USADA Evidence Against Lance Armstrong

The WSJ and other news outlets are reporting that later today USADA will release more than 1,000 pages of documents supporting their accusations that Lance Armstrong doped.  Some noteworthy highlights:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: LiveStrong Gets Involved

Photo from Wall Street Journal

News reports suggest that LiveStrong donors should rest well knowing that their funds given to help fight cancer are being used to lobby Congress to pressure USADA in its investigation of Lance Armstrong.

Today's Wall Street Journal reported that a Congressional staff member has confirmed that "The...Texas-based charity known as Livestrong, sent a lobbyist to Capitol Hill last week to discuss the funding for the agency that has accused the retired cycling champion of cheating to win the Tour de France." Here are more details from the Journal:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Lifetime Bans and Real Heroes

While Lance Armstrong is fighting USADA to try to stop them from taking away his seven Tour de France titles, three of those who have been accused with Lance as being part of a doping conspiracy have, apparently, quietly conceded to receive lifetime bans from any involvement in cycling. According to VeloNation, the three include two doctors: Michele Ferrari and Luis Garcia del Moral and the team trainer, Pepe Marti. The article continued by saying:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: What Do His Reactions Suggest?

Today, numerous news organizations from VeloNation to NY Times have reported that an anonymous source has said that four of Lance's closest associates and former teammates have agreed to testify against him; each of the four are still racing. The reports also said that those who have agreed to testify will receive reduced sentences for their doping. The sentences will last six months and start after the season is over. This is essentially a slap on the hand since the riders have about six months before most of the big races start up again. Here is the list of those reported to be testifying:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Is it Affecting the Olympic Team?

The rumor mill is speculating that four US cyclists who would normally be considered for the US Olympic cycling team this summer are not going to race because of some involvement in the Lance Armstrong investigation. This rumor comes from the following statement published by USA Cycling:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: USADA's Charges and Evidence

Photo from cbsnews.com

I found a copy of USADA's letter to Lance and friends online. From what I've read, some of USADA's evidence came to light from their participation in the grand jury investigation of fraud charges as the Grand Jury heard from the likes of Lance's closest associates including George Hincapie and others. The full letter is included below, along with some key points that I got from it:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: It's Not Over Yet...

Photo taken from WSJ.com (Gettty Images)

Just when you thought maybe the Lance Armstrong doping investigation was going to be over, USADA charged him yesterday with being involved in a massive doping conspiracy for over a decade. Now, I have to ask myself, if USADA doesn't have much of a case would they dare dig this up again and take on the amazing Mr. Armstrong again? I mean, doping charges against Lance have been about as effective as efforts to balance the US budget have been! Of course, no criminal charges in serious cases in the US have gone anywhere lately so Lance is joined by all sorts of high profile fraudsters in dodging criminal bullets. As to these charges, they aren't criminal but they could mean he loses his seven yellow jersey titles if they do stick. Here is a summary of the news, hot off the press:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: What Did We Learn?

As you've probably heard, it was announced yesterday that the Grand Jury investigation that involved Lance Armstrong's alleged criminal activity on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team has been closed without any charges. When this investigation first opened, I remember talking with a friend about what would come of it. I thought at the time that the most likely scenario was that we would learn a lot more about Lance and that his reputation would be seriously damaged but that it was unlikely that he would find himself in jail. I never totally thought it was impossible that Lance would end up in jail but I thought it was a very long shot (like half court at the buzzer). After all, if they couldn't find his blood or urine with drugs in it then it would probably be hard to make the charges stick.

In my view, Lance's record has become extremely tainted from the news of the past two years. If you believe the saying that where there is smoke there is fire, then you have to observe all the smoke that came from this investigation and conclude there must be something causing it. The following points are what I think are some of the biggest stains on his record that came from this investigation. As I look at the list, I have to believe that those who followed the investigation will likely have lost most, if not all, respect for Lance (unless they are in complete denial and hero worship). Here is my summary (with links to the top posts on the topic) of the most interesting, and in many cases the most damaging, tidbits to come out from this investigation:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: 60 Minutes Responds

Yesterday's news was that Lance Armstrong's legal team was asking for an apology from 60 Minutes. I mentioned that I wasn't going to hold my breath waiting for 60 Minutes to tell Lance they are sorry. News reports are now publishing the response from the program. Here is what is being reported that they said:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: George Hincapie's Response

CBS News reported yesterday that when Jeffrey Novitzky's investigation brought Lance Armstrong's number one lieutenant and close friend, George Hincapie, in to testify, that Hincapie confirmed that Lance had doped by using EPO and testosterone. Here is the quote from the CBS website where you can read about it and also watch a video that was shown on the news yesterday:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: George Hincapie Adds His Witness that Lance Doped

An incredibly credible witness add his testimony to Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton. Prior to today, we had Tyler and Floyd as eye witnesses to Lance's doping. These two will probably not even be on the witness stand in a case brought against Lance since the jury will have to hear hours of testimony where these two have lied vehemently in the past about their own personal doping.

