Today marks the start of the most famous race in cycling and it could also be a fateful day in the career of one the sport’s most famous personalities.
While Ireland’s Nicholas Roche and David Martin and leading contenders such as Cadel Evans and Mark Cavendish prepare to get the 2012 Tour underway in Liege, seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is facing having all his titles taken away from him as a result of doping charges brought against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
A statement was issued last night by USADA revealing that an independent three-person Anti-Doping Review Board had unanimously recommended going ahead with legal proceedings against Armstrong and an arbitration panel will now rule on the case.
“USADA can confirm that the independent three person Anti-Doping Review Board has conducted a full evaluation and has made a unanimous recommendation to move forward with the adjudication process in accordance with the rules,” the statement read.
“All respondents will have the opportunity to exercise their right to a full public arbitration hearing, should they so choose, where all evidence would be presented, witness testimony would be given under oath, and an independent group of arbitrators would ultimately decide the outcome of the case.
“USADA will continue to follow the established procedures that are compliant with federal law and were approved by athletes, the US Olympic Committee, and all Olympic sports organisations.”
In response to the USADA statement, Robert Luskin, Armstrong’s lawyer, claimed that USADA were “obsessed” with trying to shame the 40-year old and that accusations of doping violations were “wrong” and “baseless”.
“USADA’s decision to charge Lance Armstrong with doping violations is wrong and it is baseless,” said Luskin in a statement.
“But it is utterly predictable given the CEO of USADA, Travis Tygart, has been obsessed for six years with pursuing Mr Armstrong.
“[USADA] has compiled a disgraceful record of arrogance, secrecy, disregard for its own protocols, shabby science and contempt for due process. Mr Armstrong is exploring all his legal options.”
Armstrong has constantly pleaded his innocence and claimed that he has done nothing wrong throughout his career, but mounting evidence, including testimonies from other cyclists such as Floyd Landis, have badly damaged his reputation and having his record-breaking haul of Tour de France titles taken off him would be the final nail in the coffin.
