Armstrong re-files lawsuit against USADA
Lance Armstrong has refiled his lawsuit against the United States Anti-Doping Agency as he continued to contest charges he used drugs to help him win his record seven Tour de France titles.
The 40-year-old initially filed a lawsuit in a US federal court on Monday which was dismissed by a judge as being a “lengthy and bitter polemic”, designed to attract media attention and public sympathy.
Armstrong and his lawyers were given 20 days to refile his suit against USADA and the body’s chief executive, Travis Tygart, which they have now done.
The suit asks the US District Court in Armstrong’s hometown of Austin, Texas to find that USADA “does not have the right to charge and sanction him and strip him of his titles”.
USADA has given Armstrong a deadline of Saturday to enter into arbitration to contest the charges, or accept sanctions which include removing his seven Tour titles and imposing a lifetime ban.
That ban would also cover triathlon, the sport in which Armstrong now competes.
If the court grants Armstrong’s request that is likely to lead to a lengthy legal battle between the cyclist and USADA.
If his request is rejected, Armstrong would instead face an arbitration hearing sometime between now and November.
USADA launched legal proceedings against Armstrong last month for alleged doping violations going back 16 years.
USADA have said more than 10 former team-mates and officials will testify against Armstrong.
Yesterday, three former staff members of the United States Postal Service team, for which Armstrong rode between 1998 and 2004, were handed lifetime bans by USADA.
Dr Luis Garcia del Moral (cycling team doctor), Dr Michele Ferrari (cycling team consulting doctor) and Jose “Pepe” Marti (cycling team trainer) received the sanctions after being found guilty of anti-doping violations while with USPS team between 1999 and 2007.
The first six of Armstrong’s seven titles came while riding for USPS.
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