Yep, more Lance news! Yesterday, USADA CEO Travis Tygart appeared on Showtime’s new 60 Minute Sports series to address all things Armstrong. Tygart says that Martial Saugy, head of the WADA lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, admitted to helping Armstrong avoid positive tests for EPO in the early aughts.
He recounted a 2010 conversation with Saugy concerning Armstrong’s sample from the 2001 Tour de Suisse:
He sat beside me and said: “Travis, there is a sample from Lance Armstrong that indicates Lance Armstrong used EPO.” He also told us that he had been ordered by the UCI to meet Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel to explain the method of detecting EPO. So I asked him: “Did you give Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel the keys to beating EPO tests?” And he nodded his head for yes. He explained to them, just the two of them. As far as I know, it’s unprecedented. It’s totally incorrect to meet an athlete with a suspect result and explain to him how the test works.
In the interview, Tygart also revealed that Armstrong attempted to donate around $250,000 to USADA in 2004. Here’s a clip from the show: