Lance Armstrong was sued by the federal government, saying he was “unjustly enriched” while cheating to win. (Getty Images)

The U.S. Justice Department sued former cyclist Lance Armstrong on Tuesday, saying that he was “unjustly enriched” while cheating to win the Tour de France, according to a report by the Associated Press. 

Tuesday was the final day for the Justice Department to file its formal complaint against Armstrong.

Armstrong’s former team, the U.S. Postal Service, made at least $139 million in worldwide brand exposure in four years, from 2001-2004. Armstrong won seven straight Tour de France titles before being stripped of those wins in light of admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs.

From the Associated Press:

The Postal Service paid about $40 million to be the title sponsor of Armstrong’s teams for six of his seven Tour de France victories. The filing says the USPS paid Armstrong $17 million form 1998-2004.

The lawsuit also names former team Armstrong team director Johan Bruyneel and team management company Tailwind Sports as defendants.

The financial costs for Armstrong and Bruyneel could be high. The government said it would seek triple damages assessed by the jury.

“Defendants were unjustly enriched to the extent of the payments and other benefits they received from the USPS, either directly or indirectly,” the complaint said.

Lance Armstrong was given two more weeks to come forward and talk to USADA about doping. (Garbriel Bouys/Getty Images)

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave former cyclist Lance Armstrong two more weeks to come forward and tell all that he knows about doping in cycling in hopes of saving his career, Velonews.com reports.

USADA had set Wednesday as a deadline for Armstrong to cooperate with the agency if he ever hopes of reversing a lifetime ban that was given to him amid a report detailing Armstrong’s systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs that lifted him to seven Tour de France victories.

“We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling,” said USADA CEO Travis Tygart in a statement. “We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen.”

Tygart contends that Armstrong lied during his high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey last month. Tygart says that Armstrong did not race free of performance-enhancing drugs during his 2009 and 2010 comeback and that his representatives offered USADA a $250,000 “donation.”

Lance Armstrong is refusing to pay back bonuses for winning the Tour de France. (Tom Pennington, Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong is refusing to refund the nearly $12 million of bonus money he received for winning the Tour de France in 2002, 2003, and 2004, according to a USA Today report.

Tailwind Sports, the owner of Armstong’s cycling team, had bonuses built into their contract with Armstrong that paid the cyclist extra for winning the Tour de France. However, in 2004 the company withheld the bonus thanks to suspicions that Armstrong doped in order to win the titles. After a lengthy court battle in which Armstrong testified under oath that he never took performance-enhancing drugs, the company paid Armstrong his bonus.

Now, after Armstrong publicly admitted to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories, Tailwind plans to file a lawsuit to get the money back. Along with legal fees, the company is demanding is around $12.5 million in total, according to the report.

“My only point is no athlete ever, to my understanding, has ever gone back and paid back his compensation,” Armstong’s lawyer Tim Herman told USA Today. “Not (New Orleans Saints coach) Sean Payton or anybody else. They were suspended, but nobody said you’ve got to give your paycheck back.”

Lance Armstrong reported met with the U.S. Anti-Doping to discuss an admission of guilty pertaining to PED use. (AFP/Getty Images)

Banned cyclist Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency met last month to discuss the possibility of Armstrong giving a public admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, reports USA Today Sports.

The report says that Armstrong met with U.S. Anti-Doping CEO Travis Tygart in early to mid-December for about an hour to discuss PED use and blood-transfusions that the agency has said that Armstrong used on his way to seven Tour de France titles.

“They (Armstrong and his advisers) were kind of beating around the bush trying to get the temperature of the situation. They were very general discussions,” said the person, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the talks were supposed to remain confidential.

Last October, USADA released a report accusing Armstrong and other team members of rampant PED use.

Armstrong is scheduled to give a “no-holds barred” 90-minute interview with talk-show host Oprah Winfrey on Jan. 17.

Lance Armstrong will speak to Oprah Winfrey next week. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

In what’s being billed as his first “no-holds-barred interview”, former cyclist Lance Armstrong will speak with talk-show host Oprah Winfrey to discuss his doping scandal and use of performance-enhancing drugs, the Oprah Winfrey Network announced Tuesday.

