http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/sports/lance-armstrong-faces-new-doping-charges.html

Lance Armstrong Faces New Doping Charges
By JULIET MACUR
Published: June 13, 2012


Lance Armstrong faces new doping charges that could lead to his being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, according to a letter from the United States Anti-Doping Agency that was sent to Armstrong and several of his former cycling colleagues.

The letter, which was sent Tuesday and signed by the antidoping agency testing results manager, informed Armstrong that the agency had initiated a formal doping procedure against him. The inquiry means Armstrong, who retired from professional cycling in 2011, will be ineligible to compete in triathlons, a sport that has been his recent focus.

Armstrong, 40, was scheduled to compete in a triathlon in France this month, and had hoped to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in the fall. But triathlon rules bar from competition any athlete who is being formally investigated for doping.

The letter, which was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday, describes some of the evidence against Armstrong.

The allegations start with doping rules he allegedly violated during his stints with the United States Postal Service cycling team, the Discovery Channel team, the Astana team and the RadioShack team. The time frame begins in 1996 and stretches through 2010, the final year Armstrong rode in the Tour.

The witnesses to the conduct described in this letter include more than 10 cyclists as well as cycling team employees, the letter said.

Armstrong is accused of using the blood booster E.P.O., blood transfusions, testosterone, human growth hormone, corticosteroids, and saline and plasma infusions to boost his performance or mask his use of banned substances.

The notice was sent to Armstrong through his Washington lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, and also sent to Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's longtime team manager and the current manager of the RadioShack Nissan Trek cycling team; Pedro Celaya, the team doctor for the RadioShack team; Luis Garcia del Moral, the former team doctor for the Postal Service team; Michele Ferrari, Armstrong's longtime personal coach; and Pepi Marti, a former team trainer on the Postal Service squad.

He's wearing some oak's here:
http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/13/lance-armstrong-banned-triathlons-doping/

That really sucks!

I'd be disappointed if Oakley just dropped him. I can understand them dropping new sponsorship personalities (like Flores), but they've stuck by LA for a long time, so I'd think/hope they'd take a "innocent until proven guilty" stance.

Haven't we heard this rumor before.

I think Oakley has plans to release a Livestrong Fast Jackets around the fall... will be interesting to see if that takes place.

As for the investigation... let it go already! i would rather my tax dollas be spent elsewhere... like maybe testing the viscoity of ketchup.

yes this rumour has raised its head several times, floyd landis, greg lemond to state a couple, but its never gone to formal proceedings, so will be very interesting to see where it goes........

I'd be more interested by Landis testmony than the Lemond's one! I think that Lemond is just jalous...

But depite theses new dopping charges i don't think that Oakley will let LA down.

As long as it just allegations I dont see the O making an issue of it. Also you have to remember that the Livestrong Foundation is bigger than Just Lance at this point. So if proven guilty you might see them (and the Livestrong Foundation) stray away form using Lance in marketing but you probably will not see the Livestrong Line go away.

Thats just my opinion.

Im probably in the minority but im so sick of hearing about performance enhancing substances. I dont care what they use honestly. I truly believe most all of them use them therefore it doesnt really give any one person an adantage when everyone is using them.

o_O Can't believe that I'm reading that.

I don't want to start a stormy debate, but would you like your kid to begin taking health threatening substances (like most of doping substances are) to enhnace their performance, just because professional does it, so why not them ?