However, anyone who knows cycling would say that the biggest witness against Lance would be his top lieutenant, George Hincapie. George has never failed a drug test and was on Lance's team every year that Lance won the Tour de France. So, if George testified, as is being reported by VeloNation, that he saw Lance doping, then anyone who is still holding out hope that Lance was clean should have no doubts that he doped now. This is at least the fourth teammate who has testified against Lance, if you include Frankie Andreu. Frankie had some comments about todays news too.VeloNews reported that Frankie had the following to say:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: A Doping History of Lance's Tour Teams

FraudBytes encourages guest posts. The following post was written by Mark Fellows, part owner of Kinetic Cycles in Elk Grove, California. Mark originally wrote this commentary on May 21st, 2010 after Floyd Landis alleged that Lance Armstrong was involved in systematic doping for many years. He has updated the post now that Lance Armstrong has officially retired from racing again.


As I’ve read and listened to the press conferences regarding Floyd Landis's accusations along with the denials, the blogs, and other commentary on Lance Armstrong's involvement in doping, I decided I wanted to take a little different slant and provide a few other things to think about. First, these facts should be read in the following context:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Results of New Doping Test will be Crucial

If you've been following the Alberto Contador investigation, you've read that a new doping test has quietly been in development to catch athletes doing blood transfusions. The test is designed to look for signs of transfusions by detecting high amounts of plastic metabolites in urine and blood. Apparently, similar tests have been used for our food supply for some time but now it is being applied to look for blood doping in cyclists. The test has not been approved by WADA yet but the scientists working on it say they are close to establishing the cutoff for evidence that a blood transfusion was used.

While it is clear that Alberto's levels of plastic in his urine probably spell doom to his steak story, it may not be as clear what this test has to do with Lance Armstrong. Well, first, Floyd Landis has alleged that many in the pro peloton, including Lance, turned away from EPO as the preferred doping method in the early 2000's and, instead, reverted to transfusing their blood. The reason for this change was that an effective test for EPO came out. As such, Floyd alleges that Lance, Levi and others transfused their blood around the rest days in the Tour de France. The test for this has been to look for excess mature blood cells relative to immature cells or reticulocytes. Floyd alleges that cyclists got around this test by micro-dosing EPO at night in amounts that would were undetectable by morning. The EPO would lead to new reticulocytes and keep the blood looking normal. This plastic test is a new way to detect blood transfusions.

But, you ask, how can this affect the Lance Armstrong investigation? One very good deterrent to doping that was adopted by pro cycling in the past few years is a requirement that blood and urine samples be maintained for future testing. I recall that at some point in the past decade, cyclists had to agree to this requirement. An article from NY Daily News makes the point that hundreds of Lance Armstrong's urine and blood "specimens are in storage, where they are fair game not only to anti-doping agencies but to" Jeffrey Novitzky and his associates at the FDA who are investigating Lance for fraud. I assume that the same is true for others who Floyd alleges were taking transfusions including Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie and Dave Zabriskie.

In my opinion, this new test is great news for either Lance or Floyd and horrible news for the other party, depending on who is telling the truth. I believe this new test could be a game changer. In the past, I have said that I didn't think Lance would ever go to jail because he's been able to get the tests that showed he was doping thrown out on technicalities. I've also said that there is so much smoke around him that I don't think he's innocent. 

Assuming this new test is deemed strong evidence of doping and assuming Novitzky gets a hold of several of his specimens, I believe this evidence could resolve any remaining doubts about these allegations. From what I've read, the plastic from these blood bags should still be in the frozen urine and blood. As such, if Novitzky can show a pattern of plasticizers spiking around the rest days to show that Lance was transfusing his blood then Floyd's story will be validated.

I also believe that this evidence could change the tide of belief that he is guilty if enough specimens were tested and showed he had no unusual spikes or amounts of the plastic in his urine or blood. As such, if he is really innocent, he ought to be thrilled at this new test and begging Novitzky to test his urine and blood for these plasticizers. On the other hand, if he is guilty, he ought to be holding a press conference any day now to let the truth prevail.

