Lance Armstrong sued over $14.9m in Tour de France prize money

(REUTERS) - Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong on Thursday was sued by a company that paid him about US$12 million (S$14.9 million) in prize money in connection with three of the seven Tour de France titles that have since been stripped from him for his use of banned drugs.

SCA Promotions Inc, in a suit filed in Texas state court in Dallas, alleges Armstrong and his management company, Tailwind Sports, defrauded SCA into paying Armstrong US$12.1 million in prize money for his 2002, 2003 and 2004 Tour de France wins by lying about Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing drugs during those events.

Last month, Armstrong ended years of vehement denial and admitted in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had cheated his way to a record seven Tour de France titles through the use of banned, performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong has been banned from cycling for life and stripped of race wins, including all of his Tour de France victories.