doping tour de france armstrong

Where Is Lance Armstrong Now? All About the Former Cyclist's Life After His Doping Scandal

L ance Armstrong won a record seven consecutive Tour de France titles before being stripped of them following doping accusations in 2012

Lance Armstrong ’s reputation was tarnished by his doping scandal, but he hasn’t stayed out of the spotlight.

The retired athlete was one of the most famous professional athletes of all time, elevating cycling’s international popularity. The height of Armstrong’s career came after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, when he was 25. After chemotherapy treatment, he founded the nonprofit Livestrong, won a record seven consecutive Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005, reached A-list levels of celebrity and became known for his philanthropy.

He spent a decade denying that he took performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) before coming clean in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey . During the sit-down, he admitted to using testosterone, human growth hormone and EPO and taking blood transfusions.

"This story was so perfect for so long. It's this myth, this perfect story, and it wasn't true," he told Winfrey. "I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times, and as you said, it wasn't as if I just said no and I moved off it."

The tell-all came shortly after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) formally charged him with doping. Armstrong chose not to appeal and was stripped of all his titles since 1998, including the Tour de France wins and his Olympic medal. He also lost endorsement deals and was required to pay a $5 million settlement to the U.S. government in 2018.

In his personal life, the Texas-born athlete divorced his first wife, Kristin Richard — with whom he shares three children, son Luke and twin daughters Grace and Isabelle — in 2003 and soon after began dating Sheryl Crow . They got engaged in October 2005 and split in February 2006. He has since remarried, tying the knot with Anna Hansen Armstrong in August 2022. They have two children, son Max and daughter Olivia.

Armstrong also hasn't left the public eye — he now hosts two podcasts, THEMOVE and The Forward , and competed in the 2023 celebrity reality TV show Stars on Mars .

More than a decade after his doping scandal here’s everything to know about what Lance Armstrong is doing now.

Who is Lance Armstrong?

Lance Armstrong is a former professional American cyclist.

The athlete was born and raised in Texas, began competing in 1990 and made his Olympic debut in Barcelona in 1992. Four years later, he won his second Tour DuPont and participated in the Olympics in Atlanta. But in October of 1996, his life and career paused when he was diagnosed at age 25 with advanced-stage testicular cancer.

“I will win,” Armstrong said during a news conference about his diagnosis, according to NBC Sports . “I intend to beat this disease, and further, I intend to ride again as a professional cyclist.”

He founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, later renamed the Livestrong Foundation, in 1997 — the nonprofit became ubiquitous and known for its yellow rubber bracelets. Armstrong was declared cancer-free shortly after, began cycling professionally again in 1998 and won his first Tour de France in 1999.

"I hope it sends out a fantastic message to all survivors around the world. We can return to what we were before — and even better,” Armstrong said at the finish line, according to ESPN .

Between 1999 and 2005, he won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times. Armstrong rose to fame quickly after his first win and became known as much for his athletic career as his philanthropy. He released an autobiography, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life , in 2000.

Armstrong initially retired after the 2005 Tour de France but announced a comeback in 2008, saying in a video for Livestrong that he was doing so to raise cancer awareness. He finished third in the 2009 Tour de France and 23rd in 2010, which was his last. The then-pro cyclist announced he was retiring for a second time in 2011.

“I can’t say I have any regrets. It’s been an excellent ride. I really thought I was going to win another Tour,” Armstrong said, per The Associated Press .

What was Lance Armstrong accused of?

Starting as early as 1999, the former professional cyclist was accused multiple times of doping.

In August 2005, one month after Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France title, France’s daily sports newspaper L'Equipe reported that six of his urine samples from 1999 were retested and came back positive for EPO, an endurance-boosting hormone.

"This thing stinks," Armstrong said on Larry King Live at the time. "I've said it for longer than seven years: I have never doped. I can say it again. But I've said it for seven years; it doesn't help. But the fact of the matter is I haven't (doped)."

The allegation prompted an investigation by France's World Anti-Doping Agency, and in 2006, he maintained to NBC’s Ann Curry that he had never doped. The International Cycling Union exonerated him, and he returned to the Tour de France in 2009 and placed third. Armstrong has since said that this return led to his downfall.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t come back,” he told Winfrey in 2013.

Floyd Landis, Armstrong’s former teammate, filed a complaint in 2010 and admitted to using PEDs while a part of the U.S. Postal Service team, of which Armstrong was the lead cyclist.

In June 2012, the USADA accused Armstrong of using, possessing and trafficking PEDs and covering up doping violations. Armstrong did not appeal. In a statement at the time, the cyclist said he stopped fighting the investigation because “there comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now.”

Armstrong was banned from competing professionally again, stripped of all results since 1998, including his seven Tour de France titles and Olympic medal, and required to return all prize money.

The federal government joined the civil lawsuit in 2013, months after his interview with Winfrey. It alleged that Armstrong had violated his contract and committed fraud when he lied to the public and USPS, which sponsored his team from 1996 to 2004 and paid $31 million in sponsor fees.

The lawsuit was settled in 2018 when Armstrong agreed to pay the U.S. government $5 million, according to CNN .

What has Lance Armstrong said about his doping scandal?

Doping allegations plagued the bulk of Armstrong’s career, but for a decade, he denied them.

After the L'Equipe investigation was published in 2005, the retired athlete noted that he’d dealt with "slimy" French journalists since his first Tour de France but "this is perhaps the worst of it."

"If you consider my situation, a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again?” Armstrong said on Larry King Live in 2005. “That's crazy. I would never do that. No. No way."

During the interview, he said he did use EPOs as part of his chemotherapy regimen as the drug boosts red blood cell counts but denied using them for competitions.

On his website in 2012, he accused the USADA of wanting to “dredge up discredited allegations,” which he said were “baseless” and “motivated by spite.”

“I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one,” he said.

That same year, however, he came clean in a sit-down interview with Winfrey. It was the first time Armstrong publicly admitted to doping.

“This is too late, it’s too late for probably most people. And that’s my fault,” he said, per CNN. “[This was] one big lie, that I repeated a lot of times.”

Describing himself as a “fighter,” “humanitarian” and a “jerk,” he admitted to being “a bully ... in the sense that I tried to control the narrative” and talked about getting lost in his own story of overcoming cancer, a once-happy marriage and his international professional success.

He also noted he let down the fans who had supported him all those years. “They have every right to feel betrayed, and it’s my fault,” he said. “I will spend the rest of my life ... trying to earn back trust and apologize to people.

