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Armstrong says he's victim of 'setup'; WADA to review lab work
By JIM VERTUNO, AP Sports Writer
August 26, 2005
AP - Aug 25, 10:47 pm EDT
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Even facing the most serious drug allegations of his career, Lance Armstrong says he sleeps well at night.
The seven-time Tour de France champion continues to try to beat back reports in the French media that he used a banned blood booster in his first tour victory in 1999. On Thursday, he lashed out at the French lab that produced the findings in question.
''There's a setup here and I'm stuck in the middle of it,'' Armstrong told The Associated Press. ''I absolutely do not trust that laboratory,'' he said.
The French sports daily L'Equipe reported Tuesday that new exams on six urine samples Armstrong provided during the 1999 tour resulted in positive results for the red blood cell-booster EPO.
Armstrong's comment came after ##### Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said officials had received the lab results and would review them. Armstrong also said that while Pound might trust the lab that tested the samples, ''I certainly don't.''
On Thursday night, Armstrong elaborated on that distrust during an appearance on CNN's ''Larry King Live.''
''A guy in a Parisian laboratory opens up your sample, you know, Jean Francois so-and-so, and he tests it -- nobody's there to observe, no protocol was followed -- and then you get a call from a newspaper that says 'We found you to be positive six times for EPO.' Well, since when did newspapers start governing sports?''
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Although frustrated by the report and the difficulty of proving his case, Armstrong said he sleeps well at night knowing that he's competed drug-free.
''All I can do is come on this stage and tell my story and be honest. I've always done that,'' he said. ''Since this stuff's rolled out, I sleep great at night .... I don't have a problem looking at myself in the mirror.''
Armstrong questions the validity of testing samples frozen six years ago, how those samples were handled since, and how he could be expected to defend himself when the only confirming evidence -- the 'A' sample used for the 1999 tests -- no longer exists.
He also charged officials at the suburban Paris lab with violating WADA code for failing to safeguard the anonymity of any remaining 'B' samples it had.
''Nowadays, we all want clean sport,'' Armstrong told King. ''And fortunately, an organization called WADA has come along and has really governed the world of anti-doping. They have set about a protocol and a code that everybody has to live by. And (the lab) violated the code several times.''
The French report appears stronger than previous doping allegations raised against Armstrong, said Pound, the WADA chairman.
''There's been an awful lot of rumor and accusation about him for a number of years, always of the he-said, she-said variety. This appears -- I haven't seen the documents myself -- to have some documentary connection. That's a lot more serious. It's got to be taken more seriously,'' Pound said.
''If he had one, you could say it was an aberration,'' Pound said. ''When you get up to six, there's got to be some explanation.''
AP - Aug 23, 5:37 am EDT
More Photos
Pound said the lab is accredited by the International Olympic Committee and that he trusts it handled the samples properly. Pound also questioned the need for two samples to confirm a positive test.
''You can count on the fingers of one hand the times a B sample has not confirmed the result of the A sample,'' Pound said. ''It's almost always a delaying tactic.''
Armstrong said that contradicts WADA's own drug testing policy.
''For the head of the agency to say he actually doesn't believe in the code ... if your career is riding on the line, wouldn't you want a B sample?'' Armstrong told the AP. ''The French have been after (me) forever, and 'Whoops!' there's no B sample? The stakes are too high.''
Pound said the lab had asked WADA months ago if the agency was interested in reviewing its findings and that he agreed. He said the agency didn't expect names to be connected to the findings, but only wanted to see if the leftover samples from 1999 would show riders used EPO.
''They said it's simply research,'' Pound said.
Pound said he's waiting for WADA Science Director Olivier Rabin to return from Europe to review the results.
Armstrong told King he was tested dozens of times during all his Tour de France races, and was under exceptional scrutiny -- including right before his final race in June.
''Just a day before the start we had a knock on the door, and the minister of sport had sent a crew down there to collect two samples of urine and two samples of blood,'' Armstrong said. ''And we checked around and found out that nobody else in the peloton was tested that day. So I can't say 'witch hunt' loud enough.''
(What a bunch of Crape suz'et)...how can anyone trust the french..?..
