April 10/14 13:36 pm - Lance Armstrong Named Names

Posted by Editoress on 04/10/14
 

USA Today has successfully argued in court to have court documents unsealed that include Lance Armstrong naming individuals who he says assisted him or knew of his doping.  The statements were made under oath during a lawsuit by Acceptance Insurance to recover monies paid for bonuses for Tour de France wins.  Armstrong reached a settlement in that case, but Floyd Landis' attorneys argued for access as part of their whistleblower lawsuit against Armstrong, and then USA Today got them opened to the media.

In the released statements, Armstrong names four individuals as supplying doping products, which Armstrong says he paid for himself:  trainer Pepi Marti, Dr. Pedro Celaya, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral and Dr. Michele Ferrari.

He also names a variety of individuals who delivered doping products:  masseuse Emma O'Reilly, bike mechanic Julien de Vriese and Philippe Maire (called 'Motoman' in various previous reports and books).  In addition, he says team director Johan Bruyneel knew of doping use, as did former team higher ups Mark Gorski and Thomas Weisel, and coach Chris Carmichael (who now owns Carmichael Training Systems).

What is interesting is that Armstrong, all through the testimony, says that he paid for and organized the doping himself, which is clearly an effort to rebut accusations by Landis in his whistleblower suit that it was an organized program, which would cost Armstrong upwards of $100 million if proved.

Read the USA Today story Here