Lance Armstrong Drug Test Violation?: Accused Of Initially Evading Drug Tester

PARIS — France's anti-doping agency accused Lance Armstrong of violating its rules Thursday for not fully cooperating with a drug tester and says it could punish the seven-time Tour de France champion.

Armstrong has denied misbehaving during a test of his hair, urine and blood on March 17. No banned substances were found.

The agency, known as AFLD, said in a statement that the doctor leading the tests maintains Armstrong "did not respect the obligation to remain under the direct and permanent observation" of the tester.

At question is a 20-minute delay when Armstrong says the tester agreed to let him shower while the American rider's assistants checked the tester's credentials.

AFLD said cycling's governing body has given its permission to open disciplinary procedures against Armstrong, but did not say what the punishment could be.

AFLD president Pierre Bordry noted that the statement does not say that Armstrong is guilty of an infraction. AFLD is expected to make a decision on whether to proceed with sanctions after its nine-member ruling committee has considered the tester's report.

Messages left with Armstrong's spokesman for comment Thursday were not immediately returned.

Armstrong, who has had tense relations with France's anti-doping authorities for years, is hoping to win an eighth Tour title in July after having retired in 2005.

Bordry said the agency has not yet decided whether to seek sanctions against Armstrong. Asked if the agency is launching disciplinary proceedings, he said: "Not yet. We'll see."

Armstrong recently gave his own version of events, saying he wasn't sure of the identity of the drug tester.

"I did not try to evade or delay the testing process that day," Armstrong said in a statement Tuesday.

Armstrong was training in Beaulieu-sur-Mer in southern France when the test was conducted. Armstrong said he had returned from a ride to find the tester at his house, identifying himself as a representative of a French lab.

In France, drug testers take an oath before a court to discharge their duties honestly before they are allowed to work.

Comments

[TallyLass]

I always had my doubts about this guy being clean. He had cancer and now it seems like he the Hulk. I have known folks who had cancer and they were forever changed physically and a couple of them were in great shape. Because he's an american, doesn't mean the French are lying. I think the French take doping more seriously than does america, i.e. baseball and football.

[SuperFrenchie]

Imagine what you would say if NFL or baseball players were allowed to have a 30-minute delay before a drug test.

For that matter, imagine what an employer would think if their drug testing company allowed their tester to permit a 30-minute bathroom break before the test...

Or a cop testing for alcohol on the side of the road...

[serialcoma]

The french tester gave Armstrong permission to shower (he had just completed a day long training ride) while his credentials were verified.

[skialethia]

Armstrong knows the drill. It doesn't take 20 minutes to check some credentials! Why couldn't he wait until he was tested before "taking a shower" and remove all doubt? What's 10 or 15 minutes?

Why give the tester a hard time and behave arrogantly?

This stinks like a skunk. The penalty should be that he must retake the test and next time the tester shows up with someone to back his credential­s...and Armstrong submits samples ON THE SPOT.

[AgathaX]

You're conclusions and proposal should not be remotely controversial.

[serialcoma]

Armstrong's 24th test sine the fall when he announced his return to the sport... all clean. The testing official granted permission for the shower while his credentials were confirmed as Armstrong was just completing a day long training ride when the tester arrived. Would you let just any stranger obtain blood, hair and urine samples from you just because they claim to be from a lab?

[dwillisno1]

So what could he do in 20 minutes to change the drug test results? The critical thing is the chain of custody and the presence of someone while samples are taken. He wasn't going to grow drug free hair in 20 minutes or excrete all drug residue from his kidneys in 20 minutes. If he disappeared for 20 minutes and brought back the urine sample or hair, then there is something there.

[qdog112]

Guilty!

[BikeFreak]

Does it really matter at this point?

Due to that collar bone break at the age of 37, I think his days of bike competitions are over.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

I doubt that his ego would allow that.

[City of Evil]

If some Frenchman that I've never met before showed up at my door demanding a urine sample, I too would be inclined to check his credentials first.

[Dragline]

I would give him a urine sample right then and there. I just wouldn't use a container.

[ResistanceisFutile]

The French are such whiners.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

They do like their wine, indeed.

[Ascoli]

The Americans are such cheaters.

[JakeMontero]

As$ coli -- please listen to your nurse. it's time for your medicine

[ResistanceisFutile]

Hey, you aren't that dorky physician from Baltimore, are you?

[SuperFrenchie]

Some of you Armstrong fanboys should read this interview of Michael Ashenden. He is the guy that invented the EPO blood test:

http://velocitynation.com/content/interviews/2009/michael-ashenden

Quote: ""There is no doubt in my mind he (Lance Armstrong) took EPO during the '99 Tour."

[powerlift2201]

The guy is taking credit for hypoxic training? Hypoxic training was developed as soon as researchers found that higher elelvations aided in red blood cell production in the 40's and 50's. Then he is stating without seeing any lab results that Armstrong was taking EPO? This is very typical of a very arrogant person sitting on the sidelines trying to gain their 15 minutes.

[SuperFrenchie]

He's not taking credit for hypoxic training, he said he did his thesis on it. And he did see the lab results. he was the expert witness at the SCA trial.

Besides, reviewing tests based on the published results is what peer review is all about.