By JIM VERTUNO, AP Sports Writer
August 26, 2005
AP - Aug 25, 10:47 pm EDT
More Photos
Even facing the most serious drug allegations of his career, Lance Armstrong says he sleeps well at night.
The seven-time Tour de France champion continues to try to beat back reports in the French media that he used a banned blood booster in his first tour victory in 1999. On Thursday, he lashed out at the French lab that produced the findings in question.
''There's a setup here and I'm stuck in the middle of it,'' Armstrong told The Associated Press. ''I absolutely do not trust that laboratory,'' he said.
The French sports daily L'Equipe reported Tuesday that new exams on six urine samples Armstrong provided during the 1999 tour resulted in positive results for the red blood cell-booster EPO.
Armstrong's comment came after ##### Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said officials had received the lab results and would review them. Armstrong also said that while Pound might trust the lab that tested the samples, ''I certainly don't.''
On Thursday night, Armstrong elaborated on that distrust during an appearance on CNN's ''Larry King Live.''
''A guy in a Parisian laboratory opens up your sample, you know, Jean Francois so-and-so, and he tests it -- nobody's there to observe, no protocol was followed -- and then you get a call from a newspaper that says 'We found you to be positive six times for EPO.' Well, since when did newspapers start governing sports?''
ADVERTISEMENT
Although frustrated by the report and the difficulty of proving his case, Armstrong said he sleeps well at night knowing that he's competed drug-free.
''All I can do is come on this stage and tell my story and be honest. I've always done that,'' he said. ''Since this stuff's rolled out, I sleep great at night .... I don't have a problem looking at myself in the mirror.''
Armstrong questions the validity of testing samples frozen six years ago, how those samples were handled since, and how he could be expected to defend himself when the only confirming evidence -- the 'A' sample used for the 1999 tests -- no longer exists.
He also charged officials at the suburban Paris lab with violating WADA code for failing to safeguard the anonymity of any remaining 'B' samples it had.
''Nowadays, we all want clean sport,'' Armstrong told King. ''And fortunately, an organization called WADA has come along and has really governed the world of anti-doping. They have set about a protocol and a code that everybody has to live by. And (the lab) violated the code several times.''
The French report appears stronger than previous doping allegations raised against Armstrong, said Pound, the WADA chairman.
''There's been an awful lot of rumor and accusation about him for a number of years, always of the he-said, she-said variety. This appears -- I haven't seen the documents myself -- to have some documentary connection. That's a lot more serious. It's got to be taken more seriously,'' Pound said.
''If he had one, you could say it was an aberration,'' Pound said. ''When you get up to six, there's got to be some explanation.''
AP - Aug 23, 5:37 am EDT
More Photos
Pound said the lab is accredited by the International Olympic Committee and that he trusts it handled the samples properly. Pound also questioned the need for two samples to confirm a positive test.
''You can count on the fingers of one hand the times a B sample has not confirmed the result of the A sample,'' Pound said. ''It's almost always a delaying tactic.''
Armstrong said that contradicts WADA's own drug testing policy.
''For the head of the agency to say he actually doesn't believe in the code ... if your career is riding on the line, wouldn't you want a B sample?'' Armstrong told the AP. ''The French have been after (me) forever, and 'Whoops!' there's no B sample? The stakes are too high.''
Pound said the lab had asked WADA months ago if the agency was interested in reviewing its findings and that he agreed. He said the agency didn't expect names to be connected to the findings, but only wanted to see if the leftover samples from 1999 would show riders used EPO.
''They said it's simply research,'' Pound said.
Pound said he's waiting for WADA Science Director Olivier Rabin to return from Europe to review the results.
Armstrong told King he was tested dozens of times during all his Tour de France races, and was under exceptional scrutiny -- including right before his final race in June.
''Just a day before the start we had a knock on the door, and the minister of sport had sent a crew down there to collect two samples of urine and two samples of blood,'' Armstrong said. ''And we checked around and found out that nobody else in the peloton was tested that day. So I can't say 'witch hunt' loud enough.''
(What a bunch of Crape suz'et)...how can anyone trust the french..?..
![IMG_3410[1].JPG](/xf/data/xfmg/thumbnail/40/40159-6742092b5bc936a08b9d02e1a1ad796f.jpg?1700189220)
