London, July 13 (ANI): An Italian sports doctor, who was accused of developing a new doping method to cater to a ring of cyclists, including champion Lance Armstrong, has branded the charges false and ridiculous.

Dr Michele Ferrari, Armstrong's personal trainer and consultant to the team, was handed life-time ban last month, along with former US Postal doctor Luis Garcia del Moral and coach Pepe Marti, by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), for being involved in 'systematic doping within the team.'

One of the specific accusations made against Ferrari by the USADA, was that he had developed a new doping method that involved mixing olive oil and testosterone, which is alleged to have been administered to riders under their tongues and would aid in their recovery.

USADA claimed that this mix was called the oil by team members, and if it was taken this way, the drug would be absorbed into the lymphatic system without being transported to the liver, making it more effective and less likely to cause damage to the organ.

However, in a statement on his website, Ferrari dismissed the idea that olive oil could facilitate or conceal testosterone.

This is an old legend that has circulated for years in the peloton, a sort of magical mixture to fantasize over while sipping a beer, the BBC quoted Ferrari as saying in a statement on his website.

Ferrari has a long association with cycling, acting as a consultant for a number of high profile professionals down the years.

Armstrong had once described him as a 'friend and a trusted adviser' but severed formal ties with him after the Italian was convicted of sporting fraud in 2004 in relation to doping issues, which were dismissed on appeal in 2006. (ANI)