A report done by 60 Minutes said that George Hincapie, who has often been depicted as one of Armstrong’s most loyal teammates throughout all of his seven victories, has told federal authorities that he saw Lance Armstrong use performance-enhancing drugs.
After a segment of this report aired Friday night on the CBS Evening News, it broadcasted an interview with another one of Armstrong’s former teammates Tyler Hamilton, who said he also used PEDs with Armstrong.
Hincapie who Armstrong said “is like a brother to me,” has appeared before a federal grand jury in Los Angeles investigating doping in cycling.
Armstrong has never tested positive and has time after time denied taking any drugs.
60 Minutes reported that Hincapie testified that he and Armstrong supplied each other with the endurance-boosting substance EPO and also talked about consuming testosterone, another banned substance, to prepare for races.
Hincapie denied a request to interview him about the 60 Minutes report. He said, “It’s just unfortunate that that’s all people want to talk about now. I’m not going to partake in any cycling-bashing. I have done everything to be the best I can be… I want the focus on the future of the sport, what it’s done to clean itself up. I believe in cycling and want to support it.”
Hincapie recently released a statement through his attorney confirming that he never spoke with 60 Minutes, and that he has no idea where they got the information. As for the substance of anything in the report, Hincapie said he could not comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation.”
