FOOTLOOSE AND…
For a guy who still vigorously denies that he doped his way to seven Tour de France bike riding championships, the evidence against Lance Armstrong in a new U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report is overwhelming. Our former hero is a phony of the highest persuasion — and, according to the mountain of evidence, a liar without equal.
In a 164-page report, laden with sworn testimony provided by former teammates plus a host of other insiders, the facts showed he used erythropoietin, testosterone and corticosteroids, and frequently used transfused blood. Perhaps even more scurrilous, Armstrong introduced teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team to his favorite banned drugs, plus his favorite Italian “Doping Doctor” Michele Ferrari.
And various bits of sworn testimony also implicated USPS team director Johan Bruyneel, team doctors Pedro Celaya and Luis Garcia del Moral, and trainer Jose (Pepe) Marti.
Also add team “soigneuse” (masseuse) to the official squad of cooperating doping helpers. She disposed of Armstrong’s used syringes, covered his needle marks with makeup and retrieved pills in Spain to relay to Armstrong in France. Armstrong’s public posturing continued as he continued to claim “he never failed a test.” But, not truly surprising, he did admit to doctors at Indiana University Medical Center where he was being treated for Stage III testicular cancer in October 2006 that he had used human growth hormone, cortisone, steroids and testosterone.
Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from competing, recently resigned from his chairmanship of his post-racing prized project, a foundation to fight cancer. Interestingly, the key man in accelerating the downfall of Lance Armstrong was Jeff Novitzky, the same FDA investigator who connected Barry Bonds and Marion Jones to steroids. While it’s shameful that Armstrong still refuses to come clean, with the USADA report easily available, it truly doesn’t matter.
