U.S. cyclist Tyler Hamilton was suspended from his professional team yesterday and put on notice that his contract would be invalidated if he is found guilty of the drug charges against him.
Hamilton, who faces the possible loss of the gold medal he won at the Athens Games in August along with a ban from his sport, proclaimed his innocence during a news conference Tuesday in Spain.
HAMILTON
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A brief look at Sunday's 20th stage of the Tour de France:
• Stage: 101.29 miles from Montereau to the Champs-Elysees.
• Winner: Tom Boonen, Belgium, Quick Step-Davitamon, 4 hours, 8 minutes, 26 seconds.
• How Others Fared: Lance Armstrong, United States, US Postal-Berry Floor, 114th, same time. Jan Ullrich, Germany, T-Mobile Team, 32nd, same time.
• Yellow Jersey: Armstrong.
• Quote of the Day: "I love the Tour de France. It's my buddy." -- Armstrong, who became the first rider to ever win the Tour six times.
• Results, overall standings
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• The Post's Sally Jenkins took questions July 26.
_____ A Race Against Time _____
• Armstrong attempts what no man has yet accomplished -- a sixth consecutive Tour de France win.
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• News Graphic: The members of Armstrong's team and their roles.
• Organizers have backloaded this year's 2,106-mile course so that Armstrong can't build an early lead and coast to his sixth win in a row.
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• Video: The Post's Sally Jenkins on Lance Armstrong.
• Photos from the final stage of Armstrong's victory.
• Photos from this year's race.
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But Georges Luechinger, a spokesman for the Phonak cycling team, said the group had no choice but to suspend Hamilton as it awaits the result of confirmation testing from the International Olympic Committee and International Cycling Union (UCI).
The results are expected in the next day or two. Action from the IOC and UCI on the case is expected shortly thereafter.
"For the moment, we have to concentrate on the facts," Phonak team boss Andy Rihs said in a statement on the Phonak Web site. "These seem to speak against Tyler. But so long as we're not 100 percent certain that he's guilty of manipulation, we will believe him."
Blood tests administered during the Olympics in August and the Spanish Vuelta in September showed evidence of another person's blood in Hamilton's system, suggesting he had used blood transfusions in an attempt to build endurance and aid his performance, the IOC and UCI have informed Hamilton.
Hamilton, who trains and lives in Spain with a group of American cyclists, did not respond to an e-mail request to comment.
-- Amy Shipley