Armstrong told Stern in 2017 that the now-infamous conversation may have been not only “too soon” but “too detailed and too shocking for a lot of people,” but that “it had to happen.”

“The reason I decided to sit with her is because I had an existing relationship with her and I like Oprah and I trust her, but I knew I was going to get sued. When the report came out and they stripped the titles, I f------ knew they were lining up,” he said, later adding, “I left there feeling wow this is pretty good and the reaction was brutal.”

He was also concerned with how his children would react to the news, noting it was “not a one-time conversation.”

“The older kids were old enough to kind of live it with me and there was that conversation and there was therapy,” he said. “There was work. It’s a process.”

During an interview with Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast in 2023, Armstrong explained how he got away with cheating.

“One of the lines was, ‘I've been tested 500 times. I've never failed a drug test.’ That's not a lie. That is the truth. There was no way around the test,” he said, noting that he did the math to ensure the tests wouldn’t pick up the drugs.

In a March 2024 appearance on The Great Unlearn podcast, Armstrong said that in the years after admitting he had doped, he experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sought intensive one-on-one treatment.

“I went from hero to zero overnight,” he said. “A lot of people applauded that. A lot of people thought that was funny. A lot of people thought that I deserved that. And a lot of that’s right. I didn’t think it was funny, but I certainly deserved it."

Who is Lance Armstrong's wife?

Armstrong married Anna, a yoga instructor, in a small ceremony at Château la Coste in France in August 2022. The couple got engaged in 2017 after meeting a decade earlier. Their son Max was born in 2009, and they welcomed daughter Olivia in 2010.

“Anna, you have been my absolute rock the past 14 years and let me be clear, I would not have survived them without you,” Armstrong wrote in part on Instagram alongside a photo from their wedding. “I am so proud of the couple we have become - It took us doing the work, the really hard work, and I am so glad that we did.”

Armstrong was previously married to Richard for five years before divorcing in 2003. They share three children — son Luke, born in 1999, and twin daughters Grace and Isabelle, born in 2001.

At the height of his fame, he also dated fellow celebrities, including Sheryl Crow , Kate Hudson and Tory Burch .

Where is Lance Armstrong now?

Armstrong hasn’t stayed out of the spotlight since his doping scandal but has pivoted into new entertainment spaces.

After 15 years of laying low in Aspen, Colo., with his family, he moved back to Austin where he was based during his cycling career.

The former Olympian now hosts two podcasts: THEMOVE , which focuses on iconic cycling races, and The Forward , which is interview-centric. In 2023, he announced that he was launching a series for the latter that “with an open mind” would “dive into” the debate surrounding transgender athletes. The inaugural episode featured Caitlyn Jenner .

The father of five was the focus of the 2020 documentary Lance , part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and appeared in season 1 of Fox’s reality TV show, Stars on Mars in 2023.

Though Armstrong cannot return to cycling professionally, after a years-long break, he took up the sport again .

“For three or four years, I hated cycling because of what my life has looked like for the last four or five years,” he said on The Howard Stern Show in 2017. “Just like with any kind of breakup, there are hard feelings.”

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MONTAIGU, FRANCE - JULY 04: TOUR DE FRANCE 1999, 1.Etappe, MONTAIGU - CHALLANS; Lance ARMSTRONG/USA - GELBES TRIKOT - (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Bongarts/Getty Images)

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A look at the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong , who beat testicular cancer to win a record seven Tour de France titles, then was found guilty of and admitted to doping for the majority of his career ...

Aug. 2, 1992: Armstrong, then a 20-year-old amateur cyclist who had left triathlon because it wasn’t an Olympic sport, makes his Olympic debut at the Barcelona Games. He finishes 14th in the road race as the top American, missing a late breakaway. “I don’t think it was one of my better days, unfortunately,” Armstrong said on NBC. “Last couple weeks, everything has been perfect, but today, I just didn’t have what it took.” A week later, Armstrong finished last of 111 riders in his pro debut.

Aug. 29, 1993: Wins the world championships road race, becoming the second U.S. man to win a senior road cycling world title after three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond . Armstrong prevails by 19 seconds over Spain’s Miguel Indurain , who won five straight Tours de France from 1991-95. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a Tour racer,” Armstrong said, according to the Chicago Tribune . “I love the Tour de France; it’s my favorite bike race, but I’m not fool enough to sit here and say I’m going to win it. For the time being, I’m a one-day rider.”

Aug. 3, 1996: After failing to finish three of his first four Tour de France appearances (and placing 36th in the other), is sixth in the Atlanta Olympic time trial. “This was a big goal and something that I wanted to do well in and wanted the American people to see success,” Armstrong said on NBC. “The legs just weren’t there to win or to medal. I have to move forward and look to the next thing.”

Oct. 2, 1996: Diagnosed with testicular cancer. A day later, he undergoes surgery to have the malignant right testicle removed. Five days later, he begins chemotherapy. Six days later, Armstrong holds a press conference to announce it publicly, saying the cancer spread to his abdomen (and, later, his brain). He described it as “between moderate and advanced” and that his oncologist told him the cure rate was between 65 and 85 percent. “I will win,” Armstrong says. “I intend to beat this disease, and further, I intend to ride again as a professional cyclist.”

Oct. 27, 1996: Betsy Andreu later testifies that, on this date, Armstrong told a doctor at Indiana University Hospital that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs; EPO, testosterone, growth hormone, cortisone and steroids. Andreu said she and others were in a room to hear this. Her husband, Frankie Andreu , an Armstrong cycling teammate, confirmed her recollection to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Armstrong, in admitting to doping in 2013, declined to address what became known as “the hospital room confession.”

January 1997: Establishes the Lance Armstrong Foundation, later called Livestrong, to support cancer awareness and research. Is later declared cancer-free.

Feb. 15, 1998: Returns to racing. Later in September, finishes fourth in his Grand Tour return at the Vuelta a Espana, one of the three Grand Tours after the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.

1999 Tour de France: Achieves global fame by winning cycling’s most prestigious event in his first Tour de France start since his cancer diagnosis. Armstrong was not a pre-event favorite, but he won the opening 4.2-mile prologue to set the tone. He won all three time trials and, by the end, distanced second-place Alex Zulle by 7 minutes, 37 seconds in a Tour that lacked the previous two winners -- Jan Ullrich and Marco Pantani . Armstrong faced doping questions during the three-week Tour. An Armstrong urine sample revealed a small amount of a corticosteroid, after which Armstrong produced a prescription for a cream to treat saddle sores to justify it. “There’s no secrets here,” Armstrong said after Stage 14. “We have the oldest secret in the book: hard work.”

