Armstrong gets backing from USA cycling
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-27 08:56

Lance Armstrong received strong backing Friday from cycling's domestic governing body, which said accusations against the seven-time Tour de France champion are "completely without credibility." "Preposterous is a strong word, but it is warranted in this case," said Gerard Bisceglia, chief executive officer of USA Cycling.

In this image from television, cyclist Lance Armstrong, right appears on CNN's 'Larry King Live' with Bob Costas by remote from New York, Thursday Aug. 25, 2005 to discuss recent allegations of doping. [AP]

Armstrong has denied reports in the French media this week that he used a banned blood booster in his first tour victory in 1999. The sports newspaper L'Equipe reported that new tests on six urine samples Armstrong provided during the 1999 tour resulted in positive results for the red blood cell-booster EPO.

"Lance Armstrong is one of the most tested athletes in the history of sport and he has come up clean every single time," Bisceglia said. "This kind of years-ago testing of a single sample with new technology is completely without credibility."

"What's worse is that Lance cannot defend himself because there is no mechanism for final resolution," he added.

Although Armstrong has not said if he'll pursue legal action, Bisceglia said USA Cycling will support him in whatever way he chooses to "denounce these accusations."

On Thursday, Armstrong lashed out at the French lab that produced the findings.

"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.

Armstrong spoke after Dick 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 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 錕斤拷 nobody's there to observe, no protocol was followed 錕斤拷 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?"

Although frustrated by the report and the difficulty of proving his case, Armstrong told King he is at ease.

"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 handling of samples frozen six years ago. He also wonders how he is to defend himself when the only confirming evidence 錕斤拷 the 'A' sample used for the 1999 tests 錕斤拷 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.

Pound said the French report appears stronger than previous accusations against Armstrong.

"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."

Pound said the lab is accredited by the International Olympic Committee. He 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 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."

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