Cycling
Panel to probe Armstrong links
2012-11-30 14:16
Aigle - Former Court of Appeal judge Philip Otton will chair the three-member
commission set up to investigate allegations made against the
International Cycling Union (UCI) over the Lance Armstrong doping
scandal, the UCI said on Friday.
The retired judge, who has dealt with Formula One disputes at the
International Court of Appeal, will work with Britain's 11-times
Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson and Australian lawyer Malcolm
Holmes.
The UCI said last month it would set up an independent commission to
address issues and allegations which arose during the United States
Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation into Armstrong and the US
Postal Team.
The commission, assembled by the International Court of Arbitration for
Sport president John Coates, will be independent from any other sports
body, the UCI said.
"The appointment of these three eminent figures demonstrates clearly
that the UCI wants to get to the bottom of the Lance Armstrong affair
and put cycling back on the right track," UCI president Pat McQuaid said
in a statement.
"As I have said previously, the Commission's report and recommendations
are critical to restoring confidence in the sport of cycling and in the
UCI as its governing body," he added.
"We will co-operate fully with the Commission and provide them with
whatever they need to conduct their enquiry and we urge all other
interested stakeholders to do the same. We will listen to and act on the
Commission's recommendations."
The commission is to hold a hearing in London in April and will submit
its report to the UCI by June 1, 2013 or shortly afterwards.
In the coming two weeks, the UCI will also annouce details of a
stakeholder consultation to look at the future of cycling and discuss
how to bring in lasting improvements, as well as to tackle other issues
of concern, the governing body said.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for
life after USADA concluded the now-retired rider had been involved in
the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program
that sport has ever seen."
The USADA report said the 41-year-old American told his then team-mates
Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton he made a positive drugs test go away
with a payment to the UCI in 2001.
The UCI acknowledged they received a $100 000 donation in 2002 but have
denied the money was part of a covering up of a positive test.
Armstrong, who has always denied using performance-enhancing drugs, chose not to contest the USADA charges.