Posted on 10/10/2012 1:39:35 PM PDT by servo1969
Cyclist Lance Armstrong was part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday in preparing to release more than 1,000 pages of evidence in the case.
The evidence involving the U.S. Postal Service-sponsored cycling team encompasses "direct documentary evidence including financial payments, e-mails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong," the agency said.
Armstrong lawyer Tim Herman dismissed what he called a "one-sided hatchet job" and a "government-funded witch hunt" against the seven-time Tour de France winner, who has consistently denied doping accusations.
But the USADA said 11 riders had come forward to acknowledge their use of banned performance-enhancing drugs while on the team. Among them are George Hincapie, Armstrong's teammate during his winning Tour de France runs.
"Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them," Hincapie said in a written statement. "I deeply regret that choice and sincerely apologize to my family, teammates and fans."
Three members of the Postal Service team will contest the accusations, the agency said. They are team director Johan Bruyneel, team doctor Pedro Celaya and Jose "Pepe" Marti, the team trainer. Each will get a hearing before an independent judge, according to the agency.
The agency compiled the evidence as part of its investigation into doping allegations that have dogged Armstrong and the Postal Service team for years. The organization is not a governmental agency but is designated by Congress as the country's official anti-doping organization for Olympic sports.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Ava Gardner in The Night of the Iguana.
Anyone who cheats on his wife is an a- hole.
“did he actually fail a drug test?”
Not that I’ve ever heard of.
It’s my understanding his wife got tired of being married to a guy who rode around on a bicycle all day and told him to get lost.
Any information given on whether or not Hincapie and the "others" may have been granted immunity from scrutiny and stripped of all their medals and winnings if they testified against Armstrong?
As a side note, if their's and Armstrong's doping was part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,", then how and why did Landis get busted if he was part of this super drugging scheme?
Inquiring minds want to know
As a post script, nothing remains a secret in the world of professional sports, especially "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,". If Armstrong and his team were utilizing this super secret formula it's a given that all the other top riders in the world were using it also. That's just the nature of professional cyclists..........
Armstrong IS the greatest cyclist ever and has done more for testicular cancer awareness and the other foundations he supports than any other athlete has.........
This is indeed a witch hunt being conducted by an agency funded by the federal government and totally independent of the World Cycling Federation so their motivation into this attempt to take down Lance Armstrong has to be brought into question......
Not surprising, they have given a pass to all the other top cyclists from the other countries
I love that movie - Burton’s finest, I think. Over the years I’ve spent time down in Mismaloya - it’s so developed now I don’t go back, but it was one of the most beautiful places in Mexico. There was a little cantina right on the beach, and when the tide came in they’d just move the tables and chairs up higher. Drinking beers that cost 12 cents a bottle with the water lapping at your feet... ah....
Correction, that should be the International Cycling Union....(UCI)
Lance Armstrong was a doper, but so was the guy in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, ....
To take away his titles and give them to some other doper seems silly.
Call me credulous but, considering that Armstrong was tested for drugs more than any other athlete in history, I find it easier to believe that he is the victim of a witch hunt than that he did anything wrong.
They should leave the title vacant for those years.
Gee, glad the US post office is still not supporting the US racing team.
How dumb was that?
You said it a lot better than I could.
Night of the Iguana. The only Richard Burton film I could ever stomach.
Anyone who leaves their kids and the wife who helped him through his cancer for Sheryl Crowe, is an a**hole!
Three important issues of our times:
Did Lance Armstrong use dope?
Should the shiny side of aluminum foil go to the inside or outside?
Do you want extra fries with that?
Oh.
I don’t care what they say. Lance Armstrong is still the best cyclist in history.
"Kristin: Marriage problems were "brought on gradually by a number of pressures, rather than one big blow-up. We've been together 4 1/2 years, and we've had six homes, three languages, three countries, one cancer comeback, three children, four Tour de France wins and one rise to celebrity. You're not supposed to cram such a huge amount of events into such a small period of time." 2/2003.
Lance: "The craziest thing is, we're [Lance and Kristin] closer now and better friends than ever before. We're truly committed to maintaining a good relationship, but not a marriage." 9/2003
Landis was not on Armstrong’s team when he got busted.
IMHO, this is a railroad job from the CEO of US-ADA. Lance must have really pissed someone off to get kangaroo-ed. But yet, there was no positive test on him. Either the CEO put out or shut his mouth....
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