Although the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC)'s report into the actions of cycling's world governing body, the UCI, was widely interpreted as critical of former presidents Hein Verbruggen and Pat McQuaid, the latter has said
he has nothing to be worried about.
“The report completely clears me of any corruption, any wrongdoing or any complicity in doping,” he insisted on RTÉ radio.
“Everybody knows the work that I have done to fight doping, and the UCI is now one of the leading international federations in the fight against doping, and the legacy I have left behind there I am quite proud of.”
McQuaid and Verbruggen had long been accused of being too close to Lance Armstrong, the now-disqualified winner of seven Tours de France.
The CIRC report found that while there was no evidence Armstrong had paid bribes to the UCI, as some had claimed, it said the UCI had repeatedly acted in a way that was favourable to him. It said McQuaid was wrong in allowing Armstrong return to racing in the 2009 Santos Tour Down Under as he had not been in the out-of-competition testing pool for a full six months, as per regulations.
It also said while there was not definitive proof McQuaid had made that decision in return for Armstrong agreeing to ride the Tour of Ireland, co-run by his brother Darach, the timing of the matter showed there was “a temporal link”. The implication was that a deal was probably done.
Arrangement
However, McQuaid rejected this, denying any arrangement. He also contradicted CIRC’s assertion that the UCI had repeatedly acted in a partial way towards Armstrong.
“It wasn’t a question of defending or protecting Lance Armstrong . . . we tested over 200 times and he never tested positive,” he said, perhaps forgetting the positive test for cortisone the American logged during the 1999 Tour.
Verbruggen accepted a backdated prescription, with the UCI consequently allowing Armstrong to remain in the race.
“Every police authority in the world knows who’s committing the crimes, but until they get evidence against them they can’t catch them.”
Pressed during the radio interview, he admitted some mistakes had been made, but did not give examples.
