“An avalanche of evidence” against Armstrong, Hamilton's co-author claims

Lance Armstrong told Tyler Hamilton that he had tested positive during the Tour de Suisse 2001, Hamilton has said on American television. But the UCI promptly declared that “this matter should end" with no action being taken, according to the co-author of Hamilton's autobiography, who claimed that there is an “avalanche of evidence” against Armstrong.

Appearing on the Today Show to promote his book “A Secret Race”, co-authored by Daniel Coyle, Hamilton said that his then USPS teammate  Armstrong casually mentioned the positive doping control. “I remember being in Switzerland at this ski resort where we had finished the time trial the day before and we had finished breakfast. We were walking outside and he told me that he had just got caught.”

When asked why this did not make the international news, Coyle said, “That's a great question. What happened next was that a call was made from cycling's governing body, the UCI, that this test should go no further, that this matter should end here.”

Specifically asked if he were claiming a cover-up, Coyle responded: “That's right, and then there was a meeting between Armstrong and the lab, and there was also a $125,000 donation from Armstrong to the UCI.”

Since both Armstrong and the UCI deny this story, does he have a 'smoking gun' to prove it?  “We have 300 pages of a smoking gun, an avalanche of evidence.”

Hamilton added. “It doesn't surprise me that they denied.  You know, I denied it for years. After a while you get pretty good at it.”

Turning to show host Matt Lauer, he said, “You know I've lied to you before, straight to your face. For me, it's like a huge weight off my back. Today, I feel fantastic, fantastic.”