Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack) lost most of his team to illness, but kept the mountains jersey.(Image credit: Fabrice Lambert/sportbreizh.com)
Yaroslav Popovych slays himself to pull Lance Armstrong back into the race.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack) crosses the line in Reims(Image credit: Sirotti)
Yaroslav Popovych was questioned in front of a grand jury for 90 minutes on Wednesday but denied having witnessed doping during his years as a teammate of Lance Armstrong, his lawyer Ken Miller, told the New York Daily News.
Popovych rode with Armstrong in 2005 at the Discovery Channel team, at Astana in 2009 and at RadioShack this year. He is not believed to be a target of the investigation.
"He doesn't know anything about what the focus of the investigation is," Miller said. "He did testify and he's happy to have it behind him."
Popovych was served a subpoena on October 22 while attending the Livestrong Challenge charity ride in Armstrong’s home town of Austin. He had planned to return home to Italy but stayed in the USA before testifying.
"How he was served struck me as a little peculiar," Miller told the Los Angeles Times. "It was effected on a guy at a charity ride who was going to leave Texas for a vacation with his girlfriend. A guy from Ukraine who doesn't speak great English and didn't really understand what was going on.
"I don't believe he knows anything about what the grand jury is investigating," he added.
The U.S. Attorney handling the case refused to comment on Popovych’s testimony. FDA agent Jeff Novitzky is expected to travel to Europe to question other people linked to the investigation. However he refused to confirm his plans or make a comment to Cyclingnews.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
