3 Lance Armstrong Associates Get Lifetime Bans
AP - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday issued lifetime sports bans to three former staff members and consultants for Lance Armstrong's winning Tour de France teams.
Luis Garcia del Moral was a team doctor; Michele Ferrari was a consulting doctor; and Jose "Pepe" Marti (team trainer) worked for Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service squads. All had been accused by USADA of participating in a vast doping conspiracy on those teams.
Armstrong also has been charged and has declared his innocence. Armstrong wants a federal judge to block USADA's case against him from going forward and is expected to refile a lawsuit within days. An Armstrong spokesman declined immediate comment on the USADA bans issued Tuesday.
Under USADA rules, Moral, Marti and Ferrari had until Monday to challenge the allegations in arbitration or ask for a five-day extension. If they did not respond, USADA could impose sanctions.
Although none lives in the United States, USADA says the ban blocks them from participating in any sport that falls under the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
"The respondents chose not to waste resources by moving forward with the arbitration process, which would only reveal what they already know to be the truth of their doping activity," said Travis Tygart, chief executive of USADA.
There's been no indication from USADA that any of the three men -- who each received the agency's maximum punishment -- is cooperating with investigators.
Armstrong was granted his five-day extension while he files his court case. USADA indicated that Armstrong's former team manager Johan Bruyneel, who also has been charged, has told USADA he will challenge the case in arbitration.
USADA filed the charges against Armstrong and the others in June, laying out what it calls a vast doping conspiracy on Armstrong's teams when he was winning the Tour de France from 1999-2005.
Moral, who lives in Spain, was the team physician from 1999-2003. According to USADA, he helped riders use banned blood transfusion techniques to help boost endurance. He also helped them use banned performance-enhancing drugs including the blood-booster EPO and steroids.
Ferrari, who lives in Italy, was a consulting doctor for Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams from 1999-2006, according to USADA. USADA said Ferrari developed a special mixture of testosterone and olive oil to be placed under the tongue to help riders recover from races and training. He also helped advised riders how to use EPO and avoid detection.
Ferrari's lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment and there was no answer at Ferrari's home. The doctor already was banned for life by the Italian cycling federation in 2002.
Marti, of Spain, who worked for the U.S. Postal Service, Discovery from 1999-2007 and then Astana, helped deliver performance-enhancing drugs to riders in Europe and helped with injections, USADA said.
"Permanently banning these individuals from sport is a powerful statement that protects the current and next generation of athletes from their influence, and preserves the integrity of future competition," Tygart said.
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