LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND -Former US gold medalist in cycling, Tyler Hamilton, continues to cause a stir a week after he said on US television news that he, but also others including teammate Lance Armstrong, used performance-enhancing drugs. He implied that Armstrong’s use of drugs was covered up by the international cycling body and the Swiss-based organization, Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency) that oversees the world’s 35 accredited labs since 2004.
Wada was created in 1999 and has been responsible for labs since 2004.
The accusations concern the 2001 Tour de Suisse.
Cycling News, which has followed the doping saga in the sport closely, published an article Wednesday 25 May that pits the word of Hein Verbruggen, an IOC official who was formerly head of the ICU (International Cycling Union), against that of Michael Ashenden, an independent member of the UCI’s panel of experts that reviews the blood passport data of professional cyclists an independent expert.
Verbruggen insists Armstrong never used doping and that there was no cover-up; Ashenden disagrees and insists on a more thorough international investigation.
Armstrong tweeted that he’d never failed even one of the 500-plus doping tests in his career, a fact with which Ashenden doesn’t disagree, saying that it doesn’t prove he didn’t use them.
Sports site ESPN notes that “Hamilton said that he saw Armstrong use performance-enhancing drugs, including the banned blood-booster erythropoietin, in 1999 and two subsequent seasons to help prepare for the Tour de France. ‘I saw (EPO) in his refrigerator. .. I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times.’”
Swiss-based ICU (International Cycling Union), the sports international body, lashed out at Hamilton after the show, stating Monday that “the International Cycling Union categorically rejects the allegations made by Mr Tyler Hamilton, who claims that Lance Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour of Switzerland and had the results covered up after one of his representatives approached the Lausanne laboratory responsible for analysing test results from the event.”
Wada was created in 1999 and has been responsible for labs since 2004.
The accusations concern the 2001 Tour de Suisse.
Cycling News, which has followed the doping saga in the sport closely, published an article Wednesday 25 May that pits the word of Hein Verbruggen, an IOC official who was formerly head of the ICU (International Cycling Union), against that of Michael Ashenden, an independent member of the UCI’s panel of experts that reviews the blood passport data of professional cyclists an independent expert.
Verbruggen insists Armstrong never used doping and that there was no cover-up; Ashenden disagrees and insists on a more thorough international investigation.
Hamilton’s gold medal now in hands of US Anti-Doping Agency
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) in Lausanne said after the 19 May programme aired that it would consider stripping Hamilton of his 2004 gold medal but the US Anti-Doping Agency, USADA, confirmed that Hamilton had in fact given the agency his medal Friday, the day after the show.Armstrong tweeted that he’d never failed even one of the 500-plus doping tests in his career, a fact with which Ashenden doesn’t disagree, saying that it doesn’t prove he didn’t use them.
Sports site ESPN notes that “Hamilton said that he saw Armstrong use performance-enhancing drugs, including the banned blood-booster erythropoietin, in 1999 and two subsequent seasons to help prepare for the Tour de France. ‘I saw (EPO) in his refrigerator. .. I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times.’”
Swiss-based ICU (International Cycling Union), the sports international body, lashed out at Hamilton after the show, stating Monday that “the International Cycling Union categorically rejects the allegations made by Mr Tyler Hamilton, who claims that Lance Armstrong tested positive for EPO during the 2001 Tour of Switzerland and had the results covered up after one of his representatives approached the Lausanne laboratory responsible for analysing test results from the event.”
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