Judge dismisses Armstrong lawsuit against USADA

George Hincapie and Lance Armstrong, Tour de France 2003

A US judge dismissed on Monday a lawsuit filed by Lance Armstrong and his lawyers against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), stating that his court is "not inclined to indulge Armstrong's desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement or vilification of Defendants".

The lawsuit was the latest salvo launched by Armstrong in the long-running spat between the seven-time Tour de France winner and USADA over charges of doping. Armstrong sought to bar USADA from continuing its case against the Texan, and was an attempt to preserve his Tour titles, which are now under threat.

The gist of the 80-page lawsuit filed by Armstrong is that USADA has no jurisdiction to impose a sanction on him. Armstrong has also branded the action against him as a personal vendetta and a witch hunt.

A full list of items contained in Armstrong's lawsuit can be found on the ESPN website.

US District Court Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, gave Armstrong and his legal team 20 days during which to re-file a more concise lawsuit "by sifting through eighty mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of factual material relevant to his claims." Sparks' written dismissal is available to download as a PDF via ESPN.

Armstrong's legal team re-filed a shorter 25-page on Tuesday.

USADA's original charges against Armstrong relate to witness testimonies that allege that Armstrong took banned performance enhancing substances during his seven Tour de France wins, over the period 1999-2005. Former US Postal/Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel and former team medical staff are also charged.

Last Thursday, Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf reported that former Armstrong team-mates George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, Jonathan Vaughters and Levi Leipheimer had all provided witness statements to USADA and would serve six-month suspensions for admitting to doping. Vaughters denied the claims.

On Tuesday, USADA issued lifetime bans to Dr Luis Garcia del Moral, Dr Michele Ferrari and Jose Marti relating to anti-doping violations.

Related links

Vaughters denies that Garmin team riders will be suspended by USADA

Armstrong attacks USADA for opening formal action against him

Armstrong banned from triathlons as new doping charge brought against him

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, n exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.