Benoit Joachim, a former teammate of American cyclist Lance Armstrong, told a Luxembourg publication about regretting that he never doped and he is sorry that he never worked together with Dr. Michele Ferrari.
“I had the opportunity to work with him (Michele Ferrari). Unfortunately – yes, I say unfortunately – I did not do it for various reasons, including fear of being tested positive. It’s a big regret, considering all that I could have had by working with Ferrari (…), salary and prestige,” said Joachim for Le Quotidien.
Michele Ferrari, whose name appears many times in the file compiled by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for the former cyclist Lance Armstrong, was described as “brilliant” by Joachim, who added that the doctor is “himself better than many researchers working the fight against doping.”
With Ferrari, “I would have had a most beautiful career and, as it turned out, few were caught in doping control,” said former road who was pardoned in 2000 after testing positive for nandrolone because there were irregularities in the procedure for verification.
Luxembourg has defended Lance Armstrong, classifying as “ridiculous” the investigation conducted by USADA, which caused Armstrong to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
“Armstrong was a great champion and will remain so. There should be a winner in each competition, and in those years (1999-2005) Armstrong was the winner,” said Joachim.
Former rider of the U.S. Postal team doubts the seriousness of USADA investigation. “I have read that report. Charges are based on testimonies of American cyclists. After I competed nine years under the command of Johan Bruyneel, no one heard me. There are cowardly testimonials (…) of some cyclists (Hamilton, Leipheimer, Zabriskie, Hincapie) who won money because of Armstrong,” Joachim continued, adding that “there was always doping in cycling and will always exist.”
He said there was “no organized doping” in the U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel. “Every athlete makes his own choice. When I meet with Ferrari and he proposes to work with him, I say yes or no. It’s my choice. Nobody forces my hand,” concluded Joachim.
Benoit Joachim, 36, was teammates with Armstrong from 1999 to 2006 and retired at the end of 2009.
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