The leaders of the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency said Friday if Floyd Landis has proof of doping by seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, he should back it up with concrete evidence. “He has to bring proof that this is true,” International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press. “These are accusations that need to be corroborated by proof. “You can't condemn without proof,” Rogge added. “He would be better off by giving evidence to corroborate that, otherwise he is risking a lot of libels .... You can only sanction an athlete with tangible proof.” WADA President John Fahey, in a separate interview with the AP, said if there is any substance to Landis' allegations, either the US Anti-Doping Agency or International Cycling Union should intervene. “If he has evidence, he should make that evidence available to the USADA or UCI and I'm sure if there is any substance to that evidence, either of those bodies would act,” Fahey said. “There will always be rumors about it.” Rogge and Fahey spoke after Landis, in a series of e-mails sent to sponsors and sports officials, confessed to years of doping after having previously denied cheating. The American rider, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title and served a two-year ban for doping, also alleged that Armstrong not only joined him in doping but taught others how to beat the system. Armstrong has denied the claims by his former teammate, saying Landis has no credibility. “We have nothing to hide,” Armstrong said at an impromptu news conference before the fifth stage of the Tour of California. “Credibility, Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago.” Rogge said UCI officials will require “more evidence than just an e-mail. They need to have more details to launch an inquiry.” Rogge also expressed doubts about Landis' claim that Armstrong and longtime coach Johan Bruyneel paid former UCI president Hein Verbruggen to cover up a test in 2002 after Armstrong purportedly tested positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO. Verbruggen is also a former IOC member. “To my knowledge it is not possible to hide a positive result,” Rogge said, adding that each doping sample has a code known to laboratory testing teams. “The lab knows the code. WADA gets it also. Then it goes to the national and international federations. “One person cannot decide: ‘I can put this under the carpet.”' The UCI denied changing or concealing a positive test result, and Bruyneel said, “I absolutely deny everything (Landis) said.”