I hear ya, and I'm not wanting to debate it either just my overall opinion. I just personally don't think it gives one an advantage over all when I feel all are doing it. I'm certainly not saying I feel it's right, I am just personally sick of hearing about it, from baseball to cycling.

i have to agree with francois, back in the 90's i was a semi pro cyclist on the eurpean continent and to my knowledge all the riders were clean....yes there are some that take substances, who come out in the wash later on, but most are honest hard working/naturally elite athletes that have a passion for cycling and work bloody hard..

to say you dont care what they use is basically saying its acceptable when its not.....

drug use has excisted in all sports at all levels for a long time, its just a case of who gets found out...but just because a few get found it doesnt mean everyone is uding them and it certainly doesnt make it acceptable.

my opinion :)

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/ABC_Sports/29675364#news/ABC_Sports/29675364

A phone recording by Greg Lemond of a conversation in 2004 he had with Armstrongs Oakley Eyewear liaison: Ms. Stephanie McIlvain, as mentioned in the new story.

she says "how many people he has given false hope to...it is the must disgusting thing ever"


more

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/ABC_Sports/29675364#news/ABC_Sports/29662918

They say they have cold hard proof:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/ABC_Sports/29675364#news/ABC_Sports/29662972

I do like the armstrong oakley line however..the colour combination.

Although I would like to believe that Lance did it clean... unfortunately, with the sheer number of witnesses from all different aspects of his life/career, it appears that he is probably guilty. Why would so many people accuse him if it was untrue? I highly doubt that "everyone is out to get him".

Very, very sad.

Wow.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lance-armstrong-faces-big-decision-165515351--spt.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/usada-will-strip-armstrong-of-his-seven-tour-titles-impose-life-time-ban/article4496416/

This is huge.

No way!!

Seriously, can they really take his titles back and leave other cyclists run as they like ?
He's been the first for a long time, but other guys running just behind him are not clean either. That's just stupid.

Total BS. I call it a witch hunt. He earned those titles and for them to even suggest they will take them is absurd. I read somewhere this morning a statement from LA stating they didn't have the authority to strip him of his titles, but time will tell. A very sad story indeed. Unfortunately, it's more wasteful use of federal dollars.

What Oak said... Wow.

its a shame, but i feel it was only a matter of time

does the fact he has chosen to not fight it admit guilt?

this will set a precedance but more importantly the livestrong foundation was built on his past, his successes and his profile, now this is ruined it will be interesting to see what happens to his foundation and all those people who looked up to him for what he 'believed in'....

this aside, he has still raised millions for his foundation to support those with cancer-that you cant take away from him.

he wont be last, he is just the most high profile

lets hope people learn from this

As far as his relationship with Oakley is concerned; Oakley won't terminate their relatioship with the Lance Armstrong foundation, like their other athletes who respect and honor the ethics of sports, until proven otherwise.

Am I the only one who thinks he actually WAS doping? Floyd Landis said Armstrong was doping, Tyler Hamilton said he did, many around Armstrong have admitted to doping. I guess I understand that there isn't a bloody syringe or anything concrete, but come on. At some point you have to ask yourself are all these people lying or is just one person lying?

Several of the people that are claiming the saw him dope were doping themselves and got a deal to say they witnessed him dope.

I have no doubt as the owner of the Tour of Nevada Bicycle Shop said about Lance a former rider in the Nevada City California Bike Race when I asked him years ago "All professional athletes take whatever they believe they can get away with."

My problem with the persecution of some of the star athletes in the United States is what lengths and at what expense the authorities have gone to. Does any citizen think that going after Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens or Marion Jones made our country a safer better place to live? Not to mention the colossal waste of tax dollars. In Lances case one press guy made a salient point. The French hated Lance. If they could have proved he doped nothing would have pleased them more.

I have little doubt Levi Lepheimer, and one of the most respected cyclists in the peleton George Hincapie (see defenders comments) doped also. How fair was a deal in exchange for testimony against Lance that let them finish the TDF and race in the US PRO Cycling Challenge while USDA went after Lance? While I personally am saddened that I believe Lance did risk his cancer recovery health by using PEDS, coming after him seven years after the fact is wrong. Do any of you believe the average NFL offensive or lineman is genetically gifted to weigh over 300 lbs? We pillory the cyclists and turn the other cheek for the other sports.

Excuse me I have to go watch some preseason NFL football.

K