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| French Cops Stalked Armstrong During The 2005 Tour |
| 2005-08-25 |
| Nope, I'm certainly not convinced that the French have it in for Lance, are you? According to French newspaper Le Monde, French police staked out a Discovery Channel hotel during the Tour de France following a tip-off from Italian police. Passing the buck, or someone's looking for cover? Three days after French sports paper LâEquipe alleged that traces of EPO had been found in a sample of Lance Armstrongâs urine from the 1999 Tour de France by the French Chatenay Malabry anti-doping lab, further reports have emerged claiming that French police staked out a Discovery Channel team hotel during the 2005 Tour following a tip-off by their Italian counterparts. A report in French newspaper Le Monde on Wednesday repeated allegations from a source which claimed to have access to documentation in the possession of French drugs police in Paris. Among these documents is what is claimed to be a photograph of an unidentified man entering the Discovery Channel team hotel in Grenoble on the night of the Tourâs first rest day, carrying a large blue ice-box. My guess would be champagne... According to Le Monde, the French policeâs narcotics branch, based in Paris, deployed around six officers in civilian clothes to intercept the same man on the second rest day of the Tour in Pau. Le Monde claims the French police had been told by their Italian counterparts that the man was likely to pay his next visit to the team's lodgings in Pau on Monday, July 18. Large blue ice box = EPO or human growth hormone. Everybody knows you would put narcotics in the rocker panels; I saw that on the French Connection. Some sources have claimed that the French police received further support from private investigators said to be tracking Armstrong at the 2005 Tour on behalf of Texan insurers SCA Promotions. Want my advice, Closeau? Go tail French & Italian teams; you're far more likely to hit paydirt that way. Le Monde claims that the undercover officers observed the hotel for some 12 hours, but that the surveillance operation was thwarted when a television crew received a tip-off and revealed the police presence. An investigation into the identity of the man photographed in Grenoble on July 11 is said, by procycling sources, to be ongoing. "Spies! All spies!" In a video-conference in Washington DC, Armstrong yesterday issued his latest rebuttal of the allegations made by LâEquipe on Monday. âWhen I gave the samples in 1999, there was no EPO in my urine â I can guarantee that,â said the seven-time Tour winner. Like Mucky posted below, he's considering a lawsuit. I hope he doesn't waste his time. Armstrong has always maintained that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs, pointing to the fact that he has never tested positive for a banned substance in controls sanctioned by any governing body. It's like trying to answer the question 'Have you stopped beating your wife?' What pathetic people, these L'Equipe 'reporters'. |
| Posted by:Raj |
| #5 He should keep riding until they shut the f*ck up. If he tested positive for drugs in 1999 why havent we heard about it until now. Do they know it is 2005? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-08-25 16:50 |
| #4 There is a very certain distinct french character type that is nasty, snide, nihilistic, jealous, vicious (in a small rodent sort of manner), utterly infantile, and beyond any hope of redemption. Not a majority of the population by any stretch but they are common. I wish he'd announce that he'll ride one more tour just as brutal punishment to the psyche of that particular segment of French society. |
| Posted by: MunkarKat 2005-08-25 16:26 |
| #3 Xb. They don't spend money on defense. They are Socialist. They have some extra bux. They have to spend it somewhere. Ol' Lance's exploits are a swift kick in the ego... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-08-25 16:26 |
| #2 It's staggering (and somewhat gratifying) to think how much time/manpower/money the French have put in trying to discredit Lance. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-08-25 16:02 |
| #1 The French make such a great whine. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-08-25 14:59 |