Lance Armstrong fallout: Levi Leipheimer suspended by his team

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report on Lance Armstrong, released Wednesday, has had some fallout on another cyclist: Levi Leipheimer.

The Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team suspended Leipheimer on Thursday in the wake of the report.

The team said the 38-year-old veteran was “placed on non-active status” while the USADA report and Leipheimer’s statements are reviewed.

USADA used evidence from 26 people, including Leipheimer, for a report that presented doping evidence against Armstrong. Leipheimer was a teammate of Armstrong’s for five years.

In a statement released to the Wall Street Journal, Leipheimer said, in part:

“Today, I accept responsibility and USADA’s sanctions for participating in the dirty past of cycling. I’ve been racing clean for more than 5 years in a changed and much cleaner sport. I hope that my admission will help to make these changes permanent.

Until recently—or maybe even until today—when people thought about doping, they thought about a guy, by himself, using banned substances to get ahead. What people didn’t realize—what I didn’t realize until after I was already committed to this career—was that doping was organized and everywhere in the peloton. Doping wasn’t the exception, it was the norm.....

I regret that this was the state of affairs in the sport that we love and I chose as my career. I am sorry that I was forced to make the decisions I made. I admit that I didn’t let doping deter me from my dream. I admit that I used banned substances.

I know that learning this will disappoint many of my fans and friends and I am sorry that the sport and I have let you down.”

The team says it wants to speak to Leipheimer in person before deciding on any further action.

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