French authors Pierre Ballester and David Walsh, co-authors of the controversial book LA Confidentiel, are set to release a follow-up to that book on Thursday, called LA Official: the anatomy of a scandal. In this book, the two renew their accusations that Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times.
"Beyond the web of deception that Lance Armstrong spun around his image," reads a statement from the authors, "one has to ask questions about the serious repercussions of this tactic. After the disturbing revelation of a blood-doping network in Spain and the shameful Floyd Landis episode, does elite cycling retain any crumbs of credibility?"
Armstrong responded to the announcement, calling the book a "false string of sensational, untrue and fabricated allegations," and said it "will be no different than the first - a sensationalized attempt to cash in on my name and sully my reputation." Armstrong, who, despite having retired from the sport, continues to find himself defending his reputation, said "I raced clean. I won clean. I am the most tested athlete in the history of sports. I have defended myself and won every court case to prove I was clean. Yet another French book with baseless, sensational and rejected allegations will not overcome the truth."
