Former Portuguese professional cyclist José Azevedo has assured that he never knew anything about the illegal practices of his former teammate Lance Armstrong. In contrast to many others, he couldn’t say anything bad about the “doping king” of cycling.
It has been known for many years that Lance Armstrong was one of the biggest (and most successful) doping offenders in cycling history. From the mid-90s to the early 2000s, the American and many of his colleagues regularly resorted to illegal means to improve their performance. This was an open secret in the peloton.
However, ex-Armstrong teammate José Azevedo assured in the “O Jogo” interview that he had not noticed any of this. “I never saw it. And I was never forced by the team to take doping products. That was something that completely passed me by,” said the now 51-year-old, who joined the Armstrong team in 2004.
Armstrong doping? Former teammate had other tasks
At US Postal, Azevedo recalled, he was given clear tasks. “I had my mission, my program, my responsibilities. I went to the races knowing what my role was and what was required of me for Armstrong to win. That’s all I was concerned with.”
According to Azevedo, the administration of doping substances has never been carried out on a large scale. “The drivers were at home, that’s where they trained. I don’t know what happened with the drivers at home and I can only speak for myself.”
Lance Armstrong “the best there ever was”
Azevedo also did not want to confirm that Lance Armstrong was also difficult as a person and that he had fierce arguments with several riders in the field and also in his own team over the years.
“I won’t say bad things about him, because as a person and as a teammate he was the best there was. He never behaved like a star, he was never disrespectful and he always valued our work. And he always had us for thanked for our work,” explained the former professional.
Today, Azevedo continued, Lance Armstrong is considered the sport’s greatest cheater. But everyone has to make their own judgment. I have a lot of respect for him. Despite the mistakes he made, we must not forget that he had a lot of potential as an athlete. If only he had won because he took resources, he would have “There was no point in training. Then everyone could have been a winner.”