Lance Armstrong case: Evidence is damning, says Bradley Wiggins
The 2012 Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins, says he is "shocked at the scale of the evidence" against Lance Armstrong, who has been described by the US Anti-Doping Agency as "a serial drugs cheat".
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by Usada and banned from the sport for life after the organisation claimed, based partly on the evidence of 11 fellow cyclists, that he orchestrated "the most sophisticated, professional and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".
The American denies all the allegations but Wiggins told Sky News: "It's pretty damning stuff. It is pretty jaw-dropping the amount of people who have testified against him. It is certainly not a one-sided hatchet job, it is pretty damning. I am shocked at the scale of the evidence.
"I have been involved in pro cycling for a long time and I realise what it takes to train and win the Tour de France. I'm not surprised by it … I had a good idea what is going on.
"It's not about Armstrong, it's about the culture of the sport for so many years. I was fortunate that I was in a system in British Cycling that, regardless what team I was in, they supported me with the right way to deal with it. They probably saved me otherwise it might have been me, who knows. The peer pressure is huge. But the culture has changed."
Cheating was said to be rife in cycling when Armstrong competed but Wiggins was not about to sympathise with the 41-year-old Texan.
Britain's first Tour de France winner continued: "Not really. My main concern is that I am standing here as the winner of the Tour de France after a summer where we have won how many Olympic gold medals? I've lost count …
"We are the ones picking these pieces up. For me it is about moving forward and not looking back any more to what happened 10, 15 years ago. It always is [frustrating answering questions about drugs cheats]. It is not something which sits easily. Everyone knows where we stand on that, it is about looking forward. We are one of the most successful sports for catching people.
"I don't think that is relevant to what we are doing today. What we are doing today is setting the example for our sport."