Lance denies Tyler claims

Lance Armstrong (r) riding with Tyler Hamilton

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has been forced to again plead his innocence after former team-mate Tyler Hamilton claimed they both took drugs together during their careers.

Hamilton made his accusations during an interview on American TV programme 60 Minutes, saying that he saw Armstrong inject himself with performance-enhancing drugs.

Hamilton, who has been banned twice for failing drugs tests, insists he and Armstrong took drugs together during their time in the same team.

"(Armstrong) took what we all took... there was EPO (erythropoietin)... testosterone... a blood transfusion," Hamilton said in part of the interview released by CBS.

"I saw (EPO) in his refrigerator. I saw him inject it more than one time, like we all did, like I did many, many times."

Accused

Armstrong was also accused of taking drugs by another former team-mate, Floyd Landis, last year, and he has made his response to Hamilton's claims on Twitter.

"20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case," Armstrong tweeted.

Hamilton won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games and was allowed to keep his medal despite failing a drug test, because problems at a laboratory meant his 'B' sample could not be tested.

He was banned in 2005 for two years after being caught by a drug test and more recently he received an eight-year ban, which effectively ended his career, after admitting he took an antidepressant that contained the banned steroid DHEA

Armstrong's spokesman Mark Fabiani released a statement saying that Hamilton was merely trying to attract some publicity for the book he hopes to publish.

Publicity

"Hamilton is actively seeking to make money by writing a book, and now he has completely changed the story he has always told before so that he could get himself on '60 Minutes' and increase his chances with publishers," said Fabiani's statement.

"But greed and a hunger for publicity cannot change the facts: Lance Armstrong is the most tested athlete in the history of sports. He has passed nearly 500 tests over 20 years of competition."

Armstrong's glittering cycling career has been blighted by accusations of drug taking, especially in the media, despite him never failing a test.

Diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, the Texan recovered to come back and win seven consecutive Tour de France titles in an unprecedented spell of dominance of the greatest cycle race in the world.

Having quit whilst on top form, Armstrong made a much-publicised comeback in 2009 aged 37, but he finally retired from competitive riding in February.