Johan Bruyneel, the manager behind Lance Armstrong’s seven consecutive Tour de France victories, is denying accusations from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that he helped run a doping operation for the cyclist’s teams.
“I have never participated in any doping activity, and I am innocent of all charges,” said Bruyneel, a Belgian who is currently the manager of the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team.
In a statement posted Friday on his website and Twitter account, Bruyneel also noted that federal prosecutors closed a nearly two-year criminal investigation into allegations of doping by Armstrong and his teams without filing any charges.
“It cannot be right that I or anyone else can be pursued from court to court simply because our accusers do not like the decisions made along the way and so attempt to find a court which will get them the result they want,” Bruyneel said.
The USADA is accusing Bruyneel of operating a doping program that included steroids and EPO from 1999-2007.
