Lance Armstrong blames his cheating on some sex offender

I'm imagining Barry Bonds sitting at home thinking "Why didn't I think of this?"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2166832/Lance-Armstrong-launches-sex-offender-attack-anti-doping-official-agency-files-charges-him.html

Angry: Lance Armstrong has launched a blistering attack on anti-doping officials

Lance Armstrong launches 'sex offender' attack on anti-doping official as agency files charges against him


By Daily Mail Reporter


PUBLISHED: 00:15 EST, 30 June 2012 | UPDATED: 00:15 EST, 30 June 2012




Angry: Lance Armstrong has launched a blistering attack on anti-doping officials
Cycling legend Lance Armstrong has lashed out at anti-doping officials after they filed formal charges against him accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs.


The seven-time champion of the Tour de France is charged with being at the centre of a wide-ranging 'doping conspiracy' encompassing a number of other high-profile cycling figures.


But he has responded angrily, with his lawyer arguing that there is 'is not one shred of credible evidence to support the charges'.


Mr Armstrong himself went even further, taking to Twitter to point out that a senior figure in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has been accused of indecent exposure.


Attorney Robert Luskin said about the investigation: 'It is the entirely predictable product of USADA's toxic obsession with Lance Armstrong and a process in which truth is not a priority.


'There is not one shred of credible evidence to support USADA's charges and an unbroken record of more than 500 clean tests over more than a decade and a half to refute it.'


The agency notified Mr Armstrong, former team manager Johan Bruyneel and several other Armstrong team associates of the charges against the cyclist in a letter on Thursday.


The charges came after a USADA review panel examined evidence in the case, which now goes to an arbitration panel to decide.


If found guilty, Mr Armstrong could be stripped of the Tour de France titles he won from 1999-2005. This year's Tour de France begins on Saturday.


Also charged are team doctors Pedro Celaya Lezama and Luis Garcia del Moral, team trainer Pepe Marti, and consulting doctor Michele Ferrari. Because they are so closely linked, USADA rolled all of the charges into a single case.


Armstrong and the others have 'been part of a doping conspiracy involving team officials, employees, doctors and elite cyclists,' said the USADA letter.


The letter accuses Armstrong of using, possessing and trafficking banned substances including the blood-booster EPO, blood transfusions and steroids. The charges date back to 1998, after he had recovered from cancer but before his first Tour de France victory the following summer.




Champion: Mr Armstrong, pictured in 2005, won a record-breaking seven Tour de France titles
USADA says it has at least 10 former Armstrong teammates and associates who will testify against the cyclist, and blood samples from 2009 and 2010 that are 'fully consistent' with blood doping.


The 40-year-old Mr Armstrong retired from cycling last year, and in February a two-year federal investigation centring on alleged drug use by Mr Armstrong and his teams closed with no charges being filed.


The formal charges came after a unanimous recommendation from a three-person USADA review panel that looked at the evidence.


'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,' USADA said in a statement.


'USADA will continue to follow the established procedures that are compliant with federal law and were approved by athletes, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and all Olympic sports organizations.'


Mr Luskin hinted Mr Armstrong may file a federal lawsuit in an attempt to stop or delay the USADA investigation, saying he was 'exploring all his legal options'.




Claims: The USADA says it has proof the cyclist was involved with doping at the height of his career
Earlier in the day, the former champion went on the attack against one of the review board members, Minneapolis attorney Clark Griffith, using his Twitter account to note that Mr Griffith was charged in a misdemeanour case of indecent exposure earlier this year.


'Wow. @usantidoping can pick em. Here's... 1 of 3 Review Board members studying my case,' Armstrong tweeted, linking to a news story about Mr Griffith.


A 24-year-old student reported Mr Griffith unzipped his pants in front of her on a St Paul street.


Mr Griffith entered an Alford plea on June 13. Under the plea, Griffith did not admit doing anything wrong but acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence for a jury to convict him.


Sentencing is scheduled for July 26. Mr Griffith insists he is innocent and entered the plea to avoid a trial that would embarrass his family.


Mr Griffith said Mr Armstrong's tweet was 'an effort to get away from the issues that will be dealt with by an arbitration panel. By smearing me, that does nothing. I'm innocent of that.'


USADA has not publicly released most of its evidence against Mr Armstrong.