Lance Armstrong Formally Charged With Doping By USADA

by Scipio Tex on Jun 13, 2025 5:56 PM CDT in Other Sports

The Texas legend has been formally charged with doping by the USADA and it could mean the loss of 7 Tour de France titles and the discredit of a figure who elevated U.S. cycling from a niche backwater to legitimate national interest, while inspiring millions as a cancer survivor.

In the 15-page charging letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal, USADA, the agency that oversees antidoping efforts in Olympic sports in the U.S., said "numerous riders, team personnel and others will testify based on personal knowledge" of Mr. Armstrong's alleged doping. The knowledge was "acquired either through observing Mr. Armstrong dope" or through "admissions of doping to them," it added.

The 15 page letter of charges is freely available for you to read and the contents are devastating.

Armstrong is being accused of extensive cheating, including:

Use of EPO (increases red blood cells) between 1998-2005.
Blood doping (transfusions used to extract athlete's own red blood cells, reintroduced later to aid performance). The letter states that Team Discovery Channel and the USPS teams created entire race strategies built around blood doping schedules.
Testosterone. Armonstrong and teammates took a mix of olive oil and testosterone frequently as part of their training and performance regimen.
Human Growth Hormone. It was provided to multiple team members, though Armstrong is not specified.
Cortisone abuse.
Saline/plasma infusions to prevent triggering hematocrit markers in blood testing.

It's not exactly a secret that every major cycling figure of the past two decades engaged in some degree of blood doping and performance enhancement, and that cycling is arguably the dirtiest sport there is, but the accusations against Armstrong go well beyond red blood cell enhancement (which pro cyclists seemingly regard more as a rite of passage than cheating) and mark him as just another cyclist working the system, an accusation he has always vehemently denied.

Armstrong contends:

...the "charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity."

That may be true and cycling is frequently marred by a particular brand of pettiness (any wonder the French love it?), but it doesn't look good for Lance. These are not criminal charges, but the blow to Armstrong's legacy would be be substantial. That's unfortunate, because whatever one thinks of Armstrong's obsessive single-mindedness and likely deceptions, he has done a lot of good.

Since 1997, the LiveStrong Foundation has raised over 325 million dollars to support cancer research and offer services to people and families affected by cancer. 81 cents on every dollar goes directly to those affected, a very good level of performance for any public charity. Beyond LiveStrong's direct impact, he has had an incalculable effect on cancer fund raising and awareness for other organizations, and has served as a source of personal inspiration for tens of thousands of cancer survivors.

I hope that any loss to Armstrong's reputation won't detract from more important fights.

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Comments

Curiousity question

Since it will not be tried in a court of law, waht level of proof is required? Does it need beyond a reasonable doubt (US criminal case) or just reasonably likely to have happened (US civil case) or some other level?

by RQ on Jun 13, 2025 6:04 PM CDT reply actions

Half of my readers

are ~~human eels~~ lawyers. Perhaps they can opine.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 13, 2025 6:10 PM CDT up reply actions

As I understand it...

The USADA is not a government entity. If they find someone has committed a rule violation, they can hand down sanctions. The athlete can then take the charges to an independent arbitrator. The final appeal would go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

I might be confusing this process with Olympic process though.

I can only imagine the Court of Arbitration for Sport has Bonnie Blair as the sassy judge and Rulon Gardner as the quirky bailiff.

by ColoradoAg on Jun 13, 2025 6:29 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Thanks.

I thought they had some sort of federal mandate, but they’re definitely non-government. I changed my headline to correct the mistake.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 13, 2025 6:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Rulon Gardner

Still cracking up.

Follow @BarkingCarnival

by Sailor Ripley on Jun 13, 2025 8:30 PM CDT up reply actions

"Comfortable Satisfaction"

“The standard of proof shall be whether the Anti-Doping Organizationhas established an anti- doping rule violation to the comfortable satisfaction of the hearing panel bearing in mind the seriousness of the allegation which is made. This standard of proof in all cases is greater than a mere balance of probability but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/World_Anti-Doping_Program/WADP-The-Code/WADA_Anti-Doping_CODE_2009_EN.pdf

by nerf herder on Jun 13, 2025 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Good find.

