Was Armstrong doping in triathlon?
The United States Anti-Doping Agency released their 'reasoned decision' explaining the decision to ban Lance Armstrong.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) yesterday released their ‘reasoned decision’ outlining the evidence against Lance Armstrong and what they describe as “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen.”
Alongside Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, who had already made claims about Armstrong, nine other former teammates (George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer, Jonathan Vaughters, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Frankie Andreu and Stephen Swart) have also given testimony saying that the seven-time Tour winner had taken or distributed performance-enhancing drugs.
There is also detailed evidence of Armstrong’s involvement with Italian doctor Michele Ferrari and, more worringly for triathlon, the suggestion that his work with Ferrari continued through to his preparation for his return to tri.
On page 86 of the USADA decision, it says, in relation to detailed descriptions of communication between Ferrari and Armstrong:
“The forgoing samples from 2009 and 2010 constitue only a small sample of the communications (including emails, meetings and phone calls) which occurred between Armstrong and Michele Ferrari before April 15, 2010, when Mark Fabiani, acting on behalf of Lance Armstrong, issued his unambiguous denial of a professional relationship between Armstrong and Ferrari and said that Armstrong and Ferrari had not seen each other in a year. Fabiani’s statement on behalf of Armstrong was a lie. Indeed, Armstrong’s professional relationship with Ferrari continued even into preparation for Armstrong’s new career in triathlon.”
In addition the USADA have sent a copy of the report to the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
To read the USADA’s reasoned decision in full, go here. There’s also a large amount on the USADA site, and the can be found here.
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
