Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, and the U.S. Postal Service team / 2010s
In May 2010, former U.S. Postal teammate Floyd Landis—himself stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after a positive test—accused Armstrong of doping during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Landis claimed he had witnessed blood transfusions and had seen testosterone patches distributed to teammates. He also alleged that team director Johan Bruyneel bribed former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to suppress a positive Armstrong test, although Landis admitted he had no documentation for that charge. The UCI acknowledged that Armstrong had donated $25,000 in 2002 and $100,000 in 2005, the latter reportedly used to purchase a blood-testing machine, but denied that the payments bought protection.
The allegations intensified in 2011 when Tyler Hamilton told CBS that he and Armstrong had taken EPO together before and during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Tours. A 60 Minutes investigation also reported that former teammates Frankie Andreu and George Hincapie had told federal investigators they had seen Armstrong use or receive banned substances. Hamilton further claimed Armstrong had tested positive for EPO at the 2001 Tour de Suisse. Swiss anti-doping chief Martial Saugy confirmed that four urine samples from that race had appeared suspicious, but emphasized that there had been no confirmed positive and that he did not know whether Armstrong’s samples were among them. The U.S. federal investigation ended without charges in February 2012, leaving the concealment allegations unresolved in court even as the cumulative testimony severely damaged Armstrong’s denials.
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