a court to drop charges in Simeoni's defamation lawsuit. On 13 April 2006 Simeoni dropped the defamation suit and Armstrong dismissed his countersuit. Like Christophe Bassons six years earlier, Simeoni's career suffered after his confrontation with Armstrong. He found it hard to catch on with a team. The final straw came in 2009, when his team was left out of the 2009 Giro d'Italia even though he won the 2008 Italian National champion Road race. In protest, Simeoni returned his 2008 Italian Championship jersey in protest in May 2009. He was suspended for four months by the Italian Cycling Federation for doing so. He retired at the end of the 2009 season. In October 2012, USADA stripped Armstrong of all seven of his Tour titles and banned from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code for life, effectively ending his competitive career. Simeoni was one of the key witnesses in USADA's case against Armstrong and related how Armstrong threatened him during the 2004 Tour. In its "reasoned decision" announcing Armstrong's ban, USADA harshly criticized Armstrong's behavior during the incident, which it called a "sad moment in cycling." It found that Armstrong's decision to chase Simeoni down was "dangerous and impetuous," since it put him at serious risk of an accident. Moreover, it found that Armstrong had engaged in "attempted witness intimidation," which was in and of itself a violation of the World Anti-Doping Code. Armstrong confessed to doping in January 2013. When asked about the confession, Simeoni said: "I acknowledge Armstrong's confession on television but he put me through such a humiliating experience and damaged me so much, in terms of sport, morale, and finances that I don't know if I could ever forgive him." Simeoni was played by Belgian former professional cyclist Kevin Hulsmans in the 2015 film The Program. Career achievements Major results 1994 5th Overall Baby Giro 1996 7th Subida a Urkiola 1997 5th Overall Giro del Trentino 1998 3rd Giro del Veneto 6th Trofeo dello Scalatore 2000 1st Overall Regio-Tour 1st Stage 2 1st Stage 1 Tour de Luxembourg 3rd Coppa Agostoni 4th Coppa Placci 10th Giro del Lazio 2001 1st Stage 18 Vuelta a España 2003 1st Stage 19 Vuelta a España 2nd Firenze–Pistoia 2004 1st Stage 5 Tour of Austria 3rd Coppa Placci 4th Tre Valli Varesine 7th GP Industria & Commercio di Prato 8th Trofeo Melinda 2005 4th Overall Tour of Qinghai