George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong's Teammate, Admits to Doping

Lance Armstrong's teammate George Hincapie of Greenville on Wednesday admitted that he used performance-enchancing drugs to compete.

Hincapie, who retired in August from cycling after completing the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, released a statement on his website, admitting to the use of banned substances.

In the statement, Hincapie writes, "Because of my love for the sport, the contributions I feel I have made to it, and the amount the sport of cycling has given to me over the years, it is extremely difficult today to acknowledge that during a part of my career I used banned substances."

Last month, Hincapie and Armstrong's ex-wife Kristen Armstrong were implicated through rider affidavits detailing the use of performance-enhancing drugs by the U.S. Postal Service team from 1999 through 2004.

Hincapie said early in his professional career it became obvious that he would need the use of the drugs in order to be competitive.

"Early in my professional career, it became clear to me that, given the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by cyclists at the top of the profession, it was not possible to compete at the highest level without them. I deeply regret that choice and sincerely apologize to my family, teammates and fans," Hincapie wrote.

Read the full statement.

 the anti-doping charges that have crippled his career.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says 11 of Lance Armstrong's former teammates testified against him in its investigation of the cyclist, including Hincapie, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton.