Armstrong Doping Cycling
FILE - This July 28, 2002 file photo shows Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, center, flanked by best sprinter Robbie McEwen, of Australia, right...
FILE - This July 28, 2002 file photo shows Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, center, flanked by best sprinter Robbie McEwen, of Australia, right, and best climber Laurent Jalabert, of France, after the 20th and final stage of the Tour de France cycling in Paris. The superstar cyclist, whose stirring victories after his comeback from cancer helped him transcend sports, chose not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That was his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision set the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Lance Armstrong is getting plenty of support from fellow riders on Friday, and a bit of bemusement from one of his old rivals.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him for life after the American decided not to fight charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career.
Former rival Filippo Simeoni tells The Associated Press from his home in Sezze, Italy, that "It leaves me a bit perplexed, because someone like him, with all the fame and popularity and millions of dollars he has should fight to the end if he's innocent."
At the Spanish Vuelta, riders including former rival and teammate Alberto Contador joined former Armstrong coach Johan Bruyneel in offering support.
