The US Anti Doping Agency has responded to the attempt by Lance Armstrong and his legal team to try to prevent its case against him, saying that it intends to continue with its current procedure and that it is confident that it will be able to do so.
"USADA was built by athletes on the principles of fairness and integrity,” it said in a statement released to VeloNation today.
“Like previous lawsuits aimed at concealing the truth, this lawsuit is without merit and we are confident the courts will continue to uphold the established rules, which provide full constitutional due process and are designed to protect the rights of clean athletes and the integrity of sport."
Armstrong’s legal team have filed a 80 page complaint to the US District Court in the Western District of Texas, claiming that the USADA investigation is unconstitutional and that it is the result of an eight year vendetta against him.
It has laid out a number of arguments by which it will seek to have that investigation stopped.
Ironically, Armstrong’s agent Bill Stapleton was the president of the Athletes’ Advisory Council at the time when USADA’s policies and procedures were drawn up, and had a big part hand in writing that code.
On June 12th Armstrong, former US Postal Service general manager Johan Bruyneel, doctors Michele Ferrari, Pedro Celaya (who currently works with Team RadioShack Nissan), Luis Garcia del Moral and the Spanish trainer Pepe Marti were all sent letters by USADA proposing a range of serious doping charges.
USADA’s review board examined some of the evidence and confirmed on June 29th that it felt there was sufficient grounds to proceed with charges.
At least ten of Armstrong’s former team-mates are said to have given statements saying that the Texan and the others were involved in doping practices.
He and the other five accused are facing a possible lifetime ban from sport. Today’s filing to the Texas court is thought to concern Armstrong alone rather than any of the others who were charged.
USADA’s initial deadline for a response from the others is today. They can request a five day extension. They must then either accept the charges and thus USADA’s sanctions, or else opt to fight those charges before an arbitration board.