Lance Armstrong "Doped and Helped Others to Dope"

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is releasing the details of its investigation into Lance Armstrong today, and things don’t look good for the seven-time Tour de France winner. While Armstrong still denies ever doping, the agency claims that Armstrong was at the center of the most sophisticated doping program in recent history. The file against him includes sworn testimony from 26 people—including 11 former US Postal Service teammates who have admitted to doping and say that Armstrong not only doped himself but encouraged others to do it, and administered doping products on the team. “The USPS Team doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices,” the USADA reports, “a program organized by individuals who thought they were above the rules and who still play a major and active role in sport today.” The file contains more than 1,000 pages of evidence, which the agency calls “conclusive and undeniable proof that brings to the light of day for the first time this systemic, sustained and highly professionalized team-run doping conspiracy.”

Armstrong has refused to comment on the report, but one of his lawyers, Timothy J. Herman, has called the case a farce: “USADA, the prosecutor, now pretends to issue its own ‘reasoned decision,’ even though there was no judge, no jury and no hearing,” he wrote in a letter to the agency’s lawyer. Armstrong was stripped of his titles back in August when he gave up the fight against the doping allegations.