Comeback
Astana Pro Team: 2009
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Armstrong announced on September 9, 2008, that he would return to pro cycling with the express goal of participating in the 2009 Tour de France. VeloNews reported that Armstrong would race for no salary or bonuses and would post his internally tested blood results online
Australian ABC radio reported on September 24, 2008, that Armstrong would compete in the UCI Tour Down Under through Adelaide and surrounding areas in January 2009. UCI rules say a cyclist has to be in an anti-doping program for six months before an event, but UCI allowed Armstrong to compete. He had to retire from the 2009 Vuelta a Castilla y León during the first stage after crashing in a rider pileup in Baltanás, Spain, and breaking his collarbone. Armstrong flew back to Austin, Texas, for corrective surgery, which was successful, and was back training on a bicycle within four days of his operation.
On April 10, 2009, a controversy emerged between the French anti-doping agency AFLD and Armstrong and his team manager, Johan Bruyneel, stemming from a March 17, 2009, encounter with an AFLD anti-doping official who visited Armstrong after a training ride in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. When the official arrived, Armstrong claims he asked—and was granted—permission to take a shower while Bruyneel checked the official's credentials. In late April, the AFLD cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing. Armstrong returned to racing after his collarbone injury at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico on April 29.
On July 7, in the fourth stage of the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong narrowly failed to win the yellow jersey after his Astana team won the team time trial. His Astana team won the 39 km lap of Montpellier but Armstrong ended up just over two tenths of a second outside Fabian Cancellara's overall lead. Armstrong finished the 2009 Tour de France in third place overall, 5:24 behind the overall winner, his Astana teammate Alberto Contador.
Team RadioShack: 2010–11
On July 21, 2009, Armstrong announced that he would return to the Tour de France in 2010. RadioShack was named as the main sponsor for Armstrong's 2010 team, named Team RadioShack. Armstrong made his 2010 season debut at the Tour Down Under where he finished 25th out of the 127 riders who completed the race. He made his European season debut at the 2010 Vuelta a Murcia finishing in seventh place overall. Armstrong was also set to compete in several classics such as the Milan–San Remo, Amstel Gold Race, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Tour of Flanders, but bouts with gastroenteritis forced his withdrawal from three of the four races.
Armstrong returned to the United States in mid-April to compete in the Tour of Gila and May's Tour of California, both as preparation for the Tour de France. However, he crashed outside Visalia early in stage 5 of the Tour of California and had to withdraw from the race. He showed fine shape after recovering from the Tour of California crash, placing second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg.
On June 28, Armstrong announced via Twitter that the 2010 edition would be his final Tour de France. Armstrong put in an impressive performance in the Tour's prologue time trial, finishing fourth, but was plagued by crashes in later stages that put him out of general classification contention, especially a serious crash in stage 8. He rallied for the brutal Pyrenean stage 16, working as a key player in a successful break that included teammate Chris Horner. He finished his last tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes 20 seconds behind former winner Alberto Contador. He was also a key rider in helping Team RadioShack win the team competition, beating Caisse d'Epargne by 9 minutes, 15 seconds. In October, he announced the end of his international career after the Tour Down Under in January 2011. He stated that after January 2011, he will race only in the U.S. with the Radioshack domestic team.
Armstrong announced his retirement from competitive cycling 'for good' on February 16, 2011, while still facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations.
Collaboration of sponsors
Armstrong improved the support behind his well-funded teams, asking sponsors and suppliers to contribute and act as part of the team. For example, rather than having the frame, handlebars, and tires designed and developed by separate companies with little interaction, his teams adopted a Formula One relationship with sponsors and suppliers named 'F-One', taking full advantage of the combined resources of several organizations working in close communication. The team, Trek, Nike, AMD, Bontrager, Shimano, Sram, Giro and Oakley, collaborated for an array of products.
Doping allegations, investigation and confession
For much of his career, Armstrong faced persistent allegations of doping. Armstrong denied all such allegations until January 2013, often claiming that he never had any positive test in the drug tests he has taken over his cycling career.
