Tim Sprinkle

Doping Back in the News

Remember last week when I suggested that there would be more fallout from Floyd Landis' doping allegations? Turns out I was right.

This from the New York Times on Tuesday:

Federal authorities investigating allegations that Lance Armstrong and other top cyclists engaged in doping are considering whether they can expand the investigation beyond traditional drug distribution charges to include ones involving fraud and conspiracy, according to two people briefed on the investigation.

The authorities, who are in the early stages of their investigation, are seeking to determine whether Armstrong, the owners and managers of his former cycling teams and his teammates conspired to defraud their sponsors by doping to improve their performances and garner more money and prizes, one of the people said.

In particular, the authorities want to know whether money from the United States Postal Service, the main sponsor of Armstrong’s team from 1996 to 2004, was used to buy performance-enhancing drugs, one of the people said. Fraud charges can carry longer sentences than charges of drug distribution.

Bicycling magazine has done a pretty good job with this as well. Here's Bill Strickland on why the Landis/Armstrong bombshell is good for cycling.