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AFLD drops Armstrong case
The French anti-doping agency (AFLD) said Friday it would not be taking disciplinary action against Astana’s Lance Armstrong for, what the agency had earlier alleged, violations of protocol during an out-of-competition test.
Armstrong fell afoul of the French agency in March when he left an out-of-competition drug tester’s line of sight — a violation of World Anti-Doping Agency protocol — to take a post-training ride shower while his team manager confirmed the tester’s validity.
Armstrong announced via his Twitter account, that he learned that he had been cleared.
“Just got the word from the French agency AFLD on the shower gate incident,” Armstrong wrote. “Case closed, no penalty, all samples clean. Onward.”
AFLD released a three-paragraph statement on its Web page Friday, citing a letter Armstrong wrote to the president of the AFLD on April 16.
"The AFLD has decided to take into account the explanations by the sportsman and therefore not open disciplinary proceedings," the statement read. "Analysis of the urine and blood samples of Mr. Lance Armstrong did not reveal any abnormality."
The statement also said hair samples collected were not analyzed.
Earlier this month the ALFD announced that it had jurisdiction to open disciplinary hearings against Armstrong, potentially bringing his participation in this year’s Tour de France into question.
Armstrong fired back within days, accusing the French of working to prevent him from racing in this year’s Tour.
“I suspect this will escalate, and we’ll see even more antics out of the AFLD in the near future,” Armstrong said in a video released April 10. “And there’s a very high likelihood that they’d prohibit me from riding in the Tour.”
On Friday, however, the agency announced that it had no plans to pursue the matter.
Armstrong, who is currently recovering from surgery after breaking his collar bone, is hoping to line up for the Giro d'Italia, which starts on May 9 and is now training Aspen, Colorado.
