BANNED cycling superstar Lance Armstrong says he’s more at peace now than he has been in a decade as fresh doping allegations surface in Europe.

In his first interview since the US Anti-Doping Agency disciplined Armstrong with a lifetime ban from professional cycling and vacated his seven Tour de France titles, he said, “Nobody needs to cry for me. I’m going to be great.”

Still, his ego was bruised after being beaten by 16-year-old Keegan Swirbul at the Power of Four mountain bike race on Saturday.

Armstrong finished second, nearly five minutes behind the lanky teenager.

Soon after crossing the finish line and skidding to a stop, Armstrong chatted for a few minutes before saying, “OK, I’m going to go eat a cheeseburger.”

Meanwhile, a leading French anti-doper, Michel Rieu, the scientific adviser at France’s anti-doping body told Le Monde newspaper Armstrong was warned when the testers were about to call throughout his career.

“The testers found it difficult to carry out checks without Lance Armstrong benefitting from a delay of 20 minutes,” claimed Rieu.

“He was warned before any controls. In 20 minutes, a lot of manipulations are possible. Without information from police or customs, it was impossible to fight this way.”

Rieu claims that Armstrong has many supporters inside the sport, willing to help him when needed.

“This support went beyond the UCI (International Cycling Union) and the International Olympic Committee,” he said.

“Lance Armstrong was surrounded by scientific physiologists some of which were discarded later. He had considerable resources to protect and implement logistics.

“There were rumours that he transferred blood from the United States in his private jet,” claimed Rieu.

On Friday, USADA branded Armstrong a dope cheat, a day after the 40-year-old Texan said he would not pursue a bid to clear himself of charges that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.

The agency laid out five rule violations for which Armstrong has been sanctioned, saying the cancer survivor who became a hero to millions took part in a systematic doping conspiracy with his then US Postal Service team.

Armstrong was back in his element in Colorado, on a bike and in a race.

A day earlier, USADA proclaimed that the now-retired Armstrong would be banned for life from cycling’s elite professional events and his seven Tour de France titles expunged from his career record because of his “numerous anti-doping rule violations, including his involvement in trafficking and administering doping products to others.”

USADA said Armstrong will forfeit all titles, medals and prizes earned from August 1, 1998, which means he also stands to lose the Olympic bronze medal he won in Sydney in 2000.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) and Tour de France organisers have yet to comment officially, but USADA made it clear it believes they must honour its findings under the World Anti-Doping Code.

“Because Mr. Armstrong could have had a hearing before neutral arbitrators to contest USADA’s evidence and sanction and he voluntarily chose not to do so, USADA’s sanction is final,” the agency’s statement said.

Armstrong, whose cycling exploits in the wake of his recovery from life-threatening cancer made him an inspirational figure for millions, has vehemently denied the doping accusations that have swirled about him throughout his career.

Many fans leapt to his defence on Friday, not necessarily to protest his innocence but to laud his efforts in fund-raising for cancer awareness and his support of those touched by the disease.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation launched in 1997 has raised almost $US500 million – and donations through its Livestrong website were up on Friday, foundation chief executive Doug Ulman said.

Sponsors also expressed support, with firms such as apparel-maker Nike and brewer Anheuser-Busch saying they would continue their relationships with Armstrong and his foundation.

Armstrong himself looked relaxed as he set off with the rest of the weekend warriors for Saturday’s race in the Colorado mountains.

Known as a fierce fighter on the bike and off, he surprised many on Thursday night when he said he would not seek to clear himself USADA’s charges.

Instead, Armstrong repeated his view that that the arbitration process was loaded in favour of USADA, an agency on a “witch hunt” against him.

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