Dutch magazine spats with Van Heeswijk over doping allegations

Former US Postal rider Max Van Heeswijk has come into conflict with the Dutch magazine NUSport over a story published this week. In the interview which was carried out by journalist Nando Boers in June, the former professional talked extensively about his years with the team of Lance Armstrong and reportedly admits to using performance enhancing drugs.

Van Heeswijk rode with the US Postal and Discovery Channel teams from 2003 to 2006, but was not a part of any of Armstrong's winning Tour de France squads. US Postal has been the subject of a federal investigation in the United States, which is examining alleged systematic doping in the squad.

According to the magazine's website, nusport.nl, Van Heeswijk, after making comments on the use of performance enhancing drugs to Boers, requested that the statements be removed from the story. When the journalist refused, Van Heeswijk allegedly grabbed the tape out of the recorder and threw it into the trash.

NUSport said it reported the tape as stolen to the police in Belgium, where Van Heeswijk lives, after trying and failing to get a response from the rider.

Despite a last minute request from Van Heeswijk to retract the story, the magazine went ahead with its publication this week, but Van Heeswijk dismissed the article on Dutch television. "It's just tabloid journalism. I've always been a clean rider there was no talk of doping," he said on the Dutch channel L1. "I will definitely take a lawyer."