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Armstrong braced for release of shock exposé
If seeing Tour de France rivals Iban Mayo, Tyler Hamilton
and Jan Ullrich all register impressive performances this
weekend wasn't enough to have Lance Armstrong quaking, then
the impending release of a sensational new book - 'LA
Confidential, The Secrets Of Lance Armstrong' - just might.
Yesterday an article in Britain's Sunday Times confirmed
that journalist David Walsh, himself of the Sunday Times,
and former L'Equipe writer Pierre Ballester, will level new,
explosive doping allegations at Armstrong in the book, whose
release has been timed to coincide with the 32-year-old's
tilt at a sixth Tour de France crown.
Walsh is the Irish journalist whose investigation into
Armstrong's relations with performance guru Michele Ferrari
led to a dramatic confrontation with the Texan at a press
conference in Pau during the 2001 Tour de France. Last
Wednesday the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf republished
comments made by Armstrong about Walsh, the Sunday Time's
chief sports writer: "Walsh is the worst journalist I
know," said Armstrong. "There are journalists who are
willing to lie, to threaten people and to steal in order to
catch me out. All this for a sensational story. Ethics,
standards, values, accuracy - these are of no interest to
people like Walsh."
On Monday anticipation ahead of the book's launch
intensified as French magazine "L'Express" published
several extracts. Among them are lengthy passages quoting
Emma O'Reilly, an Irish soigneur employed by US Postal
between 1998 and 2000. O'Reilly's testimonies include
claims that she disposed of syringes and transported banned
products on the team's behalf. She also provides further,
revealing information about Armstrong's close relationship
with Ferrari. O'Reilly then raises questions about the
medical prescription which 'cleared' Armstrong after traces
of a corticoid were detected in his urine during the 1999
Tour de France.
A former team-mate from Armstrong's Motorola days, New
Zealander Stephen Swart, is also quoted by Walsh and
Ballester. Space is given, too, to [censored] Voet, the soigneur
whose arrest before the 1998 Tour de France was the trigger
for the infamous "Festina scandal". Kathy Lemond, wife of
triple Tour-winner Greg, alleges that Armstrong threatened
her husband in a telephone conversation after he cast doubt
on Armstrong's 2001 Tour win in an interview with Walsh.
Yesterday the Sunday Times reported that, unsurprisingly,
Armstrong and US Postal directeur sportif Johan Buyneel had
declined an interview with Walsh to respond to some of the
allegations made in 'LA Confidential'. The article also
revealed that a letter from Armstrong's London-based
solicitors had arrived by courier at the Sunday Times'
offices on Friday: "Its message was unmistakable: Armstrong
has never taken performance-enhancing drugs and the
slightest suggestion that he has would trigger a declaration
of legal warfare by Armstrong and his US Postal Service
team," said the paper.
On Sunday afternoon Armstrong made a speedy and silent
getaway from his final Tour warm-up race, the Dauphiné
Libéré, where he had just finished fourth. Bruyneel,
meanwhile, is said to have responded with a terse "Yes!"
when asked if he knew Emma O'Reilly. He then signed off with
a resounding "No comment" - a refrain which might become
rather familiar over the next few days and weeks.