[ResistanceisFutile]

I have worked in laboratories for decades, research, clinical, and reference. That article was not informative and only suggested at gel electrophersis. Just a few points.

Why ban a substance you cannot test for, unless you plan on retroactive testing with subsequent punishment­s.Doesn't seem fair to the athlete.

Hematocrit testing as an indirect measure of EPO use is bogus. I can very easily raise my hematocrit way above fifty by restriction of fluids.

Without a certified chain of custody for the samples, it is a waste of time to test them. That aside, there is no plausable reason for retroactive testing for a substance not test for at the time of the sample.

[aquaman2008]

How many thousands of drug tests does Lance has to take to prove that he won all those races because of his hard work and dedication?? Media in general and European cycling world in particular can't wait to find just a small trace of abnormality in Lance's test, so they can make him look bad.

It's all jealousy !!!

[AgathaX]

Oh come on. Anyone who claims there is no reason to be suspicious, or any reason to have full faith in the tests is just dishonest. Cyclists, of all people, know the limitations of the tests and the testing. While I understand the motivations of those who cheat, those who don't, those who test, and those who evade testing, I do not understand the motivations of those--as yourself--who deny reality.

There are many people in those races who work as hard as Armstrong. It is entirely possible that Armstrong is just built for cycling in the same way that Michael Phelps is built for swimming. However, there are plenty of suggestions that that is not the case. And stunts like disappearing at testing time do nothing but heighten those suspicions. He's not a novice. He knows better.

[serialcoma]

Armstrong's 24th test since the fall when he announced his return to the sport... all clean. The testing official granted permission for the shower while his credentials were confirmed as Armstrong was just completing a day long training ride when the tester arrived. Would you let just any stranger obtain blood, hair and urine samples from you just because they claim to be from a lab?

[SuperFrenchie]

You guys need to make up your minds!

2 years ago, everybody was up in arms against the French lab about "technicalities," and how the Floyd Landis results should be thrown out because a couple of Ts weren't' crossed and procedures allegedly weren't followed to the letter. Many even argued that Landis probably doped but shouldn't be convicted precisely because of those "technical­ities."

So now they're dotting their Is and crossing their Ts and making sure procedures are respected and everybody is still up in arms.

Make up your minds!

[theistus]

Did you read the article? He asked if he could take a shower while the anonymous guy on his doorstep was checked out, and he was given permission to do so. How is that in any way shape or form a violation of anything? How can you get in trouble for something you were given explicit permission to do?

[SuperFrenchie]

Armstrong's version is very different from the doctor's version. According to the doctor, he was NOT given permission. The doctor is "assermenté", meaning under oath.

[holeybuybull]

Lance who?

[Stilts9]

I like Lance better whe he's on the party circuit.

[JolieN]

The tester wasn't an angel. He took hair sample by snipping hair at six different spots but did a very bad job that Lance had to shave his hair very short to fix that bad hair cut.

[LinkMeyer]

Your joking right?

Do you know when the present crewcut/shaved head style became popular in the peloton? Shortly after the development of the hair test. Pun intended.

[US American]

The French declared war of Lance because an American dominated their precious little bike race. Thankfully Lance has history on his side because ultimately the French will just surrender.

[LinkMeyer]

Lance has already tested positive.

It was an old B sample and a new test and so he couldn't be prosecuted.

If you don't understand that sentence completely then your post is just your opinion based on your emotions; "How about them Sox?"

[Merckx]

Lance never tested positive. A French journalist claimed to have 8 year-old B sample tested.
Chain of custody was never confirmed, because it was never secure, and should have been destroyed years ago. And since there is no way to have a counter analysis of an old unsecured sampled, it is beyond meaningless. Any court in the world would throw that out.
Only people who have an agenda bring that up.

[LinkMeyer]

My statement is accurate. Yours is not. The journalist didn't do anything except report the facts. The lab tested his stored B sample that was not supposed to be destroyed, it was supposed to be stored. The sample was not unsecured. It is not beyond meaningless; it was Lance's blood, it tested positive by a new test that had not been developed at the time the sample had been taken. Only apologists spout the inaccuracies that you have.

No sport is more physically grueling than cycling. No sport was more stricken by cheating than cycling. It is where performance enhancing practices are developed.

[sja11]

the french are really turning into captain ahab here.

give it up, the guy has submitted to every type of test they throw at him and they still haven't found a single thing.

[Yves Papa]

First off, the collector had no business about barging on Armstrong's house. I think he has been very gracious not to kick the guy out. Are you going to let any dude who knocks on your door to take some of your hair, and have a leak for him? The tester is not a tester until his credentials are checked, and in the mean time the tested can do whatever he wants. And Armstrong did not run away, after all. And his shower did not foil the test. If the AFLD wants its collectors to barge on athletes, they can do that in official competitions where they can have their credentials pre-checked by the event's organizers. They have no business at invading people's private lives.

[LinkMeyer]

And you clearly have no idea what you are talking about and no idea about rules of professional cycling.

[Merckx]

Clearly he asked for permission to take a shower why he waited to clear the guy's credentials.
The tester clearly said it was ok to take a shower because he said it in from of witnesses and he signed off on the test as having no irregularities.
You clearly have no idea what what you are talking about.