ICU ‘not afraid’ to ban Armstrong, says McQuaid
USADA last month announced their intention to strip Armstrong of the seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999 to 2005 and annul the 40-year-old’s results since 1998.
Armstrong was handed the sanction and a lifetime ban after the Texan said he would no longer be contesting the doping charges levelled against him, all of which he denies.
USADA say they have more than a dozen witnesses — up to 10 of whom are believed to be former team-mates — who agreed to testify and give evidence that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and encouraged others to do so.
UCI challenged USADA’s jurisdiction and have the option of appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ruling on Armstrong and their right to jurisdiction as the world governing body. They plan to wait to receive a communication outlining USADA’s reasoning for their sanctions before deciding whether to take any action. That is still to arrive.
McQuaid said: “They’ve sent us a letter saying they will send us a reasoned decision, so we will wait for that.
“That was, I think about a week ago, I’m not sure exactly what day. Soon after they announced the sanctions.
“If ultimately UCI has to sanction, we will have no problems. We have sanctioned many good riders in the past, we’ve put them out of the sport and we’re not afraid to do it with anybody.”
Speaking at the London Velodrome on the final day of the Paralympic Games track cycling competition, as a spectacular summer of cycling wound down, McQuaid expressed frustration to be dealing with yet another negative case in the sport.
“It is a pity, it’s a great pity,” McQuaid said.
“There are so many positive things happening, the whole Olympic Games was great for cycling, not just in Britain but around the world, because the atmosphere and the crowds and everything, that was portrayed and sent and noticed all over the world.
“We had the biggest crowd ever for the Olympic road race, likewise the time-trial. And it went on from there, and these Paralympics are the same.
“But it is unfortunate, but we’ll wait and see.”
