It was only back in February that the U.S. Justice Department announced it was dropping its two-year criminal conspiracy and fraud investigation of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his former partners in the US Postal Service cycling team.
Yet on Tuesday Armstrong's troubles started all over again. The US Anti-Doping Agency sent him a 15-page letter listing charges against the cyclist and cancer survivor. In it, the agency alleges that some of Armstrong's blood samples from 2009 and 2010 were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions," according to a report by the Washington Post.
These allegations alone both prevent him from competing now as a triathlete in the Ironman series, his most recent pursuit, and could more significantly strip Armstrong of previous victories, including those seven TdF titles which made him a legend.
In addition to Armstrong, the agency is accusing five others of involvement in a massive doping conspiracy that lasted from 1998-2011. Those accused include team manager Johan Bruynell and three doctors, based in part on the testimony of at least ten cyclists who claim they either saw Armstrong engage in doping activies or heard him talk about them.
Do you believe Lance was a clean racer? Comment below.
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Comments
How much money is wasted chasing Lance Armstrong ? They have been trying to get him for years. All there really doing is making a bunch of rich lawyers richer !!! ENOUGH !!!
If the samples were consistent with EPO in 2009 and 2010, why didn’t they say something then? The fact that they waited three years is shady. The man is retired. I don’t see how ruining Lance helps the sport or makes it any less dirty. Time to end this ridiculous witch hunt and move on. They had many years to bust Lance and they didn’t do it. It’s not like they don’t have enough to worry about with the likes of Contador and other current racers. They need to focus on the present, not the past.
I think every elite cyclist since the late 90′s has been doping. Those who didn’t couldn’t compete. Let’s just all admit it and stop the prosecutions. If Lance was doping, he was the smartest and safest doper of all, as he was never caught and his blood tests were always in the safe range. We have enough real crime out there, stop wasting resources on this.
Whether he participated in doping or not back in those days, because of the amount of time and failure to indict until now, has now become a waste of money and serves no useful purpose. Concentrate on the sport of cycling now and for the future. If Lance was doping, he has already paid his price and in many ways has made restitution. The U.S. Anti-Doping agency is creating more harm than Lance could have ever done. They are the true “Dopes” here!