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In a startling day of allegations, confessions and mea culpas, core members of the cycling teams that helped Lance Armstrong win seven Tour de France titles acknowledged publicly, for the first time, that they had cheated by taking banned substances.
George Hincapie, Armstrong's close friend and teammate during all seven of his Tour de France wins, broke his silence on the matter Wednesday, issuing a statement in which he confessed to doping and acknowledged providing testimony to investigators. Fellow Armstrong teammate Levi Leipheimer, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal, also admitted doping for the first time.
These admissions came as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency?the enforcement arm for drug use in American sports?issued a strongly worded 202-page report detailing its decision to ban former cycling champion Lance Armstrong from competition for life.
The report summarized testimony from a total of 11 former Armstrong teammates who met with the USADA to discuss the use of banned substances and methods on Mr. Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service cycling team. The list includes many of the country's top pro cyclists: Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie. All of these riders have now admitted taking banned substances. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
USADA posted the full report on its Web site.
The testimony and other evidence released today showed what USADA said was a vast network of organized doping orchestrated by Armstrong and a handful of associates that was designed to push human bodies beyond their natural capabilities.
The "evidence is ? clear that Armstrong had ultimate control over not only his own personal drug use, which was extensive, but also over the doping culture of his team," USADA said in summarizing the report. "Final responsibility for decisions to hire and retain a director, doctors and other staff committed to running a team-wide doping program ultimately flowed to him," it added.
"It was not enough that his teammates give maximum effort on the bike, he also required that they adhere to the doping program outlined for them or be replaced," USADA said, referring to Armstrong. "He was not just a part of the doping culture on his team, he enforced and re-enforced it," USADA said.
Armstrong couldn't be immediately reached for comment. He has steadfastly denied doping in his career.
In August, Armstrong was banned for life from competing in cycling and other elite sporting events when he decided not to fight a doping case brought against him by USADA.
In an earlier press release, USADA said it would make available Wednesday more than 1,000 pages of documents, including financial statements, emails and sworn testimony from 26 people.
Tim Herman, an attorney for Mr. Armstrong, had earlier bashed the report and said Armstrong was the victim of a witch hunt. "There is no better example of that targeting and selective, self-serving prosecution than the fact that USADA picked and charged only one athlete, Armstrong, out of a multitude in the alleged 10 plus year multi-team, multi-country conspiracy," Herman said.
Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong was not singled out. "Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution," said Tygart. "He rejected it."
Hincapie, and ten other top American cyclists, including Levi Leipheimer, one of three Americans to finish on the Tour de France podium, have been suspended from competition. According to a person familiar with the matter, USADA handed the cyclists the minimum possible doping ban because they cooperated with USADA's two-year investigation and admitted to their own drug use.
"It took tremendous courage for the riders on the USPS Team and others to come forward and speak truthfully," Tygart said in Wednesday's press release. "It is not easy to admit your mistakes and accept your punishment," he said.
After Armstrong was banned from the sport in August, the cycling's international governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, asked USADA for an explanation of the charges against Armstrong, formerly the sport's biggest star.
USADA responded to the UCI's request by compiling the 200-page report, according to people familiar with the matter. USADA is calling its report a "reasoned decision."
Tygart said in the release that the report is meant to shed light on doping and, ultimately, to change the sport's culture. "We have heard from many athletes who have faced an unfair dilemma ? dope, or don't compete at the highest levels of the sport," Tygart said. "Many of them abandoned their dreams and left sport because they refused to endanger their health and participate in doping," he said.
George Hincapie, Armstrong's close friend and teammate during all seven of his Tour de France wins, broke his silence on the matter Wednesday, issuing a statement in which he confessed to doping and acknowledged providing testimony to investigators. Fellow Armstrong teammate Levi Leipheimer, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal, also admitted doping for the first time.
These admissions came as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency?the enforcement arm for drug use in American sports?issued a strongly worded 202-page report detailing its decision to ban former cycling champion Lance Armstrong from competition for life.
The report summarized testimony from a total of 11 former Armstrong teammates who met with the USADA to discuss the use of banned substances and methods on Mr. Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service cycling team. The list includes many of the country's top pro cyclists: Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie. All of these riders have now admitted taking banned substances. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
USADA posted the full report on its Web site.
The testimony and other evidence released today showed what USADA said was a vast network of organized doping orchestrated by Armstrong and a handful of associates that was designed to push human bodies beyond their natural capabilities.
The "evidence is ? clear that Armstrong had ultimate control over not only his own personal drug use, which was extensive, but also over the doping culture of his team," USADA said in summarizing the report. "Final responsibility for decisions to hire and retain a director, doctors and other staff committed to running a team-wide doping program ultimately flowed to him," it added.
"It was not enough that his teammates give maximum effort on the bike, he also required that they adhere to the doping program outlined for them or be replaced," USADA said, referring to Armstrong. "He was not just a part of the doping culture on his team, he enforced and re-enforced it," USADA said.
Armstrong couldn't be immediately reached for comment. He has steadfastly denied doping in his career.
In August, Armstrong was banned for life from competing in cycling and other elite sporting events when he decided not to fight a doping case brought against him by USADA.
In an earlier press release, USADA said it would make available Wednesday more than 1,000 pages of documents, including financial statements, emails and sworn testimony from 26 people.
Tim Herman, an attorney for Mr. Armstrong, had earlier bashed the report and said Armstrong was the victim of a witch hunt. "There is no better example of that targeting and selective, self-serving prosecution than the fact that USADA picked and charged only one athlete, Armstrong, out of a multitude in the alleged 10 plus year multi-team, multi-country conspiracy," Herman said.
Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong was not singled out. "Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution," said Tygart. "He rejected it."
Hincapie, and ten other top American cyclists, including Levi Leipheimer, one of three Americans to finish on the Tour de France podium, have been suspended from competition. According to a person familiar with the matter, USADA handed the cyclists the minimum possible doping ban because they cooperated with USADA's two-year investigation and admitted to their own drug use.
"It took tremendous courage for the riders on the USPS Team and others to come forward and speak truthfully," Tygart said in Wednesday's press release. "It is not easy to admit your mistakes and accept your punishment," he said.
After Armstrong was banned from the sport in August, the cycling's international governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, asked USADA for an explanation of the charges against Armstrong, formerly the sport's biggest star.
USADA responded to the UCI's request by compiling the 200-page report, according to people familiar with the matter. USADA is calling its report a "reasoned decision."
Tygart said in the release that the report is meant to shed light on doping and, ultimately, to change the sport's culture. "We have heard from many athletes who have faced an unfair dilemma ? dope, or don't compete at the highest levels of the sport," Tygart said. "Many of them abandoned their dreams and left sport because they refused to endanger their health and participate in doping," he said.