According to the website, Armstrong will speak to Winfrey from his home in Austin, Texas. Last October, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and lost millions of dollars in endorsements after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a report accusing Armstrong and his fellow U.S. Postal Service teammates of systematic doping throughout his career.

The special 90-minute Thursday night episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter will air Thursday, January 17(9:00 – 10:30 p.m. ET/PT) on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. In addition-the interview will be simultaneously streamed LIVE worldwide on Oprah.com.

Bradley Wiggins has been hospitalized after colliding his bike with a car. (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images)

Reigning Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins is currently recovering in a hospital after colliding with a car while riding his bicycle in England, according to a report from the Associated Press. Wiggins’ injuries are not thought to be anything major – a few broken ribs and some cuts and bruises.

Wiggins was riding his bike in Wrightington when a car reportedly pulled out of a gas station in front of him.

Wiggins enjoyed one of the most successful summers a cyclist has ever had, having won the 2012 Tour de France in addition to getting gold in the cycling event at the London Olympics.

The IOC may find a workaround to the eight-year statute of limitations for stripping Olympic medals to take away Lance Armstrong’s bronze from the 2000 Games. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after a massive doping scandal report was released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in October. Now, the cyclist may lose an Olympic medal, according to a Reuters report:

“The IOC will now immediately start the process concerning the involvement of Lance Armstrong, other riders and particularly their entourages with respect to the Olympic Games and their future involvement with the Games,” an IOC official told Reuters on Thursday.

Armstrong won a bronze medal in the men’s individual time trial at the Sydney Games. The IOC has an eight-year statute of limitation for changing Olympic results and taking away medals from doping offenders, but the committee’s vice president, Thomas Bach, indicated that there could be a way around the rule in Armstrong’s case.

“USADA’s report has given some pointers that the statute of limitation was interrupted through Lance Armstrong lying about doping,” Bach, a lawyer who heads the IOC’s juridical commission told Reuters in an interview. “We will have to examine to see if this is a way we can follow according to Swiss law.”

Former U.S. cyclist Bobby Julich is the latest rider to come forward about PED use. He was relieved of his Team Sky coaching duties after his confession. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Former U.S. cyclist Bobby Julich admitted to using PEDs during the late 1990s and was subsequently relieved of his duties as a coach with Team Sky on Thursday. The British team asked staff and riders to confirm they had no links to doping in a move to clean up the sport after the USADA report that led to Lance Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Julich, who was a teammate of Armstrong’s between 1995 and 1997, admitted to using EPO between August 1996 and July 1998. His wife discovered that he was doping during the 1998 Tour de France when he finished third, the best result of his career. In his confession letter, which was sent to Cycling News, Julich said:

“Those days were very different from today, but it was not a decision that I reached easily. I knew that it was wrong, but over those two years, the attitude surrounding the use of EPO in the peloton was so casual and accepted that I personally lost perspective of the gravity of the situation…. I apologise to everyone, especially those associated with Team Sky for my past indiscretions. I made some poor decisions and have paid and will pay a huge price.”

Julich spent two years with Team Sky. He also left a message to new cyclists in his confession letter:

“To this new generation of young riders; I hope that you will learn from the past and avoid the mistakes many of us have made. It is up to your generation to insure that the issues of the past do not affect your future. I am truly sorry that you all are dealing with something that you had no part in creating.”

George Hincapie, a teammate of Lance Armstrong’s on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. (Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images)

George Hincapie, a teammate of Lance Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team, released a statement Wednesday admitting to doping, reports Bicycling.com.

“Three years ago, I was approached by US Federal investigators, and more recently by USADA, and asked to tell of my personal experience in these matters,” Hincapie’s statement said. “I would have been much more comfortable talking only about myself, but understood that I was obligated to tell the truth about everything I knew. So that is what I did.”

