Lance Armstrong Used Performance Enhancing Drugs Says Teammate

Lance Armstrong Tyler Hamilton Drugs

A former teammate of Lance Armstrong said in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that he saw the seven-time Tour de France champion use performance-enhancing drugs.

Tyler Hamilton told "60 minutes'" Scott Pelley that Armstrong used EPO, which boosts the production of red blood cells, to win the 1999 Tour de France -- the first of Armstrong's victories in the event.


Hamilton was on the U.S. Postal Service team for Armstrong's first three Tour wins, and said Armstrong used EPO to prepare for the race.

"I saw it in his refrigerator, I saw him inject it more than one time," Hamilton told Pelley. "Like we all did, like I did many, many times."

Hamilton, 40, retired from cycling in 2009 after failing an out-of-competition drug test. The illegal substance, DHEA, was in an over-the-counter anti- depressant he had been taking. Hamilton had previously served a two-year suspension for a failed doping test.

According to ESPN, Hamilton sent a letter to friends and family in which he admitted to his own drug use during his cycling career. He said in the letter that he used performance-enhancing drugs and lied about it until testifying before a grand jury last summer.

Hamilton was subpoenaed before the grand jury as part of a federal investigation. He wrote in the letter that his six-hour testimony felt like "Hoover Dam breaking," according to ESPN.

As part of breaking his silence, Hamilton did the interview with "60 minutes" and told Pelley that Armstrong "took what we all took," referring to the majority of top-tier cyclists.

"There was EPO...testosterone...a blood transfusion," Hamilton told Pelley.

Shortly after "60 minutes" released a portion of the interview, which will air Sunday night, Armstrong responded to Hamilton's claims on his Twitter account.

"20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case," Armstrong tweeted.

Hamilton's interview comes a year after Floyd Landis admitted to doping and alleged that Armstrong and other former teammates of using performance- enhancing drugs.

Landis, of course, was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title in the wake of a positive drug test, but vigorously maintained his innocence until last year.