Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong

by David Walsh

  So once again I’d like to remind you that calling my close friends with allegations of alcoholism and insanity will be ineffective and – certainly threats of ‘tweeting’ that if I have something to say I should just say it – reflect poorly on your mental well-being. Maybe seeking help is a good idea for you. Of course, like I’ve stated, a legal course is preferable. Floyd Landis email to Lance Armstrong

  Like I said the first time, it’s like a carton of sour milk – one sip and you know it’s bad. You don’t drink the whole thing, or keep taking sips of it. Lance on Landis

  When asked how he replied to these emails and why the replies weren’t also released, Armstrong indicated that he hadn’t replied. As people grew more and more fascinated with Landis’s tale, Armstrong gave the definitive review.

  22 October 2010

  By now they are going at each other gangland style. A take-down occurs in Lance Armstrong’s front garden. It is the weekend of Livestrong’s Race for the Roses, an annual fundraiser for Armstrong’s principal cancer charity. Yaroslav Popovych, the RadioShack rider, is in the slightly funky town of Austin, Texas, for the event. He is signing autographs down at Armstrong’s bike emporium, Mellow Johnny’s.

  As Popovych comes out of the shop to head towards his car he is approached by an unidentified man. The man grabs the door of Popovych’s car before he can close it. The rider, obviously unfamiliar with events in Dallas in November 1963, breaks the stalemate by politely suggesting that the man speak to him back at his hotel. Popovych gets into his car. The man dashes to his SUV and tails the rider’s car to the hotel.

  At the Hyatt Regency a man dressed all in black (according to witnesses) stands in the middle of the street and orders Popovych to stop his car. Popovych attempts to drive around the man, but two more SUVs appear, one blocking the car’s front and one in the back. A woman with a badge motions the Ukrainian to the car.

  When Popovych stepped out, the first guy, from the bike shop, served a subpoena for Popovych to appear in Los Angeles on 3 November to testify into the federal investigation into cycling. There were more surprises for Popovych a couple of weeks later when, as he was negotiating a round-about near his house in Quarrata, a picturesque Tuscan village, the Caribinieri sprang from everywhere, escorted him home and searched his house and computers. Sports Illustrated later reported that Italian police had found contemporary files linking Armstrong to Michele Ferrari.

  19 November 2010

  Jeff Novitzky, the thinking man’s Eliot Ness, is reported to be in Europe showing the French a thing or two about how to be suave. He is, it is alleged, charming the local gendarmes into sharing the details of their investigation into the dumping of medical waste during the 2000 Tour. He is also spotted in Lyon swanning in and out of Interpol headquarters, meeting with prosecutors from all over Europe. The rumour mill insists that there could be indictments under a few Christmas trees. Several current and former pros have already been called before the Grand Jury. Is the investigation widening? Will Novitzky chase down the elusive Texan pimpernel aboard the Orient Express? Tune in next week. Or not. If you are Juan Pelota. Lance’s alter ego issues a tweet baiting Novitzky. He may only have Juan Pelota – but it is made of titanium.

  Hey, Jeff, ¿cómo están los hoteles de cuatro estrellas y la clase business del avión? ¿Qué más necesitas? Juan Pelota, aka Lance Armstrong.

  Hey, Jeff, how are the four-star hotels and the business class on the plane? Anything else you need?

  In December US newspapers would report that Floyd Landis had worn a wire and carried a small, hidden video camera to the home of Michael Ball, CEO of Rock Racing, in the spring of 2010.

  16 February 2011

  Citing a desire to devote himself full-time to his family, to the fight against cancer and to leading the foundation he established having survived cancer himself, Lance Armstrong retires from cycling for the second time.

  It was time for him to stop. He’s won everything, he had nothing left to prove to anybody. Eddy Merckx

  So Lance puts on his slippers, and when he is not in the lab fighting cancer he is in the yard playing with the kids. All is well through the spring. Then:

  20 May 2011

  Tyler Hamilton announces to the world that he has been speaking to a Grand Jury. What’s more, he would recommend it to anybody.

  Until that moment I walked into the courtroom, I hadn’t told a soul. My testimony went on for six hours. For me it was like the Hoover dam breaking. I opened up; I told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And I felt a sense of relief I’d never felt before – all the secrets, all the weight I’d been carrying around for years, suddenly lifted. I saw that, for me personally, this was the way forward. Tyler Hamilton

  There is a point to be made about Tyler Hamilton and doping. Namely that he is not too good at it. He suffered a two-year ban for a positive in the Vuelta a España in 2004. He had his whole doping programme exposed in the Operación Puerto blood-doping inquiry in Spain in 2006, amid allegations that he had used a cocktail of substances including EPO, growth hormone, testosterone and cortisone. He came back to racing after a two-year ban but tested positive in 2009 for the banned steroid DHEA.

  Even in retirement there is no peace.

