Armstrong stranded on road to nowhere
13 Oct 2012 8:39 AM IST
A damning report placing Lance Armstrong at the heart of sports history’s biggest doping programme raised questions about what happens next, with the seven-time Tour de France winner’s career and reputation in tatters. How Armstrong, who has consistently denied systematic doping, managed to evade detection will also dog the sport of cycling, which has sought to improve its image after a series of damaging drug scandals.
Potentially central to the implications of US Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] report, could be a section in the 202-page document entitled ‘Perjury and Other Fraudulent Conduct to Obstruct Legal or Judicial Processes.’ In it, the organisation documents what it says were Armstrong’s ‘false statements under oath... and subject to penalties of perjury’ in legal proceedings in the United States and France concerning accusations of doping violations.
They include statements made denying any links to Michele Ferrari, the former team doctor of the Gewiss-Ballan team, who has been implicated in the possession, trafficking and administration of banned substances and assisting doping.
Armstrong denied being encouraged by Ferrari to take performance-enhancing drugs, using banned substances in his career or seeing team-mates do so. USADA, said the rider’s testimony was ‘materially false and misleading when made.’ The body also accused Texan of trying to ‘procure false affidavits from potential witnesses’ in a US department of justice and USADA case against him in August 2010 to say there was no systematic doping in the team.
The USADA report could not have come at a worse time for Tour organisers, as they prepare to unveil the route for the 100th edition and broaden its appeal beyond its traditional heartland of France and continental Europe. If the allegations and ban against Armstrong are upheld, there is a precedent for replacing Armstrong’s name at the top of Tour de France classification.
Floyd Landis, Armstrong’s former teammate, was stripped of his 2006 title and later admitted doping. Spain’s Alberto Contador also lost his 2010 win to Andy Schleck after a doping violation.
But with the majority of riders who made the podium from 1999 to 2005 having subsequently been implicated in doping cases, finding a winner could be difficult, if not impossible. Armstrong’s future in triathlon, in which he has become a prominent competitor, could also be in doubt, because the sport appears split on whether he should be allowed to take part. ‘I don’t want to see the sport as a place where dopers come when they can’t compete in anything else,’ Paulo Sousa, a veteran triathlete and coach, told The New York Times.
Armstrong’s sponsors, including sportswear giant Nike, have so far not withdrawn their support but he could yet face a financial hit if he has to repay millions of euros in prize money for his Tour victories and win bonuses.
Potentially central to the implications of US Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] report, could be a section in the 202-page document entitled ‘Perjury and Other Fraudulent Conduct to Obstruct Legal or Judicial Processes.’ In it, the organisation documents what it says were Armstrong’s ‘false statements under oath... and subject to penalties of perjury’ in legal proceedings in the United States and France concerning accusations of doping violations.
They include statements made denying any links to Michele Ferrari, the former team doctor of the Gewiss-Ballan team, who has been implicated in the possession, trafficking and administration of banned substances and assisting doping.
Armstrong denied being encouraged by Ferrari to take performance-enhancing drugs, using banned substances in his career or seeing team-mates do so. USADA, said the rider’s testimony was ‘materially false and misleading when made.’ The body also accused Texan of trying to ‘procure false affidavits from potential witnesses’ in a US department of justice and USADA case against him in August 2010 to say there was no systematic doping in the team.
The USADA report could not have come at a worse time for Tour organisers, as they prepare to unveil the route for the 100th edition and broaden its appeal beyond its traditional heartland of France and continental Europe. If the allegations and ban against Armstrong are upheld, there is a precedent for replacing Armstrong’s name at the top of Tour de France classification.
Floyd Landis, Armstrong’s former teammate, was stripped of his 2006 title and later admitted doping. Spain’s Alberto Contador also lost his 2010 win to Andy Schleck after a doping violation.
But with the majority of riders who made the podium from 1999 to 2005 having subsequently been implicated in doping cases, finding a winner could be difficult, if not impossible. Armstrong’s future in triathlon, in which he has become a prominent competitor, could also be in doubt, because the sport appears split on whether he should be allowed to take part. ‘I don’t want to see the sport as a place where dopers come when they can’t compete in anything else,’ Paulo Sousa, a veteran triathlete and coach, told The New York Times.
Armstrong’s sponsors, including sportswear giant Nike, have so far not withdrawn their support but he could yet face a financial hit if he has to repay millions of euros in prize money for his Tour victories and win bonuses.
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