Doping agency claims proof of cheating by cyclist Armstrong

Steve Ruark / AP Lance Armstrong, who has been banned from competitive cycling, competes in the Rev3 Half Full Triathalon on Sunday, Oct. 7, in Ellicott City, Md. Armstrong joined other cancer survivors in the charity ride. By Lisa Myers NBC News American cyclist Lance Armstrong was part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday in advance of issuing its long-awaited report detailing the evidence it amassed against the seven-time Tour de France champion. In a news release announcing the evidence behind its decision, which it will send to other bodies that oversee the sport of cycling, the USADA said that Armstrong was part of an orchestrated cheating campaign run by the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. It said that evidence of the scheme "is overwhelming," and includes "sworn testimony from 23 people, including 12 former members of the US Postal Service Team (U.S.P.S. Team) with knowledge of the USPS Team's doping activities, and Lance Armstrong's use, possession and distribution of dangerous performance-enhancing drugs in violation of sport rules." It also includes "direct documentary evidence, including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove doping by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding," the agency said. Follow Open Channel from NBC News on Twitter and Facebook. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in August ordered that Armstrong's many cycling titles from his 14-year career be erased and banned him from cycling for life because of the doping allegations. The agency is required to submit its evidence to the International Cycling Union. Armstrong has repeatedly denied the allegations, and cycling authorities who backed Armstrong's legal fight to block the case have said they want to see the material before deciding whether to appeal the U.S. agency's sanctions to the world Court of Arbitration for Sport. The New York Times reported that Armstrong's legal team tried to preemptively discredit the report in a letter sent Tuesday to the antidoping agency's lawyer, Bill Bock. Timothy J. Herman, one of Armstrong's lawyers, called the case a farce. "USADA, the prosecutor, now pretends to issue its own 'reasoned decision,' even though there was no judge, no jury and no hearing," Herman said in the letter. The Times said Armstrong, through his spokesman, said he would not comment on the report. Background on the anti-doping agency's process is contained in an earlier explainer from the Associated Press.