Lance Armstrong has made a second legal attempt to prevent the US Anti-Doping Agency from pursuing charges against him.
Armstrong, 40, who won the Tour de France seven times between 1999 and 2005, and has never failed a doping test, refiled a lawsuit against USADA, challenging the Agency’s jurisdiction.
His earlier lawsuit, some 80 pages long and filed on Monday (9), was thrown out by District Judge Sam Sparks, who said his court would not indulge Armstrong’s “desire for publicity, self-aggrandisement or vilification of defendants”.
He did invite Armstrong to file a shorter submission, which he has now done, asking the court for an injunction to halt USADA’s action.
The Texan contests USADA’s authority to conduct the quasi-legal process that could strip him of his seven Tour titles if he refuses to respond to their charges.
Yesterday, the Agency issued lifetime bans from competition against three of Armstrong’s former associates: Dr Michele Ferrari, Dr Luis Garcia del Moral, and Jose “Pepe” Marti.
USADA said the men did not seek an extension to respond to the charges or choose an arbitration process.
The charges brought against the trio alleged possession, trafficking, administration and complicity in the use of “EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, hGH, corticosteroids and masking agents”.
Armstrong has until Saturday to accept the Agency’s charges, or to opt for an arbitration process.
He has asked the court to rule on USADA’s authority before the deadline expires.