Cycling & Steroids | featured news

Lance Armstrong's former teammate, Tyler Hamilton, says Armstrong and other team leaders encouraged, promoted and took part in a doping program in an effort to win the Tour de France in 1999 and beyond, according to a report aired Sunday night on "60 Minutes."

A former teammate of Lance Armstrong has told "60 Minutes" that he used performance-enhancing drugs with the seven-time Tour de France winner to cheat in cycling races, including the tour.

Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain tested positive for a banned stimulant while winning this year's race and has been suspended by cycling's governing body.

Federal authorities have reportedly obtained an important piece of evidence linking Lance Armstrong to performance-enhancing drugs. Greg LeMond (pictured), a three-time Tour de France winner, secretly recorded a telephone call six years ago with a woman close to Lance Armstrong who was in Armstrong's hospital room in 1996 when he told cancer doctors about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In most sports, times shrink, but in the Tour de France, progress against drugs may be measured in rising times.