Levi Leipheimer accused of doping

When Floyd Landis accused Lance Armstrong and his US Postal team of widespread doping, he also named other Americans as cheaters including Levi Leipheimer. Apparently, Floyd Landis isn't the only one claiming that Levi Leipheimer also doped. Now Leipheimer's former team manager is saying that Leipheimer was doping after he was on the US Postal team with Lance Armstrong. Here are some key quotes from an article on CyclingNews:

(Levi's former manager) said the blood readings were so abnormal that he was advised by International Cycling Union (UCI) to take the American off the race. 

"It was clear to me: Leipheimer had manipulated," Holczer said Wednesday. 

Holczer claimed that the UCI told him during the race's first rest day that Leipheimer's blood readings had an off-score co-efficient of 132.8, only 0.2 under the limit of 133. A normal score is 85-95, and anything over 133 suggets that doping has taken place. 

The sport's world ruling body allegedly advised Holczer to try and find a reason to remove Leipheimer from the race. 

However the German admitted he did not know how to react, given the fact that one team member, Danilo Hondo, had tested positive earlier that year and that Gerolsteiner would pull the plug in the event of a second positive. 

"I was caught between a moral obligation and a legal threat," Holczer said, admitting he felt under huge pressure after Hondo's positive test.

These are some pretty serious accusations to come from a team manager. To give specific numbers and to state that Levi's blood score co-efficient (whatever that means) was for all intents and purposes in the doping category is amazing! Team managers don't just throw out allegations like this...Like I said yesterday, "where there is smoke there is fire" and the smoke is now blowing toward Levi.

In the end, I hope that the Jeffrey Novitzky investigation into Lance Armstrong's alleged doping will bring the truth out about cycling and that we can someday return professional cycling to a real sporting event instead of a test of who has the best program to administer and conceal cheating.

It could happen...