But all the top riders he worked with used performance-enhancing drugs, often injected by Voet himself. Armstrong was beating them. He advised me to draw my own conclusions. For the past three years cycling has undergone an increased level of scrutiny by French officials in an effort to regain some credibility with the public. It needs it.
Many insiders believe that the abuses continue.
If Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service team really are innocent, they should welcome any and all investigations geared toward cleaning up the sport, instead of claiming persecution by French prosecutors. Armstrong should return to France in 2001 to defend his title. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer. Sports Ilustrated's newsletters and alerts. Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel.