A drug-free Lance Armstrong wouldn't have been close to winning the Tour de France even once, let alone seven times.
That is the claim of another Tour de France champion, Greg LeMond, of cycling's most controversial figure today.
LeMond, now the only American to officially win the Tour de France (1986, 1989, 1990), conducted an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, according to USA TODAY Sports. The interview aired Monday night.
USA TODAY Sports reported that the two have feuded since 2001, when LeMond called out Armstrong for his relationship with Michele Ferrari, a doctor linked to doping scandals.
LeMond apparently held nothing back during his interview with Cooper, even describing Armstrong's attempts to conceal his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs as "mafia"-like.
Cooper asked whether LeMond thought that Armstrong created and maintained "the greatest fraud" ever in any sport.
"Absolutely. Absolutely. The greatest fraud was that, I mean, I know his physical capabilities. He's a top 30 at best. I mean, at best," LeMond responded. "No matter what. If he was clean and everybody else was clean, he's a top 30 at best. He's not capable of winning the Tour. He's not capable of the top 5."
LeMond added that Armstrong's transgression transcended the realm of athletics.
"This is not a sporting infraction," said LeMond, a three-time winner of the Tour de France. "This is criminal. ... This was an organized mafia and he literally tried to destroy people."
According to USA TODAY Sports, the federal government, which dropped a criminal fraud investigation into Armstrong last year without explanation, is instead suing Armstrong for civil fraud in a pending case that says Armstrong defrauded the U.S. Postal Service out of $40 million in sponsorship money.
The suit claims Armstrong violated his contract with the USPS cycling team by using PEDs and that the USPS wouldn't have sponsored him if it had known about Armstrong's blood transfusions and other doping methods to help him race.
he suit is one of five federal or state lawsuits that have accused Armstrong of fraud since his televised confession to talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, USA TODAY Sports reports.
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