ROME (AP) — A high-ranking Italian law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that Lance Armstrong and a banned physician have met repeatedly since severing formal ties in 2004, including as recently as last year before Armstrong’s final Tour de France.
Michele Ferrari was cleared of criminal charges in 2006 of distributing doping products to athletes, but remains banned for life by the Italian Olympic Committee.
The official, who is not authorized to speak publicly because the inquiry is still underway, tells the AP that Armstrong met with Ferrari frequently over the past several years, usually in St. Moritz, Switzerland, or Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Ferrari had worked with the seven-time Tour winner for several years before their 2004 split.
Reached at his home on Friday, Ferrari was asked when he last saw Armstrong. “When, last year? Look, right now I don’t remember,” he said, “but I haven’t had a professional relationship with Mr. Armstrong for a long time.”
An Armstrong spokesman had no immediate comment but planned to make a statement later. The cyclist has always denied doping.
