Armstrong lawyers clarify

After the recent publications by French newspapers of declarations made by Frankie and Betsy Andreu, as well as former Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and his wife Kathy, in a court case opposing Lance Armstrong and insurance company SCA, the lawyers of Lance Armstrong have issued another statement to clarify the accusations made against him. Both Frankie and Betsy Andreu had testified that they heard Armstrong confess past use of performance-enhancing drugs in a hospital where he was treated for cancer in 1996. Greg and Kathy Lemond also claimed that Armstrong used EPO, which was repudiated by Belgian team mechanic Julian DeVriese, according to Armstrong.

"Lance Armstrong last week confirmed that he would no longer dignify accusations made against him, principally in French newspapers, which were comprehensively considered in the trial, concluded six months ago, in which he was once again vindicated and awarded $2,500,000 in punitive/extra-contractual damages in addition to the $5,000,000 he was owed," the statement by Armstrong's lawyers, Tim Herman and Sean Breen read. "As he also stated, he has asked his legal representatives to clarify, where appropriate, misleading or incorrect information leaked to the press in violation of the explicit orders issued by the Arbitration Tribunal.

"L'Equipe and LeMonde, both French publications, included in their weekend editions selected portions of depositions and testimony from the trial. These materials were acquired in violation of the arbitrators' order of strict confidentiality. The papers also published recent quotes received from Greg Lemond. Conspicuously absent from the French accounts were confirmations by other witnesses that both Greg Lemond and his wife repeatedly lied under oath and that statements attributed to others by Lemond had been categorically repudiated. There is simply no credibility to Lemond's statements regarding Armstrong."