CYCLING:LANCE ARMSTRONG has been asked to repay $12 million (€9.25 million) given to him by SCA Promotions, which guaranteed bonuses for his wins in the Tour de France from 2002 to 2004 that have been stripped because of doping.

A letter, sent yesterday by SCA, also put the American cyclist “on notice that we may seek legal sanctions and penalties against Mr Armstrong in connection with the false testimony given by him in 2005-2006 arbitration proceeding,” Jeff Dorough, an attorney for Dallas-based SCA, said in an email. Armstrong (41) was given until 5pm Dallas time on November 2nd to respond, Dorough said.

An email sent to Jeffrey Tillotson, SCA’s outside counsel, wasn’t immediately returned. Asked in an email if he had any response, Tim Herman, Armstrong’s attorney, said: “I would if I had received a letter.”

Armstrong and US Postal Service team owner Tailwind Sports sued SCA in 2004 for failing to pay a $5 million bonus to the cyclist for his sixth Tour de France victory, which came amid allegations of doping.

It settled the suit in 2006, agreeing to pay the $5 million and $2.5 million in interest and legal fees. SCA also is seeking to recover another $4.5 million in bonuses paid to Armstrong for his 2002 and 2003 wins.

Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France victories and banned for life from competing in sanctioned events by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which cited a career “fueled from start to finish by doping” when it released a 202-page summary of its investigation into Armstrong and the US Postal Service professional cycling team on October 10th.

The International Cycling Union opted not to appeal Usada’s ruling. Armstrong, who has denied doping and said he never failed a drug test, declined to take the Usada case to arbitration.