Lance Armstrong denies the new doping charges
Lance Armstrong has strongly denied his involvement in doping after he was accused of using performance enhancing drugs on Thursday. The troubled cyclist Floyd Landis, while confessing his own cheating, dragged in the seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong as well. A little before the start of the fifth stage of the Tour of California, while rejecting the accusations he said to the reporters that, “It’s our word against his word.” In 2002, Landis joined US Postal and teamed with Armstrong in three Tour de France campaigns.
Talking about Landis, Armstrong commented that he had lost his credibility some years ago and said that there was nothing that Armstrong needed to hide or to run from.
The UCI showed a lot of anger to the charge that Armstrong and Bruyneel setup concessions with former UCI President Hein Verbruggen to have a positive doping test by Armstrong hidden from authorities during the 2002 Tour of Switzerland. Members from UCI showed their deep shock by Landis’ statements as they had already noted that Armstrong, who was the winner of the Tour of Switzerland in 2001, did not even take part in the 2002 race.
Armstrong, out of distress only commented that it made everybody just a little too confused.
George Hincapie is the other cyclist who had been implicated in the charges by Landis. Hincapie commented on the whole scene by saying that he was really disappointed by the allegations. In 2006, Landis’ Tour de France title was taken away after he tested positive for high levels of testosterone. He now believes that he and other cyclists from the U.S. carried blood transfusions and also used steroids and the synthetic blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) to keep their performances up to the mark.
Later, after disclosing the emails sent to cycling officials and sponsors by Landis, the Wall Street Journal reported that, Landis had told the media group that Armstrong taught him the techniques of doping. He also added that an official of the International Cycling Union (UCI) was also involved with them who assured that the positive tests would not be exposed.
ESPN.com, the famous sports news site informed that Landis had confirmed to them that he himself sent those emails confessing the use of performance-enhancing drugs. He added that he does not feel any guilt for what he did. As per him, it was what he needed to do to after the hard work he had put in for a stretch of 10 to 12 years. As per him, he sent the emails only to clear his conscience. He thought that many of the cyclists still do this.
Jim Ochowicz, who now leads Hincapie’s current BMC Racing, is another of the former USA Cycling official who had been accused in this case by Landis. In all his surprise, he said that these allegations were not true and were made without any proof. Pat McQuaid, the UCI president while giving his views to the BBC, scrutinized the possibilities that Landis had an agenda and that it was obvious that he had done this in relation to some grudges. He told that the guy is probably seeking some revenge. He further said that what ever the motives behind this were, doping allegations were sad for cycling.
The USA Cycling or the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency did not comment at all about this case owing to their internal policies.
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