Hincapie joins the list of Armstrong teammates that have admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. The list includes Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, Frankie Andreu, and Jonathan Vaughters. Armstrong has not responded to Hincapie’s statement. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it will release 1,000-plus pages of Lance Armstrong doping file later Wednesday.

Along the way, Hincapie raced alongside Armstrong as a key teammate during all seven of the Texan’s Tour de France victories. Hincapie’s history with Armstrong dates to 1994, when Hincapie joined the Motorola team that Armstrong already rode for. But it was on U.S. Postal Service in 1999, Armstrong’s first Tour win, where the two became inseparable.

Hincapie, 39, says he has been clean for the past six years and has worked hard to rid the sport of illegal drug use.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Wednesday that former cyclist Lance Armstrong’s file will reveal that Armstrong was part of the most sophisticated and successful doping program ever, reports the New York Times.

The file will include sworn testimony from 26 people, including Armstrong’s teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team.

Eleven riders on U.S. Postal Service team admitted to doping, USADA said.  Armstrong has already been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and the agency gave Armstrong a lifetime suspension.

Later Wednesday, USADA will give its decision against Armstrong.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart said 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates, including George Hincapie, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, are among those who provided evidence that led to the suspension.

The teammates who came forward and submitted sworn affidavits included George Hincapie, one of the most respected American riders in recent history, Levi Leipheimer, Tyler Hamilton and others who are among the best cyclists of Armstrong’s generation.

“The U.S.P.S. Team doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices,” the agency said. “A program organized by individuals who thought they were above the rules and who still play a major and active role in sport today.”

The city of Chicago won’t let Lance Armstrong run in the city’s marathon, set for next month. (Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong’s troubles continue.  The city of Chicago won’t let Armstrong run in the city’s annual marathon set for October, reports ESPN.com.

The city is upholding the ruling made by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that Armstrong not only be stripped of his seven Tour de France cycling titles but banned for life from all sports as well.

Armstrong had planned to run and raise money for his cancer foundation, Livestrong. USA Track & Field must enforce rulings made by USADA.

“We got the news (Thursday),” said Mark Fabiani, Armstrong’s spokesman, according to Runner’s World.

“It seems a little over the top to pursue him beyond the cycling arena to me,” John Conley, whose company owns and operates the Livestrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, told Runner’s World.

Lance Armstrong says he’s taken more than 500 drug tests without ever being flagged for a positive test. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong has vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs his entire career.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency disagrees.

On Monday, Armstrong filed a federal lawsuit against the USADA, saying the agency’s rules violate athletes’ right to a fair trial, as well as claiming the agency does not have jurisdiction in such a case.

After a two-year federal criminal investigation into Armstrong turned up no charges in February, the USADA says it has more evidence to use against the cyclist.

The anti-doping agency says up to 10 former teammates and associates are willing to testify against him and that it has blood samples from 2009-2010 that are “fully consistent” with doping.

Armstrong says he has been tested more than 500 times without once yielding a positive test. He retired from the sport in 2011.

According to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, no athlete has ever filed this type of lawsuit against the USADA successfully.

If the court doesn't step in, LA has until 5:01 pm Friday to either accept sanctions or say he wants to fight them in arbitration.

—
T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) July 09, 2012

Former cyclist Lance Armstrong faces new doping allegations from USADA. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Former cyclist Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories are in jeopardy after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency sent him and a number of riders a letter bringing formal doping charges, reports the Washington Post. 

Armstrong is also banned from competing in triathlons because of the formal charges.

The letter obtained by the Post says in part that Armstrong’s blood is “fully consistent with blood ma­nipu­la­tion including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.”

Armstrong has never tested positive for any blood doping.  The letter, dated June 12, also accuses five former cycling team associates of a doping conspiracy from 1998-2011 and that more than 10 cyclists are witnesses.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office ended their investigation into Armstrong, which ended a two-year probe into doping allegations.

Armstrong’s former teammates Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton cooperated with federal agents and accused Armstrong of doping.

Armstrong’s attorney, Robert D. Luskin, called USADA’s allegations a product of “malice and spite”.

Armstrong responded to the charges on his website, saying the “USADA’s malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play.”