Advertisement

‘Smear Campaign’ May Bring Armstrong Back

Share
Times Staff Writer

Lance Armstrong said Tuesday that recent drug allegations by a French newspaper may inspire him to compete in the 2006 Tour de France, aiming for an unprecedented eighth consecutive title.

“While I’m absolutely enjoying my time as a retired athlete with Sheryl [Crow] and the kids, the recent smear campaign out of France has awoken my competitive side,” Armstrong said in a statement posted on his website. “I’m not willing to put a percentage on the chances [of riding in 2006], but I will no longer rule it out.”

The French national sports newspaper L’Equipe reported last month what it said was proof that the banned blood-doping drug erythropoietin (EPO) had been found in frozen urine samples taken from Armstrong at the 1999 Tour.

Advertisement

Armstrong, 33, questioned the lapses in the protocol of testing a six-year sample and the breach of privacy rules that have been established by worldwide drug testing agencies.

Dan Osipow, manager of the Armstrong-led Discovery Channel team, said a comeback would not surprise him.

“Lance is very proud and very stubborn and he feels like the only way he has right now to prove himself is to come back and win again,” Osipow said. “Lance is really mad, really angry. And he doesn’t back down from challenges.”

Levi Leipheimer, a former Armstrong teammate who now leads the German team Gerolsteiner, said he understood Armstrong’s comments.

“It’s the way Lance is,” Leipheimer said. “He’s thinking he’s proved everybody wrong before, he’ll prove them wrong again.”

And although Leipheimer, who finished sixth in the 2005 Tour, said he would “relish” the opportunity to race against Armstrong again, he added, “Many other people, including the riders, think it would make the Tour more exciting if Lance weren’t there. Most everyone agrees with that, that Lance has dominated the Tour so much during the last seven years. Let’s just say that if Lance rides in 2006 he will be the heavy favorite. If Lance rode and lost next summer and came back the next year, he’d still be the heavy favorite.”

Advertisement

Jonathan Vaughters, another former Armstrong teammate and present coach of the top U.S. development team, TIAA-CREF, was in France on Tuesday with a group of young American cyclists.

“I think there are a lot of people who are over the Lance story,” Vaughters said. “They want to see a new face coming in. Lance himself said that it was time for a new winner.”

The rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which investigates doping allegations against athletes involved in international sports, seem clear. Unless there are two samples -- “A” and “B” -- of an athlete’s blood or urine available to be tested, there can be no sanctions.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) is examining the evidence L’Equipe says it has against Armstrong and is expected to make an announcement of its findings this week.

Jim Ochowicz, president of USA Cycling and a longtime friend of Armstrong’s, said that if Armstrong competes in 2006, win or lose, opinions won’t be changed. “The people who have made up their mind that Lance is clean trust in his reputation that he is the most-tested athlete in history. Those that have come to another conclusion won’t be convinced otherwise.

“If he does compete, Lance is taking on a big challenge. Age is against him. It gets harder every year, and there’s no changing that.”

Advertisement
Advertisement