2000 Tour de France: With Ullrich and Pantani in the field, Armstrong crushed them on Stage 10, taking the yellow jersey by four minutes. He ends up winning the Tour by 6:02 over Ullrich, who over the years became the closest thing Armstrong had to a rival. In a Nike commercial that debuted in January that year , Armstrong again attacked his critics, saying, “Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What am I on? I’m on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?”

Sept. 30, 2000: Takes bronze in the Sydney Olympic time trial, behind Russian Viatcheslav Ekimov (a teammate on Armstrong’s Tour de France teams) and Ullrich. Armstrong would be stripped of the bronze medal 12 years later for doping. “I came to win the gold medal,” he said on NBC. “When you prepare for an event and you come and you do your best, and you don’t win, you have to say, I didn’t deserve to win.”

2001 Tour de France: Third straight Tour title. In Stage 10 on the iconic Alpe d’Huez, Armstrong gave what came to be known as “The Look,” turning back to stare in sunglasses at Ullrich, then accelerating away to win the stage by 1:59 over the German. “I decided to give a look, see how he was, then give a little surge and see what happened,” Armstrong said after the stage. Also that year, LeMond gives a famous quote to journalist David Walsh on Armstrong: “If it is true, it is the greatest comeback in the history of sport. If it is not, it is the greatest fraud.”

2002 Tour de France: Fourth title in a row -- by 7:17 over Joseba Beloki sans Ullirch and Pantani -- with few notable highlights. Maybe the most memorable, French fans yelling “Dope!” as he chased Richard Virenque (another disgraced doper) up the esteemed Mont Ventoux. Armstrong would be named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

2003 Tour de France: By far the closest of the Tour wins -- by 1:01 over Ullrich -- with two very close calls. In Stage 9, Armstrong detoured through a field to avoid a crashing Beloki, who broke his right femur and never contended at a Grand Tour again. In Stage 15, Armstrong’s handlebars caught a spectator’s yellow bag . He crashed to the pavement, remounted and won the stage, upping his lead from 15 seconds to 1:07 over Ullrich.

2004 Tour de France: Record-breaking sixth Tour de France title. Jacques Anquetil , Eddy Merckx , Bernard Hinault and Indurain shared the record of five, and now share the record again after Armstrong’s titles were stripped. Earlier in 2004, the Livestrong yellow bracelet/wristband is introduced. Tens of millions would be sold. He skips the 2004 Athens Olympics, which began three weeks after the Tour ended.

April 18, 2005: Announces he will retire after the 2005 Tour de France. “My children are my biggest supporters, but at the same time, they are the ones who told me it’s time to come home,” Armstrong says. On the same day, former teammate and 2004 Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton is banned two years for blood doping.

2005 Tour de France: Finishes career with seventh Tour de France title. Armstrong remains defiant until the end. In his victory speech atop a podium on the Champs-Elysees, he says with girlfriend Sheryl Crow looking on, “The last thing I’ll say, for the people that don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I"m sorry for you. I’m sorry you can’t dream big. And I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.” A month later, French sports daily newspaper L’Equipe publishes a front-page article headlined, “Le Mensonge Armstrong” or “The Armstrong Lie.” It reports that six Armstrong doping samples at the 1999 Tour de France showed the presence of the banned EPO.

Sept. 9, 2008: Announces comeback, the reason being “to launch an international cancer strategy,” in a video on his foundation’s website . In his 2013 doping confession, Armstrong says he regrets the comeback. “We wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t come back,” he tells Oprah Winfrey on primetime TV.

2009 Tour de France: Finishes third, 5:24 behind rival Astana teammate and Spanish winner Alberto Contador . “I can’t complain,” Armstrong said on Versus after the penultimate stage finishing atop Mont Ventoux. “For an old fart, coming in here, getting on the podium with these young guys, not so bad.” USADA later reported that scientific data showed Armstrong used EPO or blood transfusions during that Tour, which Armstrong denied in 2013 when admitting to doping earlier in his career.

2010 Tour de France: Finishes 23rd in his last Tour de France. Armstrong races after former teammate Floyd Landis admits to doping and accuses Armstrong and other former teammates of doping during the Tour de France wins. “At some point, people have to tell their kids that Santa Claus isn’t real,” Landis says in a “Nightline” interview that aired the final weekend of the Tour.

Feb. 16, 2011: Announces retirement, citing tiredness (in multiple respects) at age 39. “I can’t say I have any regrets. It’s been an excellent ride. I really thought I was going to win another Tour,” Armstrong said, according to The Associated Press. “Then I lined up like everybody else and wound up third.”

Aug. 24, 2012: USADA announces Armstrong is banned for life , and all of his results dating to Aug. 1, 1998, annulled, including all seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong chose not to contest the charges, which were first sent to him in a June letter, though he did not publicly admit to cheating. USADA releases details of the investigation in October. The International Cycling Union chooses not to contest USADA’s ruling, formally stripping him of the Tour de France titles. “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling,” UCI President Pat McQuaid says. In November, a defiant Armstrong tweets an image of him lying on a couch in a room with seven framed Tour de France yellow jerseys on the walls.

Jan. 17, 2013: Admits to doping during all of his Tour de France victories in the Oprah confession that airs on primetime TV. “I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times,” Armstrong says in a pre-recorded interview. “It’s just this mythic, perfect story, and it wasn’t true.” Armstrong said he did not view it as cheating while he was taking PEDs because others did, too. On the same day, the International Olympic Committee strips Armstrong of his 2000 Olympic bronze medal.

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Timeline of Lance Armstrong's career successes, doping allegations and final collapse

ESPN's 30 for 30 "LANCE" directed by Marina Zenovich

Part 1: 9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN Part 2: 9 p.m. ET May 31 on ESPN Streaming: ESPN+ and ESPN Player (where available)

Lance Armstrong, a former American road-racing cyclist, helped elevate cycling to global popularity. His seven consecutive Tour de France victories, from 1999 to 2005, and his status as a cancer survivor made him one of the most iconic and revered athletes outside of the professional sports world.

Yet, throughout his career, he consistently faced allegations of doping -- particularly after he faced cancer and won the Tour de France a few years later.

