Cycling’s governing body the UCI has come to a relatively quick decision in relation to the Lance Armstrong doping case, revealing that it will announce its intention with regard to the case in just three days’ time.
The UCI was sent the reasoned decision by USADA on October 10th and, under the rules in place, had until October 31st to declare whether it would accept the report or appeal it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Today’s announcement means that it will announce the decision a full nine days earlier than the deadline.
On August 23rd, Armstrong was handed a lifetime ban from sport plus had all of his results since August 1998 taken away. The sanction was handed down after he decided not to fight the doping charges made against him by USADA.
The reasoned decision included over one thousand pages of evidence, including sworn testimony from 26 individuals. Of that number, eleven were former team-mates of Armstrong, namely Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leiphimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.
Other details contained included what USADA described as ‘direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong.’
Its CEO Travis Tygart said that the management of the US Postal Service team ‘ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.’
“The USPS Team doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices,” he elaborated. “A program organized by individuals who thought they were above the rules and who still play a major and active role in sport today.”
Since the release of the information, many of Armstrong’s sponsors including Trek, Giro and Nike have announced that they were ending their relationship with him. However most remain committed to the Livestrong foundation, which he was the chairman of until stepping down on Wednesday. He remains part of the board.
The UCI’s decision will be announced at 1pm on Monday at the Starling Hotel in Geneva. Others involved in the case, namely Johan Bruyneel, Pedro Celaya and Pepe Marti, will face arbitration hearings later this year. They too could face lifetime bans from sport.