It has taken two years, but Lance Armstrong, as well as other cyclists, finally have closure in the probe by the U.S. Attorney’s Office into allegations of performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong gave a statement on Friday saying that the federal investigators have decided to close the probe and there will be no criminal charges filed.
The probe began when Lance Armstrong’s name came up in a performance enhancing drug investigation into Rock Racing. A grand jury was eventually convened and several of Armstrong’s former teammates testified at the hearing. In May of last year, Tyler Hamilton, who was a cyclist with Armstrong, gave an interview with “60 Minutes.” He said that he saw Armstrong using EPO, which is a performance enhancing drug when he was preparing for the Tour de France. Hamilton said that Armstrong used EPO before the race in 1999, 2000, and 2001. Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven times.
Hamilton said that Armstrong kept the EPO in his refrigerator and that he even saw the cyclist injecting himself with it. He also said that there were other teammates who saw Armstrong use the drug. Armstrong refuted the charges by posting on Twitter that he has never failed a drug test in 20-plus years of competition.
While the federal investigation may be over, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will continue its probe into performance enhancing drugs in cycling.
Armstrong, who will be 41 this year, started in competitive sports when he was 13. He won the Iron Kids Triathlon that year and by the age of 16, he was a professional triathlete. He would eventually move on to cycling, winning the United States Amateur Championship in 1991. Armstrong would compete in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Armstrong would enter his first Tour de France in 1993 and finish in 97th place. Armstrong would battle cancer, eventually winning that battle in 1996.
