June 27, 2006 – The racing season is in full-swing with the Tour de France only days away, but you’d never know it as most of the news in cycling these days is about drug-related scandals. Operation Puerto is in high-gear with allegations that include American Tyler Hamilton and Germany’s Jan Ullrich among others, while the “Armstrong Affair” keeps building.

Like something out of a terrible soap opera, another historic American, three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond claims to have been threatened by Armstrong after testifying against the Texan in court last year. LeMond is one of several who have come forward to claim Armstrong’s success has not been entirely natural. The court case was over a $5 million performance bonus owed to Armstrong after winning the Tour de France in 2004. SCA Promotions had withheld the money under allegations Armstrong was doping, which he denied.

Last fall Besty Andreu – wife of Armstrong’s former teammate Frankie Andreu – testified she heard Armstrong admit, while he was being treated for cancer, that he had used a bevy of substances including EPO, HGH, and steroids. Armstrong has denied this. Following all of the testimony an arbitration panel ruled in Armstrong’s favor and ordered the company to pay him $7.5 million.

Armstrong also says that LeMond’s claims to have received threats from Armstrong’s camp are ridiculous. The two famous American cyclists have been at odds with each other since 2001 when LeMond was vocal with regard to Armstrong’s involvement with coach Michele Ferrari, alleged to have administered illegal substances to several well-known cyclists.

In a recent interview with the French newspaper L’Equipe LeMond said that, “He threatened my wife, my business, my life… his biggest threat consisted of saying he would find 10 people to testify that I took EPO. Of course, he didn’t find a single one.”