Report says Hincapie told feds Armstrong used PEDs

NEW YORK — A report by "60 Minutes" says George Hincapie, a longtime member of Lance Armstrong's inner circle, has told federal authorities he saw the seven-time Tour de France winner use performance-enhancing drugs.

Allegations mount: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has been accused by former teammate George Hincapie (left) of using performance-enhancing drugs. AP PHOTO

A segment of the report aired Friday night on the "CBS Evening News," one day after it broadcast an interview with another former member of Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team, Tyler Hamilton, who said he also used PEDs with Armstrong.

Hincapie has often been depicted as one of Armstrong's most loyal teammates and was with him for all seven Tour victories. In an interview last year, Armstrong said Hincapie was "like a brother to me."

Hincapie is among a number of former Armstrong teammates and employees who have appeared before a federal grand jury in Los Angeles investigating doping in cycling. Hamilton said he testified for six hours before the panel.

Armstrong has never tested positive and has steadfastly denied doping.

Using unidentified sources, "60 Minutes" reported that Hincapie testified that he and Armstrong supplied each other with the endurance-boosting substance EPO and discussed having used another banned substance, testosterone, to prepare for races. Citing the ongoing investigation, Hincapie declined to be interviewed by "60 Minutes," which will air its piece on the Armstrong investigation on Sunday night.

Reached at the Tour of California in Solvang, Hincapie said he didn't want to talk about the "60 Minutes" report.

"It's just unfortunate that that's all people want to talk about now," he said. "I'm not going to partake in any cycling-bashing. I have done everything to be the best I can be. . . . I want the focus on the future of the sport, what it's done to clean itself up. I believe in cycling and want to support it."

Later, Hincapie released a statement through his attorney: "I can confirm to you that I never spoke with 60 Minutes. I have no idea where they got their information. As I've said in the past, I continue to be disappointed that people are talking about the past in cycling instead of the future. As for the substance of anything in the 60 Minutes story, I cannot comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation."

Asked to comment on the newest 60 Minutes report, Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani said: "We have no way of knowing what happened in the grand jury and so can't comment on these anonymously sourced reports."

The Hincapie and Hamilton revelations come a year after Floyd Landis, who had his 2006 Tour title stripped for using steroids, turned the focus of the feds' cycling investigation onto Armstrong, claiming he and Armstrong had both used drugs while on the U.S. Postal team.

But while Hamilton and Landis have credibility problems that Armstrong has pointed out — both cyclists denied using drugs for years before changing their story and implicating Armstrong — there aren't nearly as many issues with Hincapie.

The 37-year-old cyclist from New York has no known positive tests. He was on the Postal team even before Armstrong and, once Armstrong joined it, the two were frequent roommates on the road.

View the original article here