Armstrong is in trouble, then.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 13, 2025 6:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks nerf.

by ColoradoAg on Jun 13, 2025 6:37 PM CDT up reply actions

I would tell them to go F themselves too. From the subpoena, as it were:

“With the exception of Mr. Armstrong, every other U.S. rider contacted by USADA regarding doping in cycling agreed to meet with USADA and to truthfully and fully describe their involvement in doping and all doping by others of which they were aware. Mr. Armstrong was likewise contacted through his legal counsel and given the opportunity to meet with USADA to fully and truthfully disclose all knowledge of anti-doping rule violations committed in the sport of cycling. However, Mr. Armstrong declined ASADA’s offer.”

As well he should. How many decades does he have to defend his accomplishments from self-appointed justice-seekers? How many acronyms have attacked him and failed already? Exactly who the fuck are these people and why should he answer to them? Who made them a court of law?

I’m not claiming that he was necessary clean, but I think he was equally unclean, at least.

Say you squirted in a cup in 1998 and someone sent you this letter. Would you snap to?

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 8:03 PM CDT up reply actions

It should be noted, from Wikipedia

USADA is a signatory of (complies with) the World Anti-Doping Code, widely considered the basis for the strongest and strictest anti-doping programs in sports. In 2001, USADA was recognized by the U.S. Congress as “the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sport in the United States.”
USADA is not a government agency, however its budget is partially funded by a U.S. federal grant through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) with the remaining budget generated from contracts for anti-doping services with sport organizations, most notably the United States Olympic Committee.

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 8:18 PM CDT up reply actions

And finally. About this esteemed organization from their website:

WADA was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti Doping Code (Code) – the document harmonizing anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries. WADA is a Swiss private law Foundation. Its seat is in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its headquarters are in Montreal, Canada.

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 8:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Timely hearing? First code violated. From the WADA code:

Fair Hearings

Each Anti-Doping Organization with responsibility for
results management shall provide a hearing process
for any Person who is asserted to have committed an
anti-doping rule violation. Such hearing process shall
address whether an anti-doping rule violation was
committed and, if so, the appropriate Consequences.
The hearing process shall respect the following
principles:

• a timely hearing

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 7:50 PM CDT up reply actions

What kind of olive oil?

@ccommand3r

by CMDR on Jun 13, 2025 6:05 PM CDT reply actions

This.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 13, 2025 6:09 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

so extra virgin?

@ccommand3r

by CMDR on Jun 13, 2025 6:16 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Dammit...

by tx2step on Jun 13, 2025 6:18 PM CDT via Android app up reply actions

Outstanding

All in all, I’d rather eat spinach.

by nobis60 on Jun 13, 2025 7:38 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

so, not virgin o is what you're saying?

by tx2step on Jun 13, 2025 6:17 PM CDT via Android app up reply actions

There are a lot more issues than epo, as you mentioned

but it has always driven me crazy that these allegations never come with a comparison of hematocrit levels. If every rider has a hematocrit of 50 (and it seems to me that I’ve read that they typically skirt the upper limit of what is acceptable by the tour) than there is no competitive advantage. If the accused rider has a hct that is 10 points higher than everyone else, it’s an interesting story.

by nephros on Jun 13, 2025 6:43 PM CDT reply actions

Well past...

…my personal statute of limitations.

This was cycling in the day. Probably still is. Makes you wonder who Lance ticked off to still be turning over so many rocks after all these years.

by G.O.F on Jun 13, 2025 7:10 PM CDT reply actions

How many drug tests has he passed?

Would that the French devote as much scrutiny to their finances and defense.

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 7:12 PM CDT reply actions

drugs tests

were (and in most sports still are) a basic intelligence test. People failed them by screwing up or getting greedy. Law enforcement finding mobile pharmacies in the back team cars etc nailed dozens of people who never tripped over a test.

by GBHorn on Jun 13, 2025 7:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Then Lance is the smartest mofo ever.

by WreckerTex on Jun 13, 2025 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Marion Jones never failed a test either.