Armstrong has been criticized for his disagreements with outspoken opponents of doping such as Paul Kimmage and Christophe Bassons. Bassons was a rider for Festina at the time of the Festina affair and was widely reported by teammates as being the only rider on the team not to be taking performance-enhancing drugs. Bassons wrote a number of articles for a French newspaper during the 1999 Tour de France which made references to doping in the peloton. Subsequently, Armstrong had an altercation with Bassons during the 1999 Tour de France where Bassons said Armstrong rode up alongside on the Alpe d'Huez stage to tell him 'it was a mistake to speak out the way I do and he asked why I was doing it. I told him that I'm thinking of the next generation of riders. Then he said 'Why don't you leave, then?'
Armstrong confirmed the story. On the main evening news on TF1, a national television station, Armstrong said, 'His accusations aren't good for cycling, for his team, for me, for anybody. If he thinks cycling works like that, he's wrong and he would be better off going home'. Kimmage, a professional cyclist in the 1980s who later became a sports journalist, referred to Armstrong as a 'cancer in cycling'. He also asked Armstrong questions in relation to his 'admiration for dopers' at a press conference at the Tour of California in 2009, provoking a scathing reaction from Armstrong. This spat continued and is exemplified by Kimmage's articles in The Irish Independent.
Armstrong continued to deny the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs for four more years, describing himself as the most tested athlete in the world. From his return to cycling in the fall of 2008 through March 2009, Armstrong claimed to have submitted to 24 unannounced drug tests by various anti-doping authorities
Working with Michele Ferrari
Armstrong was criticized for working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari. Ferrari claimed that he was introduced to Lance by Eddy Merckx in 1995. Greg LeMond described himself as 'devastated' on hearing of them working together, while Tour de France organizer Jean-Marie Leblanc said, 'I am not happy the two names are mixed.' Following Ferrari's later-overturned conviction for 'sporting fraud' and 'abuse of the medical profession', Armstrong claimed he suspended his professional relationship with him, saying that he had 'zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs' and denying that Ferrari had ever 'suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs.'
Though Ferrari was banned from practicing medicine with cyclists by the Italian Cycling Federation, according to Italian law enforcement authorities, Armstrong met with Ferrari as late as 2010 in a country outside Italy. According to Cycling News, 'USADA reveals an intimate role played by Dr. Michele Ferrari in masterminding Armstrong's Tour de France success'. According to the USADA report, Armstrong paid Ferrari over a million dollars from 1996 to 2006, countering Armstrong's claim that he severed his professional relationship with Ferrari in 2004. The report also includes numerous eyewitness accounts of Ferrari injecting Armstrong with EPO on a number of occasions.
L.A. Confidentiel: 2004
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In 2004, reporters Pierre Ballester and David Walsh published a book alleging Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs . Another figure in the book, Steve Swart, claims he and other riders, including Armstrong, began using drugs in 1995 while members of the Motorola team, a claim denied by other team members.
Among the allegations in the book were claims by Armstrong's former soigneur Emma O'Reilly that a backdated prescription for cortisone had been produced in 1999 to avoid a positive test. A 1999 urine sample at the Tour de France showed traces of corticosteroid. A medical certificate showed he used an approved cream for saddle sores which contained the substance. O'Reilly said she heard team officials worrying about Armstrong's positive test for steroids during the Tour. She said: 'They were in a panic, saying: 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?'
According to O'Reilly, the solution was to get one of their compliant doctors to issue a pre-dated prescription for a steroid-based ointment to combat saddle sores. He said she would have known if Armstrong had saddle sores as she would have administered any treatment for it. O'Reilly said that Armstrong told her: 'Now, Emma, you know enough to bring me down.' O'Reilly said on other occasions she was asked to dispose of used syringes for Armstrong and pick up strange parcels for the team.
Allegations in the book were reprinted in The Sunday Times by deputy sports editor Alan English in June 2004. Armstrong sued for libel, and the paper settled out of court after a High Court judge in a pre-trial ruling stated that the article 'meant accusation of guilt and not simply reasonable grounds to suspect.' The newspaper's lawyers issued the statement: 'The Sunday Times has confirmed to Mr. Armstrong that it never intended to accuse him of being guilty of taking any performance-enhancing drugs and sincerely apologized for any such impression.' The same authors subsequently published L.A. Official and Le Sale Tour, further pressing their claims that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.
