NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Two former teammates of cyclist Lance Armstrong at the 1999 Tour de France have admitted to using endurance-boosting drugs, The New York Times reports.
The teammates, retired captain Frankie Andreu and one other man who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times they used the drug EPO while preparing for the 1999 race, which marked Armstrong's first of seven victories.
Andreu said he used EPO for only a few races, but was admitting to the use now because doping scandals are hurting the sport of cycling. He said the scandals could keep fans and sponsors away from the sport.
"There are two levels of guys," Andreu said. "You got the guys that cheat and guys that are just trying to survive."
The other former teammate said there was pressure from within the sport to use performance enhancers.
"The environment was certainly one of, to be accepted, you had to use doping products," he said. "There was very high pressure to be one of the cool kids."
Both men said they never saw Armstrong use banned substances.
