CYCLING:UCI PRESIDENT Pat McQuaid and Tyler Hamilton, one of the chief witnesses in the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) case against Lance Armstrong, have clashed in the aftermath of the Texan's sanctioning, with each being highly critical of the other.
McQuaid initially thanked the various witnesses at the UCI’s announcement conference on Monday, acknowledging their assistance in determining what had happened on Armstrong’s US Postal Service team. However, at the end of the conference he spoke out against Hamilton and Floyd Landis, two riders previously punished for doping, saying they don’t deserve the kudos given to them for their confessions.
“They are as far from heroes as night and day. They are not heroes, they are scumbags. All they have done is damage the sport,” he told journalists. McQuaid said he was angry Hamilton had written a book about doping in the sport, claiming he simply wanted to make money from it.
Hamilton lashed back, calling on the Irishman to stand down. “Pat McQuaid’s comments expose the hypocrisy of his leadership and demonstrate why he is incapable of any meaningful change,” he told Reuters. “Instead of seizing an opportunity to instill hope for the next generation of cyclists, he continues to point fingers, shift blame and attack those who speak out, tactics that are no longer effective. Pat McQuaid has no place in cycling.”
Triple Tour de France winner Greg LeMond has called on the UCI and others to effect real and tangible change in the sport in the wake of the Armstrong affair, saying that the sport is at a serious crossroads and must seize the chance.
“It is the most critical time in cycling’s history,” LeMond told The Irish Times. “It is not another Festina Affair, it is not just another scandal. It is the time that something must be done.
“We had the chance in 1998 but the sport didn’t seize upon it. We continued to see a sport with so much potential keep eroding. The sport still has so much to offer; all that it needs is that the trust is brought back for the cycling fans.”
LeMond admits he lost hope earlier this year when US Attorney General Andre Birotte unexpectedly dropped the federal investigation into Armstrong’s US Postal Service team. However his concerns that Armstrong would go unpunished were assuaged when the US Anti Doping Agency took up the reins and pushed through its own case to a conclusion.
“If this group had got away with it, I think it would have been the biggest setback for sports,” he said, making clear the importance of the verdict.
Meanwhile, another former US Postal Service rider came forward yesterday to talk about doping use while on the team. The retired professional Steffen Kjærgaard said he started using EPO of his own accord in 1998, but stated that once he moved to the US Postal team prior to the start of the 2000 seasons, the doping programme was stepped up. He is the 12th rider from the team to confess to the usage of banned products.
At the time of writing Armstrong had still not responded to the UCI’s decision. Aside from the lack of an interview or released statement, his Twitter account has not been updated since October 17th. The sole acknowledgement of the disciplinary actions taken against him was the deleted mention of being a seven-time winner of the Tour de France on his Twitter bio.
