London’s Sunday Times is considering suing seven-time Tour de France winner and disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong over a libel case he brought against the newspaper over doping allegations that resulted in a costly payout.

The potential legal action is in the wake of a report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that said it had uncovered “overwhelming evidence” that Armstrong had participated in and helped run the doping program of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team.

A spokeswoman for the Sunday Times confirmed the newspaper is “considering taking action to recover money spent on a libel case Armstrong brought and to pursue him for fraud.” The libel case pertains to a 004 Sunday Times article which referenced a 2003 book, “L.A. Confidentiel — Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong.” In 2006, the newspaper settled with Armstrong after the High Court ruled the article would be interpreted as meaning Armstrong was a “fraud, a cheat and a liar,” the UK Press Gazette, an industry journal, reported at the time.

Armstrong was part of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,” according to the USADA report released recently with more than 1,000 pages of evidence in which 26 witnesses testified to the USADA as part of its investigation into doping by Armstrong and other riders on the team.

Lance Armstrong has consistently denied doping accusations but stopped contesting the allegations after which he has banned for life and stripped of all his titles by USADA, a decision that was endorsed later by the governing body of cycling, UCI.

Tags:  Cycling, doping allegations, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France, USADA report

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Jamie Staff, Olympic gold medalist and USA cycling coach, says he believes Lance Armstrong has been made a scapegoat over using performance enhancing drugs in cycling.

Armstrong was labeled a “serial” cheat by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in their recent report on the cyclist and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the sport’s governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI). UCI president Pat McQuaid said: “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling. He deserves to be forgotten.”

Jamie Staff remarked, “”A lot of people have done it, probably everyone in his generation. “If you wanted to finish the course you had to jump on board.”

Staff said Armstrong has been kind of a scapegoat really as he was the most successful and said it was just a generation or a few generations who chose to take drugs to basically enable them to recover quicker. “What we’re hearing from a lot of people speaking up about it, they just feel so relieved to get that burden off their shoulders. They don’t care what results get taken away, they just don’t want to hold that in any more,” Staff remarked.

Ashford-born Staff, who won team sprint gold in Beijing alongside Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny and moved to track cycling after a highly successful career in BMX, said the recent revelations over doping admissions of fellow cyclists point to widespread abuse within the sport.

Tags:  Chris Hoy, Jamie Staff, Jason Kenny, Lance Armstrong, performance enhancing drugs in cycling, Tour de France, track cycling, USA cycling

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Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador recently remarked that he is planning to make a comeback from a two-year doping ban at the Tour of Benelux in August. The week-long Tour of the Low Countries starts on August 6, the very day that ban of Contador comes to an end.

The cyclist was banned for testing positive for the anabolic steroid clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

“My first priority is Saxo Bank. They have supported me unconditionally throughout knowing everything that happened,” Contador said.

“Both the manager and the sporting director have been fantastic, and that means a lot. I couldn’t give a value to the support they have given me and that is why I can’t see my future being anywhere other than Saxo Bank.”

The 29-year-old Contador reiterated that he had “lost confidence in sporting justice” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him for a period of two years and blamed his positive test on a contaminated steak that he ate during that year’s Tour.

He added he is targeting a place in the Spain team at September’s World Championships in the Netherlands and said he would like to compete in both the road race and the time trial.

Tags:  Alberto Contador, anabolic steroid, clenbuterol, Saxo Bank, Tour de France, Tour of Benelux

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Alberto Contador returned to Europe on 31 January 2012 with a second place overall, two mountain-top stage wins, and the King of the Mountains title in the recently completed Tour of San Luis stage race in Argentina.

However, all his success stories may not be pleasing with the fast-looming verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his clenbuterol case that could see him face up to a two-year ban from the sport.

From Cyclingweekly.co.uk:

A verdict from CAS was expected during the week commencing January 30, but CAS issued a statement on Monday saying that the verdict will be delivered on February 6.

The final stage of San Luis was won by Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in a sprint. It was the Belgian’s first victory since Ghent-Wevelgem last spring. The overall victory went to Boonen’s team-mate Levi Leipheimer.

Contador, meanwhile, is due to return to Madrid very early on Tuesday morning after travelling for almost two days on the trot, for a verdict for his positive test for clenbuterol that could see him stripped of his most recent Tour de France title, in 2010.

The Spaniard is still claiming that the minute traces of clenbuterol found in his body in July 2010 were due to a contaminated beef steak.

Tags:  Alberto Contador, clenbuterol, Tom Boonen, Tour de France, Tour of San Luis

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Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who beat cancer and won the Tour de France seven straight times, has finally been relieved of all drug charges after a US attorney in Los Angeles decided not to pursue charges against him.

Throughout his unprecedented run, the career of Armstrong has been shadowed by doping allegations.

From Thescore.ie:

After all the time and effort that has gone into such cases, some are wondering whether the government should continue the pursuit of athletes who are suspected of cheating with performance-enhancing drugs.

“This is an example where prosecutors are out scouring the countryside to bring charges against a high-profile athlete,” said defense attorney Mark Werksman, a former federal prosecutor. “It’s disturbing that they contort and stretch to find a crime. It’s an abuse of federal power. It’s wrong.”

The 40-year-old cyclist was accused in 2010 by former teammate Floyd Landis of participating in a doping program.

