In an interview with the Daily Mail, Lance Armstrong has claimed that then UCI President Hein Verbruggen was complicit in helping him escape punishment after a drugs test at the 1999 Tour de France.
Armstrong was speaking as he sat down with former US Postal Team soigneur Emma O'Reilly for the first time in 13 years. The Irishwoman had been ostracised by Armstrong for claiming that he had cheated on his way to winning his Tour de France titles but now she has met with him for the first time since he came clean.
When talking about Verbruggen's response to his failed drugs test in 1999 Lance regales 'He just said we gotta come up with something. And ... so we just back dated the prescription.'
Verbruggen is still an honorary member of the UCI and as recently as two weeks ago he denied any involvement in a cover-up during Armstrong's cycling career, saying 'The UCI has never protected Armstrong. Any decision on Armstrong and any other racer has been taken in accordance with established facts and scientific means available at that time.'
Meanwhile Armstrong told Emma O'Reilly that his comments about her – such as calling O'Reilly an alcoholic whore – were inexcusable and embarrassing:
'I was in a conference room, giving a legal deposition, and I had no idea it was going to get out. But that doesn't excuse it. I guess you should always assume that, in that setting, the whole world will watch it the next day. It was totally humiliating for Emma. And if I saw my son do that, there would be a fucking war in our house.'
Interestingly, O'Reilly has sympathy for Armstrong, saying 'Lance is taking the blame for everyone and I just don't feel that is right. He is serving a lifetime ban when other riders on the team have served six-month suspensions. Why are they only going after Lance? Why are they not going after all the owners of the team?'
You read the full Daily Mail piece on their meeting here and their article about Armstrong's Verbruggen claims here.