His pro career began after winning a U.S. amateur national championship in 1991, but he placed last in his debut race -- the Clásica de San Sebastian in Spain. He won his first professional race the next year and entered his first Tour de France. He won a stage but dropped out and did not finish the race. He won the Thrift Drug Triple Crown in 1993, and his fame took off shortly thereafter.

Here's the timeline of Armstrong's career:

1996: Armstrong becomes the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne, and he wins a second Tour DuPont. Despite being a part of only five days of the Tour de France, he goes on to participate in the 1996 Olympic Games, finishing sixth in the time trial and 12th in the road race. In October 1996, he is diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer that had also spread to his lymph nodes, lungs, brain and abdomen.

"I intend to beat this disease, and further I intend to ride again as a professional cyclist," he says when announcing his diagnosis. He undergoes his final chemotherapy treatment in December 1996.

1997: He establishes the Lance Armstrong Foundation (later renamed Livestrong) to support cancer patients and research. Armstrong also signs with the U.S. Postal Service's cycling team, which would later be rebranded under a different sponsor, Discovery Channel. The ubiquitous, yellow "Livestrong" bracelets from Armstrong's foundation would become a symbol for cancer patients and survivors everywhere.

1999: At age 27, after returning to professional cycling in 1997, Armstrong wins his first Tour de France.

"I hope it sends out a fantastic message to all survivors around the world," Armstrong says at the finish line in Paris. "We can return to what we were before -- and even better."

He is immediately peppered with questions about doping, denying all accusations. Despite testing positive for a corticosteroid, he shows a backdated prescription to avoid sanctions. The questions don't seem to matter; the comeback story and victory launches Armstrong to global stardom.

2000: Armstrong wins his second Tour de France, as well as a bronze medal in the time trial event at the Sydney Olympic Games. German Jan Ullrich, a chief rival of Armstrong's, wins the gold medal in the road race and silver in the time trials.

In Armstrong's autobiography "It's Not About the Bike ," he provides what becomes a famous quote: "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."

2001: Armstrong wins his third consecutive Tour de France. His rivalry with Ullrich is at its peak. Ullrich never defeats Armstrong in the Tour de France. He has more second-place finishes than any other racer.

2002: Armstrong wins his fourth consecutive Tour de France. French authorities simultaneously conclude a two-year investigation into the U.S. Postal Service team, but the investigation finds no use of performance-enhancing drugs.

2003: He wins the Tour de France again, for the fifth time. "This was my hardest win -- we dodged some bullets. It was a rough year at the Tour and I don't plan to make the same mistakes twice. But my win feels more satisfying, more than the others because of that. The crashes and near-crashes take it out of you," Armstrong says at the finish.

More: How to watch 'LANCE'

2004: Armstrong wins a record-setting sixth Tour de France.

2005: At age 33, after winning a seventh Tour de France, Armstrong retires to spend more time with his family. French newspaper L'Equipe reports blood samples retested from a 1999 race show evidence of blood doping that year, but Armstrong again denies the allegations.

"If you consider my situation: a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy," Armstrong tells CNN. "I would never do that. No. No way.

2009: After announcing his return to cycling, saying he hoped to "raise awareness of the global cancer burden," Armstrong finishes third in the Tour de France, his first race back from retirement. He also joins the RadioShack team, with intentions to again compete in the 2010 Tour de France.

2010: At the Tour Down Under, Armstrong makes his 2010 race debut, finishing 25th out of 127. At the Vuelta a Murcia in Europe, he finishes in seventh place overall, before pulling out of a handful of other races due to bouts with gastroenteritis. After a crash in the Tour de California, he places second in the Tour of Switzerland and third in the Tour of Luxembourg. In the 2010 Tour De France, which he had said would be his final, he finishes in 23rd place. However, Team RadioShack wins the team competition thanks to Armstrong's contributions.

At the same time, American cyclist Floyd Landis, who was Armstrong's teammate for two years and won the 2006 Tour De France, admits he used performance-enhancing drugs. In emails to U.S. and European cycling officials, Landis says he began doping in 2002 -- his first year alongside Armstrong, who again denies the allegations against him, saying in May: "It's our word against his word. I like our word. We like our credibility. Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago."

Landis also accuses other U.S. Postal Service teammates of doping, in addition to Armstrong, and agrees to cooperate with federal officials investigating the allegations.

2011: Armstrong again announces his retirement from competitive cycling in February, at age 39, to focus on family and his cancer foundation. But the walls obscuring his past use of performance-enhancing drugs are cracking. Two other U.S. Postal team members come forward acknowledging their own PED use and further implicating Armstrong.

2012: Federal prosecutors drop their criminal investigation against Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service team in February, with no charges filed. However, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accuses Armstrong of doping and trafficking of drugs in June. In October, the USADA formally charges him with using, possessing and trafficking banned substances and recommends a lifetime ban. In choosing not to appeal the findings, Armstrong is stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong still publicly denies the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

2013: In a January interview with Oprah Winfrey , Armstrong finally admits to doping during each Tour de France win from 1999 to 2005.

"This story was so perfect for so long. It's this myth, this perfect story, and it wasn't true," Armstrong tells Winfrey.

"I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times, and as you said, it wasn't as if I just said no and I moved off it."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Crazy Stat Shows Just How Common Doping Was In Cycling When Lance Armstrong Was Winning The Tour de France

Even after Lance Armstrong finally came clean and was banned from cycling for life, many still defend the (unofficial) 7-time Tour de France champion.

The biggest argument for Armstrong is the belief that all riders were doping.

We have known for a while now that a lot of cyclists were doping. A recent breakdown of the extent of the "EPO Era" (named for the most common drug, Erythropoietin) shows the "everybody was doing it" defense may not be that far off.

Teddy Cutler of SportingIntelligence.com recently took a an excellent and detailed look at all the top cyclists from 1998 through 2013 and whether or not they have ever been linked to blood doping or have links to doping or a doctor linked to blood doping.

Related stories

During this 16-year period, 12 Tour de France races were won by cyclists who were confirmed dopers. In addition, of the 81 different riders who finished in the top-10 of the Tour de France during this period, 65% have been caught doping, admitted to blood doping, or have strong associations to doping and are suspected cheaters.

More importantly for Lance Armstrong, during the 7-year window when he won every Tour de France (1999-2005), 87% of the top-10 finishers (61 of 70) were confirmed dopers or suspected of doping.

Of those, 48 (69%) were confirmed, with 39 having been suspended at some point in their career.

None of that excuses Armstrong's behavior, especially outside of the races . But it is clear Armstrong wasn't alone. He was just better at it than anybody else.

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Armstrong Drops Fight Against Doping Charges

By Juliet Macur

• Aug. 23, 2012

After more than a decade of outrunning accusations that he had doped during his celebrated cycling career, Lance Armstrong, one of the best known and most accomplished athletes in recent history, surrendered on Thursday, ending his fight against charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong, who won the Tour de France an unprecedented seven straight times, said that he would not continue to contest the charges levied against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which claimed that he doped and was one of the ringleaders of systematic doping on his Tour-winning teams.

He continued to deny ever doping, calling the antidoping agency’s case against him “an unconstitutional witch hunt” and saying the process it followed to deal with his matter was “one-sided and unfair.”

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Armstrong said in a statement. “For me, that time is now.”

Armstrong, who turns 41 next month, said he would not contest the charges because it had taken too much of a toll on his family and his work for his cancer foundation, saying he was “finished with this nonsense.”

Armstrong’s decision, according to the World Anti-Doping Code, means he will be stripped of his seven Tour titles, the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympics and all other titles, awards and money he won from August 1998 forward.

It also means he will be barred for life from competing, coaching or having any official role with any Olympic sport or other sport that follows the World Anti-Doping Code. “It’s a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes,” Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said. “It’s yet another heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition.”

As in many other high-profile doping cases — including that of the Olympic sprinter Marion Jones and other athletes involved in the sprawling Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative case, known as Balco — Tygart and the antidoping agency were basing their case not on a positive drug test but rather on other supporting evidence. Armstrong seized on that in his statement.

He said again and again that he had never tested positive — though he did test positive at the 1999 Tour for a corticosteroid, for which he produced a backdated doctor’s prescription.

Armstrong also said the case against him was flimsy without that physical evidence.

“Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims,” Armstrong said. “The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors.”

But even without a positive test, the antidoping agency appeared set to move forward with arbitration. It claimed to have more than 10 eyewitnesses who would testify that Armstrong used banned blood transfusions, the blood booster EPO, testosterone and other drugs to win the Tour. Some of Armstrong’s closest teammates, including George Hincapie — one of the most respected American riders — were also expected to testify against him.

The antidoping agency also said it had blood test results of Armstrong’s from 2009 and 2010 that were consistent with doping.

This is not the first time a top cyclist has suffered such a career implosion — it has been common in cycling in recent years, as doping has crippled the sport. Several recent Tour de France champions have been found guilty of doping, including the American rider Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador of Spain. But none of them had the stature of Armstrong.

Armstrong Surrenders to Doping Charges

View Slide Show ›

Although it is possible that the International Cycling Union, the world’s governing body for cycling, will appeal his suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because it had battled over jurisdiction over this case, Armstrong’s choice to accept his sanction tarnishes the athletic achievements of an athlete who inspired millions with his story of cancer survival.

On Friday in Switzerland, the cycling union said in a statement that it would take no action until American officials presented their case to the association, and that it would have “no further comment” until that time.

Armstrong was already a world-champion cyclist when he was found to have testicular cancer in 1996, at 25. He overcame the odds to beat the disease. He then showed amazing strength and resilience by returning to cycling to win the Tour in 1999, gaining a mass of followers with almost a gravitational pull. They idolized him for showing that cancer could not stop him.

His legion of fans grew each year after that, and each year he won the Tour for them, turning himself into a star that transcended sports.

But in the shadows of his wild success were accusations that he had doped to win. In 1999, he tested positive for a banned corticosteroid on his way to winning his first Tour.

In 2004, the book “L.A. Confidential,” published only in French, linked Armstrong to doping, including claims by his team’s former massage therapist that he had asked her for makeup to hide needle tracks on his arm because they were evidence of his doping. In 2005, a former personal assistant claimed he found a steroid in Armstrong’s medicine cabinet.

Also in the mid-2000s, a French newspaper reported that six of Armstrong’s urine samples from the 1999 Tour had tested positive retroactively for the banned blood booster EPO. The strict standards for laboratory testing were not followed on those samples, so nothing ever came of those results.

Through the years, the accusations became more and more entangled. A Texas-based insurance company tried to withhold a $5 million performance bonus from Armstrong for his victory at the 2004 Tour because it said Armstrong had doped. Armstrong won a settlement.

In testimony in that case, Armstrong’s former teammate, Frankie Andreu, and Andreu’s wife, Betsy, said they had overheard Armstrong admitting to doctors when he was undergoing cancer treatment that he had used steroids, human growth hormone and EPO while cycling.

The accusations followed Armstrong wherever he went, but gained pace in recent years, though Armstrong’s last Tour victory continued to fade into the horizon.

Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour title for doping, in 2010 accused Armstrong of doping and being involved in a doping scheme while the two were teammates. Last year, Tyler Hamilton — another Armstrong top lieutenant — told CBS that Armstrong and others on Armstrong’s teams were involved in a complex doping scheme that involved code words and secret cellphones.

Through it all, Armstrong denied doping. Even a two-year federal investigation into Armstrong that examined possible doping-related crimes seemed to come up empty. It folded earlier this year with no charges brought.

Armstrong, who retired from cycling last year, was not as fortunate this time.

He could have chosen to go to arbitration, which would have meant that witnesses could testify against him in a hearing possibly open to the public. Instead, he chose to bow out of the process.

In doing so, he emphasized that his Tour victories would always be his.

“I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours,” Armstrong said, adding: “The toughest event in the world, where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that.”

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The Two-Way

Lance armstrong admits to using performance-enhancing drugs.

Krishnadev Calamur

Oprah Winfrey talks to cyclist Lance Armstrong in Austin, Texas, on Monday. The first part of the interview airs Thursday night. George Burns/Courtesy of Harpo/AP hide caption

Oprah Winfrey talks to cyclist Lance Armstrong in Austin, Texas, on Monday. The first part of the interview airs Thursday night.

(We updated the top of this post at 10:40 p.m. ET.)

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong publicly confessed to cheating on all his seven Tour de France victories.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey , the second part of which airs Friday, Armstrong said he was never afraid of getting caught and attributed his actions to a "ruthless desire to win."

Armstrong said that at no time did he feel his actions were wrong, but acknowledged that he would be spending the rest of his life "apologizing to people," including those whom he sued for alleging — correctly, as it turned out — that he was cheating on the Tour.

