New allegations against trainer make Armstrong defensive

After controversial Italian coach Michele Ferrari was accused of being involved in wrongdoings, accusations against cycling champion Lance Armstrong gained momentum.

Armstrong recently said that Ferrari was "a clean man . . . an honest man . . . an innocent man". The Italian magazine, GQ, however printed extracts from statements provided to police by Italian rider Filippo Simeoni, who said Ferrari advised him to use the red blood cell booster erythropoietin (EPO), testosterone and human growth hormone to improve his performance.

From Guardian.co.uk:

An inquiry led by the magistrate Pierguido Soprani is investigating Ferrari on charges of providing or recommending performance-enhancing drugs to cyclists. Key evidence lies in diaries kept by Simeoni in which he recorded the substances he took between 1992 and 1999, when he was questioned by Italian police.

Simeoni told Soprani he worked with Ferrari between October 1996 and July 1997 and alleges Ferrari advised him how to dodge the tests for blood thickness, intended to restrict the use of EPO.

In one of his diaries Simeoni wrote: "Doctor Ferrari advised me to use two alternatives: Hemagel [a blood thinning agent] on the morning of the control, albumin [an element contained in white blood cells] on the evening before a possible control."

Simeoni, who won four races last year, said Ferrari had not warned him about possible side-effects and that he stopped working with him because he felt Ferrari was giving preferential treatment to others. "Ferrari did not treat me with the same efficiency he showed to other athletes," he said.

"It's a story that is three years old. Anyone can print old articles," Armstrong remarked when he was asked to reply in context to new allegations about the trainer he consults on diet, altitude training and the use of a depleted oxygen tent.