If you’re reasonably disciplined, you will always stay ahead of the tests. Particularly if you have the advice and monitoring of doctors and doping experts. That doesn’t mean he’s guilty, but it’s not the proof of innocence that people like to champion.

The bottom line is this: either he cheated and beat a bunch of other cheaters or he was clean and he beat a bunch of cheaters.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 14, 2025 5:13 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, I said before, "I’m not claiming that he was necessary clean, but I think he was equally unclean, at least."

But these endless sorties to destroy him are troubling. ASADA is essentially saying, “You have passed every official test announced and unannounced for the last 16 years, but we have anonymous professional rivals who say you have done bad things. And since we have no hard evidence, we think it’s only appropriate that you come before us and prove your innocence yet again because we’re hoping during your ‘testimony’ you will say something that confirms our suspicions. Please respond or we’re just gonna go on thinking you’re guilty. I mean really. A cancer survivor winning 7 Tours? Horseshit. You’re guilty. Show up, and help us get some publicity so we can justify our salaries and win more contracts. Cheater.”

by WreckerTex on Jun 14, 2025 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions

I side with Andy Langer on this

Federal prosecutors + a 2-year grand jury decide there’s no there there, and now a no-name tin-shield agency is gonna take a run at him? Eh.

"The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences." - St. Augustine

by Funkytown on Jun 13, 2025 10:59 PM CDT reply actions

I doubt they'll be able to make anything stick

His one remaining ball secretes pure teflon

"Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." ~ Aaron Levenstein
twitter - @aaronbrotman

by Elm City Horn on Jun 14, 2025 8:47 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Lance Armstrong Responds to USADA Allegation

AUSTIN, TX — June 13, 2025 — I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned. These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation. These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge. USADA’s malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play.

I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence.

http://www.lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstrong-responds-to-usada-allegation

by WreckerTex on Jun 14, 2025 9:06 AM CDT reply actions

This is good for Austin

Lance’s demise will thin the herds of reckless amateur cyclists flirting with death on FM 2222 and 360 every fucking weekend. It could also significangly reduce the frequency with which the word “Lance” is spoken in spin classes city-wide (which is currently hovering around once-per-four-words).

Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.

by BrickHorn on Jun 14, 2025 9:44 AM CDT reply actions 3 recs

You forgot to mention Mopac

but otherwise on the mark.

What’s this “spin class” you speak of, though?

by Parlin on Jun 14, 2025 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions

I want Lance to be clean

and that colors my perception certainly.

But at some point Occams Razor tells me that if even Alberto Contador got caught with a positive test and stripped of the Tour de France title and Lance NEVER tested positive in over 500 tests, that maybe, you know, he is clean. Either that or like someone said his doctor is the smartest guy in history.

You want to strip someone of 7 titles you better have more than say-so at this point because there is a ton of penis envy on this deal.

No matter what this doping business is the biggest witch hunt I have ever seen. How much did that FDA fag Novitzky waste on getting nowhere with Bonds and Armstrong? Ridiculous.

by bullzak on Jun 14, 2025 10:06 AM CDT reply actions

I think he's probably guilty

But certainly no more guilty than every other tour de france rider. It’s no secret the dopers are way a head of the dope testers, and cycling is a dirty as it possibly could be.

I really don’t see anything to gain from accusing him now based on testimony of former riders. If you don’t have a positive test, then you don’t have the evidence you need. Essentially what they are saying is that we couldn’t catch you when you were riding, but we will nail you to the wall based on the testimony of people we have intimidated into testifying and with lower standards or evidence.

Moving forward, I would inform every rider/participant that their blood samples will be held for ten years, and if you ever test positive as the tests catch up with the doping you will be stripped of your titles. It won’t stop the cheating, but at least we can all agree on the rules.

by texitect on Jun 14, 2025 12:59 PM CDT reply actions

I like it.

by Scipio Tex on Jun 14, 2025 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Taking Lance down a peg is definitely a factor

But I think the big fish they’re after at this point is Johan Bruyneel. Unlike Lance, he’s still active in the sport and probably will be for some time unless he gets a lifetime ban, which I think is their primary objective.

by kchall5 on Jun 15, 2025 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions