After the journalist pointed out several riders were suspected of dying from EPO, Ferrari said EPO was not dangerous, and only abuse of it was dangerous, saying, "Its also dangerous to drink 10 liters of orange juice." The orange juice comment has been widely misquoted. Ferrari was fired shortly after, but continued to work in the industry with top riders, allegedly including Lance Armstrong. That same year, Sandro Donati, working for the Italian National Olympic Committee, presented a report accusing Conconi of being linked to the use of EPO in the sport.In 1997, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) instituted a new rule that riders testing above 50% haematocrit were not only immediately disqualified, but banned from racing for two weeks. Robert Millar, former racer, later wrote for Cycling News that the 50% limit was "an open invitation to dope to that level", pointing out that normally haematocrit levels would start "around 40-42%" and drop during the course of a "grand tour", but after EPO, they were staying at 50% for "weeks at a time". By 1998, EPO use had become widespread, and the Festina affair tarnished the 1998 Tour de France. One manager offered a 270,000-franc-per-month raise to Christophe Bassons if he would use EPO, but Bassons refused.In the 1998 Tour de France Stuart OGrady won one stage, held the Tour de France yellow jersey for three days, and came second in the points classification with the assistance of EPO.
In 2010, Floyd Landis admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO, throughout his career as a professional cyclist. In 2012, the USADA released a report on its investigation into massive doping by the US Postal Service cycling team under the leadership of Lance Armstrong. The report contained affidavits from numerous riders on the team, including Frankie Andreu, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, and others, outlining that they and Armstrong used a cocktail of performance-enhancing substances for the Tour de France, most notably EPO, during Armstrongs seven consecutive Tour wins. It detailed how Armstrong and the Postal manager, Johan Bruyneel, forced other team members to dope as well. It also went to the root of their doping network, targeting the shadowy doctors and back room enablers who helped cyclists procure and administer drugs as well as highly placed executives who helped to avoid doping controls and hide positive test results. Armstrong was subsequently stripped of all of his victories from 1998 onward—including his Tour wins and his performance in the 2000 Summer Olympics. The UCI concurred with the decision. While several of the doping offenses took place outside the normal eight-year statute of limitations for doping offenses, USADA contended the statute of limitations did not apply due to Armstrongs "fraudulent concealment" of his doping. Longstanding precedent in U.S. law holds that the statute of limitations does not apply in cases of fraudulent conduct by a defendant.