Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on Thursday dismissed an accusation by disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis that Armstrong had doped and schooled him in doping methods.
"We have nothing to hide," Armstrong said in Visalia, California, prior to the fifth stage of the Tour of California. "We have nothing to run from."
Armstrong, flanked by RadioShack team manager Johan Bruyneel as he addressed a clutch of reporters, questioned Landis's credibility.
"It's our word against his word," Armstrong said . "I like our word. We like our credibility."
U.S. media reported Thursday that Landis, who lost his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test, admitted systematic doping and accused former teammate Armstrong of doing the same in emails he sent to cycling officials and sponsors.
Sports news site ESPN.com said Landis confirmed to them that he had sent the emails admitting the use of performance-enhancing drugs, saying he wanted to "clear my conscience."
"With regards to the specific allegations, the specific claims, they're not even worth getting into it," Armstrong said. "I'm not going to waste my time or your time."
Landis lost an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which threw out his case in June 2008 and ordered him to pay $100,000 in judicial costs to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Landis's attempts to clear his name are believed to have cost him some $2 million (1.6 million euros).
"I think history speaks for itself here," Armstrong said. "We don't know what he did or didn't do during the Tour. We followed the case, followed all the drama with regards to the (Landis) case. And now we see something different."
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