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(AP) --  A story in Sports Illustrated challenges Lance
Armstrong's statements that he cut ties to a controverisal Italian
doctor and training adviser who has long been accused of helping
cyclists cheat.

In a report posted Tuesday on its website, the magazine
previewed a longer investigative piece that will appear in this
week's issue.

 Without naming its source, SI says that when Italian authorities
raided the home of Armstrong teammate Yaroslav Popovych last
November in Italy, they found texts and e-mails linking the Radio
Shack team with Dr. Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009.

Armstrong severed his longtime connection with Ferrari in 2004,
amid accusations the doctor aided another rider in using
performance-enhancing drugs. Ferrari was convicted and then later
cleared of criminal charges on appeal.

Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani calls the report "old news
from the same old, discredited sources."
     

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