  There are a lot of other cheats and liars out there too who have gotten away with it. It’s not just Lance. With a little luck I would still be out there today being a cheat and a liar. Tyler Hamilton

  21 September 2011

  The drip of allegations takes on an Italian accent. An Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, reports that Armstrong made payments to Michele Ferrari via a third-party company in Switzerland. An investigation by Swiss and Italian authorities reportedly showed Armstrong directed funds to a company in the Neuchâtel region called Health and Performance. Ferrari had been cleared of criminal charges in 2006, but Armstrong had vowed two years previously to discontinue working with him and claimed that he had maintained only some social contact with Ferrari since then. Tick. Tick. Tick.

  3 February 2012

  Twenty months in the making and then the studio closed down production on its own blockbuster. Jeff Novitzky and Lance Armstrong would not be duelling on the silver screen after all. The long, seemingly inexorable, federal criminal investigation of Lance Armstrong and his former professional cycling teams ended with a whimper. In Los Angeles the United States Attorney’s Office made a terse announcement that the government was ending its pursuit of the case. The FBI and the FDA were quoted as being ‘shocked, surprised and angered’ by the decision. Not to say ambushed.

  Having assiduously rounded up witness after witness to provide confidential evidence to the Grand Jury, the FBI got thirty minutes’ notice of the announcement. Still, it was two days before the Superbowl in the United States and a nation placidly accepted that Lance Armstrong had walked. Questions remained in the wake of the abrupt ending of an investigation that had drawn on the evidence of dozens of witnesses, enough scientific and financial documents to run a mountain stage over, and multiple law-enforcement agencies in the United States and overseas. In the immediate aftermath of the cancellation of the investigation, rumours persisted that Novitzky and his team had been following new leads and were expecting indictments later in the spring. Not to be.

  I am gratified to learn that the US Attorney’s Office is closing its investigation. It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it. I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this distraction. Lance Armstrong

  Why the investigation was unexpectedly closed remains a mystery. One view is that Armstrong’s friends in high places applied the pressure that led to US Attorney Andre Birotte dropping the case. Another view is that Birotte decided against proceeding with the case because of the cost and the uncertainty of the outcome.

  But as Novitzky rode off into the sunset he tossed the baton to Travis Tygart of USADA. For Armstrong and several of those around him, th
e prospect of USADA continuing a federal investigation wasn’t going to cost them a lot of sleep. Surely Travis Tygart wasn’t going to get his hands on the fruits of an eighteen-month long federally funded investigation just like that? USADA quietly pointed out that it had been investigating doping on the US Postal team since at least 12 April 2010. During the period from late 2010 until 3 February 2012, USADA conducted only a handful of witness interviews ‘in deference to, and out of respect for’ the federal investigation.

  Upon the announcement that Mr Birotte had discontinued the investigation by his office, USADA promptly proceeded to schedule interviews of potential witnesses, most of whom were interviewed between 15 March and 12 June 2012. Now the plot thickens and the pace quickens.

  Unlike the US Attorney, USADA’s job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws … Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling is continuing and we look forward to obtaining the information developed during the federal investigation. Travis Tygart

  There has been significant evidence taken on anti-doping areas, on what may have occurred in the way of doping. It would be very, very helpful if that information was handed over. The United States anti-doping organisation is keen to get hold of that evidence and we would like to see that happen because there could well be some very relevant information there. John Fahey, WADA

  31 May 2012

  USADA reach out. They invite Lance Armstrong to meet, to be truthful, to be part of the solution. He has other stuff on.

  12 June 2012

  USADA proceed to the next stage. Based on overwhelming evidence it has received during the course of its investigation, USADA notifies Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, Dr Pedro Celaya, Dr Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr Michele Ferrari and Jose ‘Pepe’ Marti that it is opening a formal action for anti-doping rule violations.

  These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge. USADA’s malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play. Lance Armstrong

  Calling the actions of the USADA a ‘witch hunt’, Armstrong takes to tweeting.

  Dear @usantidoping – we have now sent you THREE letters requesting all the relevant info in order for me to respond to your ‘review board’. Until now there has been no response, not even an acknowledgement of receipt. The knife cuts both ways – it’s time to play by the rules. Lance Armstrong

  27 June 2012

  The USADA Anti-Doping Review Board recommends that USADA proceed with its action against Armstrong, Bruyneel, Celaya, Garcia del Moral, Ferrari and Marti. A day later USADA issues a charging letter to the individuals concerned that sets forth potential sanctions and notifies them of their right to request a hearing before a panel of neutral arbitrators. Once again Armstrong is unimpressed. He litigates through the medium of tweeting.

  So let me get this straight … come in and tell @usantidoping exactly what they want to hear in exchange for immunity, anonymity, and the opportunity to continue to race the biggest event in cycling …

  This isn’t about @usantidoping wanting to clean up cycling – rather it’s just plain ol’ selective prosecution that reeks of vendetta. Lance Armstrong

  9 July 2012

  In what appears to be one final throw of the legal dice, Armstrong gets down to the courthouse on Monday morning in Austin, Texas, and files a federal lawsuit in an attempt to halt the USADA case. He needs to derail USADA by Saturday. US District Judge Sam Sparks rejects the lawsuit, almost out of hand, calling it ‘a lengthy and bitter polemic’.

