chairman of CBS News and former executive producer of ''60 Minutes''.
Biography
Fager was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to an Episcopalian family, t ...
said the network stood by its report as "truthful, accurate and fair", and added that the suspicious tests which Saugy confirmed to exist have been linked to Armstrong "by a number of international officials".
2012
On February 2, 2012, U.S. federal prosecutors officially dropped their criminal investigation with no charges.
Interviewed by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, Hamilton again insisted that he and Armstrong had routinely doped together. Dismissing the fact that Armstrong had passed numerous drug tests, Hamilton said that he himself had also passed hundreds of drug tests while doping. In the documentary ''The World According to Lance Armstrong'', attorney Jeffrey Tillotson, who represented SCA Promotions in the 2005 lawsuit, stated that he thought that the evidence collected by his legal team showed that Armstrong had been using performance-enhancing drugs since the beginning of his career.
On October 10, 2012, USADA claimed that Armstrong was part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," in advance of issuing its long-awaited report detailing the evidence it acquired. Based on evidence received during the Armstrong investigation and its prosecutions, USADA forwarded its "reasoned decision" document and supporting information to the UCI, the
World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
(WADA), and the
World Triathlon Corporation
The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events.
History
In De ...
. Tygart claimed that:
In December 2012, Armstrong and his attorney, Tim Herman, held a secret meeting at the
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
offices of former Colorado governor
Bill Ritter
August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...
in an attempt to negotiate a reduction of Armstrong's lifetime ban down to one year. The talks fell apart when Armstrong refused to cooperate with Tygart.
1999 Tour de France urine tests
On August 23, 2005, ''
L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
'', a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline "le mensonge Armstrong" ("The Armstrong Lie") that six urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at "Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabry" (LNDD), had tested positive for EPO in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods.
Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, "Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in a strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected.' I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs."
In October 2008, the
AFLD gave Armstrong the opportunity to have samples taken during the 1999 Tours de France retested. Armstrong immediately refused, saying, "the samples have not been maintained properly." Head of AFLD Pierre Bordry stated: "Scientifically there is no problem to analyze these samples – everything is correct" and, "If the analysis is clean it would have been very good for him. But he doesn't want to do it and that's his problem."
In October 2005, in response to calls from the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) and the WADA for an independent investigation, the UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the LNDD. Vrijman was head of the Dutch anti-doping agency for ten years; since then he has worked as a defense attorney defending high-profile athletes against doping charges.
Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing.
The report said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest they "constitute evidence of anything."
The recommendation of the commission's report was no disciplinary action against any rider on the basis of LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and the LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority.
The WADA rejected these conclusions stating "The Vrijman report is so lacking in professionalism and objectivity that it borders on farcical."
The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured
Dick Pound
Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming (sport), swimming champion, lawyer, and Spokesperson, spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti ...
, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong.
In April 2009, Ashenden said that "the LNDD absolutely had no way of knowing athlete identity from the sample they're given. They have a number on them, but that's never linked to an athlete's name. The only group that had both the number and the athlete's name is the federation, in this case it was the UCI." He added, "There was only two conceivable ways that synthetic EPO could've gotten into those samples. One, is that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the '99 Tour. The other way it could've got in the urine was if, as Lance Armstrong seems to believe, the laboratory spiked those samples. Now, that's an extraordinary claim, and there's never ever been any evidence the laboratory has ever spiked an athlete's sample, even during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, where you would've thought there was a real political motive to frame an athlete from a different country. There's never been any suggestion that it happened."
Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report: "According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same (chronological) order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage." The Vrijman report also says, "''Le Monde'' of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France".
2013 confession to doping
In an interview with
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
that aired on January 17 and 18, 2013, on the
Oprah Winfrey Network
Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel.
The network is led by talk show h ...
, Armstrong finally confessed that he has used banned performance-enhancing drugs throughout much of his cycling career, most recently in 2005. He admitted that he used EPO, human growth hormone, and
diuretics
A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...
, and that he had
blood doped as well as falsifying documents saying he passed drug tests. Doping helped him for each of his seven Tour de France wins, Armstrong told Winfrey. According to USADA, samples from Armstrong taken in 2009 and 2010 as well are "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions". Armstrong is fighting to avoid paying millions of dollars in prize money back.
In a 2016 speech to
University of Colorado, Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...
professor
Roger A. Pielke, Jr.
Roger A. Pielke Jr. (born November 2, 1968) is an American political scientist and professor, and was the director of the Sports Governance Center within the Department of Athletics at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the Un ...
's Introduction to Sports Governance class, Armstrong stated he began doping in "late Spring of 1995".
[ (at 5m20sec)]
See also
* "
A Scause for Applause
"A Scause for Applause" is the thirteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated sitcom '' South Park'', and the 236th episode of the series overall.
It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 31, 2012. The ...
" – a parody of the controversy by ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
''
References
{{Doping at the Tour de France
History of doping allegations
Doping cases in cycling
Investigative journalism
Lance Armstrong doping allegations
For much of the second phase of his career, American cyclist Lance Armstrong faced constant allegations of doping, including doping at the Tour de France and in the Lance Armstrong doping case. Armstrong vehemently denied allegations of using ...
Doping at the Tour de France
Allegations