Lance Armstrong's team ran 'the most sophisticated doping programme ever'
Report identifies 11 cyclists who provided testimony
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on Wednesday of cheating his way to the top of the cycling world with an elaborate doping operation - a claim his lawyer rejected as a “hatchet job”.
The agency said evidence that the American cyclist used and distributed a range of performance-enhancing drugs included financial payments, emails, scientific data, laboratory test results, and testimony from 11 former teammates.
It said Armstrong - one of the world’s most famous athletes who also is well known for his cancer-fighting charity work - and his team were at the centre of the most sophisticated doping program ever seen in the sports world.
The 41-year-old Texan, a cancer survivor, has denied cheating. He has never failed a doping test.
Five of Armstrong’s former teammates, who provided evidence in the investigation, issued separate statements on Wednesday admitting they used performance-enhancing drugs.
The agency - under pressure to reveal the details of its long-running investigation – on Wednesday released a summary of its findings against Armstrong, and planned to release the entirety of the report later in the day.