On March 31, 2005, Mike Anderson filed a brief in Travis County District Court in Texas, as part of a legal battle following his termination in November 2004 as an employee of Armstrong. Anderson worked for Armstrong for two years as a personal assistant. In the brief, Anderson claimed that he discovered a box of androstenone while cleaning a bathroom in Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain. Androstenone is not on the list of banned drugs. Anderson stated in a subsequent deposition that he had no direct knowledge of Armstrong using a banned substance. Armstrong denied the claim and issued a counter-suit. The two men reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2005; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
In November 2012, Times Newspapers republished all of Walsh's articles as well as the original 'LA Confidential' article by Alan English in Lanced: The shaming of Lance Armstrong. The Times is said to be considering taking action to recoup money from Armstrong in relation to the settlement and court costs.
In December 2012 The Sunday Times filed suit against Armstrong for $1.5 million. In its suit, the paper is seeking a return of the original settlement, plus interest and the cost of defending the original case.
In August 2013, Armstrong and The Sunday Times reached an undisclosed settlement
Tour de France urine tests: 2005
On August 23, 2005, L'Équipe, a major French daily sports newspaper, reported on its front page under the headline 'le mensonge Armstrong' that six urine samples taken from the cyclist during the prologue and five stages of the 1999 Tour de France, frozen and stored since at 'Laboratoire national de dépistage du dopage de Châtenay-Malabr'y, had tested positive for erythropoietin in recent retesting conducted as part of a research project into EPO testing methods.
Armstrong immediately replied on his website, saying, 'Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorro'ws article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits in its own article that the science in question here is faulty and that I have no way to defend myself. They state: 'There will therefore be no counter-exam nor regulatory prosecutions, in a strict sense, since defendant's rights cannot be respected.' I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs.'
In October 2005, in response to calls from the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency for an independent investigation, the UCI appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory, LNDD. Vrijman was head of the Dutch anti-doping agency for ten years; since then he has worked as a defense attorney defending high-profile athletes against doping charges. Vrijman's report cleared Armstrong because of improper handling and testing. The report said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was 'completely irresponsible' to suggest they 'constitute evidence of anything.'
The recommendation of the commission's report was no disciplinary action against any rider on the basis of LNDD research. It also called upon the WADA and LNDD to submit themselves to an investigation by an outside independent authority. The IOC Ethics Commission subsequently censured Dick Pound, the President of WADA and a member of the IOC, for his statements in the media that suggested wrongdoing by Armstrong. In April 2009, anti-doping expert Michael Ashenden said 'the LNDD absolutely had no way of knowing athlete identity from the sample they're given. They have a number on them, but that's never linked to an athlete's name. The only group that had both the number and the athlete's name is the federation, in this case it was the UCI.' He added 'There was only two conceivable ways that synthetic EPO could've gotten into those samples. One, is that Lance Armstrong used EPO during the '99 Tour. The other way it could've got in the urine was if, as Lance Armstrong seems to believe, the laboratory spiked those samples. Now, that's an extraordinary claim, and there's never ever been any evidence the laboratory has ever spiked an athlete's sample, even during the Cold War, where you would've thought there was a real political motive to frame an athlete from a different country. There's never been any suggestion that it happened.'
Ashenden's statements are at odds with the findings of the Vrijman report. 'According to Mr. Ressiot, the manner in which the LNDD had structured the results table of its report – i.e. listing the sequence of each of the batches, as well as the exact number of urine samples per batch, in the same order as the stages of the 1999 Tour de France they were collected at – was already sufficient to allow him to determine the exact stage these urine samples referred to and subsequently the identity of the riders who were tested at that stage.' The Vrijman report also says 'Le Monde of July 21 and 23, 1999 reveal that the press knew the contents of original doping forms of the 1999 Tour de France'.
SCA Promotions case: 2005–2015
In June 2006, French newspaper Le Monde reported claims by Betsy and Frankie Andreu during a deposition that Armstrong had admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician just after brain surgery in 1996. The Andreus' testimony was related to litigation between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, a Texas company attempting to withhold a $5 million bonus; this was settled out of court with SCA paying Armstrong and Tailwind Sports $7.5 million, to cover the $5 million bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. The testimony stated 'And so the doctor asked him a few questions, not many, and then one of the questions he asked was ... have you ever used any performance-enhancing drugs? And Lance said yes. And the doctor asked, what were they? And Lance said, growth hormone, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone.'
