José Azevedo: ‘I did my job, I am proud of what I did in my career. What happened, happened to him’ says US rider’s former teammate

Portuguese former racer José Azevedo has said that he never saw ex-teammate Lance Armstrong taking banned substances during their time together at US Postal Service and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling in 2004 and 2005.

Armstrong, who admitted to doping during his career in 2013, has been banned from cycling for life and had all results from 1998 onwards stripped from his palmarès.

He, his team, and several teammates were judged to have been part of a years-long doping conspiracy as USADA named him as the ringleader of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”.

Speaking to O Jogo earlier this week, however, Azevedo – former directeur sportif at RadioShack, Katusha, and Delko – claimed that he wasn’t aware of doping occurring while he was at the US squad. He said that he only knows about it because of Armstrong’s confession.

The project had that side, it wasn’t just Armstrong,” Azevedo said. “But if I know today that Armstrong consumed banned substances it’s because he said so. Because I never saw it.

“I was never harassed within the team to use doping products. It was something that completely passed me by. I had my mission in the team, my calendar, my responsibilities. I went to the races and I knew what my place was and what was expected of me, helping Armstrong win. That was all I was concerned about.

“I did my job, I am proud of what I did in my career. What happened, happened to him,” Azevedo added. “The riders are at home, that is where they train. I don’t know what goes on in other people’s homes. I can speak for myself.

José Azevedo: If I know today that Lance Armstrong consumed banned substances it’s because he said so; I never saw it