Armstrong: UCI head planned Tour doping cover-up
LONDON -- Lance Armstrong claims former International Cycling Union president Hein Verbruggen instigated a cover-up of his doping at the 1999 Tour de France.
Armstrong told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper in an interview published Monday that Verbruggen insisted "we've got to come up with something" to explain his positive tests for a banned corticosteroid.
Cycling's governing body, the UCI, appeared to ignore its own anti-doping rules when it accepted Armstrong's backdated prescription for a cream to treat saddle sores.
That allowed Armstrong to continue in the race and he went on to win the first of his seven Tours, helping revive the sport after doping scandals wrecked the 1998 Tour.
"The real problem was, the sport was on life support," Armstrong was quoted telling the newspaper. "And Hein just said, 'This is a real problem for me, this is the knockout punch for our sport ... so we've got to come up with something.' So we backdated the prescription."
Though Armstrong has acknowledged the prescription excuse in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey, he had not previously linked Verbruggen or other UCI officials with a cover-up.
Verbruggen, who served as UCI president until 2005, did not respond to phone messages on Monday.
Associated Press