Armstrong suggested Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment which included steroids and EPO that are taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell-destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy. The Andreus' allegation was not supported by any of the eight other people present, including Armstrong's doctor Craig Nichols, or his medical history. According to Greg LeMond, he had a recorded conversation, the transcript of which was reviewed by National Public Radio, with Stephanie McIlvain in which she said of Armstrong's alleged admission 'You know, I was in that room. I heard it.' However, McIlvain has contradicted LeMond's allegations on the issue and denied under oath that the incident in question ever occurred in her sworn testimony.
In July 2006, the Los Angeles Times published a story on the allegations raised in the SCA case. The report cited evidence at the trial, including the results of the LNDD test and an analysis of these results by an expert witness. From the Los Angeles Times article: 'The results, Australian researcher Michael Ashenden testified in Dallas, show Armstrong's levels rising and falling, consistent with a series of injections during the Tour. Ashenden, a paid expert retained by SCA Promotions, told arbitrators that the results painted a 'compelling picture' that the world's most famous cyclist 'used EPO in the '99 Tour.'
Ashenden's finding were disputed by the Vrijman report, which pointed to procedural and privacy issues in dismissing the LNDD test results. The Los Angeles Times article also provided information on testimony given by Armstrong's former teammate, Swart, Andreu and his wife Betsy, and instant messaging conversation between Andreu and Jonathan Vaughters regarding blood-doping in the peloton. Vaughters signed a statement disavowing the comments and stating he had: 'no personal knowledge that any team in the Tour de France, including Armstrong's Discovery team in 2005, engaged in any prohibited conduct whatsoever.' Andreu signed a statement affirming the conversation took place as indicated on the instant messaging logs submitted to the court.
The SCA trial was settled out of court, and the Los Angeles Times reported: 'Though no verdict or finding of facts was rendered, Armstrong called the outcome proof that the doping allegations were baseless.' The Los Angeles Times article provides a review of the disputed positive EPO test, allegations and sworn testimony against Armstrong, but notes that: 'They are filled with conflicting testimony, hearsay and circumstantial evidence admissible in arbitration hearings but questionable in more formal legal proceedings.'
In October 2012, following the publication of the USADA reasoned decision, SCA Promotions announced its intention to recoup the monies paid to Armstrong totaling in excess of $7 million. Armstrong's legal representative Tim Herman stated in June: 'When SCA decided to settle the case, it settled the entire matter forever. No backs. No re-dos. No do-overs. SCA knowingly and independently waived any right to make further claims to any of the money it paid.' SCA's Jeff Dorough stated that on October 30, 2012, Armstrong was sent a formal request for the return of $12 million in bonuses. It is alleged that Armstrong's legal team has offered a settlement of $1 million.
On February 4, 2015 the arbitration panel decided 2–1 in SCA's favor and ordered Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp to pay SCA $10 million. The panel's decision was referred to the Texas 116th Civil District Court in Dallas on February 16, 2015 for confirmation. Panel members Richard Faulkner and Richard Chernick sided with SCA; Ted Lyon sided with Armstrong. Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman stated that the panel's ruling was contrary to Texas law and expected that the court would overturn it. The panel's decision said, in part, about Armstrong that, 'Perjury must never be profitable' and 'it is almost certainly the most devious sustained deception ever perpetrated in world sporting history.'
On September 27, 2015, Armstrong and SCA agreed to a settlement. Armstrong issued a formal, public apology and agreed to pay SCA an undisclosed sum.
Federal investigation: 2010–2012
In a series of emails in May 2010, Floyd Landis admitted to doping and accused Armstrong and others of the same. Based on Landis's allegations, U.S. Justice Department federal prosecutors led an investigation into possible crimes conducted by Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. The Food and Drug Administration and federal agent Jeff Novitzky were also involved in the investigation. In June 2010, Armstrong hired a criminal defense attorney to represent him in the investigation. The hiring was first reported in July when Armstrong was competing in the 2010 Tour de France.
On February 3, 2012, federal prosecutors officially dropped their criminal investigation with no charges. The closing of the case was announced 'without an explanation' by U.S. Attorney André Birotte, Jr. When Novitzky was asked to comment on it, he declined.