Armstrong also said that he believed his return to cycling in 2009 was part of the beginning of the end.

"We wouldn't be sitting here," he said, if he hadn't returned.

We posted updates during Armstrong's interview with Winfrey. Scroll down to see the highlights.

Update at 10:30 p.m. Wrapping Up Part I

Armstrong says his "fate was sealed" when his friend and teammate George Hincapie testified against him.

"I don't fault George at all," he said, adding they remained friends.

When Winfrey asked him if he would now cooperate with USADA, that's the U.S. anti-doping agency, Armstrong said:

"I stand on no moral platform here ... but if there was a truth and reconciliation commission ... I'll be the first person in the door."

And that ends the first part of Oprah's interview with Armstrong. NPR's Greg Myre will be live-blogging the second part on Friday. Good night.

Update at 10:19 p.m. ET. The Tipping Point

Teammate Floyd Landis' victory in the Tour de France, his subsequent positive drugs test and his admission on CBS of his own guilt — and of Armstrong's — may have been the beginning of the end for Armstrong.

But Armstrong also told Winfrey that he regrets coming back to cycling after his 2005 retirement: "We wouldn't be sitting here," he says, if he hadn't come back to the sport.

He says he assumed the news stories about his guilt would continue for a long time, but that didn't bother him. And, he says, when the Justice Department decided to drop the case against him, "I thought I was out of the woods."

Update at 10:10 p.m. ET. Betsy Andreu

Betsy Andreu, the wife of Armstrong's teammate, Frankie Andreu, told investigators in 2006 that Armstrong had admitted in 1996 that he had doped with EPO, growth hormone and steroids.

Armstrong not only rejected the allegations, but went after Andreu. He told Winfrey on Thursday that he had spoken to both Andreus and apologized.

When Winfrey asked whether they had made peace, he replied: "No. Because they've been hurt too badly and a 40-minute conversation is" not enough.

Update at 10:01 p.m. ET. Failed Tests

"I didn't fail a test," Armstrong tells Winfrey.

And while that may be technically correct at the time of victories, retroactive testing of his blood samples from 1999 came out EPO(+).

Armstrong also denied a story told by teammate Tyler Hamilton that Armstrong had failed the Tour de Suisse EPO test, and rejects the notion that his donation to the UCI was not meant to cover-up the results of the test.

"It was not in exchange" for a cover-up, he says.

Armstrong also apologized — including to his former masseuse Emma O'Reilly — for suing all those who had alleged, rightly it turned out, that he was taking drugs.

Update at 9:50 p.m. ET. Didn't Feel Wrong

Winfrey asked Armstrong whether his actions felt wrong, or whether he felt bad or whether they even felt like cheating. His answer to each of those questions: "No."

"I viewed it as a level playing field," he said.

Armstrong said he was only recently aware of the magnitude of his actions and the impact they had on those around him.

"I see the anger in people," he said, adding: "They have every right to feel betrayed."

"I'll spend the rest of my life apologizing to people," he told Winfrey.

Update at 9:40 p.m. ET. 'Ruthless Desire To Win'

Armstrong says his "ruthless desire to win" made him cheat.

"The level that it went to was a flaw," he said.

When asked what fame did for his personality, he replied: "I was both" a jerk and a humanitarian. And, he added, "I am flawed. Deeply flawed."

But he conceded: "I deserve this."

Armstrong also refused to talk about the role played by others in the wider world of cycling.

"There are people in this story who ... are not evil," he said.

Among them Dr. Michele Ferrari, the team physician who's been dubbed the Master of Doping, whom he called a "smart man" and a "good man."

Update at 9:30 p.m. ET. 'I Was A Bully'

Armstrong acknowledged bullying his Postal Service teammates.

"I tried to control the narrative," he said.

But he insisted that there was "never a direct order" that you have to take drugs to stay on the team. But he acknowledged, "I'm not the most believable guy in the world right now."

Update at 9:15 p.m. ET. Afraid Of Getting Caught?

When Winfrey asked Armstrong if he was afraid of getting caught, he said, "No."

Armstrong explained that there wasn't "much out-of-competition testing" in the period when he amassed his seven titles, and so the prospects of getting caught were slim.

He added that the last time he doped at the Tour was 2005. He says he did not cheat upon his return in 2009 and 2010.

Update at 9:02 p.m. ET. Armstrong Admits Use Of Drugs

Well, we have the confession at the start of the interview. Winfrey asked Armstrong whether he used performance-enhancing drugs, EPO, indulged in blood-doping, used testosterone or HGH, and he replied "Yes" to all those questions.

He also said that he blood doped or used banned substances in all of his seven Tour de France victories. He also said he didn't believe that it was possible to win seven titles without using drugs "in that culture."

More as the interview progresses.

Our original post:

As we've reported all week , the first part of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong's confessional with talk show host Oprah Winfrey airs Thursday night.

The big news from the interview, of course, is how Armstrong — who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles — admits to using performance-enhancing drugs.

The interview is being broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network and also being live streamed on the network's website . The 90-minute interview starts at 9 p.m. EST. A second part airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST.

We'll be following along, so make sure you hit refresh so you're seeing the latest updates.

Here are some of NPR's recent stories on the Armstrong saga:

-- Olympics Asks Lance Armstrong To Return His Bronze Medal

-- Up Next For Lance Armstrong: Post-Confession Court Cases

-- Lance Armstrong And The Cheapening Of Indignation

-- Lance Armstrong And The Business Of Doping

-- 'Carefully Choreographed Dance': Armstrong's Complicated Media Past

• Oprah Winfrey
• Tour de France
• Lance Armstrong

Watch CBS News

Armstrong formally charged for doping, Tour de France titles at risk

By Oriana Zill de Granados

June 17, 2012 / 7:14 PM EDT / CBS News

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) sent a letter Tuesday announcing formal doping charges against Lance Armstrong, according to sources at USADA.

The decision to charge Armstrong came just as the statute of limitations was about to run out on Armstrong's final Tour de France win in 2005. The charges could put all seven of Armstrong's Tour de France titles at risk. He will also be banned from competition in triathlons, a sport he has been pursuing since retiring from cycling in 2011.

The new action by USADA comes on the heels of a controversial February decision by the United States Attorney for Los Angeles, Andre Birotte Jr., to drop a criminal conspiracy and fraud investigation involving doping against Lance Armstrong and his former partners in the US Postal Service cycling team.

