Armstrong’s teammates speak

Two of Lance Armstrong’s former teammates said they used a performance-enhancing drug while getting ready for the 1999 Tour de France, according to a newspaper report.

Frankie Andreu, a 39-year-old former team captain, and a teammate who requested anonymity because he still works in cycling, told the New York Times they used EPO in preparation for the race, when Armstrong won the first of his seven titles in cycling’s biggest race.

Andreu said he took EPO for a few races and is admitting the use now because he’s worried doping is having a negative effect on the sport.

Neither of the teammates ever had a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. Both said they never saw Armstrong take any banned substances.

Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer and won the Tour a record seven straight times, faced constant doping allegations toward the end of his career and has repeatedly denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

Landis puts forth defense

The attorney for Floyd Landis asked that doping charges be dismissed, hinting for the first time at the Tour de France winner’s official defense: that his positive testosterone tests were flawed and did not meet World Anti-Doping Agency standards.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, attorney Howard Jacobs disputed the accuracy of the carbon isotope ratio tests performed on Landis’ urine sample at a lab in France.

Jacobs also argued the analysis of a different test, the testosterone-epitestosterone analysis, “is replete with fundamental, gross errors,” including mismatched sample code numbers. Jacobs said the positive finding on the backup ‘B’ sample came from a sample number not assigned to Landis.

“It’s incredibly sloppy” work, he said.