Cyclist Lance Armstrong is set to go on trial for a case dating back to 2010 for his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling days, which saw him win the Tour de France seven times from 1999 to 2005. While Armstrong has been stripped of all his Tour de France titles, he may also have to pay $100 million in damages to the U.S Postal Service who sponsored Armstrong's cycling team from 2000 to 2004.
Also read: Lance Armstrong: I Would Still be Lying if I Was Not Caught
The case was filed by Lance Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis -- himself a doping cheat and was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title -- who sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act and could be in line to receive up to 25 percent of any damages awarded. The federal government joined the case in 2013 after Armstrong publicly admitted he cheated to win the Tour de France.
It was initially reported that Armstrong asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to dismiss the case with a summary judgment ruling, but instead the judge decided to favor the federal government who have sued the cyclist on behalf of the U.S. Postal Service.
"Because the government has offered evidence that Armstrong withheld information about the team's doping and use of PEDs and that the anti-doping provisions of the sponsorship agreements were material to USPS's decision to continue the sponsorship and make payments under the agreements, the Court must deny Armstrong's motion for summary judgment on this issue" U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said in a 37-page ruling.
When Lance Armstrong went public about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, he took a really big hit financially as he lost all his major sponsors and had to pay more than $10 million in damages and settlements.
The U.S Postal Service had paid $32.3 million to sponsor Armstrong's cycling team from 2000 to 2004 and said that it would not have done so if it was aware the team was violating its contract by using banned drugs and blood transfusions to cheat in races.
Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong's attorney Elliot Peters says there was no financial harm done and seemed confident that the government cannot win the case.
"There is no actual evidence of any quantifiable financial harm to the Postal Service. So the government may now proceed to a trial that, as a practical matter, it cannot win."
