Says it is of ‘immense public interest’ to determine how Armstrong/US Postal Service eluded detection
Responding to yesterday’s press release which announced that the UCI was withdrawing its backing for the Independent Commission, that commission has issued a restrained response to the news, but also said that the UCI didn’t live up to its undertaking to cooperate.
“When this Commission was announced, Pat McQuaid stated that the UCI ‘will co-operate fully with the Commission and provide them with whatever they need to conduct their inquiry’ and urged ‘all other interested stakeholders to do the same,’ the commission said today in a statement. “Neither the UCI nor interested stakeholders have provided sufficient co-operation to enable the Commission to do its job. This failure to cooperate makes our task impossible. Therefore, the proposed hearing on 31 January 2013 will not take place.”
The commission had previously echoed calls made by WADA, USADA and the Change Cycling Now pressure group for the UCI to grant an amnesty to all who came forward with evidence. Each of those four said that they were concerned that witnesses were not protected and would not give information as a result.
The UCI refused to comply with this at the time, and reiterated that stance at a public meeting held last week in London. It did however said that it might be open to a wider Truth and Reconciliation process. It reiterated that in a release yesterday, but said that it would only happen further down the line and that it was withdrawing its support for the commission that it had set up.
The UCI Independent Commission’s reference to a lack of cooperation shows a restrained frustration. It has underlined that it believes any future process must continue to examine what the commission was set up to do.
“If the legacy of this Commission is the establishment of an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that includes, as part of its mandate, a thorough and expeditious investigation of the UCI’s role in the Lance Armstrong/USPS doping affair, then that is to be welcomed,” said the commission. “Any TRC will represent a chance once and for all to break the code of silence that has allowed the use of performance enhancing drugs to be hidden and perpetuated.
“However, the Commission remains concerned as to WADA’s and the UCI’s ability to agree the scope, timing and structure of the TRC and also whether the T&R process is sufficiently advanced to justify the UCI’s termination of this Inquiry.”
It said that the commission’s legal company Macfarlanes would retain the evidence gathered thus far and would provide it for use once the Truth and Reconciliation commission is established.
However it made it clear that it wants the issue to be investigated and not be let fade away. “As the Commission has repeatedly stated, there is an immense public interest in determining why and how Lance Armstrong/USPS Team were able to engage, as recently publicly admitted, in systematic doping without detection or sanction.
“The Commission urges all those who have an interest in cycling to make sure that an independent TRC is established and remains willing to offer assistance in the process if required.”