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(Reuters) - Former cyclist Steffen Kjaergaard, who competed with the disgraced
Lance Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Service team in the Tour de France, admitted
to doping on Tuesday and was placed on leave as Norway's cycling federation
sports director.
"For 15 years I hid a lie," Kjaergaard told a news conference. "I had
believed it was best for me and the sport to carry this dark secret to the
grave."
Kjaergaard, who raced in the 2000 and 2001 Tours, said the U.S. Postal
Service team took care of his doping needs but kept information in a "closed
circuit".
"When I was a part of the U.S. Postal Service team, everything was organized
by the team. I did not need to arrange for a doctor or do anything by myself,"
Kjaergaard said.
"I cannot say if any of my team mates were using illegal substances,"
Kjaergaard added. "I can assume that others at U.S. Postal were using something
that the witness reports said. I have no direct knowledge though."
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life
on Monday after the International Cycling Union (UCI) ratified the United States
Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) sanctions against the American for taking
drugs.
"The reason that I am coming forth now is that I have had a big problem with
my own conscience," Kjaergaard said.
The Norwegian began using banned substances - primarily erythropoietin (EPO)
and cortisone - in 1998, before joining the U.S. Postal Service team, he
said.
"During this period there was a new EPO test and we had to resort to
intravenous micro-dosages to shorten the window where we could be caught," he
said. "I also used other illegal substances on the list but not many."
Armstrong, who denies wrongdoing, lost his 1999-2005 titles after former team
mates testified against him and themselves, describing what USADA called the
"most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport
has ever seen".
Harald Tiedemann Hansen, president of the Norwegian Cycling Federation, said
it was a "dark day" for the Nordic nation's cycling community and the governing
body would conduct an investigation.
Kjaergaard, who was placed on indefinite leave by the federation, said he
would eventually leave cycling and pursue a career outside of sport.
(Reporting by Vegard Botterli; writing by Balazs Koranyi, editing by Mark
Meadows)
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