Armstrong hits back at USADA,with his own lawsuit

Dope taint: Cycling champion moves to prevent officials from reopening charges

Lance Armstrong filed a federal lawsuit Monday aimed at preventing the US Anti-Doping Agency from moving ahead with charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Armstrongs lawsuit says USADA rules violate athletes constitutional right to a fair trial,and that the agency doesnt have jurisdiction in his case. It also accuses USADAs chief executive,Travis Tygart,of waging a personal vendetta against the cancer survivor who won the Tour de France every year from 1999 to 2005.

The lawsuit is an aggressive and expected move as Armstrong seeks to preserve his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists ever. Armstrong wants a judge to bar USADA from pursuing its case or issuing any sanctions against him. Armstrong asked the court to issue an injunction by Saturday,the deadline he faces to formally challenge the case in USADAs arbitration process or accept sanctions. He could receive a lifetime ban from cycling and be stripped of his Tour de France victories if found guilty.

Armstrong insists he is innocent. The process USADA seek to force upon Lance Armstrong is not a fair process and truth is not its goal, his lawsuit says. USADA formally charged Armstrong in June with taking performance-enhancing drugs and participating in a vast doping conspiracy.

The charges came after a two-year federal criminal investigation into doping allegations against Armstrong ended in February with no charges filed against him. The anti-doping agency says up to 10 former teammates and associates are willing to testify against him and that it has blood samples from 2009-2010 that are fully consistent with doping. Armstrongs lawsuit amplifies public complaints he made about USADA and Tygart in recent weeks and makes several arguments. It says: The agencys rules and arbitration are designed to find athletes guilty.

USADA on sticky ground?

USADA may have violated federal law if it coerced witness testimony against him with deals to reduce punishments for riders facing doping charges. USADA has so far withheld the names of most of the witnesses against Armstrong,saying it is protecting them from potential intimidation.