... but Walsh has another book out: L.A. Officiel
http://velonews.com/news/fea/11057.0.html
A new book which claims to further lift the lid on some of the dirtier secrets of Lance Armstrong's successful cycling career will go on sale in France on Thursday.
The seven-time Tour de France champion is now retired, but a second book by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh - authors of the controversial "L.A. Confidentiel" two and a half years ago - claims to shed new light on their allegations that Armstrong's feats came through the use of doping products.
Extracts of "L.A. Officiel," which like the first book has been written only in French, will appear in Thursday's edition of the French daily, Le Monde.
The book is centered mainly around an October 2005 legal dispute between Armstrong and the Texas-based insurance company, SCA.
On the basis of allegations in the first book by the pair, "L.A. Confidentiel," SCA tried to pull out of a contract the firm had made with Armstrong to pay him $5 million were he to win his sixth successive Tour de France in 2004.
SCA went on to lose the dispute with Armstrong, who in the face of several allegations over the years has always vigorously denied cheating.
In the new book the testimony of Australian doctor Michael Ashenden, a former Australian Institute of Sport scientist who is credited with creating a blood test to uncover blood boosting drug Erythropoietin, suggests otherwise.
Some doctors had previously stated that the American's recovery from cancer, his change of morphology and his extraordinary lung and heart capacities were the key to Armstrong's almost super-human endeavors.
However, Ashenden says in the book that Armstrong's lung and heart capacities are not "exceptionally high," and further charges that "there's no doubt: He (Armstrong) used doping products."
For his part, Armstrong has disputed Ashenden's conclusion and points to his successful lawsuits against SCA and The Sunday Times of London as evidence of the courts' agreement with his position.
The book also uses the testimony of Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong's who recently claimed he used EPO in 1999 when riding with Motorola.
Andreu's wife, Betsy, was also a key witness in SCA's dispute with Armstrong, whom she claimed to have heard admitting that he had used banned doping products prior to undergoing cancer treatment in 1996.
The book's co-author, Pierre Ballester, said the authors' aim was not a relentless pursuit of Armstrong.
"It's a vital addition to an inquiry which throws the spotlight back on claims which in the past tried to reveal Armstrong's personality," Ballester told AFP. "(He is) a rider whose career has been characterised by lies and cheating, but who nonetheless left the sport unsanctioned, unblemished and untouchable."
The 236-page "L.A. Officiel," which will go on sale Thursday in France, is bound to cause controversy. However, whether Armstrong takes any legal action for defamation remains to be seen.
The 35-year-old American, who is set to run the New York Marathon in November, pulled out of an initial threat to sue the authors in France over their first book. He did, however, take the case to far more sympathetic courts in Great Britain and opted to sue the Sunday Times of London for repeating the allegations on its pages. Armstrong declared victory in that suit after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the Times.
http://velonews.com/news/fea/11057.0.html
A new book which claims to further lift the lid on some of the dirtier secrets of Lance Armstrong's successful cycling career will go on sale in France on Thursday.
The seven-time Tour de France champion is now retired, but a second book by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh - authors of the controversial "L.A. Confidentiel" two and a half years ago - claims to shed new light on their allegations that Armstrong's feats came through the use of doping products.
Extracts of "L.A. Officiel," which like the first book has been written only in French, will appear in Thursday's edition of the French daily, Le Monde.
The book is centered mainly around an October 2005 legal dispute between Armstrong and the Texas-based insurance company, SCA.
On the basis of allegations in the first book by the pair, "L.A. Confidentiel," SCA tried to pull out of a contract the firm had made with Armstrong to pay him $5 million were he to win his sixth successive Tour de France in 2004.
SCA went on to lose the dispute with Armstrong, who in the face of several allegations over the years has always vigorously denied cheating.
In the new book the testimony of Australian doctor Michael Ashenden, a former Australian Institute of Sport scientist who is credited with creating a blood test to uncover blood boosting drug Erythropoietin, suggests otherwise.
Some doctors had previously stated that the American's recovery from cancer, his change of morphology and his extraordinary lung and heart capacities were the key to Armstrong's almost super-human endeavors.
However, Ashenden says in the book that Armstrong's lung and heart capacities are not "exceptionally high," and further charges that "there's no doubt: He (Armstrong) used doping products."
For his part, Armstrong has disputed Ashenden's conclusion and points to his successful lawsuits against SCA and The Sunday Times of London as evidence of the courts' agreement with his position.
The book also uses the testimony of Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong's who recently claimed he used EPO in 1999 when riding with Motorola.
Andreu's wife, Betsy, was also a key witness in SCA's dispute with Armstrong, whom she claimed to have heard admitting that he had used banned doping products prior to undergoing cancer treatment in 1996.
The book's co-author, Pierre Ballester, said the authors' aim was not a relentless pursuit of Armstrong.
"It's a vital addition to an inquiry which throws the spotlight back on claims which in the past tried to reveal Armstrong's personality," Ballester told AFP. "(He is) a rider whose career has been characterised by lies and cheating, but who nonetheless left the sport unsanctioned, unblemished and untouchable."
The 236-page "L.A. Officiel," which will go on sale Thursday in France, is bound to cause controversy. However, whether Armstrong takes any legal action for defamation remains to be seen.
The 35-year-old American, who is set to run the New York Marathon in November, pulled out of an initial threat to sue the authors in France over their first book. He did, however, take the case to far more sympathetic courts in Great Britain and opted to sue the Sunday Times of London for repeating the allegations on its pages. Armstrong declared victory in that suit after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the Times.
