Armstrong is given more time

THE United States Anti-Doping Agency has extended its deadline for Lance Armstrong to answer the charges against him.

Armstrong was charged by USADA last month with using performance-enhancing drugs and he originally had until Saturday to enter into arbitration to contest the charges or accept sanctions after his original lawsuit was dismissed by a judge on Monday.

But the seven-time Tour de France winner has now re-filed his claim against the doping agency, which has delayed Saturday’s deadline by 30 days to allow the court to evaluate Armstrong’s case.

Armstrong, who could lose his seven Tour titles as well as face a lifetime ban - which would also cover triathlon, the sport he now competes in - has strenuously denied the charges against him.

But after his original lawsuit was dismissed by a judge as being a “lengthy and bitter polemic”, Armstrong and his lawyers were given 20 days to re-file his suit against USADA and the body’s chief executive, Travis Tygart, which they have now done.