In an interview with CBS News show 60 Minutes, to be shown this coming Sunday, Lance Armstrong’s former teammate Tyler Hamilton points the finger at the seven-time Tour de France winner, accusing him of using EPO to win at least the first three of those races. Hamilton, who rode for the United States Postal Service (USPS) team between 1995 and 2001, riding in support of Armstrong in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tours. It was in that time that he said that he saw Armstrong using EPO and other drugs.
"[Armstrong] took what we all took...the majority of the peloton," Hamilton said, according to CBS News. "There was EPO...testosterone...a blood transfusion."
When asked specifically what he saw by interviewer Scott Pelley, Hamilton went into detailed allegations against the seven-time Tour winner.
"I saw [EPO] in his refrigerator,” he said. “I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times."
Hamilton’s revelations come almost a year to the day after those of Floyd Landis, who made many doping claims against Armstrong. While both riders spent time with Armstrong at USPS, they were never teammates, as Landis joined the team in 2002.
What they do have in common though is that they both tested positive after they had left Armstrong’s team, Hamilton in 2004 and Landis in 2006; they were both riding for the Phonak team at the time, although again, they were never there at the same time.
Hamilton was the first rider to test positive for a homologous blood transfusion, where he had someone else’s blood cells in his body during the 2004 Vuelta a España; Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone on the way to winning the 2006 Tour de France. In February 2009 Hamilton tested positive for a second time, for DHEA, and was banned for a further eight years.
What the two riders also have in common is that they both denied their guilt, going through lengthy and expensive appeals processes, raising money from fans through the “I believe Tyler” and “Floyd Fairness Fund” campaigns.
Because of his lying about his own personal doping throughout his appeal processes, Landis’ credibility as a witness has been called into question by the Armstrong camp; it’s likely that Hamilton will be likewise.
CBS News also reports that Hamilton will not be the only former teammate of Armstrong’s to feature in the 60 Minutes broadcast, with Frankie Andreu also interviewed. From a brief quote in the story, Andreu appears to corroborate Hamilton’s claims.
"Training alone wasn't doing it and I think that's how...many of the other riders during that era felt,” he said. “I mean, you kind of didn't have a choice."
The CBS News site also contains a brief teaser video of the Hamilton interview, the transcript of which is as follows:
Scott Pelley: He was using EPO in the Tour de France in 1999?
Tyler Hamilton: Correct.
SP: He was using EPO in the Tour de France in the year 2000?
TH: He used it before; to prepare for the Tour
SP: And what about the Tour in 2001?
TH: He used it to prepare for the Tour, I can’t say that he used it during the Tour.
SP: What did you actually witness?
TH: I mean, I saw it in his refrigerator; I saw him inject it, more than one time.
SP: You saw Lance Armstrong inject EPO?
TH: Yeah, like, we all did. Like I did many, many times.