Martial Saugy, the Lausanne-based lab director, sought out anti-doping authorities last year shortly after Floyd Landis became the first cyclist to accuse Armstrong publicly, according to World Anti-Doping Agency Director General David Howman. In September, Saugy met with Jeff Novitzky, a special agent with the Food and Drug Administration who has led the U.S. government’s probe of Armstrong, at WADA’s Montreal headquarters. FBI and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials also attended the meeting.
Last July, Saugy met in Moscow with USADA chief executive Travis Tygart, according to an April 14 letter that USADA sent to Saugy.
As a follow-up to the meetings, Saugy agreed to provide by May 2 information about all “suspicious” results from EPO analysis during the 2001 Tour de Suisse, as well as the particulars of discussions related to EPO testing that occurred during a meeting with Armstrong or his team manager Johan Bruyneel, according to the April letter.
Authorities want to determine whether any of Armstrong’s samples raised reg flags, whether he or his representatives were improperly tipped off to testing results, and whether international cycling officials acted appropriately on information they received from the Swiss lab.
Saugy told the German-language newspaper Neue Züricher Zeitung in Friday’s editions that there were four “suspicious” tests during the Tour de Suisse but that he didn’t know whether any belonged to Armstrong and did not believe any cover-up had occurred. He also confirmed meeting with Armstrong and Bruyneel during a later trip to collect blood, and explaining to them how the EPO test worked, but said the meeting was not to discuss any results.
Saugy said the only body to whom he reported the four suspicious results from the race — and which would know the athlete or athletes who produced the samples — was the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The existence of the letter was first reported by “60 Minutes” in an episode that aired Sunday. In the report, Tyler Hamilton became the second former teammate of Armstrong to allege that he saw Armstrong use drugs. He also said Armstrong told him he tested positive at the 2001 Tour de Suisse and that he and officials from the UCI figured out a way to make it go away.
Armstrong has repeatedly said he has taken more than 500 tests without a positive result. Armstrong’s attorney Tim Herman added in a statement that “neither Armstrong or Bruyneel have any recollection of meeting [Saugy] for any purpose at any time,” and “Armstrong was never informed by anyone in 2001 or any other time about either a positive or ‘suspicious’ test” from the Tour de Suisse.”
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