Lance Armstrong keeps silent about doping allegations

Lance Armstrong keeps silent about doping allegations

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has kept silent about doping allegations hurled against him. After finishing 103rd in the last stage and 67th overall in the Tour Down Under, his last cycling event outside the U.S., he ignored reporters who asked him about his involvement in performance-enhancing drugs.

He thanked fans for an "unbelievable event" while accepting a gift on stage. The cycling event was won by Cameron Meyer who was six minutes ahead of Armstrong.

The latest twist in the federal investigation of Armstrong's doping involvement was about comments made by his former mechanic Mike Adams in a SI article saying that the champion could be a "symbol for decades of corruption" in cycling. Adams said he has talked to FDA investigator Jeff Novitzky about what he knows.

Adams alleged that Armstrong had misrepresented records on banned substances. Armstrong has vehemently denied taking such drugs in past interviews.

But Adams stood by his allegations, saying that he even found a box of "Andro" in Armstrong's house. Andro is another term for androstenedione which is a prohibited steroid.

"To be honest when I finally realized what was going on it was very troubling to me because Lance was my friend," said Adams. "When I had my hand forced and had to say 'I know what's going on' it was like telling a bunch of kids there's no such thing as Santa Claus."

After thanking the fans in Adelaide, Armstrong was driven away. He later posted a message on Twitter, saying that he is confident that he will be cleared of all allegations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday January 24 2011, 2:01 AM EDT. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0