Lance Armstrong finished Stage 15 of the Tour de France in 31st place. Despite Armstrong being 40 minutes behind Yellow Jersey winner Alberto Contador, you would think he still remained a Tour contender by reading the sports headlines.
Armstrong is overshadowing this year’s Tour de France because he is being investigated by federal authorities for possible fraud and doping charges. It has long been speculated Armstrong used steroids to win his seven Tour de France titles during the early and mid 2000s. Now grand jury subpoenas have been issued to 3 time Tour winner Greg LeMond, 2006 winner Floyd Landis, and other US Postal Service team members.
LeMond will appear in a federal courthouse in LA on July 30 and has been the most outspoken about Armstrong’s drug use throughout the investigation.
In the latest allegations, LeMond has claimed Armstrong offered to pay someone $300,000 to implicate LeMond in an EPO performance enhancer scandal. LeMond even went as far as telling Journal Du Dimanche, a French newspaper, “For him, it’s the beginning of the end.”
Some Armstrong critics have even said this year’s poor Tour performance is due to Armstrong not using steroids because he is under the microscope.
Despite allegations, Armstrong has never tested positive for steroids. The 97th Tour de France ends this Sunday as Stage 20 finishes at Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Congratulations to Alberto Contador who won the 2010 97th Tour de France. Contador edged out second place winner Andy Schleck by 39 seconds. The Spaniard becomes just the ninth rider to win three or more Tours. But Contador’s win did not come without controversy. Even up until yesterday, the Tour winner remained unknown after Schleck closed in on Contador’s lead by two seconds during Stage 19’s time trial.