Lance Armstrong Investigation: Tyler Hamilton Spills the Beans

The news broke today that CBS's 60 Minutes has been conducting a six-month investigation of doping in cycling. The full program will be aired this Sunday. For now, the link above has a short part of Tyler's interview. They interviewed Tyler Hamilton and Frankie Andreu and, undoubtedly, others. We probably already knew what Frankie would say but Tyler is shown telling 60 Minutes host, Scott Peller, that he saw Lance "inject (EPO) more than one time." As quoted on VeloNation

Tyler said: "I saw [EPO] in his refrigerator,” he said.  “I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times." In the video, Tyler looks very stressed to me as he goes on to explain that he saw Lance doping in both the 1999 season and the 2000 season as Lance was preparing for the tour.

He goes on to say that most of the peloton was doping and that he did it "many, many times." Hamilton also confirmed one of Floyd Landis's claims that Lance admitted to failing a doping test at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland. Thus, it appears that two witnesses are now corroborating that story which, Landis claims, involved the UCI taking a bribe to hide his doping test.

In addition, CyclingNews posted the complete text of a letter that Tyler sent today to his family and friends. He said:

Dear Everybody,

I hope this finds you all doing well.

First of all, sorry for sending this out as a group letter. If there was any way I could come visit each of you individually, I would. I hope we are together soon.

There's no easy way to say this, so let me just say it plain: on Sunday night you'll see me on “60 Minutes” making a confession that's overdue. Long overdue.

During my cycling career, I knowingly broke the rules. I used performance-enhancing drugs. I lied about it, over and over. Worst of all, I hurt people I care about. And while there are reasons for what I did -- reasons I hope you'll understand better after watching -- it doesn't excuse the fact that I did it all, and there's no way on earth to undo it.

The question most people ask is, why now? There are two reasons. The first has to do with the federal investigation into cycling. Last summer, I received a subpoena to testify before a grand jury. Until that moment I walked into the courtroom, I hadn't told a soul. My testimony went on for six hours. For me, it was like the Hoover dam breaking. I opened up; I told the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And I felt a sense of relief I'd never felt before -- all the secrets, all the weight I'd been carrying around for years suddenly lifted. I saw that, for me personally, this was the way forward.

The second reason has to do with the sport I love. In order to truly reform, cycling needs to change, and change drastically, starting from the top. Now that I'm working as a coach, I see young people entering the sport with hopes of making it to the top. I believe that no one coming into the sport should have to face the difficult choices I had to make. And before the sport can move forward, it has to face the truth.

This hasn't been easy, not by a long shot. But I want to let you know that I'm doing well. The coaching business is more fun and fulfilling than I'd ever imagined, and Tanker and I are loving our Boulder life. I recently turned 40, and my friends threw the best 80's themed surprise party in the history of the world (hey, most of you were there!). Life is good.

Again, I just want to say I'm sorry, and that I hope you can forgive me. What matters to me most are my family and friends. I'm deeply grateful for all your support and love through the years, and I'm looking forward to spending time with all of you again, hopefully soon. My Mom and Dad always told me that the truth would set me free. I never knew how right they were.

I especially like the last part where Tyler acknowledges the power of truth to free us. I believe we are finally hearing from another one of the few pro cyclists who comes out and tells the truth. Congratulations Tyler! There are too many pros who are still in bondage to their lies. This may help more of them have the courage to be honest and hopefully move the sport in the right direction. In any case, it will definitely help Jeffrey Novitzky's case which appears to have more substance to it every day...