Although Lance Armstrong yesterday said that he was no longer going to fight the USADA charges against him, former US Postal Service manager Johan Bruyneel has said that he hopes the case against him will stop.
“I hope that it will soon be determined that the case that USADA initiated against me should never have gotten as far as it has,” he said in a brief statement on his website. “Due to the sensitive nature of legal proceedings, I have been advised that it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.”
VeloNation spoke to USADA CEO Travis Tygart last night and said then that he considered the other cases would continue. Bruyneel, doctor Pedro Celaya and coach Pepe Marti all previously said that they wanted to dispute the charges via arbitration; Tygart indicated this would happen when asked if the evidence in the cases would emerge.
“Absolutely…at the right time,” he said, talking about that evidence. “Obviously there are other cases that are alleged to be involved in the conspiracy. Their cases are still proceeding, so it will be in due course.”
It remains to be seen what tactic Bruyneel will employ to try to prevent the hearing taking place.
He commented on Armstrong’s decision, saying that he believed the Texan felt he couldn’t win.
“Today, I’m disappointed for Lance and for cycling in general that things have reached a stage where Lance feels that he has had enough and is no longer willing to participate in USADA’s campaign against him,” he stated. “Lance has never withdrawn from a fair fight in his life so his decision today underlines what an unjust process this has been.”
If found guilty of the charges against him, Bruyneel will face a lifetime ban from cycling.