Optimum Sports : Lance Armstrong

Showing posts with label Lance Armstrong. Show all posts

Tuesday, 15 March 2016

van den Driessche Faces Sanctions

Femke van den Driessche faces a severe punishment by the Union Cycliste Internationale in the first case against a rider for competing on a bike allegedly containing a hidden motor.

On Monday Van den Driessche, 19, opted not to defend herself at Tuesday’s UCI disciplinary hearing in Switzerland into her use of the machine in the women’s under-23 race at the world cyclo-cross championships in Zolder in January.

She had maintained the confiscated bike belonged to an acquaintance and was in the pits because of a mix-up by a mechanic, but on Monday she said would not contest the matter and added that she had retired from cyclo-cross.

In a statement the UCI said: “The Union Cycliste Internationale confirms that the disciplinary commission hearing regarding the Femke van den Driessche case took place today at the UCI World Cycling Centre, headquarters of the international federation in Aigle, Switzerland. A decision will be rendered and announced in due course and, until then, the UCI will not be making any further comment.”

The UCI president, Brian Cookson, said in March that cycling’s world governing body would request the toughest possible sanctions. Regulations, recently strengthened, provide for a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

Bikes have been scanned by the UCI at major competitions across all disciplines and events, including the Tour de France, in recent years because of speculation regarding motors hidden in bike frames. At the track world championships in London on 2-6 March 274 bikes were scanned.

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Cookson Denies Verbruggen Claims

The president of cycling’s governing body has denied his predecessor Hein Verbruggen’s claims that they have reached an agreement to end legal proceedings which would have seen the Dutchman retain his role as honorary president of the UCI.

Verbruggen, who left his post as president in 2005, had threatened legal action against cycling’s governing body over what he described as an “outrageously biased, misleading and frequently wrong” investigation into the sport’s doping past.

The current president, Brian Cookson, has previously called for Verbruggen to step down but the Dutchman has told insidethegames.biz that they had reached an agreement which means: “Mr Cookson renounces definitively from asking me to resign from my honorary presidency and agrees not to mention this question any more publicly or privately.” According to insidethegames, the UCI also paid £29,000 towards Verbruggen’s legal costs.

However, Cookson has denied that is the case and stated that any agreement with Verbruggen was now void.

“I was elected to change the way the UCI conducts itself and therefore, following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), I indeed met with Mr Hein Verbruggen last summer,” read a statement. “We came to a confidential agreement which was to ensure, amongst other things, that he would stop using his influence to criticise and cause trouble for the UCI. Since Mr Verbruggen never respected his commitments, the agreement is considered null. No money has ever been paid to Mr Verbruggen since I became President.”

A 227-page report into cycling’s doping culture said that the UCI colluded with Lance Armstrong to cover up positive tests at the 1999 Tour de France, when Verbruggen was in charge of the organisation.

Verbruggen, 73, said he started a court case against the UCI and Cookson, as well as lodging a complaint to the International Olympic Committee ethics commission which resulted in the IOC mediating between the parties with an agreement signed to end legal proceedings.

Friday, 20 November 2015

Ferrari Faces Trial Over Biathlete

Lance Armstrong’s former physician Michele Ferrari has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly providing doping assistance to a biathlete.

The Italian biathlete Daniel Taschler and his father, Gottlieb, a vice-president of the international federation were also indicted by a preliminary judge in Bolzano, northern Italy, on Wednesday.

The older Taschler is accused of recommending that his son use Ferrari for doping, and contacting the doctor.

Ferrari was banned for life by the Italian Cycling Federation in 2002. He recently appealed to a regional court to have the ban lifted, with a decision expected in the coming months. Ferrari was also banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in the 2012 case that led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. The trial is slated to start in April.

Doping is a crime in Italy and Ferrari was cleared on appeal in 2006 of criminal charges of distributing banned products to athletes.

Italian cycling president: police must act to stop Michele Ferrari influence

Taschler Sr is a vice-president and member of the International Biathlon Union executive board. When the investigation was made public late last year, he announced he would not carry out activities within the IBU. As a biathlete, he won a bronze medal in relay at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Daniel Taschler, 28, was a member of Italy’s B squad when the inquiry surfaced, and he was immediately suspended. His doping allegedly took place in the 2010-11 season. Ferrari and the Taschlers deny wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, the Austrian cross-country skier Harald Wurm has been provisionally suspended amid a doping investigation, a week before the start of the World Cup season.

The Austrian ski federation said the head coach of the cross-country team, Gerald Heigl, temporarily stepped down until Wurm’s case is completed. Heigl denied any involvement.

In August, police opened an investigation into alleged doping violations by Wurm and searched the premises of the two-time Olympian.

The federation said it had access to police files and expected that Wurm has a case to answer. The 31-year-old athlete was excluded from all team training and competitions, just over a week before the World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland, on 28-29 November.

Heigl’s name also appeared in the files, according to the federation. The coach denied any wrongdoing but decided to step down until his name has been cleared.

Wurm won the under-23 world title in 2006 and has four top-10 World Cup finishes. He competed in the sprint events at the 2006 and 2014 Olympics.

Last year, Wurm’s team-mate Johannes Dürr was banned for life by the federation after being kicked out of the 2014 Sochi Games for using the blood-doping agent EPO. If found guilty, Wurm will also be expelled from the federation, it said.

Wurm’s case could deal another blow to the already tarnished image of Austrian cross-country skiing, less than four years before Seefeld will host the Nordic world championships. In December 2009, Christian Hoffmann retired after he was provisionally suspended for blood doping by the national anti-doping agency, which later formally banned the 2002 Olympic champion for six years.

