Tag: USADA

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Floyd Landis Guilty of Defamation

As if the UCI/Armstrong/USADA case could get any more convoluted, a Swiss court has found former Tour de France winner Floyd Landis guilty of defamation against the International Cycling Union after claims he made during a German TV interview back in 2010 regarding payments for silence. Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 TdF title for his own doping violations, had stated that the UCI accepted money from Lance Armstrong in order to assure their non-action after a positive test in the 2001 Tour de Suisse. The UCI, for their part, concur that a payment of $100,000 (£62,200) was offered and accepted, but that this was a donation to help finance anti-doping measures. Landis has been banned from repeating the allegations, ordered to pay compensation of 10,000 Swiss Francs (£6,630) to both current and former UCI presidents Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen and been obliged to publish the courts verdict at his own expense in a number of publications which are believed to include L’Equipe and the Wall Street Journal. A post-hearing UCI statement read: ‘The defamation judgment upholds and protects the integrity of the UCI and its presidents.’

 

In two month’s time the same court will hear a further defamation case, this time against Irish journalist Paul Kimmage, brought by the UCI. The former Sunday Times journalist had made, and reported on, similar allegations to those of Landis (and had interviewed Landis as part of his reporting) and his book ‘Rough Ride’ also seems to have irked the UCI. Regarding their legal action against Kimmage the UCI have stated:  ‘Mr. Kimmage had made false accusations that defamed the UCI and its Presidents, and which tarnished their integrity and reputation… Mr. Kimmage is free to express and make public his opinions within the limits of the law and of the truth. False accusations are unacceptable and unlawful and the UCI will defend itself against all such accusations as any other citizen or entity has the right to do.’ Supporters of Kimmage (and, arguably, free speech) have launched a support fund to help meet legal costs; £26,000 has been raised to date.

 

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UCI versus USADA

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has fired its fiercest salvo yet at the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) over its continued feet-dragging in charges levelled at Lance Armstrong. In a strongly worded press release the UCI President, Pat McQuaid, said: ‘It is over a month since USADA sanctioned Lance Armstrong. We thought that USADA were better prepared before initiating these proceedings.’ Following Armstrong’s decision not to further challenge allegations of doping made by the USADA, he was dealt a lifetime ban and stripped of his record seven Tour de France wins – but this has yet to be ratified by the UCI who are clearly growing agitated by the lack of progress in the preparation of case files.

 

The UCI statement continues: ‘The UCI had no reason to assume that a full case file did not exist but USADA’s continued failure to produce the decision is now a cause for concern… It seems that it would have been more useful for USADA to have used the time of the Tour de France, the Olympic Games and the Road World Championships to prepare their case in full rather than to make announcements.’ It also contains the slightly withering comment: ‘The UCI assumes that the reasons for any difficulty in putting the evidence together will be explained in USADA’s decision…’

 

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Armstrong Loses Titles

Lance Armstrong’s decision not to take the charges levelled against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency to arbitration have resulted in the USADA stripping him of his seven Tour de France titles and triggered an immediate lifetime ban. Armstrong has continued to deny all the allegations against him but earlier posted a lengthy statement saying that he has effectively resigned the fight against the charges of doping which date back over many years and focus on the use of both steroids and blood-boosting EPO, saying ‘Enough is enough’ and reiterating his own charge that the USADA are conducting an effective witch-hunt against him, using bullying and intimidation to drum up evidence. Armstrong has also noted that the USADA do not, in fact, have strict jurisdiction over the matter and are not in a position to strip him of the titles. This appears not to have stopped them from doing so. Cyclo will keep you posted…

 

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Armstrong: ‘Enough is Enough’

In an official statement seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has announced that he will no longer fight the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) over doping allegations dating back to his World Tour days, saying, ‘There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now.’ USADA say they will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his Tour de France titles, despite Armstrong, the UCI and USA Cycling making clear that they have no jurisdiction to do so.

 

Armstrong was faced years of accusations focusing on illegal blood transfusions and steroid and EPO (blood booster) abuse, but has consistently made himself available for testing and passed every test with a 100% clean bill of health. Yet the rumours and more recently the USADA witch hunt has continued. Now Armstrong – who is currently banned from his new passion for triathlon by the actions of the USADA – appears to have resigned himself to the position, saying of the Tour de France days, ‘I know who won those seven Tours, my team mates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together…’

 

He concludes his statement saying, ‘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… 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.’

 

To read Lance Armstrong’s full statement visit lancearmstrong.com

 

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Doping Shambles

Dr Michele Ferrari has been given a lifetime ban for doping offences dating back more than a decade, but has called the charges against him ‘false and ridiculous’, claiming he has never witnessed doping within pro cycling teams. In fact to clarify – although this makes things more complicated – the ban was given because: ‘he had not responded to or contested the charges’, whilst the Italian claims he never received any official communication from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and only learned of their decision from the media. Further confusion comes as cycling’s governing body the UCI claim that Ferrari didn’t even hold a current training license.

 

Dr Ferrari enjoyed a long and close relationship with Lance Armstrong – the seven-time Tour de France winner calling him ‘a friend and a trusted adviser’ – but all formal links were reportedly broken after Farrari was convicted (though later acquitted) of sporting fraud in 2004. Amongst the ‘new’ charges were that he conspired with two other doctors (Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral and Jose ‘Pepe’ Martí) along with Armstrong to ‘…cheat by trafficking and administering performance enhancing products’ – including the use of olive oil to mask the presence of testosterone. In a statement on his website Ferrari claims that the use of olive oil is purely mythological, stating, ‘This is an old legend that has circulated for years in the peloton, a sort of magical mixture to fantasise over while sipping a beer’

 

The debacle continues and Cyclo, as always, will keep you posted…

 

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Armstrong Defiant

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has been formally charged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) with doping offences relating to EPO, blood transfusions, the use of testosterone and so called ‘masking agents’ during the period between 1998 and 2011. Armstrong confirmed on Twitter that he had received the 15 page letter from the USADA and has, obviously, strenuously denied all charges. All this despite the fact that the US Attorney’s Office dropped its own investigation into the misuse of federal funds (for doping) back in February – these allegations relating to Armstrong’s tenure with the US Postal Team. It is believed that the new charges are based, in part, on the anecdotal evidence of former riders Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton (both proven doping cheats) which formed a central part of the Attorney General’s Office’s aborted investigations.

 

Armstrong’s rebuttal has been both swift and characteristically robust; posting a statement on his website (lancearmstrong.com) that reads: ‘AUSTIN, TX – June 13, 2012 – 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. These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation. These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge. USADA’s malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play.’

 

It continues, ‘I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence.’

 

Cyclo will keep you posted…

 

Image courtesy and (c) lancearmstrong.com