Armstrong and the doctors were involved in a "pervasive pattern of
doping" said by The United States anti-doping agency (USADA)Lance Armstrong is firing back against new charges of blood doping during his championship run.
The seven-time Tour de France winner vehemently denies the charges.
But experts say that if proven the case would signal that responsibility for doping no longer stops at the athlete.In a statement posted on his website, he said: '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.'He added: ‘These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity.'
Armstrong said that he believes the USADA is motivated by its belief that a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' has been protecting him for nearly two decades.'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.
Armstrong claimed that the witnesses cited by the USADA were identical to the ones who gave sworn statements to federal investigators in California from which no criminal charges were filed.'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.'
In a 15-page letter sent to Armstrong on Tuesday, the USADA alleged that blood samples collected from him during competitions in 2009 and 2010 were 'fully consistent with blood manipulation including erythropoietin (EPO) use and/or blood transfusions.'
According to the original report of the charge sheet in The Washington Post, the USADA alleges that it has sworn witnesses to the fact that Armstrong and five former cycling team associates, including Italian doctor Michele Ferrari and cycling team manager Johann Bruyneel embarked on a conspiracy to conceal doping from 1998 to 2011.If Armstrong contests the allegations then he will be entitled to a trial where evidence will be presented by witnesses under oath and
could be in public or in private depending on Armstrong.
A USADA spokesman told The Daily Breeze that the organisation will continue to pursue its probe.The charges caused the World Triathlon Corporation to suspend Armstrong from all their sanctioned competitions pending resolution of the case. The letter Armstrong received from the USADA alleges that 'multiple riders with firsthand knowledge' can testify to Armstrong using
the performance enhancing drug EPO, blood transfusions and masking agents.
Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005 while riding for the U.S. Postal service team and the Discovery Channel Team and has strenuously
denied using performance enhancing drugs or blood doping during his cycling career.