The Austrian Nordic skiing coach Walter Mayer was implicated in a blood-doping case at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and banned by the International Olympic Committee from Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010.

Mayer, however, did show up at the 2006 Olympics, triggering an Italian police raid on the Austrian team lodgings, in which blood doping equipment and other substances were seized. No Austrians tested positive at those games but the IOC later banned several for life.

Monday, 28 September 2015

Lance Settles 10 Year Case

Lance Armstrong has settled a 10-year dispute with an insurance firm over the repayment of $10m (£6.6m) paid to the cyclist before he admitted to doping.

The American, 44, received the money from SCA Promotions Inc in relation to his seven Tour de France victories.

He was ordered to pay it back after losing a lawsuit in February.

"I'm pleased to have this matter behind me and I look forward to moving on," said Armstrong, who also apologised to the Dallas-based company.

Armstrong has not revealed how much he has paid SCA as part of the settlement.

SCA initially refused to pay out money covering the bonus for Armstrong's sixth Tour de France win in 2004.

The cyclist won an arbitration hearing against the company in 2005, after the contract between the parties stipulated the insurance money would be payable if Armstrong was the "official winner" of the Tour.

He was awarded $2.5m (£1.65m) in damages and costs, in addition to the $7.5m (£4.94m) of payments he received from SCA.

SCA demanded repayment in 2013, after Armstrong was stripped all seven of his Tour de France titles and issued with a life ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

During a 2013 television interview with American talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong confessed he used banned performance-enhancing drugs throughout much of his cycling career.

After settling the dispute, Armstrong said: "I do wish to apologise to SCA, and its chief executive Bob Hamman, for any misconduct on my part in connection with our dispute and the resulting arbitration."

Monday, 17 August 2015

Froome Confirms La Vuelta

Team Sky have confirmed Chris Froome as their leader for the Vuelta a España with the Tour de France champion looking to become the first Brit to win the Spanish race.

Froome, who won his second Tour de France in Paris in July,confirmed earlier this month that he would take part in the Vuelta but it was not known whether he would be targeting victory or playing a support role.

But Sky have confirmed that Froome will attempt to join Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978) in winning the Tour de France and the Vuelta in the same year.

The team principal, Sir Dave Brailsford, said: “It’s been an unforgettable summer for us after winning the Tour de France for the third time, but it’s important to move on quickly, realign our goals and focus on the new challenges ahead. We’ve selected a strong squad for the Vuelta that has the right blend of talent and experience to support Chris Froome through the tough three weeks ahead.”

Froome, who came to prominence in the 2011 Vuelta where he finished second having initially been selected to support Bradley Wiggins, will again be assisted by Geraint Thomas and Nicolas Roche as well as six other riders – Sergio Henao, Mikel Nieve, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Ian Boswell, Salvatore Puccio – who were not involved in the Tour de France.

Froome said: “I have great memories from this race so I’m pleased to be back. I’ve had a good rest after the Tour and now I’m ready for my next challenge.

“It will certainly be a very competitive race given the strong field – which will be great for the fans to watch. The competition will be tough and this is bike racing so anything can happen, but we have an excellent team and we’re ready to get the race started.”

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

US Seeks Lance Medical Records

The US government says it wants Lance Armstrong’s medical records from his 1996 cancer treatments because they could prove just how far he was willing to go to conceal performance-enhancing drug use from the public and his sponsors.

The former cyclist is vigorously fighting release of his medical records from the Indiana University School of Medicine as part of a whistleblower lawsuit in which the government wants to recover more than $30m in sponsorship the US Postal Service paid Armstrong and his teams. Penalties could reach as high as $100m.

Despite his admissions publicly and under oath to using steroids and other drugs as far back as 1993, the government is still pursuing a key allegations that had dogged Armstrong for years: whether he told doctors in 1996 he was using a host of performance-enhancing drugs and later sought to bury any evidence of the conversation through lawsuits, threats and charitable donations.

Armstrong’s efforts to “blunt this allegation ... were critical to hiding the truth of his doping from, among others, the United States Postal Service,” the government said in documents filed last week in a Washington DC court.

Armstrong’s lawyers have asked Judge Christopher Cooper to dismiss a subpoena for records, calling it “harassment” and an invasion of privacy because Armstrong admits to doping to win the Tour de France seven times. Cooper could rule on the records this week.

In its arguments to get the hospital records, the government questions whether they could contradict a 2005 sworn statement from Dr Craig Nichols, one of Armstrong’s physicians, who said there was no record of performance-enhancing drug use.

The government notes the doctor’s affidavit contradicts sworn statements from Armstrong’s former team-mate, Frankie Andreu, and his wife, Betsy Andreu, who said they were in Armstrong’s hospital room and heard him admit drug use.

The doctor’s statement said he monitored Armstrong’s blood levels from 1997 to 2001 and found “nothing irregular,” specifically no use of the blood booster EPO. As an expert in using EPO to treat cancer patients, Nichols said he would likely have noticed it in his system. But Armstrong admitted under oath last month that he used EPO during that time.

Armstrong for years denied the hospital room conversation took place. He now says he doesn’t recall because it was two days after surgery to remove tumors from his brain.

The government has also subpoenaed records of donations to the medical school from the Livestrong charity. Government lawyers note Livestrong gave $1.5m to the school two days after witnesses first testified of the alleged hospital room conversation. Nichols is a former Livestrong board member.

Armstrong says the donation was made to honor Dr Larry Einhorn, another doctor who devised the treatments that saved Armstrong’s life.

In a separate but related case, Armstrong’s lawyers will be in a Dallas court later this week asking a judge to dismiss a $10m sanction against Armstrong related to a 2005 lawsuit that first raised the issue of the hospital room conversation.