Steffen Kjaergaar AP PHOTO
OSLO, Norway — Another former teammate of Lance Armstrong has admitted using banned performance-enhancing substances.
Norwegian rider Steffen Kjaergaard said Tuesday that he used EPO and cortisone.
“I have long thought that it was best for cycling as a sport that I took this (secret) to the grave. But the last weeks have made me change course for my own sake and tell the truth,” Kjaergaard said.
The 39-year-old Kjaergaard rode with Armstrong in the US Postal Service team when the American won the Tour de France in 2000 and 2001. He said he wasn’t aware of any of his teammates using banned substances, “but I assume there were others.”
On Monday, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the International Cycling Union after the US Anti-Doping Agency detailed evidence of drug use and trafficking by his Tour-winning teams.
“I have not directly witnessed anyone else dealing with this. That’s why I do not want to expose anyone else,” Kjaergaard said.
Kjaergaard won several Norwegian championships but no major races on the international level. He is now sports director for the Norwegian Cycling Federation, a position that could be at risk because of his doping confession.
“This is a sad day for Norwegian cycling but we wanted to have this out in the light,” said Harald Tiedemann Hansen, the president of Norway’s anti-doping doping agency.