60 Minutes reported on that investigation in its May 2011 story about Armstrong, which featured former Armstrong teammate Tyler Hamilton detailing how he personally witnessed doping by Armstrong. Hamilton confessed to using doping products throughout his career and while on the US Postal team as one of Armstrong's top lieutenants.

Watch an excerpt from Scott Pelley's 2011 report, "Armstrong":

The 60 Minutes story also reported for the first time that long-time Armstrong lieutenant George Hincapie told U.S. government investigators that he and Armstrong had "supplied each other with the blood booster EPO and discussed having used testosterone, another banned substance, during their preparation for races."

In reaction to the new USADA charges, Armstrong issued a statement saying, "I have been notified that USADA ... intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned. These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation. These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity."

60 Minutes reporting in May 2011 revealed that no fewer than three Armstrong teammates had told government investigators that they had personally witnessed Armstrong doping. Sources with knowledge of the allegations say that the USADA case will also rely on suspicious Armstrong test results from races in 2009 and 2010.

Watch Scott Pelley discuss reporting the Lance Armstrong story:

More from CBS News

Lance Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour de France, Sources Say

Armstrong makes confession in Oprah interview, sources say.

Jan. 14, 2013— -- Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.

A government source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up others involved in illegal doping. This could result in a reduction of his lifetime ban, according to the source, if Armstrong provides substantial and meaningful information.

Armstrong made the admission in what sources describe as an emotional interview with Winfrey to air on "Oprah's Next Chapter" on Jan. 17.

The 90-minute interview at his home in Austin, Texas, was Armstrong's first since officials stripped him of his world cycling titles in response to doping allegations.

Word of Armstrong's admission comes after a Livestrong official said that Armstrong apologized today to the foundation's staff ahead of his interview.

The disgraced cyclist gathered with about 100 Livestrong Foundation staffers at their Austin headquarters for a meeting that included social workers who deal directly with patients as part of the group's mission to support cancer victims.

Armstrong's "sincere and heartfelt apology" generated lots of tears, spokeswoman Katherine McLane said, adding that he "took responsibility" for the trouble he has caused the foundation.

McLane declined to say whether Armstrong's comments included an admission of doping, just that the cyclist wanted the staff to hear from him in person rather than rely on second-hand accounts.

Armstrong then took questions from the staff.

Armstrong's story has never changed. In front of cameras, microphones, fans, sponsors, cancer survivors -- even under oath -- Lance Armstrong hasn't just denied ever using performance enhancing drugs, he has done so in an indignant, even threatening way.

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Armstrong, 41, was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October 2012, after allegations that he benefited from years of systematic doping, using banned substances and receiving illicit blood transfusions.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, said at a news conference in Switzerland announcing the decision. "This is a landmark day for cycling."

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a 200-page report Oct. 10 after a wide-scale investigation into Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing substances.

Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.

According to a source, speaking to ABC News, a representative of Armstrong's once offered to make a donation estimated around $250,000 to the agency, as "60 Minutes Sports" on Showtime first reported.

Lance Armstrong's attorney Tim Herman denied it. "No truth to that story," Herman said. "First Lance heard of it was today. He never made any such contribution or suggestion."

Armstrong, who himself recovered from testicular cancer, created the Lance Armstrong Foundation (now known as the LIVESTRONG Foundation) to help people with cancer cope, as well as foster a community for cancer awareness. Armstrong resigned late last year as chairman of the LIVESTRONG Foundation, which raised millions of dollars in the fight against cancer.

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Former top cyclist Miguel Ángel López gets 4-year ban for doping

FILE - Colombia’s Miguel Angel Lopez crosses the finish line to win stage 17 of the Tour de France cycling race over 107 kilometers (105.6 miles) from Grenoble to Meribel Col de la Loze, France, on Sept. 16, 2020. Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López has been banned for four years for doping. He finished third in the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta races of 2018 and also fourth in the 2022 Vuelta, and won the toughest mountain stage at the 2020 Tour de France. (Benoit Tessier/Pool via AP, File)

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AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) — Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López was banned Wednesday for four years for doping.

Lopez finished third in the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta races in 2018. He was also fourth in the 2022 Vuelta, and won the toughest mountain stage at the 2020 Tour de France.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) said López was caught in the Operation Ilex investigation led by Spanish authorities concerning a doctor who worked in the sport, Marcos Maynar.

“The UCI welcomes this valuable collaboration,” the cycling body said of the case that involved the International Testing Agency based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

López was found guilty by the UCI’s anti-doping tribunal of “use and possession of a prohibited substance (Menotropin)” at the 2022 Giro. Menotropin is a female fertility drug that can stimulate production of testosterone in men.

His ban expires in July 2027 when he will have turned 33.

López can challenge the ban in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Suspended: Jacksonville swimmer to miss Paris Olympics after drug test

Mandarin high graduate denies use of banned anemia drug.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency suspended former Mandarin High School swimmer and two-time NCAA champion Kensey McMahon for four years following a positive test for a banned substance.

The ruling makes McMahon, who had previously announced a "pause" from competitive swimming last September, ineligible for this month's U.S. Olympic Trials and the Paris Olympics.

USADA said that McMahon, winner of the 2023 NCAA championships in the women's 500 and 1,650 freestyle with the University of Alabama, tested positive for vadadustat, a medication used for anemia related to chronic kidney disease.

In a phone interview with the Times-Union on Wednesday, McMahon denied using vadadustat specifically and performance-enhancing substances in general. She said she had never even heard of the medication until USADA notified her about the positive test in July 2023, the date from which her suspension will take effect.

"I have never taken and will never take something to give me an edge over other athletes," McMahon said. "I believe in clean sport, and I hope that I can find answers for how this happened."

The agency said the positive test occurred during the USA Swimming national championships in Indianapolis on July 1, 2023. On that day, McMahon placed third behind Katie Ledecky and Katie Grimes in the 1,500-meter free in 16:07.78, a time that ranked 10th in the world for the year up to that point. The UCLA Olympic Analytic Laboratory in Los Angeles recorded the positive test for the A sample on July 7 and the B sample on July 20. The tests had remained confidential during the course of the investigation.

When do the Olympics start? Here's a brief schedule of the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

What is Vadadustat?

