Oprah Winfrey speaks with Lance Armstrong during an interview on the controversy surrounding his cycling career on Monday, January 14, in Austin, Texas. Oprah Winfrey's exclusive no-holds-barred interview with Lance Armstrong, "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive," has expanded to air as a two-night event on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The interview airs Thursday, January 17, and Friday, January 18.
(CNN) -- The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday that it has filed doping charges against champion cyclist Lance Armstrong.
This month, the agency announced that it was opening proceedings against Armstrong and five former teammates.
"USADA can confirm that the independent three person Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) has conducted a full evaluation and has made a unanimous recommendation to move forward with the adjudication process in accordance with the rules," it said in a statement.
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If Armstrong and the others choose, the case will move next to an arbitration panel, where "all evidence would be presented, witness testimony would be given under oath, and an independent group of arbitrators would ultimately decide the outcome of the case," the agency said.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency has brought formal charges against Lance Armstong, a seven-time Tour de France champion. He denies using performance-enhancing drugs. Click through the gallery to see other athletes accused of using drugs to boost their careers.
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Armstrong has always insisted that he never took performance-enhancing drugs. Other riders accused him of using such drugs, but he has never failed a drug test.
"There is not one shred of credible evidence to support USADA's charges," Armstrong's attorney, Robert Luskin, said in a statement. He described the agency's decision as "wrong" and "baseless."
"In its zeal to punish Lance, USADA has sacrificed the very principles of fair play that it was created to safeguard. It has compiled a disgraceful record of arrogance, secrecy, disregard for its own protocols, shabby science, and contempt for due process," Luskin said.
When the proceedings were announced this month, Armstrong said the Anti-Doping Agency intended to "dredge up discredited" allegations against him in a bid to strip him of his seven Tour de France victories.
"Unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one," Armstrong wrote on his website. "That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence."
According to its website, the quasi-government agency is recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic events in the United States.
The World Triathlon Corporation suspended Armstrong this month from competing in WTC-owned and -licensed races while he's under investigation for doping. USA Triathlon said he can still compete in its events.
In February, Justice Department prosecutors said they closed a criminal investigation after reviewing allegations against Armstrong. They had called witnesses to a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, but they apparently determined they lacked evidence to bring a charge that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong responds to agency's doping allegations
CNN's Scott Thompson and Dana Ford contributed to this report.
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Cyclist Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France wins and banned from the tournament for life, the International Cycling Union announced Monday, October 22. Pictured, Armstrong addresses participants at The Livestrong Challenge Ride on Sunday. He stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer charity on Wednesday, October 17.
Armstrong leads his teammates during the final stage of the 1999 Tour de France.
Armstrong, 17, competes in the Jeep Triathlon Grand Prix in 1988. He became a professional triathlete at age 16 and joined the U.S. National Cycling Team two years later.
In 1995, Armstrong wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France. He finished 36th overall and finished the race for the first time that year.
Armstrong rides for charity in May 1998 at the Ikon Ride for the Roses to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He established the foundation to benefit cancer research after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. After treatment, he was declared cancer-free in February 1997.
Armstrong takes his honor lap on the Champs-Élysées in Paris after winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1999.
After winning the 2000 Tour de France, Armstrong holds his son Luke on his shoulders.
Armstrong rides during the 18th stage of the 2001 Tour de France. He won the tour that year for the third consecutive time.
Armstrong celebrates winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France in 2001.
After winning the 2001 Tour de France, Armstrong presents President George W. Bush with a U.S. Postal Service yellow jersey and a replica of the bike he used to win the race.
Armstrong celebrates on the podium after winning the Tour de France by 61 seconds in 2003. It was his fifth consecutive win.
Jay Leno interviews Armstrong on "The Tonight Show" in 2003.
After his six consecutive Tour de France win in 2004, Armstrong attends a celebration in his honor in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Armstrong arrives at the 2005 American Music Awards in Los Angeles with his then-fiancee Sheryl Crow. The couple never made it down the aisle, splitting up the following year.
Armstrong holds up a paper displaying the number seven at the start of the Tour de France in 2005. He went on to win his seventh consecutive victory.
As a cancer survivor, Armstrong testifies during a Senate hearing in 2008 on Capitol Hill. The hearing focused on finding a cure for cancer in the 21st century.
In 2009, Armstrong suffers a broken collarbone after falling during a race in Spain along with more than a dozen other riders.
Young Armstrong fans write messages on the ground using yellow chalk ahead of the 2009 Tour de France. He came in third place that year.
Armstrong launches the three-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The event was organized by his foundation.
In May 2010, Armstrong crashes during the Amgen Tour of California and is taken to the hospital. That same day, he denied allegations of doping made by former teammate Floyd Landis.
Ahead of what he said would be his last Tour de France, Armstrong gears up for the start of the race in 2010.
Lance Armstrong looks back as he rides in a breakaway during the 2010 Tour de France.
Armstrong finishes 23rd in the 2010 Tour de France. He announced his retirement from the world of professional cycling in February 2011. He said he wants to devote more time to his family and the fight against cancer.
Armstrong's son Luke; twin daughters, Isabelle and Grace; and 1-year-old son, Max, stand outside the Radioshack team bus on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France.
The frame of Armstrong's bike is engraved with the names of his four children at the time and the Spanish word for five, "cinco." His fifth child, Olivia, was born in October 2010.
In February 2012, Armstrong competes in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Panama City. He went on to claim two Half Ironman triathlon titles by June. He got back into the sport after retiring from professional cycling.
Olympic track star Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008 for lying to federal prosecutors investigating the use of performance-enhancing substances.
Baseball outfielder Barry Bonds, the single-season and all-time home run record holder, was convicted in 2011 of obstruction of justice for impeding a grand jury investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds had testified that he thought his personal trainer was giving him arthritis balm and flaxseed oil, not steroids or testosterone.
Slugger Mark McGwire evaded questions about steroid use before Congress in 2005 but in 2010 admitted that he had used steroids during the 1990s.
Pitching legend Roger Clemens is on trial on charges that he lied to Congress in 2008 about being injected with human growth hormone and steroids by his former trainer.
Home-run hitter Sammy Sosa was among the players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 testing by Major League Baseball, according to the New York Times.
Mixed martial arts heavyweight fighter Alistair Overeem failed a random drug test in 2012 but blames it on prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for an injury.
New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Charles Grant tested positive for banned substances in 2008 and was suspended for the rest of the season. He is currently a free agent.
Former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister tested positive for a banned diuretic in 2008.
Shawne Merriman, then of the San Diego Chargers, was suspended for four games after testing positive for steroids in 2006.
Former linebacker Bill Romanowski admitted using steroids during his career.
Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was suspended for four games after violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs in 2010.
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