In the end, this test has serious implications for all those who Floyd alleges were involved in doping. If Levi, George, Dave and others were transfusing their blood they will now want to think twice about how they answer the Grand Jury's questions. There may not be as many urine or blood specimens out there to analyze for these riders as there are for Lance but, this test could lead to time in jail for perjury if they are not telling the truth...

What do Arnold, Floyd, Lance, Johan & George have in common?

That is, Arnold Schwarznegger (Governor of California and body builder), Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, and George Hincapie. Check out their jaw and chin bones.

A reader sent me some pictures along with this excerpt from Wikidpedia about human growth hormone:

"Prolonged GH excess thickens the bones of the jaw, fingers and toes. Resulting heaviness of the jaw and increased size of digits is referred to as acromegaly. "

Do any of their jaw / chin bones look unusually thick? I'm not sure what you can conclude but they don't look thin to me. Maybe that isn't too surprising for a body builder or a retired cyclist who has put on a few pounds. However, Floyd, Lance and George are all pretty lean in these pictures.

See what you think...

Lance Armstrong Investigation Update

The news on the Lance Armstrong fraud investigation has been non-existent lately. However, some news came out today that Lance has hired a big gun to help him with public relations and legal defense. His new special counsel and media expert is Mark Fabiani. Apparently, Fabiani worked for Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation and more recently helped Goldman Sachs keep their image intact while they were being investigated for fraud by the SEC. This guy must be pricey! I take it Lance is nervous about this investigation.

Also, the same article said that George Hincapie also hired a big NY law firm. This news broke about the same time that George crashed out of the Tour of Utah and needed 18 stitches. It seems to me that Lance and George have had more accidents since Floyd Landis alleged they cheated for years. Sorry to hear about it George.

As for improving Lance's image, Fabiani got right to work and continued the same old story: Floyd has no credibility (see this link for more on that) and investigating athletes for doping is a waste of taxpayer money. Nothing new here. I hope Lance gets his money's worth from this guy.

As for a waste of money, I personally think paying a media expert to make you look better is money that could have been better used. Image is everything to fraudsters. Con men build confidence in themselves. Smooth talkers with little or no character...

In the end, I doubt the government will get a verdict against Lance and I doubt Fabiani will keep the majority of the public from believing Lance is a fraud. It reminds me of the OJ Simpson case. He was never convicted criminally for murder but if you think he's innocent then I'm sure there is a nice Ponzi scheme waiting to get your money.

The latest on the Lance Armstrong investigation

Note: click this link for a list of all other posts on the Lance Armstrong fraud investigation.

The NY Times reported yesterday that a grand jury issued subpoenas for several people that Jeffrey Novitzky would like to talk to about the accusations made by Floyd Landis regarding Lance Armstrong's involvement in doping. The article does not list who was subpoened but it does say that several are in the Tour de France right now and that at least two former teammates from Lance's U.S. Postal team have already talked to Novitzky.

We can probably guess who many of the the current Tour riders are that have been issued subpoenas. For sure Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie, and George Hincapie will get subpoenaed unless they have already talked. My guess is that Novitzky has obtained some corroboration of Landis's story from those he has already spoken to or he would not be getting subpoena help from a grand jury.

The investigation appears to be focusing on the potential that government funds were used to purchase doping products. Armstrong's sponsor around the millenium was the U.S. Postal Service. Apparently, if Novitzky can prove that Landis's allegations are true it could mean Armstrong and Bruyneel broke the law by using the U.S. Postal Service team for illegal doping.

Interestingly, today's NY Times reported that Lance had the following to say about this matter:

A little progress in the Lance Armstrong investigation

Today's Wall Street Journal reported that both George Hincapie and Tyler Hamilton have been approached by Jeffrey Novitzky in the doping / fraud investigation that revolves around Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. Apparently, both racers are probably going to cooperate but it will likely be after the Tour de France for George. The WSJ also reported that a few other racers have already cooperated. Overall, we knew Novitzky would be talking to these guys so the article doesn't have a lot of new information.

Floyd Landis gives doping details to Wall Street Journal

I just received a WSJ News Alert email that reads that Floyd Landis provided hours of interviews with The Wall Street Journal that detail how he had used performing-enhancing drugs extensively during his career. A quick scan of the article gives tons of details about how Landis was introduced to doping when he signed with U.S. Postal and how Lance Armstrong helped him dope. Here is a brief summary based on a quick scan.