Tags:  cyclist, doping, Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France

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A Madrid court recently said the doctor at the centre of a Spanish doping probe may be jailed for up to two years for crimes against public health.

Prosecutors have asked for a two-year sentence for Eufemiano Fuentes and six others, including his sister Yolanda and former cycling team directors Manolo Saiz, Vicente Belda and Jose Ignacio Labarta, according to a court statement.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Authorities also wanted them banned from practising their professions for the same period, the statement added.

Raids at the start of the operation uncovered anabolic steroids, blood transfusion equipment and more than 200 code-named blood bags, some of which were linked to cyclists including former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich and Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso.

The investigation was halted twice without any prosecutions having been made but a court ordered it to be reopened last year.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had expressed frustration at the refusal by judicial authorities of Spain to allow them access to evidence related to the operation.

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, doping, Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, Tour de France

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Title defense for three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador started in the worst possible manner.

Accused of using clenbuterol in the past, Contador lost one minute 20 seconds to the other favorites after being held back by a crash nine kilometers from the finish of the 191.5-km first stage.

From Reuters.com:

The stage win and the first leader’s yellow jersey in this 98th edition of the race went to Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert, who surged ahead in the last 400 meters to snatch his 13th victory of the season.

Recently crowned Belgian champion and number one in the world rankings, Gilbert grabbed more honors with his first Tour stage win and his first yellow jersey.

On the finish line, Gilbert beat the last two road world champions – Australian Cadel Evans, who finished three seconds adrift and Norway’s Thor Hushovd, who came home six seconds behind.

Gilbert said, “It was my goal, I knew I had a great opportunity to win the stage and take the yellow jersey, which I had never done before.”

Tags:  Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, clenbuterol, Philippe Gilbert, Thor Hushovd, Tour de France

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Five players, including starting goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, have been suspended by Mexico for testing positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol.

In addition to Ochoa, defenders Edgar Duenas and Francisco Rodriguez and midfielders Christian Bermudez and Antonio Naelson “Sinha” were also suspended.

From Articles.latimes.com:

Clenbuterol, known as “clen,” can be helpful in treating asthma but is commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders to promote fat loss. It is the same drug that produced Tour de France champion Alberto Contador‘s positive test last year.

The U.S. anti-doping agency said clenbuterol has also been used to promote growth in livestock, including cattle, lamb, poultry and swine, although such use is illegal in the U.S. and Europe and the risk of a positive drug test from ingesting meat contaminated by clenbuterol is small.

But in April, Germany’s anti-doping agency NADA warned athletes about eating products from Mexico because it could lead to involuntary positive doping results.

Mexico took issue with the Germans’ finding then but now FEMEXFUT is using it as part of its defense against the doping charges.

“Everything points to it being an accident, very unfortunate,” said Decio De Maria, general secretary of the Mexican federation (FEMEXFUT).

Tags:  Alberto Contador, anabolic agent, clen, clenbuterol, fat loss, Guillermo Ochoa, Tour de France

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The recent raids by French police on the Barloworld team hotel in Tarbes have shocked the team. The development led to withdrawal of Moises Duenas Nevado from the Tour de France.

A sample of the rider was related to the fourth stage of the race, the Cholet time-trial on July 8, according to the French anti-doping agency.

From Espnstar.com:

“I’m shocked,” Barloworld team manager Claudio Corti said.

“I want to find out more about what has happened before going into detail and taking further action.

“However the one thing I will say is that the team is not involved in this story at all.

“We’ll take severe action against anyone who damages our credibility and the image of our team.”

Duenas Nevado finished 82nd in the stage in question.

At the time of his withdrawal, he was 19th, the highest-placed Barloworld rider in the overall classification.

He had been given more of a free reign after his team leader, Juan Mauricio Soler, last year’s King of the Mountains, withdrew with a wrist injury on stage five.

Duenas Nevado was in his third Tour de France, and first with Barloworld, following two years with Agritubel.

Bouygues Telecom general manager said that raids by police extended only as far as the Barloworld quarters.

Tags:  Barloworld, Moises Duenas Nevado, Tour de France

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Giro d’Italia rider Dario Frigo was sacked by his Fassa Bortolo team recently after illegal drugs were found during a police raid on his hotel room in San Remo.

The team had received an official notice from the police that drugs had been found, according to Manager Giancarlo Ferretti on phone.

From Independent.ie:

The Italian was lying second overall in the Giro, 15 seconds behind compatriot Gilberto Simoni after leading the race for nine days. His sacking means he will be unable to continue in the race.

Police raided team hotels on Wednesday evening in the biggest crackdown on doping in cycling since the notorious 1998 Tour de France. Italian news agency ANSA quoted police sources as saying substances including testosterone, caffeine, adrenal and anabolic steroids and other stimulants had been seized.

Organisers cancelled Thursday’s 18th stage as the cyclists held a seven-hour meeting. Italy’s Mario Cipollini won the sprint finish at the end of yesterday’s 181k stage from Alba to Busto Arsizio.

Ferretti said, “Dario admitted this and so, under the rules of the team, he was immediately sacked.”

Tags:  Anabolic steroids, caffeine, Dario Frigo, doping in cycling, Fassa Bortolo, Gilberto Simoni, testosterone, Tour de France

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