‘I believe Lance Armstrong is innocent’

London: Former cycling champion Miguel Indurain, who won five consecutive Tour de France titles from 1991 to 1995, has said he still believes banned cyclist Lance Armstrong is innocent.

“Even now I believe in his innocence. He has always respected all the regulations… He has won all the cases he`s had,” a leading Australian daily quoted Indurain, as saying. “What surprises me is that he doesn`t keep fighting. I think he will come back and appeal and try to show that he played fair for all those years,” he added. Indurain also took issue with the investigative process, challenging the validity of the evidence it produced. “I am a little taken aback. It is strange that this is done only from testimonies. Rules were in place and now it seems they have changed,” Indurain said. The US Anti-doping Agency (USADA) relied on witness testimony from 11 former teammates and 15 other riders, and the World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey also praised their thoroughness. ANI