US anti-doping chief puts UCI in firing line

The head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) yesterday lashed out at the UCI for failing to take decisive action to clean up the sport in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Travis Tygart said after meeting with European Union sports officials — which included UCI president Pat McQuaid — that “all those who cherish the Olympic values, particularly fair play and a level playing field, deserve more.”

After the discussions, chaired by Minister Michael Ring, Tygart listed only one measure taken by cycling authorities, which was to shut down an independent panel looking into the relationship between cycling chiefs and Armstrong, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. The independent commission had been established to examine claims the UCI had accepted financial donations from Armstrong as well as covering up blood samples.