Vadadustat, which was approved in the European Union in April 2023 but only received approval from the Food and Drug Administration this March, is classified as a "non-specified substance" under World Anti-Doping Agency rules. It belongs to WADA category 2.1.2, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activating agents, a class of substances prohibited for athletes at all times. As a non-specified substance, it carries an automatic four-year suspension if detected, unless an athlete can prove its presence was unintentional and thereby reduce the penalty.

As described by its manufacturer, Akebia Therapeutics of Cambridge, Mass., vadadustat "activates the physiologic response to hypoxia to stimulate endogenous production of erythropoietin, increasing hemoglobin and red blood cell production to manage anemia." The chemical thus produced, erythropoietin (or EPO), has received wide use as a performance-enhancing substance in endurance events such as cycling , including by subsequently-banned Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

McMahon's case is the first in USADA's sanctions database to involve vadadustat.

After a May 2 hearing, independent arbitrator Gary L. Johansen ruled in favor of imposing a four-year suspension, which USADA announced Tuesday. While Johansen did not find that McMahon intentionally took the banned substance, he said the swimmer could not "establish through concrete evidence" that the drug's presence was unintentional.

"This is not an easy case," Johansen wrote. "The Arbitrator would like to give Respondent the benefit of the doubt. However, the Arbitrator is cognizant that the WAD [World Anti-Doping] Code imposes strict liability on athletes, making them responsible for any prohibited substance that enters their bodies."

The agency did determine that McMahon's other drug tests from the time period, on April 11, April 21 and July 5, all came up negative.

In her Instagram post Tuesday, McMahon said her world was "flipped upside down" by the test result.

"With each new story, there is more evidence of the flaws in the current system and its associated policies and politics," she wrote. "Athletes, like me, are not protected and the system weighs heavily against us. We're presumed guilty and immediately banned from all sports with little recourse. With non-threshold substance cases like mine, 'the estimate' can be something so incredibly small but the consequence is still the same. Contamination through foods, supplements, medicines, cosmetics, human contact, and environmental factors have all yielded positive doping results at these incredibly low levels, which is scary for an athlete to hear."

Contamination? The unresolved question

Still unresolved, though, is the question: If contamination was unintentional, what source produced a banned performance-enhancing drug — a substance that was still nearly a year from FDA approval in the United States — in her sample leading up to the 2023 championships in Indianapolis? McMahon acknowledged that so far, she has no clear answer, although she said her legal team has been continuing to pursue possible leads.

"You're traveling, you're eating out, you're doing all sorts of things that are out of your control," she said.

She said that every "vitamin, supplement, hydration formula and medication" that she used was tested as a possible source of exposure, but all came up negative for vadadustat. Johansen's report numbers 18 products in all that were ruled out as potential sources of contamination.

During her arbitration hearing, McMahon also suggested the possibility of unintentional contamination from a "chaotic" feeding station during a May open-water race in Italy. In its response, however, USADA regarded this argument as speculation.

USADA said there are no documented instances to date of vadadustat appearing as a "contaminant or adulteration in any supplement or food product," and the drug's use in any such product would be illegal. So far, USADA said, there are no known cases of vadadustat transfer through common means of environmental contamination, such as shared water bottles or even inhalation.

McMahon has received messages of support on social media from several Olympians on the United States national team, including Katie Grimes, Regan Smith and Alex Walsh. She said that she is unsure whether she will return to swimming once the suspension expires in July 2027.

"I'm not someone who cheats or cuts corners... I don't know where it came from, but I hope I can figure it out," she told the Times-Union.

In addition to her NCAA titles, McMahon also placed third in December 2022 at the short course world championships in Australia in the 1,500 free and finished 10th in the world open water championships. She received the Times-Union's All-First Coast girls swimmer of the year award in 2017.

The 24-year-old is the second major Jacksonville athlete scheduled to miss this summer's Olympics due to suspension.

Former Episcopal decathlete Garrett Scantling , who placed fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and recorded a world-leading 8,867 points at the USA Track & Field Combined Events Championships in May 2022, is still serving a suspension that lasts until 2025.

USADA suspended Scantling in late November 2022 after ruling that he had been unavailable for random drug tests on three instances within a span from August 2021 through April 2022, instances known under anti-doping protocols as whereabouts failures.

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Lance armstrong competes in grueling race, wins age group, lance armstrong competes in grueling nyc race ... no bike, no problem.

Lance Armstrong retired from cycling more than a decade ago, but the 7x Tour de France champ is still competing, and winning, emerging victorious in his age group in a grueling race in New York City over the weekend!

52-year-old Armstrong competed in HYROX NYC -- a global fitness competition that blends a bunch of different (and really hard) movements/exercises -- including running, rows, burpees, sandbag lunges, sled pulls, and much more.

And, in the near 90-degree NYC heat ... borderline torture! 😄

Lance finished the competition in 1:12:05 ... nearly 4 1/2 minutes in front of the next guy in his age group.

We even got some video of Lance from fellow competitor, Mark D. LoBiondo , from Ironbound Performance gym in Jersey City.

Age groups aside, Armstrong finished in 94th place out of 892 competitors in the men's open division.

With the impressive performance, LA also qualified for the HYROX World Championships -- where the top athletes from events around the world come together to compete.

The first place finisher in the men's pro division was Jake Dearden with a time of 58 minutes and 12 seconds. The world record for the HYROX Men's Open is 50:38 minutes.

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Tour de france 2024 - stage 21 preview.

July 21, 2024: Monaco - Nice, 33.7km

Stage 21 Mountains

Stage 21 time checks.

For the first time in history, the Tour de France will conclude outside of Paris due to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which begin just a week later.

The 111th edition will end with a 33.7 hilly time trial from Monaco to Nice and should create a tense finish to three weeks of racing. After leaving the start gate situated on the Formula 1 start grid in Monaco, the route will climb La Turbie (8.1km at 5.7%) and then go up the summit of the uncategorized Col d'Eze (1.6km at 8.1%) before a long but technical descent to Nice. The final five kilometres will follow the Quai des Etats-Unis and then an out-and-back on the Promenade des Anglais before turning left for the finish in Place Masséna, 

The last occasion the Tour finished with a time trial was memorable when Greg LeMond stripped the Yellow Jersey from the shoulders of Laurent Fignon on the Champs-Élysées in 1989, by just eight seconds. Only time will tell if a similar duel will take place 35 years later in Nice.

• La Turbie (8.1km at 5.7%), cat. 2, km 11.2
• Kilometre 11.2
• Kilometre 17.1
• Kilometre 28.6

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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews , overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.

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