In February 2013, a month after Armstrong admitted to doping, the Justice Department joined Landis's whistleblower lawsuit to recover government funding given to Armstrong's cycling team
USADA investigation and limited confession: 2011–2013
In June 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong of doping and trafficking of drugs, based on blood samples from 2009 and 2010, and testimony from witnesses including former teammates. Further, he was accused of putting pressure on teammates to take unauthorized performance-enhancing drugs as well. In October 2012, USADA formally charged him with running a massive doping ring. It also sought to ban him from participating in sports sanctioned by WADA for life. Armstrong chose not to appeal the findings, saying it would not be worth the toll on his family. As a result, he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. He also received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. As nearly all national and international sporting federations, including UCI, follow the World Anti-Doping Code, this effectively ended his competitive cycling career. The International Cycling Union upheld USADA's decision and decided that his stripped wins would not be allocated to other riders.
After years of public denials, in a January 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong reversed course and made a 'limited confession' to doping. While admitting wrongdoing in the interview, he also said it was 'absolutely not' true that he was doping in 2009 or 2010, and claimed that the last time he 'crossed the line' was in 2005. He also denied pressuring team-mates into doping. In September 2013, he was asked by UCI's new president, Brian Cookson, to testify about his doping. Armstrong refused to testify until and unless he received complete amnesty, which Cookson said was most unlikely to happen.
After USADA's report, all of Armstrong's sponsors dropped him. He reportedly lost $75 million of sponsorship income in a day. On May 28, 2013, Nike announced that it would be cutting all ties to Livestrong. In the aftermath of Armstrong's fall from grace, a CNN article wrote that 'The epic downfall of cycling's star, once an idolized icon of millions around the globe, stands out in the history of professional sports.' In a 2015 interview with BBC News, Armstrong stated that if it was still 1995, he would 'probably do it again'.
Whistleblower lawsuit: 2010–2018
In 2010, one of Armstrong's former teammates, the American Floyd Landis, whose 2006 Tour De France victory was nullified after a positive doping test, sent a series of emails to cycling officials and sponsors admitting to, and detailing, his systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career. The emails also claimed that other riders and cycling officials participated in doping, including Armstrong.
Landis filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows citizens to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded. The existence of the lawsuit, initially filed under seal, was first revealed by The Wall Street Journal in 2010. In the lawsuit, Landis alleged that Armstrong and team managers defrauded the US government when they accepted money from the US Postal Service. In January 2013, US Justice Department officials recommended joining the federal lawsuit aimed at clawing back money from Armstrong.
In February, the US Department of Justice joined the whistleblower lawsuit, which also accused former Postal Service team director Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports, the firm that managed the US Postal Service team, of defrauding the US.
In April 2014, documents from the AIC case were filed by lawyers representing Landis in relation to the whistleblower suit. In these documents, Armstrong stated under oath that Jose 'Pepi' Marti, Dr Pedro Celaya, Dr Luis Garcia del Moral and Dr Michele Ferrari had all provided him with doping products in the period up until 2005. He also named people who had transported or acted as couriers, as well as people that were aware of his doping practices. One week later, the USADA banned Bruyneel from cycling for ten years and Celaya and Marti for eight years.
In June 2014, US district judge Robert Wilkins denied Armstrong's request to dismiss the government lawsuit stating 'The court denies without prejudice the defendants' motion to dismiss the government's action as time-barred.'
In February 2017, the court determined that the federal government's US$100 million civil lawsuit against Armstrong, started by Landis, would proceed to trial. The matter was settled in April 2018 when Armstrong agreed to pay the United States Government US$5 million. During the proceedings it was revealed that the US Postal Service had paid US$31 million in sponsorship to Armstrong and Tailwind Sports between 2001 and 2004. The Department of Justice accused Armstrong of violating his contract with the USPS and committing fraud when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. It was reported that Landis would receive US$1.1 million as a result of his whistleblower actions.
Other lawsuits: 2010 to present In November 2013, Armstrong settled a lawsuit with Acceptance Insurance Company . AIC had sought to recover $3 million it had paid Armstrong as bonuses for winning the Tour de France from 1999 to 2001. The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum one day before Armstrong was scheduled to give a deposition under oath.
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