Frankie Andreu
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Frankie Andreu (born September 26, 1966 in Dearborn, Michigan) is a former professional cyclist whose career highlights include riding as team captain of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team along with Lance Armstrong in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
In an interview with the New York Times in September 2006, Andreu admitted that he had taken EPO to help prepare for the 1999 Tour de France, when he was riding for the US Postal team which assisted Lance Armstrong to his first Tour victory [1]
He began his cycling career in track cycling, winning the individual pursuit during the 1984 Junior National Track Cycling Championships in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. In 1985, he placed first in the Madison during the National Track Cycling Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. and second in the points race and team pursuit. In 1988, Andreu qualified to represent the United States Cycling Team in Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea where he placed eighth in the points race.
Andreu moved from track cycling to road cycling after signing to the 7-Eleven Pro Cycling Team in 1989 when he finished his first professional stage race, the Giro d'Italia. His highest finish in the Tour de France was second during the 18th stage of the 1993 race where he was teammates with a young Lance Armstrong on the Motorola Pro Cycling Team. Andreu finished fourth in the road race during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.[2]
He is best remembered by the professional cycling community for his role as a "super domestique," particularly for sacrificing personal gain for the benefit of other teammates during many races.
In 2006, Andreu and his wife Betsy testified that Lance Armstrong told cancer doctors in their presence in 1996 he had doped with EPO (Erythropoietin), growth hormone and steroids. The Andreus' testimony was intended to remain sealed in court documents and is among thousands of pages of documents related to litigation between Armstrong and a Texas-based company that was attempting to withhold a $5-million bonus. Armstrong swore under oath it didn't happen. Frankie Andreu never offered information to media sources on the topic until court documents were released. He then stood by his testimony when giving interviews. [3] A settlement was reached in February of 2006 before the three-person arbitration panel made a ruling. As part of the settlement, SCA Promotions paid Armstrong and Tailwind Sports $7.5 million, to cover the $5-million bonus plus interest and lawyers' fees. In a statement, Armstrong said, "It's over. We won. They lost. I was yet again completely vindicated." In actuality, however, the panel produced no findings of fact. Armstrong's statement also suggested that Betsy Andreu may have been confused by possible mention of his post-operative treatment which included steroids and EPO that are routinely taken to counteract wasting and red-blood-cell destroying effects of intensive chemotherapy.[4]
Andreu has served as a bicycle race commentator on the Versus television network since retiring from professional cycling in 2001 and remains active in domestic pro racing, often lending his voice and knowledge announcing for professional races.
He was fired as Team Director for the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team on July 25, 2006. Andreu has stated that he had everything to lose, including his job, by standing by his testimony, but felt that he should not be forced to deny his version of events. [5]
