FBI seeks video of Lance Armstrong chat

THE FBI wants surveillance tapes of a conversation between Lance Armstrong and former teammate Tyler Hamilton over the weekend.

THE FBI has contacted a Colorado restaurant to get surveillance tapes of a conversation between seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and former teammate Tyler Hamilton over the weekend.

Hamilton last month accused Armstrong of doping and encouraging his teammates to use performance-enhancing drugs.

The pair ran into each other at the Cache Cache restaurant in Aspen on Saturday night.

Jodi Larner, a co-owner of the restaurant, told The New York Times she had spoken to an FBI agent and was told she would be subpoenaed for the surveillance tape. It's not clear if the restaurant's video will actually show the confrontation between Hamilton and Armstrong, which Hamilton's lawyer reported to federal authorities.

The New York Times, citing "a person briefed on the matter", said authorities were investigating whether the encounter constituted witness tampering on Armstrong's part.

Hamilton, who was one of Armstrong's teammates on the now-defunct US Postal Service team, is among those who have testified before a grand jury investigating doping in cycling, with Armstrong a primary focus.

Last month, Hamilton took doping accusations against Armstrong to a more public forum with an interview on CBS television's 60 Minutes.

Armstrong has denied doping allegations, including those raised by former teammates and self-confessed dope cheats Floyd Landis and Hamilton, who claimed in the CBS report that Armstrong used EPO in preparing for the 2001 Tour de France.

Armstrong has demanded an apology from CBS over the report. He has a house in Aspen and eats at Cache Cache frequently, according to Larner, who is a friend of the cyclist.

AFP