Chief doctor of Armstrong’s US Postal Service team dismisses Landis’ blood-doping claims

Doc for Armstrong’s USPS team denies doping claims

MADRID — The chief doctor of Lance Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service-backed cycling team when the rider won five of his Tour de France victories has dismissed Floyd Landis’ doping allegations.

Luis Garcia del Moral oversaw the team’s medical staff from 1999 to 2003. He said Wednesday he never witnessed any doping programs during his time with the American team. Armstrong also won the Tour in 2004 with U.S. Postal and the 2005 Tour with the Discovery Channel.

Landis has accused Armstrong of doping to get an illegal edge in cycling, which Armstrong vehemently denies. Landis was himself stripped of his 2006 Tour title for doping.

Del Moral tells The Associated Press that Landis’ allegations were “a joke” and that he wasn’t aware of any cheating, saying “I don’t know anything about all of this.”

Del Moral says he would answer questions for U.S. investigators should he be summoned. Authorities in the United States have been examining cheating in professional cycling for months.