  This is referred to in some places as the ‘talk to the hand, the face ain’t listening’ verdict. Sparks, however, does allow Armstrong’s lawyers to file an amended lawsuit. Still, not a good day to be one of Armstrong’s legal domestiques.

  This court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong’s desire for publicity, self-aggrandisement or vilification of defendants by sifting through eighty mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of material relevant to his claims. Contrary to Armstrong’s apparent belief, pleadings filed in the United States District Courts are not press releases, internet blogs, or pieces of investigative journalism … The bulk of these paragraphs contain ‘allegations’ that are wholly irrelevant to Armstrong’s claims – and which, the Court must presume, were included solely to increase media coverage of the case, and to incite public opinion against defendants. Judge Sam Sparks

  10 July 2012

  Armstrong files the revised lawsuit. The same day, USADA announces lifetime bans against three of his former US Postal Service cycling team associates: Dr Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr Michele Ferrari and Jose ‘Pepe’ Marti, team trainer.

  20 August 2012

  Back to the courthouse for another twist of the cards. Judge Sparks dismisses Armstrong’s amended complaint. The judge rules essentially that Lance Armstrong’s right to due process could not be violated by USADA before any proceedings had actually occurred.

  The Court concludes Armstrong agreed to arbitrate with USADA, and its arbitration rules are sufficient, if applied reasonably, to satisfy due process. Judge Sam Sparks

  With that, the long process was virtually over.

  23 August 2012

  Lance Armstrong announces that he will not contest the evidence against him, understanding that this course of action will lead to the imposition of a lifetime ban and disqualification of all results since 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins. And I recalled the kid in the garden of that Grenoble hotel in 1993 telling about his love of Linda, the single mum who taught him to never quit. ‘When you give up, you give in, ’ she used to tell him, and as he said then, his mom didn’t raise a quitter. Now he had quit and announced the death of Lance Armstrong, champion cyclist. All that was left were the funeral rites.

  10 October 2012

  In accordance with the rules, USADA submits its ‘Reasoned Decision’ detailing the evidence and basis for the decision against Lance Armstrong. One commentator notes of the thousand-page document that the only people not now convinced just don’t want to know.

  22 October 2012

  In Geneva the UCI accepts the report of USADA with remarkably poor grace. President Pat McQuaid and the spirit of the times completely fail to recognise each other.

  I don’t think the UCI should apologise. They didn’t hold his hand when he stuck a needle in his backside. He is an adult and they know they are breaking the rules. It’s not the president’s responsibility if they go into a doping programme. Another thing that annoys me is that Landis and Hamilton are being made out to be heroes. They are as far from heroes as night and day. They are not heroes. They are scumbags. Pat McQuaid

  The truth is, Lance Armstrong, on their [UCI’s] watch, pulled off the greatest heist sport has ever seen. Travis Tygart

  Kayle Leogrande went back to the tattoo game. Joe Papp served a period of time under house arrest in his mother’s place back in Pennsylvania.

  22

  ‘Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy.’

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

  A grey Monday afternoon in a café off London’s M25 motorway. I have a cappuccino that won’t froth and a phone that won’t stop ringing. Its demands are ceaseless. Like a child tugging my sleeve. It won’t stop. Same every time.

  ‘David? Is that David? About Lance Armstrong and today’s news, are you available to do an interview?’ Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, the US, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium and so many closer to home. No, no, no, yes, no, no, no, no, yes, no, no, no, yes, no, no, no, no.

  Seven requests are from the BBC: Radio 4, Radio 5 live, Radio 2, BBC Radio Foyle, BBC Belfast, Newsnight, World Service. There was a time when the Armstrong story had black circles on its body from the BBC p
ushing it away with a 40ft barge pole. There was a time when to doubt Lance Armstrong was to walk among media people wearing a bell which warned that you were unclean.

  But this is the day, 22 October 2012, that Lance has been officially declared an outcast, banished from the sport by his own people: cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Its president, Pat McQuaid, has decreed that the former seven-time Tour de France winner has no place in cycling’.

  This has been a squalid story from the beginning, conceived through greed and cynicism and then fuelled with the best drugs money could buy.

  I wonder how Pat McQuaid can feel that he himself has a place. I’ve thought many times about that seminal 1999 Tour de France and the UCI’s failure to protect their sport. They knew from the previous year that cycling was a mess; they knew from their ‘99 pre-Tour blood tests that most of the top riders were using EPO; and they knew that an EPO test was on the way.

  How difficult would it have been to discreetly re-test the ‘99 samples in the autumn of 2000 when the test was in place? Quite a number of high-profile cheats would have been kicked out of the sport for two years, Lance included. What a statement that would have made. Instead, the UCI sat idly by as one worthless Tour de France followed another.