http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/armstrong ... 6395033251THE US Anti-Doping Agency is bringing doping charges against cycling champion Lance Armstrong, in an action that could cost him his seven Tour de France titles.
Armstrong, who retired from cycling last year, could face a lifetime ban from the sport if he is found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.
The story was first reported today by the Washington Post.
The charges from USADA come just months after federal prosecutors closed a two-year criminal investigation of Armstrong without indicting him.
Armstrong lashed out at the US Anti-Doping Agency on his website, saying they want to brand him a drugs cheat based on "discredited" allegations.
"I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned," Armstrong said in a statement.
Armstrong said the witnesses cited by USADA were the same ones who spoke to federal investigators during a two-year probe which eventually ended without any criminal charges being brought.
"These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity," Armstrong said.
"Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge," added Armstrong, who spoke of the agency's "malice" and "star-chamber practices".
The Washington Post reported that USADA had written to Armstrong and seven others alleging the agency had collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions."
According to the Post, which obtained a copy of the letter, USADA claims it has witnesses to the fact that Armstrong and five former cycling team associates - including Italian doctor Michele Ferrari and cycling team manager Johan Bruyneel - engaged in a doping conspiracy from 1998-2011.
USADA officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
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Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
it seems as though they will keep gunning for him until they get their man...
does not surprise me one bit!!
does not surprise me one bit!!
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Politically driven !
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Won't change my life one bit......Let them all take drugs I say, then it will be an even contest.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
if he ends up being convicted it will be the final nail in the coffin for the sport imo
he was essentially the face of the Tour de France
he was essentially the face of the Tour de France
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Get your point ruud but we all already know that they're all on drugs and the best chemist wins. Apart from Wiggins of course.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
and the a$$$ of Mike Rannruud wrote:if he ends up being convicted it will be the final nail in the coffin for the sport imo
he was essentially the face of the Tour de France
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
God is an Englishman wrote:Get your point ruud but we all already know that they're all on drugs and the best chemist wins. Apart from Wiggins of course.
of course......
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
it all depends on the situation around zebriske, liepheimer, van de velde and hincapie and wether they testify or not, i believe there is no evidence on lance, and i believe he is clean, it just depends if they have anything on these 4 or what the story is, everyone will shut up shop until after the tour then we will see
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
they all take things just be sure not to be on it when you get tested...simple.
look at usain bolt how the hell can he go 9sec something in 100m when ben johnson went 10.00sec and he was on steroids at the time...lol better drugs these days thats all.
look at usain bolt how the hell can he go 9sec something in 100m when ben johnson went 10.00sec and he was on steroids at the time...lol better drugs these days thats all.
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Roger bannister was the first to run the mile under 4 minutes, does that mean anyone beating that now is on drugs?
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
No of course not, but Usain bolt ran 9.58 for 100m and ben johnson did it at 10.00 so usain is almost a half second faster than a drug cheater......go figureGod is an Englishman wrote:Roger bannister was the first to run the mile under 4 minutes, does that mean anyone beating that now is on drugs?
Roger bannister ran under 4min in 1954 drugs were not all that common as they are in todays world.
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Quickski wrote:No of course not, but Usain bolt ran 9.58 for 100m and ben johnson did it at 10.00 so usain is almost a half second faster than a drug cheater......go figureGod is an Englishman wrote:Roger bannister was the first to run the mile under 4 minutes, does that mean anyone beating that now is on drugs?
Roger bannister ran under 4min in 1954 drugs were not all that common as they are in todays world.
Ben Johnson ran 9.79 in the final and from memory the top 4 all were under 10 seconds that day - Bolt Runs 9.58. That's a whopping 2% improvement. In that time we've had better training and nutrition etc but NO, they're all on drugs.
Now since Bannister ran his mile, there's been a 7% improvement but there's no drugs there!
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
Lance Armstong's Statement of August 23, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense.
I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.
If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right.
USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.
Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour de France titles, ban him from cycling for life
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Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
DAM wrote:USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour de France titles, ban him from cycling for life
who?
I'm assuming united states anti doping authority - in which case they surely have as much jurisdiction over the tour de france as I do.
In that case, I hereby strip all tour de france winners (except for 2012) of their titles and declare myself as the rightful winner.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
then how is he guilty?il principe wrote:they don't need to.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
but his 7 titles were won before the biological passport came inil principe wrote:biological passport.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
DOC wrote:have they produced a positive sample of his?
Lance Armstrong
If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
he didnt have one, but the principles are the same. compare his blood samples, and hey bingo, what do you know?
either way, GIAE is right about jurisdiction. stupid USADA.
either way, GIAE is right about jurisdiction. stupid USADA.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
during his reign of 7 titles no one had a passport, they were brought in a few years agoil principe wrote:he didnt have one, but the principles are the same. compare his blood samples, and hey bingo, what do you know?
either way, GIAE is right about jurisdiction. stupid USADA.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
you've missed the point or you haven't read about the evidence they used to charge him.DOC wrote:during his reign of 7 titles no one had a passport, they were brought in a few years agoil principe wrote:he didnt have one, but the principles are the same. compare his blood samples, and hey bingo, what do you know?
either way, GIAE is right about jurisdiction. stupid USADA.
Re: Lance Armstrong faces doping charges
he should only lose hit titles if there is a positive test or dodgy passport from 99-05, which is impossible as there where no passports back thenil principe wrote:you've missed the point or you haven't read about the evidence they used to charge him.DOC wrote:during his reign of 7 titles no one had a passport, they were brought in a few years agoil principe wrote:he didnt have one, but the principles are the same. compare his blood samples, and hey bingo, what do you know?
either way, GIAE is right about jurisdiction. stupid USADA.
if they get him over his comeback years then rub him out of the third place place he got